River Thames thread for history of Royal Palaces

David Souden is head of access and learning for the historic Royal Palaces and came to the club on Tuesday 23 February to take LSC members on a metaphorical journey up and down the Thames. We were travelling in time on a royal barge from one palace to another, usually after a catastrophic event.

The journey started at the Palace of Westminster. Here much of the medieval business of government was carried out under one roof, the largest roof in Europe. In the nearby Abbey Church, kings and queens have been anointed and crowned for well over 1000 years.

This was the start of a thread that ran through the evening, for Doctor David was taking us along the evolution of the British government and power as it was established up and down the River Thames.

Next stop the Tower of London, a palace and fortress built by William the Conqueror: never taken by force, and only overcome through complicity. It became a prison, royal mint, a menagerie and many other things. One lesser-known resident was a polar bear that escaped when allowed to fish in the Thames.

Upriver to Richmond Palace (burnt), down to Greenwich (burnt and rebuilt), up to Whitehall (burnt), and off to Hampton Court (half demolished and rebuilt until the funds ran out); then back to Westminster where the modernisation of the Exchequer entailed the burning of wooden tallies, and much of the old palace of Westminster also went up in smoke. We alighted where we started, looking with new appreciation at the familiar face of the Houses of Parliament.

Picture copyright: Historic Royal Palaces

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