Completion of the Queen's House, Greenwich

Literary/ Cultural Context Essay

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Queen's House stands in Greenwich Park on the Thames to the east of London. It is one of the earliest, finest and most important neo-classical buildings in the United Kingdom. Commissioned in 1616 by Anne of Denmark, wife of James I, from Inigo Jones (1573–1652), the house was to serve as a pavilion for private royal retreat and hospitality. It was originally built as an addition to the Palace of Placentia originally founded on this site in 1447 by Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, and passing to the crown when Humphrey was executed for high treason in the same year. Placentia thus became the birthplace of both Henry VIII (1491) and Queen Elizabeth I (1533). The Palace of Placentia was in the red brick vernacular style which can be seen today in Hampton Court, the other Thameside palace to…

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Citation: Clark, Robert. "Completion of the Queen's House, Greenwich". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 06 January 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=212, accessed 23 November 2024.]

212 Completion of the Queen's House, Greenwich 2 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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