Greenwich.
London SE10 9NN
Thursday November 24
2016
As this is such an
important building we felt it should be treated separately from the Old Royal
Naval College though of course they are only a five minute stroll away from
each other. The situation is certainly
elevated compared to the college and affords a view across the river to Canary
Wharf (sadly lacking in symmetry) and across the park uphill to the
Observatory.
Greenwich, because of
its easy access via the river and the probable benefits of ‘fresh air’, had always been popular with
royalty as a getaway destination. James 1st’s wife was Anne of
Denmark and exercising his ‘divine right’ James took the land back off Henry
Howard and initiated the building for her of the ‘House of Delights’ as it
became known. His inspiration was to commission the architect Inigo Jones for
the building and he in turn had been inspired by the new fashion of Palladian
symmetry, which did of course link back to Vitruvius and classical building
styles. But the house is a delight – it
manages to look compact and tidy from the outside while being surprisingly
capacious inside.
Today’s approach is
via the Undercroft and entrance is free. When we were there we seemed to be
almost the only visitors so the somewhat bored room guides were keen to keep us
‘informed’ as we progressed around. The house has only recently (10/10/2016)
re-opened after a major renovation and it sparkled inside as well as out. Our
only sadness was that due to the need to conserve both wall coverings and the
many pictures (newly installed pictures now number some 400) the blinds are
firmly down so we were not able to appreciate the views in any direction. It is
also quite easy to get confused and lost without being able to take bearings
from the exterior.
The smaller rooms have
for the most part been hung with pictures from the collection with these arranged
thematically, so Views/Ships/Naval Officers/Royals. The stand out picture
is what is known as the
‘Elizabeth Armada Portrait' – it looks very fresh and really catches the
attention as indeed it was meant to – the outgunned English fleet had just
defeated the Spanish Armada and the Queen looks very much ‘top dog’. Other
Royal portraits include James II as a very camp Mars….
Apart from the
assorted pictures there are a few vitrines with exhibits, largely appropriate
to the setting – thus some Chinese style Delft tulipieres, and some later de Morgan ceramics, as well as an imaginative Delft wall picture. Jo refused
to take a picture of an exuberant platter depicting a rather young looking
Neptune on the grounds that she would not have liked to eat her dinner of a man
with a six pack. I think it was more destined for the wall than the dining
table so the photo of the other objects will have to suffice. Another
interesting item is the Coat of Arms of the South Sea Company destined to
collapse in the ‘bubble’ of that name – perhaps, like their modern day
equivalents, they spent too much on the logo and not enough on analysing their
investment…
Once we had done a
circuit of the rooms, peeped at the Loggia (a back extension not accessible)
and revisited the grand hall by peering over the balustrade, we walked slowly down
the restored tulip staircase admiring the newly painted cobalt blue banisters
and the lovely spiral.
We shall have a
further opportunity to admire the perfect cube from above when we take
ourselves to the Observatory.
All credit to Inigo Jones>
All credit to Inigo Jones>
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