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THE KINGS HOUSE

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A Royal Palace incorporating the Abbot's Lodgings at St Augustine's Abbey. After the Dissolution by Henry VIII, the buildings around three sides of the Great Court were preserved and adapted for use as one of the many palaces set up at this time as posting houses for royal journeys. In 1539 the adaptation of the building around the Inner Court began. The propsed arrival of Ann of Cleves in December 1539 set a finish date for the work. The Abbot's Lodging on the east side of Court provided a great hall and a series of chambers for the king. The abbey kitchen remained in use but an old lodging on the south side was demolished to make space for chambers for the Queen. The court was made narrower at this time by a new wall to the north which shut off the Cellarers range and the Outer Court. The Royal Palace was not much used. From 1564 it was let to a succession of noblemen. Formal gardens were laid out by John Tradescant between 1625 and 1658. A great storm in 1703 is known to have done a lot of damage to the palace. The buildings and grounds passed together through a number of hands until 1804 by which time the buildings were in a ruinous state. At this time the grounds were divided into lots and sold. The Great Court area was used as a bowling green and skittle ground and the fabric of the Great Gate itself formed part of the brewery.

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