ST JAMES PALACE

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St James's Palace was constructed in 1531 by Henry VIII on the site of a former leper hospital. It originally stood alone within St James's park and hunting grounds. The palace was primarily used for state occasions and the housing of relatives, whilst the Tudor monarchs themselves resided at Whitehall Palace. The palace became the official royal residence in 1702 and continued in use until the 1830s when Buckingham House was constructed.
It has a complex history of alterations and additions. A catholic chapel was added circa 1623 and the house was altered between 1660 and 1727. A major fire in 1809 destroyed much of the original Tudor building and the buildings have been altered various times internally and externally since then.
St James's Palace is still used for accommodation for members of the royal family.

The original Tudor building consisted of a manor house built around four courts and a gate house. The buildings were three-storeyed and the gatehouse had polygonal corner turrets. The original building has been altered extensively but mostly in a Tudor style with crenellated parapets. Some remains of the original Tudor building have survived and these mostly consist of the gatehouse, the chapel royal, presence chamber and parts of the long gallery and other sections of walling.

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1. ST. JAMES'S PALACE [G.T.] [TQ 29358004]
2. St James's Palace: The original building was begun during the reign of Henry VIII, and was erected on the site of a former leper hospital - Hospital of St. James.(See TQ 28 SE 54) additions were made to the original building in the reigns of Queen Anne and George I. A fire in the early century destroyed much of the original Tudor building but some parts remain and are as follows. The Gatehouse: Chapel Royal. Presence Chamber; Long Gallery (parts of). I suggest this should be (Remains of) on OS publications. (1-2)

Hall's Chronicle records that in 1531, Henry VIII had "purchased all the medowes about saynt James, and all the whole house of S James, and ther made a fayre mansion and a parke, & bylded many costly and commodious houses for great pleasure" (see NAR no. TQ 27 NE 65 for St James's Park). Previously the hospital and its possessions had belonged to Eton College.

The original palace was a manor house with 4 courtyards and a gatehouse, built on the site of the hospital, and stood isolated among the fields acquired by the King for use as park and hunting grounds. The palace itself was primarily used for state occasions and the housing of relatives, Tudor monarchs themselves residing at Whitehall.

St James's became the chief royal residence in 1702 on the accession of Anne to the throne, and continued as such through the reigns of Georges I and II "despite its lack of magnificence". By the later 18th century its apparent unsuitability as a royal residence was much commented on. Nonetheless it remained the official seat of the monarch until Buckingham House replaced it during the 1830s. St James's survived subsequent plans for demolition, being retained for state purposes and as accommodation for members of the royal family.

The architectural history of the palace is complex, and detailed accounts can be found in the volumes of the History of the King's Works, with summaries in various other sources, eg RCHME. Much rebuilding has occurred, along with repairs, alterations and refurbishments of varying scale. In addition the se portion was destroyed by fire in 1809.

Today, Henry VIII's original palace is mainly represented by the gatehouse, the Chapel Royal and the walling of several adjoining courtyards. The Tudor palace also featured, among other things, a tennis court, the location of which is now unknown. A Catholic Chapel was added in c 1623 (see NAR nos TQ 28 SE 55, TQ 28 SE 56) along with a range of monastic buildings for Portuguese Capuchin friars. The latter (buildings, not friars) were demolished in the early 18th century and replaced by Marlborough House (NAR no TQ 28 SE 57). A ballroom was added by Princess Anne in 1695. (3-11)

The boundary wall to the palace grounds is listed Grade II, as are 7 lamp standards along the north front of the palace. (12)

Please refer to these two sources for a detailed description of St James's Palace and Park. (13-14)

SOURCE TEXT

( 1) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)

OS 6" 1913/14/38.

( 2) Oral information, correspondence (not archived) or staff comments

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

Page(s)241-52

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

Page(s)233-44

(5) J Mordaunt Crook and M H Port 1973 The history of the King's Works, volume 6 : 1782-1851

Page(s)361-71

(6) edited by William Page 1911 The Victoria history of the county of Middlesex, volume two

The Victoria history of the counties of England Page(s)291

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

Page(s)128-32

(8) by Nikolaus Pevsner ; revised by Bridget Cherry 1973 London, 1 : the Cities of London and Westminster

The buildings of England Page(s)472

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

(M Baillie) 101, 1967 Page(s)177-78

(10) Penelope Hunting 1981 Royal Westminster

Page(s)167-71

(11) List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest

City of Westminster 1987 Page(s)1471

(12) List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest

City of Westminster 1987 Page(s)1472

(13) English Heritage Register of parks and gardens of special historic interest in England

Greater London Part 17

(14) List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest

City of Westminster, 05-FEB-1970

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