Queen's House
The Queen's House is a former royal palace in the London Borough of Greenwich.
History
Inigo Jones designed the house in 1616 originally for Anne of Denmark, wife of King James I. After the death of the Queen of the building, however, was set in 1619, and Jones built for the royal Palace of Whitehall, the Banqueting House. 1629 commissioned Charles I. Jones, to complete the house for his wife Henrietta Maria. The Queen used the house was finished in 1635 as a retreat from the nearby Palace of Placentia for their closer courtiers.
Only seven years later ( 1642) the English Civil War ended the use of the royal house. During the reign of Mary II and William III. was the demolition of the old Palace of Placentia. Christopher Wren was given to build the Greenwich Hospital for seamen the order at this point. However, Maria II gave Wren the statement involve the Queen's House in this system and must be kept free the line of sight to the River Thames. Today's system with two opposite building complexes which frame the Queens House, was built 1696-1752.
Since 1807 served Queen's House as a sailor school. Since 1937 it is part of the National Maritime Museum, in the building marine paintings and portraits are mainly issued by personalities of maritime history.
The Greenwich Park including all buildings was appointed as Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997.
Architecture
Above the old Palace of Placentia was through the royal park public road from Deptford to Woolwich. To get from the castle in the upper part of the park, but without having to cross this road, Inigo Jones designed a clever plan. Parallel to the road should be two rectangular parts of the building form the ground floor, while the first floor is connected by a kind of covered bridge. The road was so through the ground floor of the new house. After the road was laid, was Charles II in 1661 by John Webb seal the sides so that the Queen's House now has a cubic shape. For the new use as a sailor school in 1807 by Daniel Asher Alexander new wing of the east and west of the building were built, which were connected with the Queen's House by colonnaded aisles.
Queen's House is one of the most important buildings in British architectural history, as it was the first Palladian building in England. The construction was started in 1616 by the delay in construction however, it was not completed until after the Banqueting House, so this is considered as the first building in the style of Palladian classicism dominated in England. Inigo Jones had indeed studied the architecture of Andrea Palladio, but the model for Queens House seems rather to be Giuliano da Sangallo was the Villa Medici in Poggio a Caiano. During the sprawling Palace of Placentia with its facade of red brick rather unimpressive had beamed the much smaller Queen's House in frischgestrichenem white and so was a striking contrast. The building is considered with its symmetrical proportions, the excellent design and the rich interior as a masterpiece of classicism. The understanding of classical architecture at the time was used in the UK and little Queen's House appeared to his contemporaries considered revolutionary. The building continued to influence and was considered during the next two centuries as a model for neoclassical buildings and manors throughout England.
Interior
Main room of the house is the cube-shaped Great Hall with a magnificent, made by Nicholas Stone marble floor and a carved wooden ceiling. The originally present in the ceiling painting by Orazio Gentileschi bequeathed Queen Anne her maid of honor and temporary confidante Sarah Churchill had this installed in their London townhouse Marlborough House. From the Great Hall, the famous tulips staircase leads to the upper floor. The stairs were designed by Jones and is considered the first self-supporting spiral stairs in Britain. The name carries forth from decoration in the railing, but are not intended as tulips, but Lillien as reminiscent of Queen Henrietta Maria from the House of Bourbon. Upstairs are the master bedroom of the queen 's bedroom of the king and a staircase leads from there down to the Orangerie.