ELTHAM PALACE

ALTERNATIVE NAME:

ELTHAM HALL, ELTHAM COURT

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Eltham Palace was originally an 11th century manor house and a bishop's palace. It passed to the Crown in 1311 and was used as a royal palace for the next 300 years. The most significant medieval survival is the Great Hall, built between 1475 and 1480, with an impressive hammerbeam-type roof. The palace fell into disrepair during the 17th century and was badly damaged during the Civil War. The palace site became a farm during the 18th century and the Great Hall was used as a barn. In 1859, farm buildings adjoining the Great Hall were converted into a gentleman's residence and the Great Hall itself became an indoor tennis court. The hall was repaired in 1894-5, 1903 and 1911-14, and in 1933 it was incorporated into Eltham Hall, a country house built for textile magnates Stephen and Virginia Courtauld. The house, built between 1933 and 1936 and designed by architects Seeley and Paget (with numerous interior designers), has been recognised as a 'masterpiece of 20th-century design'. The exterior was built in sympathy with the older building, using a red brick design inspired by Hampton Court Palace. However the interior was (and remains) a showpiece of glamorous 1930s design. It combines an eclectic mix of French-influenced Art Deco, ultra-smart ocean-liner style and cutting-edge Swedish design. The house was taken over by the Army Education Corps in 1944 and renamed Eltham Court. The Corps remained until 1992. The property passed into the Guardianship of English Heritage in 1995. The site is moated and enclosed by a perimeter wall of stone and brick dating mainly to the late 15th or 16th century. Towers are present in the south east, north east, south west and north west angles. The foundations of a chapel built for Henry VIII lie within the walls. The moat is 20 metres wide, 3 metres deep and crossed by two bridges of late 15th-16th century date.

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[TQ 42417399] ELTHAM PALACE [GT] (Remains of)
MOAT [GT] (Site of) (1)

Royal palace which originated from a 11th century manor house and a bishops palace which was built by Anthony Bek, Bishop of Durham in 1295-1305. On his death in 1311 it passed to the Crown and remained in use as a royal palace until the 16th century. Documentary evidence suggests that many buildings were built on the site during the 14th century but no trace of these structures remains above ground. Work undertaken for Henry VIII in the 1520s included the construction of royal lodgings and a new chapel, only the foundations of which survive today. The most significant survival from this period is the Great Hall, built between 1475 and 1480, of brick and stone, with a hammerbeam-type roof.

The palace fell into disrepair during the 17th century and suffered considerable damage during the Civil War. In 1651 it was bought by Nathaniel Rich who demolished most of the buildings. The palace reverted to the Crown in 1660, but by this time the remaining buildings were in ruins. The site was used as a farm during the 18th century and the Great Hall was turned into a barn. In 1859, farm buildings adjoining the Great Hall were converted into a gentleman's residence and the Great Hall itself became an indoor tennis court. The Great Hall was repaired in 1894, 1903 and 1911-14. In 1933, it was restored and incorporated into a house built for Stephen and Virginia Courtauld by the architects Seely and Paget. This house was designed on a butterfly plan, with one wing linked to the medieval hall. In 1944, the Courtaulds left Eltham and the house was taken over by the Army Education Corps and renamed Eltham Court. The Corps remained until 1992. The property passed into the Guardianship of English Heritage in 1995. The Great Hall is enclosed by a perimeter wall of stone and brick dating mainly to the late 15th or 16th century. Towers are present in the southeast, northeast, southwest and northwest angles. The moat is 20 metres wide, 3 metres deep and crossed by two bridges of late 15th/16th century date. The site has been scheduled and the walls and buildings are listed (I, II* and II). (2-4)

NMR aerial photographs (6)

Listed as a strong house by Cathcart King. (7)

History of the royal palace. (8)

Eltham was one of the principal royal residences throughout the reign of Henry VII and most of Henry VIII's. He ordered extensive building works to be carried out, of which there are very few traces remaining. One of the most important changes undertaken at this time was the rebuilding of the chapel. (9)

The turret in the North-West corner has gunports of early Tudor date. (10)

Eltham Hall is a masterpiece of 20th-century design built in Art Deco style in the 1930s by textile magnates Stephen and Virginia Courtauld next to the Great Hall of medieval Eltham Palace. Stephen Courtauld was a director of the famous Ealing Film Studios. Completed in 1936, the exterior of the house was built in sympathy with the older building, using a red brick design inspired by Hampton Court Palace. But the interior was (and remains) a showpiece of glamorous 1930s design. It combines an eclectic mix of French-influenced Art Deco, ultra-smart ocean-liner style and cutting-edge Swedish design. The dining room is a tour de force, with pink leather upholstered chairs, bird's-eye maple veneered walls and a silver ceiling. The distinctive black-and-silver doors portray animals and birds drawn from life at London Zoo. Even more exotic is Virginia Courtauld's vaulted bathroom, lined with onyx and gold mosaic, complete with gold-plated bath taps and a statue of the goddess Psyche. Luxury also emanates from the centrally heated sleeping quarters of the Courtaulds' pet ring-tailed lemur, Mah-Jongg. A house with all the latest modern conveniences, the Courtaulds' home came with underfloor heating, a centralised vacuum cleaner and a built-in audio system. As you leave the opulent 1930s house and enter the medieval palace, the interior presents a striking contrast. The Great Hall was built for Edward IV in the 1470s, and Henry VIII spent much of his childhood here. The 19 acres gardens surrounding the palace include both 20th-century and medieval elements. These include a rock garden sloping down to the moat, a medieval bridge, herbaceous borders inspired by modern designer Isabelle Van Groeningen and a sunken rose garden. (11)

The Courthaulds acquired Eltham in 1933, leasing it from the Crown Estates. They hired the architects Seeley and Paget who also consulted the painters Winifred Knights and Tom Monnington, the Italian decorator Peter Malacrida, and the Swedish interior designer Rolf Engstromer. Stephen Courthauld had inherited the family's successful business empire, based on the manufacture of rayon (artificial silk). He had served the whole of the First World War on the front and been awarded the Military Cross in 1918. During the Second World War, the great hall was hit four times and on one occasion the roof caught fire. The Courthaulds eventually decided to leave the property, and moved first to Scotland and later to southern Rhodesia (modern Zimbabwe). (12)

SOURCE TEXT

( 1) Annotated Record Map

OS 6" Prov. Ed.

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

Greenwich, 8-Jun-1973 786

( 3) Scheduled Monument Notification

10-Jun-1998

( 4) English Heritage 1998 The English Heritage visitors' handbook 1998-99

Page(s)17

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

Greater London Part 17

(6) Aerial photograph

TQ4273/1-4 NMR 1942 15-MAY-2001

(7) by David J Cathcart King 1983 Castellarium anglicanum : an index and bibliography of the castles in England, Wales and the islands. Volume I : Anglesey - Montgomery

Page(s)271

(8) R Allen Brown, H M Colvin and A J Taylor 1963 The history of the King's Works, volume 2 : the Middle Ages

Page(s)930-7

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

Page(s)78-86

(10) Fortress Study Group Fort : the international journal of fortification and military architecture

4, 1977 Page(s)81

(11) English Heritage Members' and Visitors' handbook 2008/9

Page(s)37

(12) Heritage Today

March 2008. Article entitled 'Pleasure Palace'. 81 Page(s)14-18

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