Places: Greenwich Palace

During the Medieval and Tudor eras, when royal and noble households moved from place to place, the choicest locations for houses and castles were along rivers.  River transport was more comfortable than plodding along rutted roads on heavy-footed horses.  The Thames River Valley was especially favored by members of the royal family, who built sumptuous pleasure palaces.  Humphrey of Gloucester, a brother of Henry V, acquired the land for what is now Greenwich in 1443.  He began building a palace there which he called Bella Court.  His creation wasn't complete when, in 1447, he fell out of favor under an accusation of treason and later died of a heart attack before he could face trial.

Bella Court passed to Queen Margaret of Anjou, who continued to work on the palace, having in mind the French chateaux where she had grown up.  She named the property Placentia Palace, though it was often called Pleasance Palace.  The meaning in both the Latin and French was obvious, a pleasure palace, a show piece, rather than one intended for defense such as a traditional castle.  By 1461, Henry VI's reign was over and Margaret was in exile.  Pleasaunce passed to Edward IV and Richard III, but it reached its heyday under the Tudors.  Henry VII added extensively to the existing structure, where his son Henry VIII was born.  It was Henry VII who named the palace Greenwich.  In time, Mary I and Elizabeth I were born there.  Elizabeth I returned often to Greenwich, which was a typical Tudor masterpiece of red brick, towers and mullioned windows.  However, by the time James I and Charles I came along the in 17th century, they much preferred St. James' Palace in London or Hampton Court. 

Greenwich Palace fell into disrepair and much of its buildings were torn down.  What was left became a biscuit/hardtack factory and prison during the English Civil War.  Charles II had an idea to rebuild and refurbish the old palace but only one range of buildings facing King Charles Court was constructed, but never used as a royal residence.  Finally, in 1694, building began on a hospital, later a home for needy sailors and a naval hospital.  The naval hospital became the Royal Naval College in 1873.  The University of Greenwich and a musical conservatory occupy the site today.  However in 2005, some of the Tudor foundations of the palace were unearthed.  Portions of the Tudor chapel and vestry were located in 2006 were located, including portions of tiled floor.  Recently, more rooms, probably used as storage rooms during the Tudor era, have also been located.