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| During the reign of Hentry VIII the palace had no designated banqueting house, the King preferring to banquet in temporary structured purpose built in the gardens. The first banqueting house at Whithall had a short life, built for ] it was destroyed by fire in January 1619, when wirkmen clearing up after New Year's festivities decoded to incinerate the rubbish inside the building rater than transport it away.<ref>Williams. p45.</ref> | During the reign of Hentry VIII the palace had no designated banqueting house, the King preferring to banquet in temporary structured purpose built in the gardens. The first banqueting house at Whithall had a short life, built for ] it was destroyed by fire in January 1619, when wirkmen clearing up after New Year's festivities decoded to incinerate the rubbish inside the building rater than transport it away.<ref>Williams. p45.</ref> | ||
| An immediate replacement was commissioned from the fashionable architect ]. Jones had spent time in Italy studying the architecture evolving from the Renaissance and that of ]; he returmned to England with what at the time were revolitionary ideas, which were to replace the complicated and confused style of the Jacobean English Renaissance with a more simple classically inspired designs, of which his new banqueting House at Whithall was to be a prime example. Jones made no attempt to harmonise his design to suit the Tudor palace of which it was part. | |||
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| ⚫ | Later, the new Banqueting House was intended to be incorporated into a grand new Palace of Whitehall, but the tensions that eventually led to the ] intervened. In 1685 the Banqueting House became the first building in England to use ] in its windows. Later, in the fire that destroyed the old Whitehall Palace the isolated position of the Banqueting Hall preserved it from the flames. | ||
| It is the grandest and most familiar survival of the architectural genre of ]. Formerly part of the ], it was designed by ] in 1619 and completed in 1622 with assistance from ]. In 1649 King ] was executed on a scaffold in front of the building. | It is the grandest and most familiar survival of the architectural genre of ]. Formerly part of the ], it was designed by ] in 1619 and completed in 1622 with assistance from ]. In 1649 King ] was executed on a scaffold in front of the building. | ||
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The Banqueting House is the only remaining component of the former English royal palace of Whitehall. Designed in the then innovative and new Palladian style, the building, begin in 1619, was completed in 1622 at a cost of £15,618. In the 19th century, the building was contraversially re-faced in Portland stone, however the details of the original facade are faithfully preserved. Today, the banqueting House is a national monument, open to the public and preserved as a Grade I listed building.
History
The Palace of Whitehall was largely the creation of King Henry VIII, expanding on an earlier mansion which had belonged to Cardinal Wolsey, originally known as York Place. The King was determined that his new palace should be the "biggest palace in Christendom", a place befitting his newly created status as the Superme Head of the Church. All evidence of the disgraced Wolsey was eliminated and the building rechristened the Palace of Whitehall.
During the reign of Hentry VIII the palace had no designated banqueting house, the King preferring to banquet in temporary structured purpose built in the gardens. The first banqueting house at Whithall had a short life, built for James I it was destroyed by fire in January 1619, when wirkmen clearing up after New Year's festivities decoded to incinerate the rubbish inside the building rater than transport it away.
An immediate replacement was commissioned from the fashionable architect Inigo Jones. Jones had spent time in Italy studying the architecture evolving from the Renaissance and that of Palladio; he returmned to England with what at the time were revolitionary ideas, which were to replace the complicated and confused style of the Jacobean English Renaissance with a more simple classically inspired designs, of which his new banqueting House at Whithall was to be a prime example. Jones made no attempt to harmonise his design to suit the Tudor palace of which it was part.
Later, the new Banqueting House was intended to be incorporated into a grand new Palace of Whitehall, but the tensions that eventually led to the Civil War intervened. In 1685 the Banqueting House became the first building in England to use crown glass in its windows. Later, in the fire that destroyed the old Whitehall Palace the isolated position of the Banqueting Hall preserved it from the flames.
It is the grandest and most familiar survival of the architectural genre of banqueting house. Formerly part of the Palace of Whitehall, it was designed by Inigo Jones in 1619 and completed in 1622 with assistance from John Webb. In 1649 King Charles I of England was executed on a scaffold in front of the building.
Inside the building there is a single two-story double-cube room which is decorated with paintings by Sir Peter Paul Rubens that were commissioned by Charles I in 1635 to fill the panelling of the ceiling. Rubens's painting depicts the Apotheosis of James I. The Banqueting House introduced a refined Italianate Renaissance style that was unparalleled in Jacobean England, where Renaissance motives were still filtered through the engravings of Flemish Mannerist designers. The roof is all but flat and the roofline is a balustrade. On the street facade all the elements of two orders of engaged columns, Corinthian over Ionic, above a high rusticated basement, are locked together in a harmonious whole.
The Undercroft was originally designed as a drinking den for James I and a place where he could escape the rigours of public life. The King would come here to savour a glass of wine from his extensive cellars, or simply enjoy some private time with his favourite courtiers.
Gallery
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Interior
- Detail of the central Rubens ceiling painting Detail of the central Rubens ceiling painting
See also
External links
- Historic Royal Palaces -- Banqueting House
- The Banqueting House at the Survey of London
- Great Buildings website
- View of Whitehall in 1669, showing the Banqueting House and Holbein Gateway
References
Notes
- William, p47
- Images of England: Banqueting House, English Heritage, retrieved 2008-02-29
- Willimas, p 45
- Williams. p45.
Bibliography
- The Department for the Environment (1983). The Banqueting House Whitehall. Her Majesty's Stationery Office. ISBN 0-86056-106-2.