Queen's House, Greenwich
In 1616 Anne of Denmark – wife of King James I of England – commissioned the architect Inigo Jones to design the Queen’s House, which is located in Greenwich, London. Jones had recently spent three years (1613-1615) in Italy where he studied Roman and Renaissance architecture. It was Jones’ first important commission and the first fully neo-classical building seen in England introducing Palladianism to England. Although it is generally said that its style is Palladian regarding the mathematical constraints, it is likely that the prime model for the H-shaped plan was the Medici villa at Poggio a Caiano by Giuliano da Sangallo.
In April 1618 the work on the House stopped because Queen Anne became ill – she actually died the following year. In 1629 the building of the House restarted when James’ son Charles I gave Greenwich to his wife Henrietta Maria (daughter of Henry IV of France) – the Queen’s House was structurally completed in 1635. Jordaens, Orasio Gentileschi and other leading European painters were commissioned to provide decorative ceiling panels and other art works. The original use of the House was short – only seven years – until the Civil War broke out in 1642. Furthermore the Commonwealth seized and dispersed Charles’ property, when he was beheaded in 1649. Consequently, the House lost his treasures and became an official government residence – it somehow still survived. Only three ceilings and some wall decorations remained in part during this time, but the interior changed completely.
Then after his restoration to the throne (1660) Charles II refitted the House for Henrietta Maria’s temporary use in 1662, before she moved to Somerset House. He added two upper ‘bridge’ rooms to east and west over the road – this gave the House a square-shape rather than the former H-shape. In the 18th century the House continued to be used for various Royal ‘grace-and-favour’ residential purposes. The House survived as an official building and became the Royal Naval Asylum, a charity caring for and educating the orphan children of seamen, from 1806. In 1933 the Royal Hospital School moved to Holbrook, Suffolk. Then the House was first restored to become the new National Maritime Museum, created by Act of Parliament in 1934 and opened in 1937. The House was further restored between 1986 and 1999, and is now largely used to display the Museum’s substantial collection of marine paintings and portraits.
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