Kew Palace facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kew Palace |
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The Dutch House, one of the few surviving parts of the Kew Palace complex
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| Type | Palace |
| Location | Kew Gardens |
| OS grid reference | TQ 18482 77474 |
| Area | London Borough of Richmond upon Thames |
| Built | 1631 |
| Architectural style(s) | Artisan Mannerist |
| Governing body | Historic Royal Palaces |
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Listed Building – Grade I
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| Official name: Kew Palace | |
| Designated | 10 January 1950 |
| Reference no. | 1263073 |
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Kew Palace is a historic royal building located within the beautiful Kew Gardens in London. It sits right by the River Thames. Once, it was a much larger group of buildings, but today, only a few parts remain. The main surviving building is called the Dutch House. It was built in 1631 on top of an older foundation.
The royal family used Kew Palace from about 1728 until 1818. There was also a short period of use in 1844. The Dutch House is a very important historic building, listed as Grade I. You can visit it today! An independent charity called Historic Royal Palaces looks after it. This charity does not get money from the government or the royal family.
Next to the Dutch House, you can see part of its old service wing from the 1700s. Nearby are also a former housekeeper's house, a place where beer was made (brewhouse), and a kitchen area. Most of these buildings are private homes now. However, the old kitchens are open for everyone to explore. Historic Royal Palaces also manages the Great Pagoda and Queen Charlotte's Cottage in Kew.
Contents
History of Kew Palace
The Dutch House: Early Days
The Dutch House, the main part of Kew Palace, has a secret beneath it. It sits on the underground foundation (called an undercroft) of a building from the 1500s. This land once belonged to John Dudley. It was later given back to his son, Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, a childhood friend of Queen Elizabeth I.
In 1563, Robert Dudley might have hosted Queen Elizabeth at a house on this spot. At that time, Richmond Palace was one of Elizabeth's main homes nearby.
In 1619, Samuel Fortrey rented the old building. He tore down most of it in 1631, keeping only the undercroft. Then, he built a new, larger house facing south. This new house became known as the Dutch House. Samuel Fortrey was a merchant from a family near Lille. People later got confused about his family's background. This led to the house being called the Dutch House.
The name also came from the house's unique style of architecture. It was called Artisan Mannerist, with special "Dutch gables" on the roof. This style was actually more common in London and parts of England than in the Netherlands! In 1697, Fortrey's family rented the house to Sir Richard Levett. He was a powerful merchant and a former Lord Mayor of the City of London.
The White House and Royal Connections
Across from the Dutch House was another large house, possibly from the Tudor period. This house was often visited by the famous diarist John Evelyn. It eventually passed to Elizabeth, who was married to Prince of Wales's secretary, Samuel Molyneux. Later, it belonged to Molyneux's doctor, Nathaniel St André.
This mansion was pulled down in 1802. It was also where James Bradley made important observations in 1725. These observations helped him discover the "aberration of light," a key idea in astronomy. In 1832, King William IV placed a special sundial to mark the spot. This sundial was moved from Hampton Court Palace.
Royal Children at Kew
In 1727, Queen Caroline and King George II became the rulers of Britain. They had six children living with them at their summer home, Richmond Lodge. In 1728, Queen Caroline rented the Dutch House. She wanted it for her three oldest daughters: Anne, Amelia, and Caroline.
Their oldest son, Frederick, had stayed in Hanover since he was seven. When his father became king, Frederick finally came to Britain in December 1728. He was 21 and wanted to get to know his sisters. He soon rented the old Capel House at Kew. In 1731, he bought everything inside it.
Frederick then started to change the house with help from William Kent. It became known as the White House because of its white outside walls. Frederick also added a large, separate kitchen building. These "Royal Kitchens" have been open to the public since 2012.
A painting from 1733 shows Frederick and his three oldest sisters playing music. It was painted by Philip Mercier. Two versions of this painting show the Dutch House in the background. Princess Anne got married and left England a year after the painting. Princess Caroline left Kew in 1743.
The White House became Frederick's main country home. He invited famous poets like James Thomson and Alexander Pope to visit. Pope, who lived nearby, even gave Prince Frederick a dog with a special verse on its collar: I am His Highness' dog at Kew. Pray tell me, sir, whose dog are you?
Augusta and King George III
Frederick started to change the gardens around the White House. But in 1751, he caught a cold after being out in the damp weather. This, along with a blood clot, sadly led to his death. His wife, Augusta, continued to live at the White House with their children. She also kept working on the gardens. She got advice from her husband's friend, John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, and architect Sir William Chambers.
Frederick's sister Amelia probably lived in the Dutch House until 1751. Then she moved to White Lodge in Richmond Park. This meant the Dutch House could become a school for Augusta's two oldest sons, George and Edward. George later became King George III in 1760. A year later, he married Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. They had fifteen children between 1762 and 1783.
William Chambers built the Orangery and the Pagoda at Kew for Augusta. Augusta kept the Dutch House and White House until she died in 1772. Then, they passed to King George III. He tore down Richmond Lodge and made the White House his summer home. He also kept some of his art collection there.
King George III continued to use the Dutch House as a school. This time, it was for his two oldest sons, George (who would become King George IV) and Frederick. Because of this, it was sometimes called "the Prince of Wales's House." The royal governess, Lady Charlotte Finch, lived nearby. An old painting shows her with some of the royal children in the grounds of the Dutch House.
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The royal family only rented the buildings and grounds until 1781. That year, King George III bought the land for £20,000. Seven years later, King George III stayed in the White House during his first period of illness. His wife, Queen Charlotte, and their daughters lived on the upper floors. The Dutch House was used by other royal staff.
The White House then started to fall apart. But it was still used to house the King during another illness in 1801. Queen Charlotte and her daughters moved into the Dutch House then. The White House was finally torn down in 1802. So, during a third illness in 1804, King George was housed in an improved service wing of the Dutch House. Queen Charlotte and the princesses stayed on the first and second floors of the Dutch House.
A New Palace and Its Demise
Because the White House was torn down, and the Dutch House was used less, plans for a new palace began around 1800. King George chose James Wyatt as his architect. This new building was called the Castellated Palace, or sometimes the New Kew Palace. The Dutch House was then often called the Old Palace.
King George created the site for the new palace by tearing down the old Queen's House. Construction started around 1802. It was built in a style called neo-Gothic. King George liked this style. He wrote in 1803 that he never thought he would choose Gothic over Greek architecture. He felt that Wyatt was perfect in the Gothic style.
The new palace was not very popular. People criticized it. In 1817, Sir Richard Phillips called it "the Bastile palace." He said it looked like a prison and had strange rooms. John Bew also wrote about it in 1820. He called it an "abortive production," meaning it was a failed project. He said it had small windows and rooms that led nowhere.
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King George visited the Dutch House in 1805 to meet his daughter-in-law Caroline and granddaughter Charlotte. His family moved back into the Dutch House later that year. King George made his last visit to Kew in 1806 to see the new palace. He never returned after that.
The Dutch House was refitted in 1809 for his youngest daughter, Princess Amelia. She wanted to move there to recover from her illness. But her parents said no. She stayed at Windsor, and her death in 1810 might have caused the King's final illness.
This last illness meant work on the Castellated Palace stopped for good. Only a mostly roofed shell was left. The King was ill for ten years and stayed at Windsor. In 1818, Queen Charlotte was traveling to Windsor. She decided to stay a few days at the Dutch House. She was too ill to continue her journey. So, the weddings of her sons, William and Edward, took place in the drawing room there on July 11, 1818. Later that year, on November 17, Queen Charlotte died in her bedroom on the first floor of the building.
King George died in 1820. His oldest son, George IV, decided to tear down the Castellated Palace. The project had cost a lot of money. Parliament agreed to demolish it. Any parts that had been installed were moved to other royal homes. For example, its staircase was later used at Buckingham Palace.
Kew Palace Opens to the Public
King George IV also planned to tear down the Dutch House, but this never happened. His brother, William IV, who was married there, wanted to add a west wing and use it again. But this plan also didn't happen. William offered the Dutch House to his sister-in-law, Victoria, Duchess of Kent, and her daughter (the future Queen Victoria). But she said no, calling it "an old house quite unfit."
Queen Victoria briefly sent three of her own children there in the summer of 1844. But the next year, she and Prince Albert started to remodel Osborne House as their summer home. The Dutch House remained empty until 1898. That year, Queen Victoria gave it and Queen Charlotte's Cottage to Kew Gardens. This was to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee. By this time, most of the palace's old service buildings had been torn down. A garden in the style of the 1600s was added behind the house in 1969.
The Dutch House was open to the public until 1996. Then, a big restoration project began. This included fixing the building and creating new curtains and fabrics. An outside lift was added for people with disabilities. This was put where an old toilet shaft had been.
The building was used for a dinner hosted by Charles, Prince of Wales to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's 80th birthday in 2006. A few days later, it reopened as a place for visitors. The Palace was shown in a BBC TV show called Tales from the Palaces in 2006. Historic Royal Palaces runs it. They also look after the Royal Kitchens (reopened in 2012) and the Pagoda (reopened in 2018).
Images for kids
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The Dutch House, one of the few surviving parts of the Kew Palace complex
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Frederick's new kitchens at Kew
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The south front of the White House after Frederick's remodelling, from John Rocque's map of Richmond Gardens, 1734
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The National Portrait Gallery version of the musical portrait
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The White House in the background of The Family of Frederick, Prince of Wales, a 1751 group portrait of Frederick's widow and children by George Knapton.
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An engraving after a 1771–72 watercolour by Paul Sandby, showing a view of the Dutch House from the riverside and Lady Charlotte Finch with some of the royal children
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An 1897 photograph of the palace showing (left) the remnants of the service wing in which George III was housed in 1804 and (right) the original site of the Tompion sundial
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A drawing of New Kew Palace, by William Westall, 1823
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The Castellated Palace (1827 woodcut)
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The Dutch House in 1835, showing Queen Charlotte's funeral hatchment hanging from its façade; this is now on show in the building.
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Proposals for an extension to Kew Palace by Jeffry Wyatville for William IV, 1829
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Rear view of Kew Palace from its gardens
See also
In Spanish: Palacio de Kew para niños
