Palace and Hovel; Or, Phases of London LifeKirwan, Daniel Joseph
History
Palace and Hovel; Or, Phases of London Life
Kirwan, Daniel Joseph
London (England) -- Description and travel; London (England) -- Social life and customs
After the death of Wolsey its name was changed to Whitehall, from a
large hall in the building painted entirely white. Wolsey fitted up the
palace in a style of grandeur never equaled, much less excelled by any
other subject of the English crown, and being occupied by the king on
the demise of Wolsey, it was called the King's Palace of Westminster.
When Queen Elizabeth died it was refitted by King James, and
enlarged--but was destroyed by fire in 1619. Immediately after its
destruction James determined to rebuild it, and a portion of the
palace was completed at a cost of fifteen thousand pounds, but such
extravagance could not be allowed in those days, parliament refusing
to grant money to continue the building, and the fanatical monarch,
whose memory has survived because of his hatred of tobacco, was forced
to suspend operations for want of funds.
The ceiling of the banqueting-room, a work of Rubens and for which he
was paid three thousand pounds, is said to be one of the finest efforts
of that most gifted artist's pencil.
In the time of the Protector Cromwell, one of the rarest collections
of paintings ever made in the world, and of immense value--which had
been accumulated here by successive kings, was ordered to be sold
by Cromwell in accordance with the Puritan belief that to possess
paintings or statuary was conducive of image worship in the owner.
Charles the First was really a great admirer of works of art, and had
he lived he would no doubt have made Whitehall the finest palace of
Europe.
Cromwell occupied Whitehall as a residence for his family after
the execution of King Charles I, for butcher as he was, and strict
republican as he pretended to be, he was not above enjoying the good
things of this life, and despite his cadaverous countenance he could
appreciate a soft bed and a tender piece of roast beef with the
jolliest of cavaliers.
On the 10th of April, 1691, a fire broke out in the apartments of the
bad Duchess of Portsmouth who occupied a portion of Whitehall, (this
woman was a mistress of Charles II,) and in 1698 the entire structure
was consumed with the exception of the banqueting-hall, and nothing but
the walls were left standing.
This hall was altered to a chapel by King George II, and since that
time has been used for that purpose, the clergyman always being a royal
chaplain. Over the door is a bust of the founder, and the brilliant
frescos of the ceiling pieces of Rubens are all that is left of the
once magnificent palace of Whitehall.
[Sidenote: BUCKINGHAM PALACE.]
The residence of the Queen, when in London, is generally supposed to be
Buckingham Palace, a long gloomy looking building in St. James Park,
not a stones' throw from the Marble Arch in Hyde Park or Westminster
Abbey. The same big flashy looking soldiers in red coats, and hideous
grenadier bearskins are to be seen marching up and down opposite this
palace gate just as they do about St. James Palace, or at the Horse
Guards in Parliament street.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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