Rediscovered: The Remains of the Tudor's Greenwich Palace

The Old Royal Naval College is situated where the Tudor palace once stood ORNC

Greenwich palace near London was known as "The Palace of Placentia" and it was a key palace during the Tudor Period. It was torn down to make room for another structure, but recently archaeologists found part of the palace beneath the Old Royal Naval College which now sits on top of the site. 

WHEN BUILT? 

The site was occupied in the 1420s by Bella Court, a manor house owned by the powerful nobleman Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, brother of Henry V. Later, Queen Margaret of Anjou - wife of Henry VI - extended the manor to create the lavish Palace of Placentia (or Pleasaunce). Henry VII, having taken the throne and ended the Wars of the Roses, extended the palace into Greenwich Palace, and it was here that Henry VIII was born in 1491.

Sketch of Greenwich Palace around 1443

HENRY VIII's PALACE - Henry VIII, who thrived on lavish displays of wealth and power, would make the palace the center of courtly life.  It was close to the docks at Woolwich and Deptford, where his favorite warships the Great Harry and Mary Rose were moored. The size and scale of Greenwich Palace was once comparable to Hampton Court Palace and it contained state apartments, a chapel, courtyards, gardens and an area for jousting.

WHAT HAPPENED THERE?  Elizabeth I and Mary I held their courts at Greenwich Palace, one of the most important Royal Palaces in the country.A vast palace complex, Greenwich Palace was arguably the main Royal palace throughout the Tudor period. Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and Mary I were all born here; Henry enjoyed jousting here and his wife, Anne Boleyn, was famously arrested here; even Shakespeare performed here as an actor to Elizabeth I.

REDISCOVERED!  Beneath the floor of the Naval College workers! 
The rooms are believed to have been used as kitchens, a brewhouse or laundry areas.
One of the rooms featured a lead-glazed tiled floor and the other contained what experts believe are “bee boles” - wall cavities which housed beehive baskets or “skeps” during the winter months, when bee colonies hibernate.

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/sWNlZH5yQc8

FELL INTO DISREPAIR-During the English Civil War, however, the palace fell into disrepair, and most of the buildings were subsequently demolished: today only their foundations exist, buried beneath Grand Square

DESTROYED IN 1660:  It was demolished by Charles II in 1660, to make way for a new palace. 

WHAT IS THERE NOW? It's the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich SE10 9NN, UK Henry VIII.  It features the sumptuous Painted Hall and the neo-classical Chapel, the site has seen a variety of uses, as Greenwich Palace, the Royal Naval Hospital of Seamen and then the Royal Naval College.

The rooms may have been used by Henry VIII's courtiers or in connection to the onsite armory or nearby church.Credit: Old Royal Naval College

Sources: Independent UK, Old Royal Naval College website