Woodstock Palace

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An old print of the Palace of Woodstock

Woodstock Palace was a royal residence in the English town of Woodstock, Oxfordshire.[1]

Henry I of England built a hunting lodge here and in 1129 he built 7 miles (11 km) of walls to create the first enclosed park, where lions and leopards were kept. The lodge became a palace under Henry's grandson, Henry II, who spent time here with his mistress, Rosamund Clifford.[1]

Important events that took place at the palace include:

King James and Anne of Denmark came to Woodstock in September 1603 during a time of plague.[3] Sir Robert Cecil criticised the building as, "unwholsome, all the house standing upon springs. It is unsavoury, for there is no savour but of cows and pigs. It is uneaseful, for only the King and Queen with the privy chamber ladies and 3 or 4 of Scottish council are lodged in the house".[4] The court was at Woodstock again in September 1610.[5]

In 1611, King James gave Woodstock Palace to his son Prince Henry.[6] He had a banqueting house built of leafy tree branches in the park, in which he held a dinner for his parents and his sister Princess Elizabeth in August 1612.[7][8]

Woodstock Palace was mostly destroyed during the English Civil War, and the remaining stones were later used to build Blenheim Palace nearby.[1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Pipe, Simon (23 October 2007). "Woodstock's lost royal palace". BBC Oxford. Retrieved 29 November 2010.
  2. ^ Davies, John. History of Wales. p. 140.
  3. ^ HMC Salisbury Hatfield, vol. 15 (London, 1930), p. 243.
  4. ^ Edmund Lodge, Illustrations of British History, vol. 3 (London, 1791), p. 186.
  5. ^ Horatio Brown, Calendar State Papers Venice, 1610-1613, vol. 12 (London, 1906), pp. 40-1.
  6. ^ Horatio Brown, Calendar State Papers Venice, 1610-1613, vol. 12 (London, 1906), p. 207 no. 324.
  7. ^ Mary Anne Everett Green & S. C. Lomas, Elizabeth, Electress Palatine and Queen of Bohemia (London, 1909), p. 23.
  8. ^ Thomas Birch, Life of Henry Prince of Wales (London, 1760), pp. 331-2.

Coordinates: 51°50′45″N 01°21′50″W / 51.84583°N 1.36389°W / 51.84583; -1.36389