Kensington Palace, the birthplace of the Queen: being an historical guide to the state rooms, pictures and gardensLaw, Ernest
History
Kensington Palace, the birthplace of the Queen: being an historical guide to the state rooms, pictures and gardens
Law, Ernest
Kensington Palace (London, England) -- Guidebooks; Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, 1819-1901
This aspect of Kensington Palace, which we almost hesitate to dignify
with the name of "Front" consists mainly of two distinct portions:
first, the "return" or end of Wren's "Gallery Building," on the left,
distinguished by its fine red brickwork and its deep cornice, similar to
the same on the south side; and on the right, the building tacked on to
it, built for George I. by Kent, as already mentioned on page 23, and
further referred to on pages 86, 93, and 99. We must frankly say--and
few are likely to differ from us--that Kent's building here is about as
ugly and inartistic as anything of the sort could be. It is not alone
the common, dirty, yellow, stock brick with which it is built, but the
whole shape and design, with its pretentious pediment, ponderous and
hideous, the prototype of acres upon acres of ghastly modern London
structures in the solid "workhouse" style. It is amazing that Kent,
with so excellent a model of plainness and simplicity in Wren's
buildings on each side, should have stuck in this ill-formed, abortive
block between them. Fortunately, his taste as a decorator was greatly
superior to his powers as an architect, so that the interior portions of
this building of his, which consists of additional state-rooms, are not
entirely deficient in merit, as we shall see. The three central windows
are those of the "King's Drawing Room," (see page 99).
[Illustration: PLAN OF THE STATE ROOMS KENSINGTON PALACE.]
To the north-west of the structure comprising Kent's state apartments
lies another of the older parts of the Palace, a low building of two
storeys, in deep russet brick, of uniform appearance, with fifteen
windows in a row on the first floor. This range, built, or, at any rate,
altered and improved by Wren, and forming the east side of Princess's
Court, comprises the state and habitable rooms of Queen Mary and Queen
Anne. At its extreme north end is the "Queen's Staircase," now the
public entrance to the state rooms.
=Public Entrance to the Palace.=
Access to the state rooms open to the public being by way of the
"Queen's" or "Denmark Staircase," situated in the northernmost angle of
the building, visitors approach it from the north-west corner of
"Kensington Gardens," where, as we have already explained, were formerly
situated those parts of the old formal gardens attached to the Palace,
which were laid out by Queen Anne, called the "Old Gravel Pit," the
"Wilderness," etc. The path here, leading straight up to the present
public entrance, was then known as "Brazen-face Walk." Going along it
southwards, we pass between a pair of fine gate-posts of red brick,
surmounted by richly-carved vases of Portland stone, evidently designed
by Wren, already referred to in our account of "Old Kensington Palace
Gardens" on page 48; and then between a privet hedge and a wire fence up
to the public doorway into the "Queen's Staircase."
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