Nonsuch Palace

THE palace of Nonsuch in Surrey was constructed between 1538 and 1546 on the site of an earlier manor and church. As its name suggests, it was regarded as without parallel in lavishness of decoration and modernity of conception among the royal palaces of Henry VIII. Yet, before the end of the seventeenth century, the prodigy had virtually vanished. Recovering and analysing the evidence about its design, contents and use accordingly promises important insights into the ways the Tudors lived. The crown did not own the palace continuously: sold in 1556, it was reclaimed for the monarch in 1592. Having been granted in turn to Anne of Denmark and Henrietta Maria, in 1671 it passed to Lady Castlemaine, who disposed of her interest to Lord Berkeley in 1682. Despite its chequered history, Professor Biddle insists that it was a building ‘without compare in the annals of architecture’, and that its examination represents the first time that scientific principles of excavation have been applied to a renaissance structure. The archaeological work was undertaken in 1959 and 1960. Since then, techniques in post-medieval archaeology and in the analysis of the finds have advanced considerably

Ancient history · Annals · Archaeology · Art · Art history · Excavation · Modernity · The Renaissance · Architecture · Classics · Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation · Historical and Cultural Archaeology Studies · History · Philosophy

• Mid 17th- and 19th-century English wine bottles with seals in London’s archaeological collections

  Nigel Jeffries, Nicholas Major•Post-Medieval Archaeology•2015

  Add to list

• Political iconoclasm

  Rachel Askew, Rachel M C Askew•Post-Medieval Archaeology•2016

  Add to list