Places: Eltham Palace, London

This small royal residence in the Royal Borough of Greenwich was a favorite nursery and family residence for both Plantagenet and Tudor monarchs alike.  The original palace was presented to Edward II as a gift by the Bishop of Durham in 1305, and remained a royal residence from the 14th through the 16th century.  The celebrated ball at which Lady Salisbury lost her garter to Edward III in 1348 may have taken place at Eltham, if it did at all.  Henry IV spent a great deal of time here, and from December 1400-January 1401, it was the guesthouse for the only Byzantine Emperor to ever visit England, Manuel II Paleologus.  The tilt-yard for the jousts held in his honor still exists.  Edward IV built the Great Hall, one of the few parts of the early palace that still remains, and it was the favorite palace of his daughter, Elizabeth of York, who spent time with her children here.  In 1499, young Prince Henry, the future King Henry VIII met and impressed the scholar Erasmus with his learning and ability at sports. 

Henry VII and VIII spent a great deal of time and attention on the larger palace of Greenwich, relegating Eltham to a nursery palace and hunting lodge.  The house fell into disrepair during the English Civil War, while forces from both armies stripped the trees and game in the park.  Charles II gave the house, which consisted primarily of Edward IV's great hall, to a private citizen.  It remained in the Shaw family until 1893 when the royal estate reclaimed the property.  An entirely new house was built on the site, incorporating Edward IV's great hall, with an impressive hammer-beamed roof.  A bridge from his time period still crosses the moat.  Beginning in the 1930's, another family, the Courtauld's, rebuilt the house in Art Deco style.  During the London Blitz, fire bombs damaged the beams in the great hall, which have since been repaired.

Beginning in 1999, English Heritage assumed control of the house and undertook major renovation.  It is open as a tourist site and a popular venue for weddings and other events.  Several films and shows, including Brideshead Revisited, have used the site as a location.  It's open to the public today, but don't trust your tour guide completely.  Rumor has it that a ghost has sometimes been known to conduct visitors around the premises.  Yikes!