South-east of London, ringed by a moat, Eltham was one of the largest royal palaces in England and the place where the future Henry VIII grew up. Of its medieval splendour one jewel survives: a great hall with an oak roof, among the finest in the kingdom.
The palace where a king grew up
A royal residence since the fourteenth century, Eltham was large enough to hold the whole court at the great Christmas feasts. Edward IV had a magnificent Great Hall raised here, around 1475-1480, crowned with a hammer-beam oak roof adorned with carved pendants. It was in this palace that the young prince Henry, the future Henry VIII, spent part of his childhood and received his education. It is said that the scholar Erasmus, visiting, met the child here and was struck by his liveliness. Eltham was thus one of the cradles of the culture of the prince who would overturn England.
From royal favour to oblivion
Under Henry VIII, Eltham remained a favoured residence, but royal favour shifted little by little towards Greenwich, close by and open to the river. The palace slowly declined, its buildings were abandoned, and only the great hall came down the centuries. Long reduced to the role of a barn, it was saved and then restored. In the 1930s a wealthy couple, the Courtaulds, built beside it a famous Art Deco villa while keeping the medieval great hall — a striking marriage of two ages that makes the site's originality today.
What to see
- Edward IV's Great Hall, with its hammer-beam oak roof.
- The medieval moat and the stone bridge of the palace.
- The contrast between the medieval hall and the 1930s Art Deco villa.
- The gardens surrounding the site.
Did you know?
In 1499 the young Thomas More brought Erasmus to visit the little prince Henry, then aged eight, in the palace of Eltham. The child, already self-assured, is said to have demanded a poem of the great humanist — which the latter, caught off guard, took several days to compose. So, within the walls of Eltham, there once crossed the man who would embody European humanism, the friend who brought him — Thomas More — and the child who, become king, would one day have that same More beheaded.
Practical information
Eltham Palace lies at Eltham, in south-east Greater London. It is today a site in the care of English Heritage, comprising the medieval great hall, the Art Deco villa and the gardens. Opening hours and days are liable to change; it is best to check them against the official sources before visiting.
Quiz
- Which future king spent his childhood at Eltham?
- Henry VIII
- Henry VII
- James I
- What survives of the medieval palace?
- The great hall with its oak roof
- The keep
- The chapel
- Which humanist visited the young prince at Eltham in 1499?
- Erasmus
- Machiavelli
- Rabelais