Back in February I went on two tours of Somerset House with my brother-in-law. One was about the ancient palace on the grounds and the other focused on the current building.
Construction of the original Somerset Palace was commissioned in 1549 by Edward Seymour, the Duke of Somerset and Lord Protector of King Edward VI. It was a 2 story house with elaborate gardens that stretched to the river bank. Before it was finished, the Duke of Somerset was overthrown and executed at Tower Hill.
Queen Elizabeth I (then Princess Elizabeth) lived at Somerset House as construction slowly continued during the reign of Queen Mary I, her half sister. When building the current Somerset House, they saved money by using rough and unpolished materials for the parts that would remain unseen, shown below.
The Stuarts started a tradition where they gave Somerset Palace to the queen, starting with James I's wife, Anne of Denmark. She renamed it Denmark House and hired Inigo Jones for renovations and additions. One addition was a Roman Catholic chapel for Henrietta Maria of France, wife of Charles I.
The gravestones from the Roman Catholic church are the only remains of the original Somerset Palace and are found in "the Deadhouse," an area below the current Somerset House.
Somerset Palace was used as headquarters for the army during the English Civil War and fell into extreme disrepair in the decades that followed. It was mainly used for storage and was finally demolished in 1775. The current Somerset House was built as a national building that contained public offices including: salt, tax, navy, lottery, and hawkers and pedlar offices.
It took decades to complete the current building due to financial issues under King George III (featured in Roman dress in the statue pictured below) and successive monarchs. Finishing decorations were still being completed as late as 1819.
No comments:
Post a Comment