Henry VIII's Lost Palaces (part1/8)

The year 1509 saw the accession to the throne of Henry VIII, a man who would change the face of Britain and the religious and political map of Europe forever.
Henry was the first monarch to title himself 'Majesty' - and his reign was nothing if not majestic. Over the next 38 years he would embark on a campaign of courtly magnificence, splendour and pleasure the like of which had never been seen before.
By the end of his reign, Henry owned 55 royal properties - more than any other English monarch ever had before or would again. His passion for palace-building was legendary, and fundamentally changed the way monarchs were expected to live.
Building these palaces was like embarking on a Tudor Grand Designs. The changing political aspirations of the Tudors were played out in the buildings they designed, and Henry VIII's palaces were a bold statement: he was physically sweeping away the old medieval kingdom and laying the foundations for the Britain we know today.
At the heart of this story are five very important and very special buildings. But these palaces aren't simply a lesson in architectural history. They are the key to understanding the inner workings of one of the most powerful men this country has ever seen.
Henry's palaces are a self-portrait in bricks and mortar. From his first, Beaulieu in Essex, to sprawling Whitehall Palace in London, and the pocket-sized Nonsuch Palace in Surrey, we can see how Henry changed as a person. These buildings tell us how the sporty young athlete who owned a pair of football boots gave way to an aging recluse who just wanted to get away from it all and build fantasy palaces.
But they also reveal the contradictions at the heart of Henry's personality. How does a man who famously broke England's ancient religious ties with Rome reconcile his love for the Italian Renaissance? The palaces of Tudor England were similarly confused - gothic arches supported by classical columns; medieval ceilings decorated by depictions of Roman gods.
Henry certainly wanted to be seen as being at the cutting edge of fashion. And at the heart of this was the concept of comfort. Go to Hampton Court Palace today, and you will be struck by the sheer number of chimneys - each one linked to a heated room. This was a powerful statement: Henry's guests got nothing but the best.
But all of this makes for a bit of an architectural melting pot. Lavish comfort, surrounded by classical imagery, uneasily sitting alongside echoes of England's medieval past.
It's a bit of a metaphor for the Tudor monarchy itself, and more importantly, the fundamental change it represented. Henry VIII's reign was literally the point at which this country moved from the medieval into the modern. And his legacy is all around us.

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Palaces in East Asia, such as the imperial palaces of Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan and China's Forbidden City, consist of many low pavilions surrounded by vast, walled gardens, in contrast to the single building palaces of Medieval Western Europe.

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The earliest known palaces were the royal residences of the Egyptian Pharaohs at Thebes, featuring an outer wall enclosing labyrinthine buildings and courtyards. Other ancient palaces include the Assyrian palaces at Nimrud and Nineveh, the Minoan palace at Knossos, and the Persian palaces at Persepolis and Susa.

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In modern times, the term has been applied by archaeologists and historians to large structures that housed combined ruler, court and bureaucracy in "palace culturtes". In informal usage, a "palace" can be extended to a grand residence of any kind.

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In the early Middle Ages, the Palas remained the seat of government in some German cities. In the Holy Roman Empire the powerful independent Electors came to be housed in palaces (Paläste). This has been used as evidence that power was widely distributed in the Empire, as in more centralized monarchies, only the monarch's residence would be a palace.

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At the same time Charlemagne was consciously reviving the Roman expression in his "palace" at Aachen, of which only his chapel remains. In the 9th century the "palace" indicated the housing of the government too, and the constantly-travelling Charlemagne built fourteen.

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"Palace" meaning "government" can be recognized in a remark of Paul the Deacon, writing ca 790 and describing events of the 660s: "When Grimuald set out for Beneventum, he entrusted his palace to Lupus" (Historia Langobardorum, V.xvii).

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Emperor Caesar Augustus lived there in a purposely modest house only set apart from his neighbors by the two laurel trees planted to flank the front door as a sign of triumph granted by the Senate. His descendants, especially Nero, with his "Golden House" enlarged the house and grounds over and over until it took up the hill top. The word Palātium came to mean the residence of the emperor rather than the neighbourhood on top of the hill.

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The word "palace" comes from Old French palais (imperial residence), from Latin Palātium, the name of one of the seven hills of Rome. The original "palaces" on the Palatine Hill were the seat of the imperial power while the "capitol" on the Capitoline Hill was the religious nucleus of Rome. Long after the city grew to the seven hills the Palatine remained a desirable residential area.

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Many historic palaces are now put to other uses such as parliaments, museums, hotels or office buildings. The word is also sometimes used to describe a lavishly ornate building used for public entertainment or exhibitions.

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A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word itself is derived from the Latin name Palātium, for Palatine Hill, one of the seven hills in Rome. In many parts of Europe, the term is also applied to ambitious private mansions of the aristocracy.