Richmond Palace
Encyclopedia
Richmond Palace was a Thameside royal residence on the right (south, or Surrey
) bank of the river, upstream of the Palace of Westminster
, to which it lay 9 miles (14 km) SW of as the crow flies. It it was erected c. 1501 within the royal manor of Sheen, by Henry VII of England
, formerly known by his title Earl of Richmond, after which it was named. It was occupied by royalty until 1649.
It replaced a former palace, itself built on the site of a manor house
that had been appropriated by the Crown some two centuries beforehand, which had been in royal possession for most of that time.
In 1500, immediately preceding the construction of the new "Richmond" Palace the following year, the town of Sheen which had grown up around the royal manor changed its name to "Richmond", by command of Henry VII. The two separate nomenclatures of Sheen and Richmond continue to this day, not without scope for confusion, since today's districts called "East Sheen
" and "North Sheen
", now under the administrative control of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
, were never in ancient times within Sheen manor, but were rather carved out of what was formerly the ancient adjoining manor of Mortlake
, in recent times. Richmond remained part of the County of Surrey until the mid-1960s, when it was absorbed by the expansion of London
.
Of Richmond Palace today only vestigial traces remain, most notably the gatehouse
. The site occupies the area between Richmond Green and the River Thames, the street names of which provide evidence of the former existence of the Palace, namely Old Palace Lane, Old Palace Yard and The Wardrobe.
lived briefly in the King's house in Sheen
(spelt anciently Syenes, Schene, Sheanes, Shene etc.)
took his whole court to the manor-house at Sheen
, close by the river side, which thus became a royal palace. William Wallace
was executed in London in 1305, and it was in Sheen that the Commissioners from Scotland
went down on their knees before Edward. When the boy-king Edward III
came to the throne in 1327 he gave the manor to his mother Isabella
. Almost 50 years later, after his wife Philippa died, Edward spent over 2,000 pounds on improvements. In the middle of the work Edward III himself died at the manor in 1377. In 1368 Geoffrey Chaucer
served as a yeoman
at Sheen.
Richard II
was the first English king to make Sheen his main residence in 1383. He took his bride Anne of Bohemia
there. Twelve years later Richard was so distraught at the death of Anne at the age of 28, that he, according to Holinshed, "caused it [the manor] to be thrown down and defaced; whereas the former kings of this land, being wearie of the citie, used customarily thither to resort as to a place of pleasure, and serving highly to their recreation." For almost 20 years it lay in ruins until Henry V
undertook rebuilding work in 1414. The first, pre-Tudor, version of the palace was known as Sheen Palace. It was positioned roughly at 51.460388°N 0.310219°W, in what is now the garden of Trumpeters' House, between Richmond Green and the River. In 1414 Henry V also founded a Carthusian
monastery there known as Sheen Priory
, adjacent on the N. to the royal residence.
. The earldom was seated at Richmond Castle
, Yorkshire, from which it took its name. In 1502, the new palace witnessed a betrothal. Princess Margaret
, daughter of Henry VII, became engaged to King James IV of Scotland
. From this line eventually came the House of Stuart
. In 1509 Henry VII died at Richmond Palace.
celebrated Christmas to Twelfth Night
at Richmond with the first of his six wives, Catherine of Aragon
. During those celebrations, says Mrs. A.T. Thomson, in her Memoirs of the Court of Henry the Eighth:
In 1533 Richmond became the principal residence of Henry's daughter Mary
after she was evicted from her previous residence of Beaulieu
. Mary stayed at the palace until December of that year when she was ordered to Hatfield House
to wait on the newly born Princess Elizabeth.
(Over the next hundred years from 1509, the Christmas celebrations gradually increased with music, dancing, theatricals and revels. The 12 days of Christmas were barely celebrated before the sixteenth century. By the time Elizabeth I
died at Richmond in 1603, celebrating Christmas was well established in court circles.)
Almost nothing survives of earlier manors. In the 1520s Cardinal Wolsey adopted new renaissance architectural styles at Hampton Court Palace
. This was only a few miles from Richmond and Henry was boiling with jealousy. On Wolsey's fall, he confiscated it and forced him to accept Richmond Palace in exchange. In his Chronicles, Hall says "when the common people, and especially such as had been servants of Henry VII, saw the cardinal keep house in the manor royal at Richmond, which that monarch so highly esteemed, it was a marvel to hear how they grudged, saying, 'so a butcher's dogge doth lie in the manor of Richmond!'".
In 1540 Henry gave the palace to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves
, as part of her divorce settlement.
In 1554 Queen Mary I
married Philip II of Spain
. Forty-five years after her mother Catherine of Aragon
had spent Christmas at Richmond Palace, they spent their honeymoon there (and at Hampton Court). Later that same year, the future Elizabeth I was held prisoner at Richmond by Mary I. After Mary's father Henry VIII married Anne Boleyn and produced a daughter, Elizabeth, Mary came to hate the child. When Mary became queen, as her mother had hoped, Mary had the power to lock up her own half-sister.
). Elizabeth died there on 24 March 1603.
preferred the Palace of Westminster to Richmond but, even before he became king, Charles I
owned Richmond Palace and started to build his art collection whilst living there. Like Elizabeth, James enjoyed hunting stags, and in 1637 created a new area for this now known as Richmond Park
, renaming Elizabeth's "Newe Parke" the "Old Deer Park". There continue to be red deer
in Richmond Park today, possibly descendants of the original herd, free from hunting and relatively tame.
Within months of the execution of Charles I in 1649, Richmond Palace was surveyed by order of Parliament to see what it could fetch in terms of raw materials, and was sold for £13,000. Over the next ten years it was largely demolished, the stones being re-used as building materials.
Commissioners in 1986. It has five bedrooms.
programme Time Team
which was broadcast in January 1998.http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/T/timeteam/archive/prog1.html
Sir John Harington.
Henry VIII had earlier installed flushing latrines at Hampton Court.
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
) bank of the river, upstream of the Palace of Westminster
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...
, to which it lay 9 miles (14 km) SW of as the crow flies. It it was erected c. 1501 within the royal manor of Sheen, by Henry VII of England
Henry VII of England
Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
, formerly known by his title Earl of Richmond, after which it was named. It was occupied by royalty until 1649.
It replaced a former palace, itself built on the site of a manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
that had been appropriated by the Crown some two centuries beforehand, which had been in royal possession for most of that time.
In 1500, immediately preceding the construction of the new "Richmond" Palace the following year, the town of Sheen which had grown up around the royal manor changed its name to "Richmond", by command of Henry VII. The two separate nomenclatures of Sheen and Richmond continue to this day, not without scope for confusion, since today's districts called "East Sheen
East Sheen
East Sheen, also known as 'Sheen', is an affluent suburb of London, England in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It forms part of the London post town in the SW postcode area....
" and "North Sheen
North Sheen
North Sheen, an area of London, England in the former Municipal Borough of Richmond ,was incorporated into Kew in 1965 when the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames was created....
", now under the administrative control of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is a London borough in South West London, UK, which forms part of Outer London. It is unique because it is the only London borough situated both north and south of the River Thames.-Settlement:...
, were never in ancient times within Sheen manor, but were rather carved out of what was formerly the ancient adjoining manor of Mortlake
Mortlake
Mortlake is a district of London, England and part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is on the south bank of the River Thames between Kew and Barnes with East Sheen inland to the south. Mortlake was part of Surrey until 1965.-History:...
, in recent times. Richmond remained part of the County of Surrey until the mid-1960s, when it was absorbed by the expansion of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Of Richmond Palace today only vestigial traces remain, most notably the gatehouse
Gatehouse
A gatehouse, in architectural terminology, is a building enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a castle, manor house, fort, town or similar buildings of importance.-History:...
. The site occupies the area between Richmond Green and the River Thames, the street names of which provide evidence of the former existence of the Palace, namely Old Palace Lane, Old Palace Yard and The Wardrobe.
History
Norman
Henry IHenry I of England
Henry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...
lived briefly in the King's house in Sheen
Sheen
Sheen could mean:Places:*In south west London, England:** Sheen or West Sheen, an alternative name for Richmond, London** East Sheen** North Sheen** Sheen Priory* Sheen, Staffordshire, United Kingdom...
(spelt anciently Syenes, Schene, Sheanes, Shene etc.)
1299 to 1495
In 1299 Edward IEdward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
took his whole court to the manor-house at Sheen
Sheen
Sheen could mean:Places:*In south west London, England:** Sheen or West Sheen, an alternative name for Richmond, London** East Sheen** North Sheen** Sheen Priory* Sheen, Staffordshire, United Kingdom...
, close by the river side, which thus became a royal palace. William Wallace
William Wallace
Sir William Wallace was a Scottish knight and landowner who became one of the main leaders during the Wars of Scottish Independence....
was executed in London in 1305, and it was in Sheen that the Commissioners from Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
went down on their knees before Edward. When the boy-king Edward III
Edward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
came to the throne in 1327 he gave the manor to his mother Isabella
Isabella of France
Isabella of France , sometimes described as the She-wolf of France, was Queen consort of England as the wife of Edward II of England. She was the youngest surviving child and only surviving daughter of Philip IV of France and Joan I of Navarre...
. Almost 50 years later, after his wife Philippa died, Edward spent over 2,000 pounds on improvements. In the middle of the work Edward III himself died at the manor in 1377. In 1368 Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer , known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey...
served as a yeoman
Yeoman
Yeoman refers chiefly to a free man owning his own farm, especially from the Elizabethan era to the 17th century. Work requiring a great deal of effort or labor, such as would be done by a yeoman farmer, came to be described as "yeoman's work"...
at Sheen.
Richard II
Richard II of England
Richard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...
was the first English king to make Sheen his main residence in 1383. He took his bride Anne of Bohemia
Anne of Bohemia
Anne of Bohemia was Queen of England as the first wife of King Richard II. A member of the House of Luxembourg, she was the eldest daughter of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, and Elizabeth of Pomerania....
there. Twelve years later Richard was so distraught at the death of Anne at the age of 28, that he, according to Holinshed, "caused it [the manor] to be thrown down and defaced; whereas the former kings of this land, being wearie of the citie, used customarily thither to resort as to a place of pleasure, and serving highly to their recreation." For almost 20 years it lay in ruins until Henry V
Henry V of England
Henry V was King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 35 in 1422. He was the second monarch belonging to the House of Lancaster....
undertook rebuilding work in 1414. The first, pre-Tudor, version of the palace was known as Sheen Palace. It was positioned roughly at 51.460388°N 0.310219°W, in what is now the garden of Trumpeters' House, between Richmond Green and the River. In 1414 Henry V also founded a Carthusian
Carthusian
The Carthusian Order, also called the Order of St. Bruno, is a Roman Catholic religious order of enclosed monastics. The order was founded by Saint Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns...
monastery there known as Sheen Priory
Sheen Priory
Sheen Priory in Sheen, now Richmond, London was a former Carthusian monastery founded in 1414 within the royal manor of Sheen, on the south bank of the Thames, upstream and approximately 9 miles southwest of the Palace of Westminster...
, adjacent on the N. to the royal residence.
Tudor
Henry VII, Builder of Richmond Palace
In 1492 a great tournament was held at the Palace by Henry VII. On 23 December 1497 a fire destroyed most of the wooden buildings. Henry rebuilt it and named the new palace "Richmond" Palace after his title of Earl of RichmondEarl of Richmond
The now-extinct title of Earl of Richmond was created many times in the Peerage of England. The earldom of Richmond was held by various Bretons, Normans, the royal families of Plantagenet, Capet, Savoy, Tudor and Stuart.-History:...
. The earldom was seated at Richmond Castle
Richmond Castle
Richmond Castle in Richmond, North Yorkshire, England, stands in a commanding position above the River Swale, close to the centre of the town of Richmond. It was originally called Riche Mount, 'the strong hill'...
, Yorkshire, from which it took its name. In 1502, the new palace witnessed a betrothal. Princess Margaret
Margaret Tudor
Margaret Tudor was the elder of the two surviving daughters of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, and the elder sister of Henry VIII. In 1503, she married James IV, King of Scots. James died in 1513, and their son became King James V. She married secondly Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of...
, daughter of Henry VII, became engaged to King James IV of Scotland
James IV of Scotland
James IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from not only Scotland, but also from all...
. From this line eventually came the House of Stuart
House of Stuart
The House of Stuart is a European royal house. Founded by Robert II of Scotland, the Stewarts first became monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland during the late 14th century, and subsequently held the position of the Kings of Great Britain and Ireland...
. In 1509 Henry VII died at Richmond Palace.
Henry VIII
Later the same year, Henry VIIIHenry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
celebrated Christmas to Twelfth Night
Twelfth Night (holiday)
Twelfth Night is a festival in some branches of Christianity marking the coming of the Epiphany and concluding the Twelve Days of Christmas.It is defined by the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary as "the evening of the fifth of January, preceding Twelfth Day, the eve of the Epiphany, formerly the...
at Richmond with the first of his six wives, Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...
. During those celebrations, says Mrs. A.T. Thomson, in her Memoirs of the Court of Henry the Eighth:
On the night of the Epiphany (1510), a pageant was introduced into the hall at Richmond, representing a hill studded with gold and precious stones, and having on its summit a tree of gold, from which hung roses and pomegranates. From the declivity of the hill descended a lady richly attired, who, with the gentlemen, or, as they were then called, children of honour, danced a morris before the king. On another occasion, in the presence of the court, an artificial forest was drawn in by a lion and an antelope, the hides of which were richly embroidered with golden ornaments; the animals were harnessed with chains of gold, and on each sat a fair damsel in gay apparel. In the midst of the forest, which was thus introduced, appeared a gilded tower, at the end of which stood a youth, holding in his hands a garland of roses, as the prize of valour in a tournament which succeeded the pageant!"
In 1533 Richmond became the principal residence of Henry's daughter Mary
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
after she was evicted from her previous residence of Beaulieu
Beaulieu
-England:* Beaulieu, Hampshire, a village in the New Forest* Beaulieu Abbey, located in Beaulieu, Hampshire* Beaulieu Palace House, located in Beaulieu, Hampshire* Beaulieu River, running through Beaulieu, Hampshire...
. Mary stayed at the palace until December of that year when she was ordered to Hatfield House
Hatfield House
Hatfield House is a country house set in a large park, the Great Park, on the eastern side of the town of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. The present Jacobean house was built in 1611 by Robert Cecil, First Earl of Salisbury and Chief Minister to King James I and has been the home of the Cecil...
to wait on the newly born Princess Elizabeth.
(Over the next hundred years from 1509, the Christmas celebrations gradually increased with music, dancing, theatricals and revels. The 12 days of Christmas were barely celebrated before the sixteenth century. By the time Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
died at Richmond in 1603, celebrating Christmas was well established in court circles.)
Almost nothing survives of earlier manors. In the 1520s Cardinal Wolsey adopted new renaissance architectural styles at Hampton Court Palace
Hampton Court Palace
Hampton Court Palace is a royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, Greater London; it has not been inhabited by the British royal family since the 18th century. The palace is located south west of Charing Cross and upstream of Central London on the River Thames...
. This was only a few miles from Richmond and Henry was boiling with jealousy. On Wolsey's fall, he confiscated it and forced him to accept Richmond Palace in exchange. In his Chronicles, Hall says "when the common people, and especially such as had been servants of Henry VII, saw the cardinal keep house in the manor royal at Richmond, which that monarch so highly esteemed, it was a marvel to hear how they grudged, saying, 'so a butcher's dogge doth lie in the manor of Richmond!'".
In 1540 Henry gave the palace to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves
Anne of Cleves
Anne of Cleves was a German noblewoman and the fourth wife of Henry VIII of England and as such she was Queen of England from 6 January 1540 to 9 July 1540. The marriage was never consummated, and she was not crowned queen consort...
, as part of her divorce settlement.
Mary I
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
married Philip II of Spain
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
. Forty-five years after her mother Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...
had spent Christmas at Richmond Palace, they spent their honeymoon there (and at Hampton Court). Later that same year, the future Elizabeth I was held prisoner at Richmond by Mary I. After Mary's father Henry VIII married Anne Boleyn and produced a daughter, Elizabeth, Mary came to hate the child. When Mary became queen, as her mother had hoped, Mary had the power to lock up her own half-sister.
Elizabeth I
Once Elizabeth became queen she spent much of her time at Richmond, as she enjoyed hunting stags in the "Newe Parke of Richmonde" (now the Old Deer ParkOld Deer Park
Old Deer Park is an area of open space within Richmond-upon-Thames, England, and is in extent. The park is bounded generally by the River Thames to the west, Kew Gardens to the north, and urban areas of Richmond town to the east and south. Owned by the Crown Estate, the park forms part of a larger...
). Elizabeth died there on 24 March 1603.
James I
King James IJames I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
preferred the Palace of Westminster to Richmond but, even before he became king, Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
owned Richmond Palace and started to build his art collection whilst living there. Like Elizabeth, James enjoyed hunting stags, and in 1637 created a new area for this now known as Richmond Park
Richmond Park
Richmond Park is a 2,360 acre park within London. It is the largest of the Royal Parks in London and Britain's second largest urban walled park after Sutton Park, Birmingham. It is close to Richmond, Ham, Kingston upon Thames, Wimbledon, Roehampton and East Sheen...
, renaming Elizabeth's "Newe Parke" the "Old Deer Park". There continue to be red deer
Red Deer
The red deer is one of the largest deer species. Depending on taxonomy, the red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being...
in Richmond Park today, possibly descendants of the original herd, free from hunting and relatively tame.
Charles I and Commonwealth
Architecture, fittings, etc
All the accounts which have come down to us describe the furniture and decorations of Richmond Palace as very superb, exhibiting in gorgeous tapestries the deeds of kings and heroes.Survey of 1649
The survey taken in 1649 affords a minute description of the palace. The great hall was 100 feet in length, and 40 in breadth, having a screen at the lower end, over which was "fayr foot space in the higher end thereof, the pavement of square tile, well lighted and seated; at the north end having a turret, or clock-case, covered with lead, which is a special ornament to this building." The prince's lodgings are described as a "freestone building, three stories high, with fourteen turrets covered with lead," being "a very graceful ornament to the whole house, and perspicuous to the county round about." A round tower is mentioned, called the "Canted Tower," with a staircase of 124 steps. The chapel was 96 feet long and 40 broad, with cathedral-seats and pews. Adjoining the prince's garden was an open gallery, 200 feet long, over which was a close gallery of similar length. Here was also a royal library. Three pipes supplied the palace with water, one from the white conduit in the new park, another from the conduit in the town fields, and the third from a conduit near the alms-houses in Richmond.Surviving structures
These include the Wardrobe, Trumpeters' House and the Gate House. The latter was built 1501, and was let on a 65 year lease by the Crown EstateCrown Estate
In the United Kingdom, the Crown Estate is a property portfolio owned by the Crown. Although still belonging to the monarch and inherent with the accession of the throne, it is no longer the private property of the reigning monarch and cannot be sold by him/her, nor do the revenues from it belong...
Commissioners in 1986. It has five bedrooms.
Archaeology
During 1997 the site was investigated in the Channel 4Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
programme Time Team
Time Team
Time Team is a British television series which has been aired on Channel 4 since 1994. Created by television producer Tim Taylor and presented by actor Tony Robinson, each episode features a team of specialists carrying out an archaeological dig over a period of three days, with Robinson explaining...
which was broadcast in January 1998.http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/T/timeteam/archive/prog1.html
Curiosity
This palace was one of the first buildings in history to be equipped with a flushing lavatory, invented by Elizabeth I's godson,Sir John Harington.
Henry VIII had earlier installed flushing latrines at Hampton Court.