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Oatlands Palace

Coordinates:51°22′30″N0°26′33″W/ 51.375072°N 0.442392°W/51.375072; -0.442392
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The original 16th-century Oatlands Palace

Oatlands Palaceis a formerTudorandStuartroyalpalacewhich took the place of the formermanor( of the village ofOatlandsnearWeybridge,Surrey.Little remains of the original building, so excavations of the palace took place in 1964 to rediscover its extent.

The four-star Oatlands Park Hotel now occupies the site where the post-Commonwealth Oatlands mansion (Oatlands House) once stood. Within the core of the building are some surviving details for earlier stages of its existence. The former site of Oatlands Palace is down the hill towards the centre of Weybridge. This was once part of the lands of the sameestate.

Manor and palace

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Tudors

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Much of the foundation stone for the palace came fromChertsey Abbey,which was abandoned and fell into ruins after theDissolution of the Monasteriesduring the Protestant Reformation in England.[1]

The former entrance gateway still stands and is Grade II-listed.[2]

Henry VIIIcame to Oatlands on a progress in September 1514 and hunted stags onChertsey Meads.[3]He acquired the house in 1538, and rebuilt it forAnne of Cleves.

The palace was built around three main adjoining quadrangular courtyards covering fourteen hectares and using an existing 15th-century moated manor house.[4]

A bed made for Anne of Cleves was described inan inventoryof Oatlands: Queen Anne's bed "hadcurtainsof crimsoncloth of goldand cloth of silver decorated with borders of purple velvet on the seams. It featured 108 embroidered badges of Anne and Henry and their crowned arms on the tester and ceeler.[5]

Henry VIII marriedCatherine Howardin the palace on 28 July 1540.[6]Henry's subsequent wife,Catherine Parr,spent time at the Palace as well. Records of her writings include a letter sent from Oatlands to her brother,William, Lord Parr,shortly after her marriage to the King in July 1543.[7]Henry VIII was less mobile in his later years and a special ramp was built for him at Oatlands so he could mount his hunting horses.[8]

Mary Tudor retreated to Oatlands after the end of her anticipated pregnancy. Her previous residence,Hampton Court Palace,had housed the nursery staff that was assembled for the birth of the child. The announcement of the move to Oatlands (which was considerably smaller than Hampton) ended any hope at court of a happy outcome to the Queen's pregnancy.

Elizabeth I employed herSergeant PainterLeonard Fryerto decorate the long gallery with a woodgrain pattern in 1598. After priming the panelling withwhite leadpaint, he painted imitation "flotherwoode", with gold and silver highlights on the mouldings, and arabesque patterns and paintwork of "markatree", perhaps resemblingmarquetry.Fryer used "sweet varnish" to finish his work, chosen for its scent.[9]

Anne of Denmark and her children

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Anna of Denmark and her African servant at Oatlands,Paul van Somer

Prince HenryandPrincess Elizabethwere in residence in August 1603.[10]Prince Charlescame fromDunfermline Palaceto Oatlands in September 1604.[11]

The palace belonged to James I's wifeAnne of Denmarkfrom 1610.[12]She built asilkwormhouse and a vineyard, and employedInigo Jonesto design an ornamental gateway from the Privy Garden to the Park.[13]Work on site was supervised byRobert Stickellsand the KeeperJohn Trevor.[14]The gardener John Bonnall planted "new and rare fruits, flowers, herbs, and trees".[15]

Her art collection at Oatlands included portraits of her Danish nephews, her courtiersJean Drummond,Mary Middlemore,andTom Durie.Her own portrait was painted byPaul van Somer,showing her with her horse, held by anAfrican servant,hunting dogs around her feet, and the new gateway and the palace in the background.[16]

The queen's bed was "laced with parchment lace of gold and silver spaingled", and the bedchamber was lined with panels of satin laced with coloured silks.[17]Furnishing included painted and gilt Italian style chairs, and other seating was upholstered in red velvet with her initials.[18]Despite this luxury, Anne of Denmark was sometimes bored or melancholy, and wrote to King James that she was "weary of Oatlands, of my mares, of my deer, of my dogs, and of my vineyard".[19]

The ambassador of Savoy, Antonio Scanese, Count of Scarnafes, arrived to visit Anne of Denmark at Oatlands on 3 October 1614.[20]She provided a grand reception for the Venetian ambassadorPiero Contariniat Oatlands on 30 August 1618. He was welcomed and entertained by her Lord Chamberlain, theEarl of Leicester,while they waited for the arrival of several noblewomen, includingMargaret Howard, Countess of Nottinghamand theCountess of Arundel.The Queen had planned a hunt, but it was rained off. At the end of the dinner there were sweetmeats, then they stood and toastedElizabeth, Electress PalatineandFrederick V.[21]For such occasions, the under-keeperRalph Disonborrowed furnishings from other palaces.[22]

Henrietta Maria and her children

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Oatlands was one of the properties settled uponHenrietta Mariaon her marriage to Charles I. She used it as a country retreat, installing part of her art collection on site, employingRalph Grynderto make new furnishings andJohn Tradescant the elderto remake the gardens.[23]In August 1637 it was rumoured she was sickening with consumption (tuberculosis, which was frequently fatal as penicillin was not yet discovered). At Oatlands she was drinking asses' (donkeys) milk as a remedy.[24]

In 1646 Oatlands was a temporary home of the infantPrincess Henrietta of England,daughter ofCharles I of Englandand later Duchess of Orleans, sister-in-law ofLouis XIV.Her governessLady Dalkeithsmuggled her into France in the summer of 1646 during theEnglish Civil War.

House to hotel

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1649-1699

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After theKing was executed,theCommonwealthGovernmentsold Oatlands and some other Royal residences to help pay Parliamentary debts. Robert Turbridge bought Oatlands Palace and its contents for about £4,000. He demolished it and sold the bricks toSir Richard WestonofSutton Place.[25]

A single house – remote from the site of the palace itself and possibly originally functioning as a hunting lodge – survived the demolition. After theRestoration,during the 1660s, it was the residence of the pro-CommonwealthWilliam Boteler.He had served as one of the ten major-generals during theRule of the Major-Generals(1656) and was noted as being harsh onRoman Catholics,QuakersandCavaliers.[26]

The house was later occupied and extended by SirEdward Herbert,the Lord Chief Justice. He forfeited it to the Crown when he followedJames IIinto exile. It was awarded to his brother,Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington,who was later the admiral in command of the English and Dutch Fleets at theBattle of Beachy Head.[27]

1699-1819

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Arthur left the house toHenry Clinton, 7th Earl of Lincoln,whose sonHenry Clintonagain enlarged it as well as laying out formal gardens. He abandoned it as his main residence when he inheritedClumber Parkand sold Oatlands back to the Crown in 1788.[28]

In 1790, Oatlands was leased from the Crown by thePrince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany,the second son ofGeorge III.[29]His architect wasHenry Holland.In November the following year Frederick and his brother thePrince of Waleshosted composerJoseph Haydn,who stayed for two days, played music for four hours each evening[30]and recorded in his second London notebook:

The little castle, 18 miles from London, lies on a slope and commands the most glorious view. Among its many beauties is a most remarkable grotto which cost £25 000 sterling, and which was 11 years in the building. It is very large and contains many diversions,inter aliaactual water that flows in from various sides, a beautiful English garden, various entrances and exits, besides a most charming bath.[31]

The house burned down in 1794 but was quickly rebuilt inStrawberry Hill Gothicstyle.

1820-present

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Lodges and entrance gates to Oatlands Park Hotel

After the death of the Duke's estranged wifeFredericain 1820, the whole property was sold. It was bought byEdward Hughes Ball Hughesin 1824 (although it was not until after the Duke's death in 1827 that the sale was finally concluded) and again remodelled in 1830. Hughes had tried to dispose of the estate by public auction in 1829 but this part did not sell.

In 1832 he leased the mansion and adjoining parkland toLord Francis Egertonfor a seven-year period, and renewed the term in 1839. The arrival of theLondon and South Western Railwayin 1838 made it possible for residents to commute daily to London. In 1846 the estate was broken up into lots for building development and sold at three public auctions in May, August and September of that year. Following a period of private ownership by James Watts Peppercorne, the house was adapted and operated as a hotel in 1856, known as the South Western (later Oatlands Park) Hotel.

From 1916 to 1918, duringWorld War I,the British government used the hotel as a hospital forNew Zealandtroops injured in France.[32]Subsequently, one of the main streets inWalton-on-Thameswas renamed New Zealand Avenue[33]in honour of those men.

References

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  1. ^Elmbridge museumArchived2008-06-10 at theWayback Machine
  2. ^Historic England."Entrance gates and walls to Oatlands Palace (Grade II) (1191628)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved4 September2021.
  3. ^Edmund Lodge,Illustrations of British History,vol. 1 (London, 1791), p. 6.
  4. ^Oatlands Palace from the Gatehouse
  5. ^David Starkey,Inventory of Henry VIII(London, 1998), p. 296 no. 12648.
  6. ^Six wives of Henry VIII
  7. ^Janel Mueller,Katherine Parr: Complete Works and Correspondence(University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2011), p. 46.
  8. ^Simon Thurley,Royal Palaces of Tudor England(Yale, 1993), p. 60.
  9. ^Ian C. Bristow,Architectural Colour in British Interiors, 1615-1840(Yale, 1996), pp. 2, 11.
  10. ^Horatio Brown,Calendar State Papers, Venice: 1603–1607,vol. 10 (London, 1900), p. 74 no. 104.
  11. ^Horatio Brown,Calendar State Papers, Venice: 1603–1607,vol. 10 (London, 1900), p. 182 no. 274.
  12. ^Arthur McGregor,The Late King's Goods(London, 1989), 33.
  13. ^Jemma Field,Anna of Denmark: The Material and Visual Culture of the Stuart Courts(Manchester, 2020), pp. 69–70.
  14. ^Herbert Horne,"Life of Inigo Jones, II",Hobby Horse,7:2 (1893), 73.
  15. ^Frederick Devon,Issues of the Exchequer(London, 1836), pp. 228-9.
  16. ^Jemma Field,Anna of Denmark: The Material and Visual Culture of the Stuart Courts(Manchester, 2020), 97, 168–172.
  17. ^Annabel Westman,Fringe, Frog & Tassel: The Art of the Trimmings-Maker(London, 2019), 22, 33.
  18. ^Arthur McGregor,The Late King's Goods(London, 1989), 291, 300, 317.
  19. ^William Dunn Macray,Beaumont Papers(London: Roxburghe Club, 1884), x, 21.
  20. ^Allen Hinds,Calendar State Papers, Venice: 1613–1615,vol. 13 (London, 1907), p. 207 no. 423.
  21. ^Allen Hinds,Calendar State Papers, Venice: 1617–1619,vol. 15 (London, 1909), 314–5.
  22. ^Wendy Hitchmough, 'Setting the Stuart court: placing portraits in the performance of Anglo-Spanish negotiations',Journal of the History of Collections,32:2 (July 2020), 245–264.
  23. ^Annabel Westman,Fringe Frog & Tassel: The Art of the Trimmings-Maker in Interior Decoration in Britain and Ireland(London: Philip Wilson, 2019), p. 35.
  24. ^HMC 4th Report: Earl de la Warr(London, 1874), p. 293.
  25. ^Oatlands Palace History,Weybridge Society, 2017,retrieved13 July2017
  26. ^Roots, Ivan(2004), "Boteler, William",Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.), Oxford University Press,doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/37209(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)
  27. ^"Herbert, Arthur (c.1648–1716), of Oatlands Park, Weybridge, Surrey".History of Parliament.Retrieved7 August2017.
  28. ^"Dukes of Newcastle - Family Seats".University of Nottingham.
  29. ^Lock, A.H. (1974).Surrey in 1815. A picture of Surrey life in 1815.Reading: Osprey Publishing.ISBN0-85045-179-5.
  30. ^Robbins Landon, Howard Chandler(1959).The Collected Correspondence and London Notebooks of Joseph Haydn.London: Barrie and Rockliff.
  31. ^Haydn, Joseph."1791 – The Year part 6 – The Year Ends – Triumph & Tragedy".Retrieved7 August2017.
  32. ^"History".Oatlands Park Hotel.Archived fromthe originalon 23 February 2008.Retrieved30 April2008.
  33. ^New Zealand Avenue
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