December 14
The Great Hall at Hampton Court Palace in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I
My thanks go to James Peacock for this wonderful piece about Hampton Court Palace.
Photo of the ceiling of the Great Hall at Hampton Court Palace. © 2012 Tim Ridgway
No one can deny how majestic the Great Hall at Hampton Court Palace is. Built during the long courtship of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, carpenters worked through the night whenever they were due to visit, hoping to impress them with how far they had come.
Unfortunately, Anne’s downfall was brutally swift, meaning she did not live to truly enjoy the Great Hall once it was finished - although there are still many hidden mementos to her around – but Elizabeth, her daughter with Henry, better known to history as Queen Elizabeth I, made great use of it.
Elizabeth visited Hampton Court Palace regularly, often over the Christmas period.
During these visits, either at Christmas or even on other occasions, plays and masques were put on in the Great Hall in the presence of the Queen.
The Office of Works accounts refer to the construction of a new of new daises beneath the Cloth of Estate in the Great Chamber, and elsewhere, and degrees (or staging) made for the ladies of honour and other courtiers to stand on.
Elaborate scenery was constructed and installed, and wires stretched across the hall from which to hang oil lamps.
In 1573, on Shrovetide Tuesday two plays and a masque were performed at the Palace, and the following year four plays were performed over Christmas.
Over Christmas and New Year 1576/7 six plays were acted by the Earl of Warwick's (Ambrose Dudley) servants, Lord Howard's servants, the Earl of Leicester's (Robert Dudley) men, the choir boys of St Paul's Cathedral, the Choir boys of Windsor and the Chapel Royal, and the Lord Chamberlains men.
The outside of the Great Hall at Hampton Court Palace. © 2012 Tim Ridgway
For the full accounts of the masques performed in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and her successor King James I, I recommend reading ‘Extract from the accounts of the Revels at court, in the reigns of Queen Elizabeth and King James I here:
https://archive.org/stream/extractsfromacco13greauoft#page/n5/mode/2up
This year, Queen Elizabeth I and her court will be in residence at Hampton Court Palace. On the 22 - 23 December and 27 December 2017 - 1 January 2018 there will be music and dancing, along with court jesters. (note: the Palace is closed on 24, 25 and 26 December). For more information on this colourful event visit the Historic Royal Palaces website for opening times, tickets and more here:
https://www.hrp.org.uk/hampton-court-palace/explore/elizabethan-christmas/#gs.LO6ZRbU
James Peacock works for Historic Royal Palaces and is based at Hampton Court Palace (lucky chap!). He also runs the Anne Boleyn Society Facebook page.