[dropcap]A[/dropcap]s part of this year’s LGBT History Month Eltham Palace in Greenwich are putting on special Sunday tours of this amazing building, and today I was lucky enough to get a place on the tour.
Eltham Palace (or properly ‘Eltham Hall’ – more on that later) is a strange beast. Acquired by English Heritage in 1995 it started its life as a royal palace, and was the place where Henry VIII grew up. After his coronation he increasingly favoured Whitehall, Richmond and Hampton Court palaces amongst others over Eltham, because it didn’t have the advantage that the other palaces shared – being directly on the Thames, which allowed the ‘court’ and its trappings to be moved around easily.
Eltham Hall's main entrance - note the 'chess piece' finials
By the time it was acquired by two members of the wealthy Courtauld family in the 1930s the only building of note that remained was the Great Hall, which had spent many of the previous years being used as a stable for various farm animals. However, this fantastic tudor masterpiece pales into insignificance when set against the building that Stephen and Virginia Courtauld commissioned from architects John Seely and Paul Paget (who were partners in every sense of the word) – an ultra-modern house designed for entertaining. The place is spectacular, with veneers and inlays gracing the walls in every room, complemented by understated furniture with the cleanest of lines. The main entrance hall is probably the most remarkable space – with a blunted triangular shape meant to echo the prow of a ship it has a dome overhead to provide daylight which is pierced with hundreds of circular skylights, complimented by a circular carpet below it which conceals a circular dancefloor beneath that – the house even incorporates under-floor heating, an integrated vacuum system, as well as concealed speakers in every room!
The dining room is also notable as it has a silver-coated recessed ceiling and doors inlaid with animals which were sketched at Regents Park Zoo. This room also highlights one of the house’s other features – clocks are concealed within the wall decoration of each room, fed by electricity to ensure that they keep perfect time. I should warn you though that where Virginia Courtauld dictated the taste of a particular room they are a little gaudy in design – the dining room I’ve mentioned could be considered to be a little over-the-top, and her private sitting room has a distinct 1930s picture palace feel about it. However, as you can imagine it is all executed with the finest craftsmanship and materials befitting the family’s ultra-wealthy status. If you undertake a full exploration of the house you will also discover the room with the finest view over the gardens – the 4 feet by 6 feet cage of ‘Mah-Jong’, the Courtaulds’ pet ring-tailed lemur, which is decorated with scenes from the jungles of Madagascar to make him feel more at home…
The bridge, which dates from Edward IV's reign
Unfortunately I can’t share any photographs of these fantastic interiors with you as English Heritage tend to be a bit sniffy about these things – I do however have some exterior photographs which you can see here. I really do recommend a visit to Eltham Palace when you get the opportunity – my jaw was on the floor when we were escorted into the main reception room. It was like stepping into an episode of Poirot or Jeeves & Wooster! There are fantastic ornamental gardens too.
Just in closing, on the subject of the building’s name, the Courtaulds were forced to change it from Eltham Palace to Eltham Hall because their post was continually going astray, often ending up at the Eltham Palace cinema which was doing a roaring trade half a mile up the road!
About The Londoneer
Your comments?
Powered by Facebook Comments