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Nonsuch Palace
 NONSUCH PALACE  the only thing that now indicates the position of this Royal Palace are undulations in the ground and 3 concrete pillars. 6 miles north-west of Hampton Court Palace Want to add to this page? |
(large pics on left and small pics & text on the right.)
  Artist : Joris Hoefnagel Engraving : Merke date :1582  | The builders of Nonsuch recycled materials from the medieval monasteries that had recently been suppressed. When the palace was completed, around 1540, it was named Nonsuch, as it was considered to be like no other palace in England. "There was nonsuch like it." Nonsuch Palace was a dazzling fortified brick and stone hunting lodge. In April 1538, this early Renaissance palace completely swept away, the village of Cuddington with its church and manor house. Still unfinished by 1556,Henry Fitzalan, 12th earl of Arundel, completed the multi-storied palace, of two wards, fortified by turreted gatehouses. From the north, guests would enter the outer court and then through the smaller inner gatehouse, by a flight of eight steps. In the inner court, the panels of the first floor walls, were emblazoned by life-size stucco figures of gods and goddesses, moulded in high relief. |
   c.1620 | In 1538 Henry VIII owned 13 palaces in and around London. Unlike most of these, Nonsuch was built from scratch to satisfy the King's desire for a splendid hunting lodge in his great new hunting estate close to London and to his riverside palace at Hampton Court. The location chosen was Cuddington, near Epsom in Surrey, which was razed by an army of workmen who descended on the site on 22 April 1538, the 30th anniversary of Henry's accession. When he died on 27 January 1547, the palace was still unfinished, but what little remained to be done was completed after 1556 by Henry Fitzalan, 12th Earl of Arundel, who had part-purchased, part-swapped the palace and Little Park with Queen Mary I, who disliked hunting and had considered demolition, in exchange for Norfolk estates. Elizabeth I stayed frequently at Nonsuch, firstly on her Summer progress of 1559. After Arundel's death in 1580 his son-in-law, John, Lord Lumley, inherited the palace, creating a splendid library of books and the first truly Italianate garden planted in England. Nonsuch returned to the crown in the last decade of Elizabeth's reign and was maintained as a royal palace until the Civil War. Along with all other royal properties, Nonsuch was confiscated by Parliamentary commissioners and sold off after the execution of Charles I in 1649. The 1650 survey of the house and its grounds, which survives in the Public Record Office, forms a unique record of the magnificence of the complex. The final stage in the chequered history of Nonsuch followed its return to royal hands in 1660, when in 1670 Charles II gave the palace to his then mistress, Barbara Castlemaine. In 1682 the extravagant countess decided to embark on its demolition to save its upkeep and to realise the value of its building materials, and possibly also to express her dislike of the keeper of the palace, George, Lord Berkeley, who had previously and illegally demolished the Banqueting House for its hardcore value. The demolition process must have gone on for some time, for part of at least one of the gate houses was still standing in 1702. [source: British Archeology Magazine August 2001] |
 Georg Hoefnagel (1542-1600) Palatium regium in Angliae regno appellatum Nonciutz. 1582. Engraved by Franz Hogenberg, c1598 Elizabeth's court traveled with her when she went around the country on her progresses. This colored engraving shows her arriving at Nonsuch in a plumed coach, as she must have done on many of her visits. The palace was built by her father, Henry VIII. In August 1559, during her first summer as queen, the earl of Arundel entertained Elizabeth at Nonsuch. He arranged for magnificent banquets, as well as a masque, music of drums and flutes, and other festivities that kept the party going until 3AM. | Queen Elizabeth I loved Nonsuch particularly, though there may have been some slight regret when she remembered that it had once been a royal seat; but still in her usual way she allowed the earl to complete the building, and only bought it back after he was dead. Then it was her favourite till the last years of her reign. Hunting was at its very best in the park at Nonsuch, which was well stocked with wild animals, She loved to have hunting-parties on festive occasions, and even in her sixty-seventh year she was to be seen every day at the chase. It was at Nonsuch that she died. |
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, Oct 1 2009, 10:35 PM EDT
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