I have
a lot of books about English history and I read lots of stories about
Richmond Palace in these. I looked at a map in December and I saw
that the town is not so far from my accommodation. I knew that the
Palace was destroyed, but I'm interested in the spot. So we planned a
trip to the town.
Richmond
was a royal residence from 1327 to 1649. At that time there was a
village in county Surrey. Today it's a part of London Borough, a
popular resting place and residence. Many people organise
excursions there on weekends.
The
first inhabitant of the palace was Edward III in his childhood .
According to old documents, the furniture and decorations of the
palace were splendid. The tapestries showed the heroic deeds of
kings.
There
is a survived old blueprint from 1649. According to it the building
consisted of rubble stone, it was three storeys high, and had 14 gun
towers. The large hall was 30 ms long and 12 ms wide, and there was
a Chapel in the same size and a large library room.
Henry
VII. died in 1509 here.
There was the residence of Mary Tudor, Henry
VIII.'s older daughter in 1533. Henry VIII. gave the palace to his
fourth wife, Anna Cleve, as a divorce present in 1540. The palace
was the favorite place of Queen Elizabeth I., who died in 1603 here.
Charles
I. established the Richmond Park (Old Deer Park) in 1637, where
there are more than 600 deer without restriction these days, too.
Charles I. was executed in 1649, and the Parliament sold the palace
a few months later. After that the significant part of the palace
was demolished during 10 years, the materials was used elsewhere
again. The remaining ruins had never been rebuilt. Today the Gate
house of the palace and some of the old street signs remind us of
the former palace.
Richmond
Park belong to the Royal Parks. It is the largest of the eight Royal
Parks. The area is 955 hectares and it is the second largest park in
London. The park is a nature reserve, too.
The
Parliament announced that the park is a public park in 1872, but it's
not allowed to collect firewood. This law is still valid. The 10
buildings and the fence are under extra protection today.
Thatched
House Lodge was the London home of U.S. General Eisenhower during
the Second World War. Since 1963 it has been the residence of
Princess Alexandra.
Edward
VIII was born at White Lodge in 1894 and his brother Prince Albert,
Duke of York (the future George VI), and the Duchess of York (later
Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother), lived there in the 1920s.
King
Henry's Mound, a burial site. Henry VIII stood on the mound to watch
for a sign from St Paul's that Anne Boleyn had been executed at the
Tower and that he was then free to marry Jane Seymour.
The
gates are open daytime, where car traffic goes, with max. 20
km/hour speed. The park is open for cyclists and walkers day and
night.
Unfortunately
we didn't have enough time to look around in the park, so I have to
go again this summer.
