Banqueting House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Banqueting House |
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Whitehall facade
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| Type | Banqueting house |
| Location | Whitehall, Westminster |
| Built | 1622 |
| Architect | Inigo Jones |
| Architectural style(s) | Palladian |
| Governing body | Historic Royal Palaces |
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Listed Building – Grade I
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| Official name: Banqueting House | |
| Designated | 1 December 1987 |
| Reference no. | 1357353 |
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The Banqueting House in Whitehall, central London, is a very famous and grand building. It's the only big part left of the old Palace of Whitehall, which was where English kings and queens lived from 1530 to 1698. This building is super important in English architecture because it was the first major building designed in the classical Palladian style. This new style changed how buildings looked in England forever.
It was started in 1619 and finished in 1622. The famous architect Inigo Jones designed it. Sadly, King Charles I of England was executed right in front of it in January 1649. Today, the Banqueting House is a national monument. It is open to the public and is a special Grade I listed building. An independent charity called Historic Royal Palaces takes care of it. They don't get money from the British government or the Royal family.
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History of the Banqueting House
The Palace of Whitehall was built by King Henry VIII. He made it by expanding an older house that belonged to Cardinal Wolsey. King Henry wanted his new palace to be the "biggest palace in Christendom." He wanted it to show off his new power as the head of the Church of England. He got rid of everything that reminded people of Wolsey and renamed the building the Palace of Whitehall.
During Henry's time, the palace didn't have a special banqueting house. The king preferred to have banquets in temporary buildings set up in the gardens. Later, Queen Mary I made the job of "Keeper of the Banqueting House" more important. This was for a building at Nonsuch Palace. This house was used to entertain a French ambassador and his wife in 1556.
Elizabethan Banqueting House
A more permanent Banqueting House was built at Whitehall in 1581. It cost about £1,745. It was made of timber and covered with canvas painted to look like stone. The ceiling was painted with the queen's symbols. This new building was for entertaining Francis, Duke of Anjou. Over the years, artists like George Gower and Lewis Lizard added more decorations.
The ceiling of this Elizabethan banqueting house was painted with clouds in 1604. This was for King James I. The famous play Othello was performed there on November 1, 1605.
The First Jacobean Banqueting House
King James started building a new banqueting house in 1607. But it didn't last very long. It was probably designed by Robert Stickells. A Scottish designer, James Acheson, helped with the roof. The inside was painted and gilded by John de Critz. King James visited the building in 1607. He didn't like where some pillars were placed because they blocked the windows.
This new banqueting house was used for fancy shows called The Masque of Beauty in January 1608. A visitor from Venice said the stage machinery was "a miracle." For The Masque of Queens in 1609, there were special seats that could turn around. Pocahontas and Tomocomo came to see a masque called The Vision of Delight in 1617. This banqueting house was destroyed by fire in January 1619. Workmen cleaning up after New Year's parties accidentally burned it down.
Architecture of the Banqueting House
The new Banqueting House was designed by the popular architect Inigo Jones. Jones had studied architecture in Italy. He learned from the Renaissance style and from Andrea Palladio. He came back to England with new ideas. He wanted to replace the old English style with a pure, classical design. This new building didn't try to match the older Tudor palace it was part of.
The Banqueting House design is very classical. It brought a refined Italian Renaissance style to England. This was very different from the older English style. The roof is mostly flat and has a balustrade (a row of small pillars). On the outside, there are columns that divide the windows. These columns are in the Corinthian and Ionic styles.
The building has three floors. The ground floor has cellars and storage rooms. Its small windows show that it was for less important uses. Above this is the main banqueting hall, which is very tall. From the outside, it looks like two floors. The lower windows of the hall have alternating triangular and curved tops. The upper windows are plain.
Under the roof, there are decorations that look like garlands and masks. These remind people of the feasting and parties that happened in a royal banqueting hall.
Much of the work was supervised by Nicholas Stone. He was a mason (stone worker) who trained in Holland. Like Inigo Jones, Stone knew about Italian art. He brought a more delicate classical style of sculpture to England. You can see this in the decorations on the outside of the Banqueting House.
In 1638, Jones drew plans for a huge new palace at Whitehall. His Banqueting House was meant to be just one part of it. But King Charles I didn't have enough money to build it. Tensions that led to the Civil War also stopped the plans. The Second English Civil War led to Charles I's execution.
In January 1698, the old Tudor Palace burned down. Only the Banqueting House, Whitehall Gate, and Holbein Gate were left. Architects Christopher Wren and Nicholas Hawksmoor were asked to design a new palace. But nothing was built. Some say King William III didn't like the area. But if his wife, Mary II, had been alive, he might have rebuilt it.
Inside the Banqueting House
The name Banqueting House is a bit misleading. The main hall was used for more than just banquets. It was also for royal receptions, ceremonies, and performances called masques. The shows held there were some of the best in Europe. England was known for its music at that time. On January 5, 1617, Pocahontas and Tomocomo came to the Banqueting House. They saw a masque called The Vision of Delight.
The main room inside is a single, tall room. It's called a "double-cube" room because its length is twice its width and height. This is another idea from the Palladian style. At the upper level, there's a gallery. People sometimes call it a "minstrels' gallery." But its real purpose was for an audience to watch. Less important people and the public could stand in the gallery to watch the king dine. This gallery was originally reached by an outside staircase. Later, an inside staircase was added.
King James I, who had the Banqueting House built, died in 1625. His son, Charles I, became king. Charles I loved art. He added many artworks to the Royal Collection. He also encouraged famous European painters to come to England. In 1623, he visited Spain and was very impressed by artists like Titian and Rubens. He wanted a great painter for his own court.
Rubens, who was in England as a diplomat, was asked to design and paint the Banqueting House ceiling. He sketched it in London but finished the huge paintings in his studio in Antwerp. The ceiling was installed in 1636. The king chose the subject: the glorification of his father, James I. It was called The Apotheosis of James I. Rubens was knighted by the king.
Although Charles I spent a lot of time and effort on the Banqueting House, it was also where he died. On January 30, 1649, he walked out of a first-floor window of the Banqueting House. He stepped onto a platform built outside for his execution. The exact window he used is no longer there. It was in a part of the building that is now gone.
Legacy of the Banqueting House
The Banqueting House was very important for English architecture. Before it, English buildings were still based on older styles. But Inigo Jones brought a new, pure classical design from Italy. With his work at the Queen's House and the Banqueting House, Jones changed English architecture.
After the king was overthrown and England became a Commonwealth, this style was seen as "Royalist." This slowed its spread. But after the Restoration (when the monarchy returned), classical buildings started appearing everywhere. The Banqueting House and its features were copied a lot. For example, architects liked putting triangular and curved tops above windows. You can find examples of this style all over England.
James II was the last king to live at Whitehall. William III and Mary II preferred to live elsewhere. After the fire that destroyed Whitehall Palace, the Banqueting House was no longer needed for banquets. It was turned into a chapel to replace the Chapel Royal that had burned down. It was also used for concerts.
It remained a chapel until 1893. Then, Queen Victoria gave it to the Royal United Services Institute. There were plans to divide the big hall into offices, but these were quickly stopped. Instead, it became a museum. The museum showed personal items of famous commanders and even the skeleton of Napoleon's horse. The museum closed in 1962. The large south window, which had been closed up, was restored.
Today, the Banqueting House is open for tours. It is also used as a special place for events.
Images for kids
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Whitehall facade
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Interior of the Banqueting Hall
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The old Palace of Whitehall, showing the Banqueting House to the left
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Inigo Jones' 1638 plan for a new palace at Whitehall. The Banqueting House is on the left.
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A German print showing the execution of Charles I on January 30, 1649, outside the Banqueting House.
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The Apotheosis of James I, the central panel of the ceiling, by Peter Paul Rubens
See also
In Spanish: Banqueting House para niños
