Montacute House (above, the east front) in Somerset plays the role of Greenwich Palace, aka Palace of Placentia, Henry VIII’s main London seat and the site of Anne Boleyn’s arrest in the first series. From the NT post:
"Locations manager, Rebecca Pearson says, 'In Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light, the scene we shot there that audiences will remember is [in Episode 4] when Henry and Cromwell play chess by the window. It’s that moment where their relationship is starting to change."
"Locations manager, Rebecca Pearson says, 'In Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light, the scene we shot there that audiences will remember is [in Episode 4] when Henry and Cromwell play chess by the window. It’s that moment where their relationship is starting to change."
From the NT: "The UK National Trust property Montacute House has stayed virtually frozen in time since the Elizabethan era. It’s built in an ‘E’ shape, a popular design of the period...
Of course, Henry VIII had loads of palaces--plus his hunting lodges. We were told by a curator that basically, [the Tudors] would stay in one palace for a few months until it smelt so much, they’d pack everything up, tapestries, furniture, clothes, and the whole court would move to the next palace. That’s why they had so many palaces.”
Of course, Henry VIII had loads of palaces--plus his hunting lodges. We were told by a curator that basically, [the Tudors] would stay in one palace for a few months until it smelt so much, they’d pack everything up, tapestries, furniture, clothes, and the whole court would move to the next palace. That’s why they had so many palaces.”
Please click on the small photos to enlarge. Above left, Palace of Placentia, artist's rendering; right, stone marking the former location of Greenwich Palace, near the present site of the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, on the Thames downstream from London, shown below
From Wikipedia Common: "The Old Royal Naval College, viewed from the north. Between the two college buildings appears the Queen's House in the middle of the picture. On the skyline stands a statue of James Wolfe at the end of an avenue of chestnut trees, with the Royal Observatory visible at right."
Below left, Montacute, west front; right, one of two lodges at the corners of the East Court.
Below left, Montacute, west front; right, one of two lodges at the corners of the East Court.
Above, statues of two of the Nine Worthies in niches on the east facade, described in Wikipedia as "nine historical, scriptural, and legendary men of distinction who personify the ideals of chivalry established in the Middle Ages, whose lives were deemed a valuable study for aspirants to chivalric status...The Nine Worthies include three pagans (Hector, Alexander the Great, and Julius Caesar), three Jews (Joshua, David, and Judas Maccabeus, and three Christians (King Arthur, Charlemagne, and Godfrey of Boullion)."
Below, left, part of the Great Hall Screen, and right, in he Great Hall.
Below, left, part of the Great Hall Screen, and right, in he Great Hall.
Above left, the ground floor Drawing Room and right, the Parlour. These rooms adjacent to the Great Hall would have originally the principal family rooms.
Below, the Dining Room, as adapted in the 18th century, once part of the Buttery. Left, the fireplace; right the Phelips family arms, the motto "Pro aris et fois" translates to "For homes and hearths," from 1599.
Below, the Dining Room, as adapted in the 18th century, once part of the Buttery. Left, the fireplace; right the Phelips family arms, the motto "Pro aris et fois" translates to "For homes and hearths," from 1599.
Above left, Sir Edward Phelips (c. 1555/1560 – 1614) Speaker of the House of Commons, who built Montacute House and established the dynasty which owned the estates until it was sold in the early 20th century. At right, Lord Curzon who leased the house and lived there with his mistress, the novelist Elinor Glyn. After his death in 1925, the house was emptied of its art and furnishings, remaining unwanted. In 1931, Ernest Cook of Thomas Cook Travel Agents purchased the empty Montacute House for the National Trust, as the second stately home under its protection.
Below James Lees-Milne (1908-1997), Historic Buildings Secretary of the NT, who with Eardley Knollys, initiated a drive to stimulate donations of period-appropriate acquisitions to furnish the house; right, Detail of The Hunter, a 16th C. tapestry from the Gobelins factory in Paris, dated 1788, one of many precious objects donated to the house by Sir Malcolm Stewart (1872-1951), philanthropist and founder of the London Brick Company.
Below James Lees-Milne (1908-1997), Historic Buildings Secretary of the NT, who with Eardley Knollys, initiated a drive to stimulate donations of period-appropriate acquisitions to furnish the house; right, Detail of The Hunter, a 16th C. tapestry from the Gobelins factory in Paris, dated 1788, one of many precious objects donated to the house by Sir Malcolm Stewart (1872-1951), philanthropist and founder of the London Brick Company.
Above, left, the silver epergne was once owned by the Phelips family and purchased in 2006 by the NT; right, the cabinet on a stand is English, in the Japanese style, in lacquer and gilt, dating from the mid-18th century.
I have wandered far afield from the brilliant PBS television series based on the late Hilary Mantel's trilogy Wolf Hall. But I cannot resist just one more nod to the fine work of Mark Rylance, who stars as counselor to Henry VIII, Thomas Cromwell. An excellent performance.
I have wandered far afield from the brilliant PBS television series based on the late Hilary Mantel's trilogy Wolf Hall. But I cannot resist just one more nod to the fine work of Mark Rylance, who stars as counselor to Henry VIII, Thomas Cromwell. An excellent performance.
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