Completion of the Queen's House, Greenwich

Literary/ Cultural Context Essay

Robert Clark (The Literary Encyclopedia)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.04: English Writing and Culture of the Seventeenth Century, 1625-1688.
Vol. editors: Jennifer Brady (Rhodes College), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Neil Forsyth (Université de Lausanne), Claire Preston (Queen Mary, University of London), J A Roe (University of York), Virginia Mason Vaughan (Clark University)

Domains

Architecture

Dates

Date of occurrence 1635

Places

United Kingdom (Location)

Resources

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Queen's House stands in Greenwich Park on the Thames to the east of London. It is one of the earliest, finest and most important neo-classical buildings in the United Kingdom. Commissioned in 1616 by Anne of Denmark, wife of James I, from Inigo Jones (1573–1652), the house was to serve as a pavilion for private royal retreat and hospitality. It was originally built as an addition to the Palace of Placentia originally founded on this site in 1447 by Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, and passing to the crown when Humphrey was executed for high treason in the same year. Placentia thus became the birthplace of both Henry VIII (1491) and Queen Elizabeth I (1533). The Palace of Placentia was in the red brick vernacular style which can be seen today in Hampton Court, the other Thameside palace to…

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535 words

Citation: Clark, Robert. "Completion of the Queen's House, Greenwich". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 06 January 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=212, accessed 04 May 2024.]

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