London, England Can you successfuly combine a once-favoured medieval palace and then royal Tudor residence with a striking art deco mansion? Eltham Palace proves it can be done, providing one has sufficient resources.
From the 14th to the 16th century Eltham was an important royal palace, where monarchs often stayed and hunted in the surrounding parks. It was a favorite residence of Edward IV, and during his reign in the 1470’s, the magnificent surviving great hall was built – restored after age and WWII bombs had had their way.
Henry VIII passed much of his boyhood at Eltham, and was the last monarch to spend substantial amounts of money or time there. In July 1517 a tiltyard was laid out to the east of the palace and by the 1520’s extensive works were under way including new royal lodgings and a brick chapel. On Christmas Eve 1515, Cardinal Wolsey took the oath of office of lord chancellor there.
After centuries of neglect and the ravaging of the early palace buildings, enter the Courtaulds.
In 1933, millionaires Stephen and Virginia Courtauld were looking for a semi-rural property within easy reach of central London. You know, a weekend place.
Eltham filled the bill, and they took a 99-year lease from the Crown.
They commissioned architects to design an ultra-modern home on the site of the 19th-century buildings, while retaining as much as possible of the historic palace.
Naturally, there were vastly divided opinions on what they created, but from this distance, the melding of the old and 1930’s high style seems elegant and sympathetic. The centerpiece, the entry hall, is a stunning art deco welcome to what was a thoroughly modern home. It is as stunning as the Great Hall was in its day, and breath-taking from every angle.
The house was ideally suited to display the Courtaulds’ extensive collection of art, which included contemporary pieces as well as Old Masters. It also provided ample space for entertaining their broad social circle. As well as royalty – Queen Mary visited twice – celebrity visitors flocked to visit.
Other rooms are less timeless, but show the high style of the Courtaulds.
In contrast with the 1930’s rooms, it’s a short step into the 1470’s Great Hall – the key remnant of the medieval palace.
What a stunning melding of time and history.
Interesting, I like it. I looked up the Courtaulds in Wikipedia where there is an unusual sentence: “Sir Stephen died in Salisbury in 1967, following the amputation of his second leg.” Unusual in that most of us have two legs and there was no mention of a first leg being amputated.
This requires further research!
I’m just glad that the Courtaulds saved the palace and preserved much of its former style.