Whitehall Palace; Henry VIII's magnificent palace that has disappeared!
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Whitehall Palace. wikimedia.org/wiki/File public domain
How many palaces did Henry VIII have?
Henry VIII loved building and designing palaces to the extent that when he died in 1547, he left 55 palaces that he could call his own. The biggest was Whitehall Palace but surprisingly, very little is left to see of the magnificent palace and you have to be a spy of some sort to see it because the only remains are underneath the Ministry of Defence! Photographs of Henry VIII’s wine cellar look impressive but it is hardly representative of what used to be above ground.
This is rather surprising considering its enormous size. The mighty Hampton Court occupies 6 acres of land, however, in comparison, Whitehall Palace is nearly four times as large, occupying 23 acres! Hovering over it today with a drone would show an area from Trafalgar Square to almost Big Ben. Under Henry, it was to contain 1500 rooms and physically portrays the might of the Tudors. No castle or manor house came anywhere near it for size, setting Henry VIII way above any potential rival. Henry married two of his wives at the palace, Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour and in 1547 he even died there! From 1532 onwards, Whitehall became Henry’s most visited residence although he preferred to celebrate the great feasts of the year such as Christmas at one of his other palaces such as Greenwich or Hampton Court. Whitehall was a pleasure Palace but also Henry’s place of work, near Westminster where Parliament sat and where his chief officials had offices.
Hampton Court Palace. Whitehall was four times the size of this beautiful building.
The eventual palace was bisected by King Street, going from Charing Cross to the old Westminster Palace. The western side of King street were the entertainment and leisure features, a tilt yard with a viewing gallery to see Henry in action, four tennis courts, two bowling alleys and a cockpit. Henry loved cockfighting and built one at Whitehall and another at Greenwich. The one at Whitehall was very elaborate, octagonal and built in three stages with a “lantern” at the top ie an elevated section with large windows open to the elements to allow light to flood in. There were three tiers of seats for spectators and a special seat for the king. R Graziani in his article, “Sir Thomas Wyatt at a Cockgight 1539”, quotes him stating, “it was a sumptuous amphitheatre of fine workmanship built, designed like a colosseum”. The account went on to state, “round about the circumference of the enclosure were innumerable coops, belonging to many princes and lords of the kingdom.” Lastly, he states, “very heavy bets were made on the mettle and valour of the cocks’, some of which were “jewels and valuables”.
At either end of King street were the Northern Gate or “Holbein Gate”, built in the 1530s and at the other end, The “King Street Gate”. The King Street Gate was built at the end of the reign but with circular turrets, unlike the typical octagonal turrets that feature in other palaces and houses. On the other side of King Street were the regular monastic buildings such as the great hall, extensive privy lodgings looking over large gardens as well as lodgings for the queen.
The North gate at Whitehall from Vetusta monumenta (Vol.1, 1826).jpg wiki commons, public domain
The South gate. Wiki Commons public domain
What is the story behind Henry VIII getting Whitehall Palace?
Originally named York place, the building was acquired by the archbishop of York to have a base near the centre of government in London. York being a few days’ ride to London meant that news reaching the archbishop of York was always out of date and so he believed it was a good idea to have a base in London. Thomas Wolsey, Henry VIII’s “Mr Fixit, the most powerful man in Britain after the King, acquired York Place on becoming Archbishop of York. Wolsey was always on the lookout for personal advancement in power and status as well as income and so added the archbishopric to his list of jobs in 1514. The following year he became a cardinal and so was now one of the Pope’s representatives in England and also in 1515, he became the Lord High Chancellor. Professor Glenn Richardson biographer of Wolsey, refers to him as the “pre-eminent royal advisor, in effect becoming the chief executive of the Tudor state for the next two decades”. You may ask why would Henry allow such a rise in status and the answer is that Henry hated the everyday business of running a country and so progressively let Wolsey have the reins. He came to rely on Wolsey doing a good job and thus allow him time to enjoy life. The end of this relationship was to come in 1529 when Wolsey was unable to get Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled.
He also became the abbot of St Albans despite never being a monk, the bishop of Bath and Wells 1518-23, Durham 1523-9 and Winchester from 1529-30.
He now had the money to enlarge, modernise and develop York Place to fit the requirements of his new status. Under Wolsey’s ownership great modernisation plans were put in place, rebuilding the great hall, and chapel along with new state rooms, kitchens and a long gallery. Having to entertain the King as well as foreign dignitaries meant that only the best of houses with the best ornamentation and furniture would suffice. It goes without saying that the entertainment had to be the best in the land and this required facilities to match.
How did Henry VIII meet Anne Boleyn?
One such event was the “Masque of the Chateau Vert” or “Chateau Vert Pageant, on the 4th March 1522 (others claim the 1st March), “Shrove Tuesday” or in modern parlance, “Pancake Day”. This was the first recorded appearance of Anne Boleyn at Henry VIII’s court having just returned from France having been serving Queen Claude, the wife of King Francis I. The play that followed was the story of the brave rescue by masked men of ladies representing honour by assaulting the castle where the ladies were held captive. All the young key females in Henry’s life around that time except Catherine of Aragon, were involved. Anne Boleyn played “Perseverence”, her elder sister, Mary, played kindness, Jane Parker who later married Anne’s brother George in 1524, played “Constancy”, the king’s sister, Mary Tudor played Beauty and the Countess of Devonshire played Honour. They were all dressed in satin and held prisoner in a tower by ladies collectively called the vices, “Danger”, “Distain”, “Jealousy”, “Unkindness”, “Scorn”, “Strangeness” and “Malebouche” (bad mouth, Slander). They were to be rescued by the king and seven other male rescuers called virtues, “Amorous”, “Nobleness”, “Youth”, Attendance”, “Loyalty”, “Pleasure”, “Gentleness” and “Liberty”. The attack began with the virtues throwing oranges, dates and other fruits at the vices until they surrendered. Not only did Henry meet Anne for the first time and nobly rescue her, he also met Mary, Anne’s sister later to be his mistress before her.
To give you an idea of such a celebration, Edward Hall described the scene in his chronicle:
“On shrouetewesdaie at night, the said Cardinall to the kyng and ambassadors made another supper, and after supper thei came into a great chamber hanged with Arras, and there was a clothe of estate, and many braunches, and on euery braunche. xxxii. torchettes of waxe, and in the nether ende of the same chamber was a castle, in which was a principall Tower, in which was a Cresset burning: and two other lesse Towers stode on euery side, warded and embattailed, and on euery Tower was a banner, one banner was of iii. rent hartes, the other was a ladies hand gripyng a mans harte, the third banner was a ladies hand turnyng a mannes hart….. these eight ladies had Millian gounes of white sattin, euery Lady had her name embraudered with golde, on their heddes calles, and Millein bonettes of gold, with Iwelles.
Earlier on in the day, Henry VIII had been involved in a joust and used as his motto, “Elle mon Coeur a novera”, which means, she has wounded my heart. This, along with an embroidered, wounded heart were on the cloth coverings of his horse. Who Henry was referring to is not known but it may well have been Mary and not Anne. His relationship with Anne is dated by many experts as beginning in early 1526 whereas with some have suggested his affair with Mary began in 1522.
Did Henry VIII have anything to do with designing Whitehall Palace?
The residential side of Westminster Palace had burnt down in 1512 and thus Henry had been looking for a new London residence. The demise of Wolsey was now his chance and resulted in Henry taking over York Place and with Anne, giving it a complete makeover. Immediately it proved inviting because there were no queen’s apartments and so the two lovers were left alone by Queen Catherine. It was given a new name the “Palace of Whitehall” and was to become a prominent royal residence for the rest of the Tudor period. When Wolsey relinquished ownership, Henry and Anne quickly took it upon themselves to plan out this new residence. and to make everything fit, they even had to evict residents of King Street. Further evictions followed as Henry’s vision expanded and even land was claimed back from the Thames by building a 700 feet long stone river wall. The entire palace must have cost a fortune with the initial eviction alone costing £1,120. Between 1540 and his death in 1547, Henry went on to spend a colossal £28,676. In comparison, the total spending on Nonsuch palace I the same period was £24,500. At the time it was the largest palace in Europe with 1500 rooms, overtaking the Vatican but being eclipsed eventually by the Palace of Versailles.
Did Henry VIII get married there?
There is some evidence that Henry and Anne were married in secret in one of the rooms of the Holbein Gate before Henry’s marital annulment and their official wedding. In the early hours of 25th January 1533 they were married in front of a few witnesses whose accounts, some believe, can be trusted. A few months later, on 30th May Anne moved into the new refurnished and redecorated royal apartments at the Tower of London to spend the next couple of days preparing for her official wedding. On June 1st Anne was crowned at Westminster and afterwards lavish celebrations in her honour took place at Whitehall, the first time this palace was used for official celebrations which included balls, banquets and the ubiquitous jousting.
In 1536, an act of parliament made Whitehall Henry’s “principal seat”. This officially made it “the kyng’s paleys”, which meant his official seat of government dealing with administration as well as his chief residence. Official functions would now take place here rather than at his other palaces.
What happened to Anne Boleyn?
Sadly, Anne failed to produce Henry’s longed for son. Henry’s only solution to this problem, aided by his very able and loyal servant, his latest Mr Fixit, Thomas Cromwell, was to find Anne guilty of high treason. She was found guilty of having sexual relationships with five men and to ensure the jury would be disgusted, her alleged “frail and carnal appetite” resulted in one of those men being her brother George! It was claimed that she “procured and incited her own natural brother… to violate her, alluring him with her tongue in the said George’s mouth, and the said George’s tongue in hers” This was believed despite no actual witnesses being produced. It was claimed that she had also conspired to kill the king and hence the “high treason” judgement, consensual adultery was not considered treason. Even imagining or discussing a king’s death was treasonous by a law of 1534. Modern historians have researched the dates of her supposed infidelity and have found that in 75% of her “liaisons”, she was never in the places where the adultery took place! Her sentence was to be executed at the Tower on 15 May 1536. She was executed by decapitation on 19 May 1536. She asked Henry if she could be executed by using a sword (the French method) rather than an axe and her wish was granted. Later that same day, Archbishop Cranmer issued a dispensation allowing Henry and Jane Seymour to marry; they were betrothed on 20 May and married 10 days later at Whitehall.
Jane Seymour. Henry’s third wife and mother to Prince Edward.
The mural mentioned below. Wiki commons public domain.
What did Henry VIII and his father Henry VII look like?
The painting above is a copy of the “Whitehall Mural” which was painted by Holbein on the wall of Henry’s privy chamber. It shows Henry VIII’s father Henry VII and his mother, Elizabeth of York at the top, illustrating the coming together of the two warring parties putting an end to the Wars of the Roses. Henry VIII and his wife Jane Seymour are below showing the second generation of the dynasty and its continuation. This was to illustrate the permanence of the Tudor dynasty and its rightful place according to God. Jane Seymour was to produce the male representative of next generation and proof of permanence in Henry’s eyes. Henry is posed to show his toughness and manhood. You cannot fail to notice his large codpiece sticking out. This gives the impression of being masterful and capable of siring numerous male heirs. Of course this painting was made up, when Jane was Henry VIII’s wife, his father and mother were long since dead! Henry has asked for them all to be “photoshopped in” painting style to emphasise the point of the Tudor dynasty is strong and is here to stay. Jane has been chosen to be his wife in the painting because she was the one wife who produced a legitimate male heir to the throne.
Queen Elizabeth I and Whitehall Palace.
Queen Elizabeth was crowned in 1559 and initially her life was dominated with the issue of marriage and the obvious follow on, the production of heirs. All over Europe, male members of royal families were considering making a move but for Elizabeth nobody could be automatically accepted or abruptly turned down. Any decline could be considered an insult and so had to be dealt with carefully. As a consequence, wedding negotiations were held at Whitehall with appropriate feasting, festivities and entertainment. Whitehall had a number of large buildings but to her nothing was big enough or grand enough for the image that she wanted to project. She therefore organised a banqueting hall to be built. It was to be 44 metres long and 14 metres wide with 292 glass windows. Although her suitors were impressed, all of the festivities and negotiations failed to find the right husband and she remained unmarried for the whole of her life. Sadly, Elizabeth’s banqueting house was replaced by James I and so what is called the “Banqueting House” today dates from after the Tudor period.
Like her father, Whitehall was her most used residence. She used the same rooms as him including the bedchamber in which he died. Unlike Henry, Elizabeth hated dining in public and so used a small dining chamber in such a large palace. William Shakespeare came to know Whitehall fairly well and performed “Loves Labours Lost” before the queen in 1597. Later, Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” was first performed there, this time for Elizabeth’s successor, James I in 1611.
Fire was a constant threat within buildings because of their wood content. In 1691 a fire destroyed part of the Palace and a greater fire destroyed the rest in 1698. This one was accidentally started by a servant who hung some wet linen around a brazier to dry and the flames leapt to set fire to the cloth. From here the fire quickly spread and continued for 15 hours! The Tudor Palace of Whitehall now ceased to exist!
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