Hampton Court Palace was England's most significant palace of the Tudor age. From 1515-c.1521, the Lord Chancellor of England and soon-to-be Cardinal, Thomas Wolsey, transformed a medieval manor (situated 13 miles southwest of London on the north bank of the River Thames) into a palace deemed superlative by contemporary observers.

As the Cardinal fell from favour and died, Henry VIII transformed Wolsey's palace beyond recognition.

Hampton Court: The Lost Palace

By Jonathan Foyle

bbc.co.uk/History

Website:

www.hrp.org.uk/HamptonCourtPalace

Hatfield House was completed in 1611. It was built by Robert Cecil, first Earl of Salisbury and son of Lord Burghley, the chief minister of Elizabeth I. The deer park surrounding the house and the older building of the Old Palace had been owned by Elizabeth’s father, Henry VIII, who had used it as a home for his children, Edward, Elizabeth and Mary. It was while she was living in the Old Palace, in 1558, that Elizabeth learned of her accession to the throne.

Website: www.hatfield-house.co.uk

Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester and favourite of Elizabeth I, added the large residential block now known as the Leicester Building, overlooking the lake to Kemilworth Castle.

When Elizabeth visited here in 1575, Dudley spared no expense to entertain her. He spent £60,000, an enormous sum in those days, on elaborate celebrations. The queen was welcomed by the "Lady of the Lake", floating on an artificial island in the middle of the waters surrounding the castle. This royal visit formed the basis of Shakespeare's play, "A Midsummernight's Dream", and the novel "Kenilworth", by Sir Walter Scott.

Website: www.english-heritage.org.uk

Leeds Castle was greatly enjoyed by Henry VIII, who added many of the Tudor windows. Henry stayed at Leeds on his way to his famous meeting with Francis I of France at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520. Marvelous paintings in the Banqueting Hall portray the event.

Website:

http://www.leeds-castle.com

The palace was built by Henry VIII on the site of the Hospital of St. James, Westminster. Much survives of the red-brick building erected by Henry VIII, including the Chapel Royal, the gatehouse, some turrets and two surviving Tudor rooms in the State apartments.

Henry VIII's second wife, Anne Boleyn, stayed there the night after her coronation.

Website:

http://www.royal.gov.uk/TheRoyalResidences/StJamessPalace

Sheffield Manor, also known as the Manor Lodge or Manor Castle, is a lodge built about 1510 in what then was a large deer park east of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, UK, to provide a country retreat for the fourth Earl of Shrewsbury. The remnants of this estate is now known as Norfolk Park.

Mary, Queen of Scots was held prisoner by the sixth Earl of Shrewsbury at both Sheffield Manor and Sheffield Castle (her ghost is said by some to haunt the Turret House building). Wolsey’s Tower was built to accommodate Cardinal Wolsey, who then died after travelling on to Leicester.

Website:

http://www.manorlodge.org.uk/

Burghley House is the largest and grandest of the first Elizabethan Age, it was built between 1555 and 1587 by William Cecil, Lord Treasurer to Queen Elizabeth I.

Cecil intended Burghley as his family seat; he also owned a London house and the remarkable palace for entertaining the Queen and Court that he built at Theobalds Park in Hertfordshire (sadly no longer standing.)

Website:

http://www.burghley.co.uk/

After the dissolution of the monasteries it was granted to Sir William Cordell, a shrewd local lawyer who became Speaker of the House of Commons and later Master of the Rolls. He began his house in 1554 incorporating in it some of the old building.

The great U-shaped mansion with two long wings flanking the courtyard was constructed of red brick with stone decorations. Massive chimneys and turrets crowned with eastern onion domes rise from the Melford Hall's warm red-brick facades.

The house was complete by 1578 when Sir William entertained Queen Elizabeth I on a lavish scale at Melford Hall.

Despite the removal of the gatehouse range that once enclosed the courtyard and the disappearance of part of the moat, the exterior of the house is very much as it was when Elizabeth visited Melford Hall.

Website:

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk

The palace was the principal residence of Henry VII, and his sons, Henry (later Henry VIII) and Edmund Tudor were born here, and baptised in St Alphege's. Henry favoured Greenwich over nearby Eltham Palace, the former principal royal palace. Both Mary (February 18, 1516) and Elizabeth (September 7, 1533) were born at Greenwich. The palace of Placentia, in turn, became Elizabeth's favourite summer residence.

Website:

http://www.oldroyalnavalcollege.org

The Globe Theatre is a faithful reconstruction of the open-air playhouse designed in 1599, where Shakespeare worked and for which he wrote many of his greatest plays.

Website:

http://www.shakespeares-globe.org/

The Mary Rose was one of the first ships built during the early years of the reign of King Henry VIII, probably in Portsmouth. She served as Flagship during Henry’s First French War and was substantially refitted and rebuilt during her 36 year long life. The Mary Rose sank in 1545 whilst defending Portsmouth from the largest invasion fleet ever known, estimated at between 30,000 and 50,000 individuals and between 150 and 200 vessels.

Website:

http://www.maryrose.org/