[Illustration: Richmond Palace]
Richmond has comparatively but few antiquarian or poetical visiters,
notwithstanding all its associations with the ancient splendour of the
English court, and the hallowed names of Pope and Thomson. Maurice sings,
To thy sequester'd bow'rs and wooded height,
That ever yield my soul renew'd delight,
Richmond, I fly! with all thy beauties fir'd,
By raptur'd poets sung, by kings admir'd!
but ninety-nine out of a hundred who visit Richmond, thank the gods they
are not poetical, fly off to the _Star and Garter_ hill, and content
themselves with the inspirations of its well-stored cellars. All this
corresponds with the turtle-feasting celebrity of the modern _Sheen_; but
it ill accords with the antiquarian importance and resplendent scenery of
this delightful country.
Our engraving is from a very old drawing, representing the palace at
Richmond, as built by Henry VII. The manor-house at Sheen, a little east
of the bridge, and close by the river side, became a _royal palace_ in
the time of Edward I., for he and his successor resided here. Edward III.
died here in 1377. Queen Anne, the consort of his successor, died here in
1394. Deeply affected at her death, he, according to Holinshed, "caused
it to be thrown down and defaced; whereas the former kings of this land,
being wearie of the citie, used customarily thither to resort as to a
place of pleasure, and serving highly to their recreation." Henry V.,
however, restored the palace to its former magnificence; and Henry VII.
held, in 1492, a grand tournament here. In 1499, it was almost consumed
by fire, when Henry rebuilt the palace, and gave it the name of RICHMOND.
Cardinal Wolsey frequently resided here; and Hall, in his Chronicles,
says, that "when the common people, and especially such as had been
servants of Henry VII., saw the cardinal keep house in the manor royal at
Richmond, which that monarch so highly esteemed, it was a marvel to hear
how they grudged, saying, 'so a butcher's dogge doth lie in the manor of
Richmond!'"[1]
Queen Elizabeth was prisoner at Richmond during the reign of her sister
Mary; after she came to the throne, the palace was her favourite
residence; and here she died in 1608. Charles I. formed a large
collection of pictures here; and Charles II. was educated at Richmond. On
the restoration, the palace was in a very dismantled state, and having,
during the commonwealth, been plundered and defaced, it never recovered
its pristine splendour.
The survey taken by order of parliament in 1649, affords a minute
description of the palace. The great hall was one hundred feet in length,
and forty in breadth, having a screen at the lower end, over which was
"fayr foot space in the higher end thereof, the pavement of square tile,
well lighted and seated; at the north end having a turret, or clock-case,
covered with lead, which is a special ornament to this building." The
prince's lodgings are described as a "freestone building, three stories
high, with _fourteen turrets_ covered with lead," being "a very graceful
ornament to the whole house, and perspicuous to the county round about."
A round tower is mentioned, called the "Canted Tower," with a staircase
of one hundred and twenty-four steps. The chapel was ninety-six feet long
and forty broad, with cathedral-seats and pews. Adjoining the prince's
garden was an open gallery, two hundred feet long, over which was a close
gallery of similar length. Here was also a royal library. Three pipes
supplied the palace with water, one from the white conduit in the new
park, another from the conduit in the town fields, and the third from a
conduit near the alms-houses in Richmond. In 1650, it was sold for
10,000_l_. to private persons.
All the accounts which have come down to us describe the furniture and
decorations of the ANCIENT PALACE as very superb, exhibiting in gorgeous
tapestry the deeds of kings and of heroes who had signalized themselves
by their conquests throughout France in behalf of their country.
The site of Richmond Palace is now occupied by noble mansions; but AN OLD
ARCHWAY, seen from _the Green_, still remains as a melancholy memorial of
its regal splendour.
[1] Mrs. A.T. Thomson, in her _Memoirs of the Court of Henry the Eighth_,
says, "On the night of the Epiphany (1510), a pageant was introduced
into the hall at Richmond, representing a hill studded with gold and
precious stones, and having on its summit a tree of gold, from which
hung roses and pomegranates. From the declivity of the hill descended
a lady richly attired, who, with the gentlemen, or, as they were then
called, children of honour, danced a morris before the king. On
another occasion, in the presence of the court, an artificial forest
was drawn in by a lion and an antelope, the hides of which were
richly embroidered with golden ornaments; the animals were harnessed
with chains of gold, and on each sat a fair damsel in gay apparel. In
the midst of the forest, which was thus introduced, appeared a gilded
tower, at the end of which stood a youth, holding in his hands a
garland of roses, as the prize of valour in a tournament which
succeeded the pageant!"
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