WELCOME…
…to the very first edition of Within the Walls, which celebrates the rich heritage, magnificent moments, and captivating stories of Historic Royal Palaces.
Over the last few months, we have been busy launching our ambitious new strategy to ensure Historic Royal Palaces is A Charity for Everyone. When we first became a charity in 1998, we made a commitment to ‘help everyone’ discover the palaces ‘for the benefit of the nation.’ We’ve achieved a lot since then, but there’s still much more to do. We want to break down the barriers that prevent people from accessing our spaces, and stories, so that our palaces can truly become living resources for everyone to treasure and enjoy.
The palaces in our care have always evolved and adapted throughout their 1,000-year history and this next chapter will be no different. We plan to extend our reach to more people than ever before by championing historical education, sharing inclusive and new stories, and embracing sustainability to secure the future of the palaces. With your committed support, we will be able to preserve these majestic spaces for generations to come.
We are also thrilled to update you on some of our recent achievements including the re-presentation of the Wolsey Rooms at Hampton Court Palace, our national Superbloom Schools programme, and the fascinating graffiti project at the Tower of London.
Thank you for being an integral part of Historic Royal Palaces. Your commitment ensures everyone can access, enjoy, and be inspired by our six iconic palaces.
Antonia Newman Director of Development
MY PALACES: NICHOLAS COLERIDGE
Sir Nicholas Coleridge CBE DL is a British former media executive, author, and cultural chair. Sir Nicholas was appointed Chair of Historic Royal Palaces by His Majesty the King, for a three-year term beginning 1 November 2023. Here Sir Nicholas shares his inside scoop on exploring the palaces, and where you could find him if he was a Yeoman Warder for the day...
2. What’s your favourite fact about our palaces?
“I heard such an interesting statistic recently. In the entire lifetime of the Tower of London there have only been 422 Yeoman Warders, or beefeaters as they are often incorrectly named. But there have been 570 people who have been into outer space. Had I been asked to guess, I would never have got it right. Who knew there have been more astronauts than Yeoman Warders?”
3. If you could travel back in time, who would you most like to meet and what would you ask them?
1. What attracted you to Historic Royal Palaces?
“I have been visiting the palaces for almost sixty years, first as a child when we were regularly taken to the Tower of London and Hampton Court, then as a student, then as a parent when we took our four children to them, and now I’m discovering them all over again. I did History of Art and Architecture at Cambridge, and you cannot make a list of the key ten British buildings without including at least four of Historic Royal Palaces’ ones - so it’s a privilege to be involved. If you are interested in architecture, history, and gardens, this is a dream assignment.”
“I would like to have welcomed King Charles II at the Banqueting House in Whitehall when he returned as monarch, after the republic of Oliver Cromwell had petered out, and royalty was restored. And I would have asked him if he felt a bit queasy knowing that his father, King Charles I, was beheaded in the very same building.”
4. What’s your ‘must-see’ when visiting the palaces this summer?
“I have a deep love of the gardens at Hampton Court Palace - and they seem to get better and better every year. I especially like walking around Long Water, and then the whole area in front of the Little Banqueting House - so elegant. Another thing I enjoy is walking to the very top of the Pagoda at Kew. You can do about 5,000 steps just walking up and down, which makes it very easy to hit the daily target of 10,000.”
5. What would you do if you were Chief Yeoman Warder for the day?
“I expect I would spend most of it in the special private pub the Yeoman Warders have concealed below the battlements. It always seems like a very fun place.”
6. What does our new strategy mean for the future of Historic Royal Palaces?
“I love that Historic Royal Palaces has an ambitious plan to increase the number of visitors, and furthermore to encourage more children from backgrounds where palace-visiting isn’t necessarily a habit. We would like young people of every background to see the palaces and be intrigued or inspired by them. So much British history took place in the six palaces - so many decisive events - they are backdrops to our national heritage and narrative. And everyone is welcome to enjoy them.”
WONDERS OF THE WOLSEY ROOMS
The long-awaited reopening of the Wolsey Rooms is finally here. After being closed to the public since 2021, these historic chambers are ready to dazzle visitors to Hampton Court Palace once again.
The Wolsey Rooms, built in the 1520s, reflect the ambition of a young and headstrong king, Henry VIII, and his loyal adviser and chief minister, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. With thanks to the support of the DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund, the rooms have now been transformed into a permanent public gallery, transporting visitors back in time to an era of opulence, ambition, and artistic brilliance.
The new installation features 16 important artworks, including four exceptionally rare Tudor paintings and unique items rarely seen by the public. Beyond recounting Henry VIII’s early reign, the gallery will share diverse stories of the men and women who enabled the court to exist and to flourish.
Explore Tudor art and life within the oldest rooms at Hampton Court Palace this summer in the newly reopened Wolsey Rooms.
IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK...
Thursday 30 May 2024 marked 463 years since Hew Draper carved his ‘graffiti’ on the Salt Tower walls within the Tower of London:
‘Hew Draper of Brystow made this spheere the 30 day of Maye anno 1561’
Draper was accused of practising sorcery against the courtiers Sir William and Lady Elizabeth St Loe (better known as Bess of Hardwick) and imprisoned in the Tower in 1560. He denied the charge; Draper claimed he had burned all his magic books but admitted to practicing sorcery in the past. However, he left the detailed astrological carving at the Tower on the wall of his cell. The carving of such a mysterious chart was probably not the most prudent action for a suspected sorcerer. It is not known what happened to him.
The Salt Tower contains a great number of inscriptions, mostly dating from the 16th century, when the Tower of London held religious prisoners. Dr Jamie Ingram, a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Historic Royal Palaces, is currently working on a donor-funded project examining this graffiti. In this article, Jamie shares more about how his studies are changing our understanding of the people who lived, worked, and were imprisoned at the Tower.
Jamie already knew about the prisoner graffiti before starting on the project, but there is much more than he’d expected – even on a quick scan of the markings, he counted 202 individual graffito (the singular term for graffiti) in the Salt Tower. The marks on the walls tell so many stories reflecting the varied life of the Tower, including famous pieces like Draper, the names of Yeoman Warders, religious symbols and the missives of soldiers going off duty - some poetic, some rather vulgar!
Recording all these marks is quite a challenge. Jamie explains it is a process of systematically photographing and tracing every mark. This not only provides us with beautiful illustrations, but also helps us to understand more about the individuals who made the marks.
We might often think of graffiti as a quick mark, but Jamie notes that some have clearly been made over time. Though made by the same hand, the marks have become shaky, which suggests that the inscriber may have been undergoing interrogation, or was suffering due to the lack of heating; part of this project is to gain a deeper understanding of the stories behind these marks.
Many prisoners at the Tower were incarcerated for extreme charges such as heresy, witchcraft, or treason. Despite this, it seems they were allowed sharp objects, so prisoners must have been bringing in craftsmen, and would therefore have needed consent from the authorities at the Tower to access their estates and funds. Prisoners often left heretical and sorceryrelated inscriptions in their cells – and importantly, these marks have not been chiselled away or obliterated, suggesting that prisoners were permitted or even encouraged in some way.
“It would have been hard to carve secretly too: the sound of metal on stone makes a very specific noise, so people are going to know you’re making a mark!”
Jamie explains that to understand the graffiti, you must strip away our modern perceptions. The act of creating graffiti in the 16th century was done with a very different set of values. This pioneering research can change our understanding of prisoners and residents in the Tower and their reaction to the place they were living in.
The Tower of London pilot graffiti project has been made possible thanks to the generous support of John Harding.
AWAKEN YOUR SENSES AT HISTORIC ROYAL PALACES
See: QUEEN CHARLOTTE’S BEDROOM AND ANTE-ROOM
Visit Queen Charlotte’s bedroom and dressing room at Kew Palace where the Queen spent her final months - now including a wig from Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. Open till late September 2024.
Smell: HAMPTON COURT PALACE FOOD FESTIVAL
Join us for a summer celebration of delicious food and drink in the iconic East Front Gardens at Hampton Court Palace from 24 - 26 August 2024.
Listen: HISTORIC ROYAL PALACES PODCAST
In this fortnightly podcast, you’ll hear from our experts and the people who bring our palaces to life. We explore how history moves us, tell stories about the monarchs you know, and uncover the lives of the people you don’t. Listen via your usual podcast platform or on our website - www.hrp.org.uk/listen-topodcasts-by-historic-royal-palaces
Taste: THE ORANGERY AT KENSINGTON PALACE
Reopened in April, the Orangery is the perfect location for an elegant afternoon lunch. View the Sunken Garden from the outside terrace or dine indoors in the newly refurbished space.
Touch: ARMOURY IN ACTION EXPERIENCE AT THE TOWER OF LONDON
Have a go at shooting arrows, brandishing a sword, or firing a cannon in this exciting hands-on experience in the White Tower.
