| Print

WHITEHALL PALACE

ABOUT THIS MONUMENT

+ / -

EH Visitor Information
Related Monuments
Related Text
Investigation History

More Pictures
Modern Map
Old Map
Aerial Photograph

Monument Types
Sources
Thesaurus
Description

DESCRIPTION

+ / -

Whitehall Palace was built between 1514 and 1529 by Cardinal Wolsey on the site of York Place, the London residence of the Archbishops of York from 1245. After Wolsey's downfall the palace was acquired by Henry VIII and converted into the most important Royal Palace in London and the centre of English royal power for more than 150 years. Henry VIII redesigned the residential area building the great hall, chapel and royal apartments and built a new recreational area or pleasure buildings across the road which included tennis courts, bowling greens, a cock fighting pit and a tiltyard for tournaments.

The palace was altered and rebuilt on various occasions. Between 1622 and 1634 a new banqueting house was built to designs of Inigo Jones and a major programme of rebuilding was carried out by James II between 1685-8. By 1650 the Palace had become the largest complex of secular buildings in England and at the time of its destruction in 1698 it was probably the largest palace in Europe.
Whitehall palace was destroyed by fire in 1698 and although some areas were rebuilt much of the site was then built over. The only standing building of Whitehall Palace is the Banqueting House, however other parts have been incorporated into later buildings or are buried beneath them. These include a tower and parts of the covered tennis courts built by Henry VIII and a vaulted chamber, known as Henry VIII's Wine Cellar.

DETAIL

+ / -

MORE INFORMATION & SOURCES

+ / -

1.[Name centred TQ30208010]. WHITEHALL PALACE [AT] (site of)
['A ' TQ30168007]. BANQUETTING HOUSE [AT]
['B' Name centred TQ30138003]. KING'S GATE [AT] (Site of)
['C' Name centred TQ30258010]. CHAPEL [AT] (Site of)
['D' Name centred TQ30238010]. THE GREAT HALL [AT] (Site of)
['E' Name centred TQ30158000]. PALACE GATE [AT] (Site of)
['F' Name centred TQ30288012]. WHITEHALL STAIRS [AT] (SITE OF)
['G' Name centred TQ30278003]. PRIVY STAIRS [AT] (Site of)
['H' Name centred TQ30087998] .COCKPIT [AT] (Site of)
['J' Name centred TQ30117995] .TENNIS COURT [AT] (Site of)
['K' Name centred TQ30187998]. PRIVY GARDEN [AT] (Site of)
['L' Name centred TQ30147992]. GATEWAY [AT] (Site of)
['M' Name centred TQ30227997]. GALLERY [AT] (Site of)
['N' Name centred TQ30217987]. BOWLING GREEN [AT (Site of)
['O' Name centred TQ30267991]. GARDEN STAIRS [AT (Site of) (1)

'A' Banqueting Hall, 1619-22 by Inigo Jones, ceiling by Rubens, additional works by Wyatt and Soane. On site of banqueting hall of medieval palace. (2)

As York Place (which had been rebuilt by Wolsey) Henry VIII appropriated this complex in 1529 and it replaced Westminster Palace as the principal royal residence. He reused building materials from several other of Wolsey's properties as well as Westminster. Land was acquired on the west side of the road into Westminster from the north where he constructed a leisure complex-tennis bowls and a cockpit, with a tiltyard to the north, and he enclosed St James' Park. The residential blocks remained on the east side and were connected to the western complex by two covered galleries north and south (north gallery known as the Holbein Gate).

Apart from repairs and improvements to bridges jetties and especially gardens the extension of the water supply and the construction of tennis courts no major building work undertaken until the construction of a banqueting house in 1581.

James I started a new banqueting house and kitchen in 1606, both destroyed by fire and rebuilt by Inigo Jones in 1619, with a ceiling by Rubens completed in 1634. Masques and elaborate entertainments at the Stuart Court ultimately required special accommodation; a masquing house was provided in 1613 but the banqueting house and the cockpit continued to be used as well. (3)

Works in the later 17th century were undertaken by Charles II and James II, who was the last king to live there. After a major fire in 1698 it was turned over almost exclusively to administrative use. The most important of the new buildings in the 1660's were the Palace Gate and gallery and the Volary building. In 1665 the Hall was converted into a theatre. Wren built a new range of apartments for James II and a chapel with a Grinling Gibbons alter piece (moved to Hampton Court in 1695).

Scotland Yard - Great, Middle and Little Scotland Yards, was also part of the palace complex and used by the Office of Works as stores etc. (see pp 443-4).

The gateway between Whitehall Palace and Westminster Palace (New Palace Yard) was removed in 1707 and the other gates during the 18th century to ease the flow of traffic. For later use of banqueting hall as a Royal Chapel and the subsequent development of the complex see also vol 6, 536-571. (4)

The tennis courts (TQ 30107998) lay within what is now the Treasury complex on the west side of Whitehall (see 37 NW 93). Brickwork with stone dressings from the tennis courts and a connecting passage constructed by Henry VIII and Wolsey runs east-west down the centre of the present building. Later works were by Kent Soane and Barry. Originally this passage may have lead to the Cockpit Theatre. (5)

Excavation and recording work in 1961-2 located parts of the tennis courts and connecting passage during rebuilding and these brick features remain in situ. Also located was evidence of a possible banqueting hall sealing extensive pits dated 1531-2. (6-9)

Further work in 1963-4 revealed that the Small Close tennis court had probably been used as a bowling alley and evidence of the kitchens. (10)

Notes on the history of the Banqueting House. (11)

Description of the cellar/undercroft (?) originally part of Wolsey's palace and known (in the 19th century) as Cromwell House.

Vaulted, and of 8 bays, it was close to the Old Hall and had been used for the storage of Exchequer Records. Also noted was the survival of part of the river wall of the palace. Measured plans and elevations. See also Malmesbury House, 38 SW 1195. (12)

Excavations in 1968 located the junction of Henry VIII's south boundary wall of the palace with the river wall. The latter had been heavily robbed but 18th century masonry of the Duke of Richmond's garden terrace survived to a height of 13'. (13)

Plan of Wolsey's palace and note on the rent in 1515 of a wharf called the grene yard for unloading building material. (14)

Description of the Palace by a German visitor in 1584. (15)

Note on Pembroke House (built on part of the palace site in the 18th century). (16)

Excavation (1964) of the foundations of the Banqueting Houses, including that of 1581. (17)

Discussion of renaissance features of banqueting house, including the hipped roof and the unexecuted plan of 1615, possibly the first 'completely classical' building in England. (18)

Early sketches for Banqueting House by I Jones, notes on parallels and Italian influences. (19)

Please refer to these two sources for a comprehensive study of the history and architecture of Whitehall Palace. They include historical accounts, illustrations, plans and maps. (20-21)

SOURCE TEXT

( 1) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)

OS 1/1056 1894-6.

( 2) Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England) 1925 An inventory of the historical monuments in London. Volume II: West London, excluding Westminster Abbey

Page(s)125-7

( 3) by H M Colvin ... [et al] 1982 The history of the King's Works, volume 4 : 1485-1660 (Part 2)

Page(s)300-43

( 4) by H M Colvin et al 1976 The history of the King's Works, volume 5 : 1660-1782

Page(s)263-303,443-4

( 5) Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England) 1925 An inventory of the historical monuments in London. Volume II: West London, excluding Westminster Abbey

Page(s)128

( 6) Medieval archaeology : journal of the Society for Medieval Archaeology

6-7, 1962-3 Page(s)33

( 7) General reference

Ministry of Public Works Archaeology Executive Annual Report, 1962 Page(s)9

( 8) Illustrated London News

(HJM Green) 242 Page(s)1004-7

( 9) Illustrated London News

(HJM Green, P Curnow) 243 Page(s)14-17

( 10) Medieval archaeology : journal of the Society for Medieval Archaeology

8, 1964 Page(s)270

( 11) London and Middlesex Archaeological Society Transactions of the London and Middlesex Archaeological Society

W Caborne 3, 1917 Page(s)447-53

( 12) Society of Antiquaries of London Archaeologia : or miscellaneous tracts relating to antiquity

S Smirke 25, 1834 Page(s)113-8

( 13) General reference

Ministry of Public Works Archaeology Executive Annual Report, 1968 (B K Davison) Page(s)25

( 14) Journal of the British Archaeological Association

8, 1943 Page(s)51,53

( 15) Transactions of the Royal Historical Society

9 (1895) Page(s)234-7

( 16) Country Life

37, 1915 Page(s)310

( 17) The Builder

207 (1964) Page(s)115-6

( 18) by H Avray Tipping 1929 English homes, period 3, volume 1 : late tudor and early Stuart, 1558-1649

Page(s)162, 369

( 19) By H Avray Tipping 1920 English homes, period 4, volume 1 : late Stuart, 1649-1714

Page(s)XV

(20) Simon Thurley 1993 The royal palaces of Tudor England : architecture and court life

Page(s)39-65

(21) Simon Thurley 2008 Whitehall Palace: The Official Illustrated History

RELATED MONUMENTS

+ / -

Monument Name/No

Resources

Description

WHITEHALL PALACE TILTYARD

Monument Pictures
Monument Maps
Monument Investigation
Monument Sources
EH Visitor Information

The site of a tiltyard at Whitehall Palace, constructed in the early 1530s. A tiltyard was where jousting events took place and, like at Whitehall Pal...

BANQUETING HOUSE

Monument Pictures
Monument Maps
Monument Investigation
Monument Sources
EH Visitor Information

The first known Banqueting House at Whitehall was a temporary structure of wood and canvas, built in 1572 for the visit of a French delegation. In 158...

MONUMENT TYPES

+ / -

COMMENTS

+ / -

Please help us keep our information accurate let us know if you see any errors on this page.

Further information about monuments may be obtained by contacting Archive Services, through the Historic England website.

HE Archives
HE Prints
Historic England
Heritage Explorer
Heritage Gateway
Images of England
National Heritage List for England
ViewFinder