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Whitehall

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Whitehall Palace, the Palace of Whitehall or simply Whitehall, was one of the most complex and sizeable locations in the entirety of early modern Europe. As the primary place of residence for monarchs from 1529 to 1698, Whitehall was an architectural testament to the shifting sociopolitical, religious, and aesthetic currents of Renaissance England. Sugden describes the geospatial location of Whitehall in noting that [i]t lay on the left bank of the Thames, and extended from nearly the point where Westminster Bdge. now crosses the river to Scotland Yard, and from the river back to St. James’s Park (Sugden 564-565). The first recorded reference to what is now known as Whitehall notes the property’s sale to Gerin, an administrator under Henry II (Thurley 1). Ownership of the property shifted a number of times the 12th and early 13th centuries before coming into the possession ofWalter de Gray, Archbishop of York, in 1240 (based on Walter de Gray’s ownership, the property was known for centuries as York Place) (Thurley 4). Around 1303, Edward I expanded upon York Place so that he and his family could temporarily reside there during his time spent at Westminster. Following Edward I’s expansions, George Neville likely rebuilt and expanded upon York Place in the 15th century. By 1515, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey began drastic, costly renovations to York House, but upon Woolsey’s removal in 1529, Henry VIII began using the house as his primary London residence, during which time it began to be known as Whitehall (Cannon and Crowcroft). Following with Henrician expansions of the property, King James I built a new Banqueting House designed by Inigo Jones in 1634 (Blatherwick). Whitehall remained the primary residence for each of the Stuart monarchs through 17th century until Mary II & William III left Whitehall in favour of their own palace. The vast majority of the palace was destroyed by a fire in 1698, though Inigo Jones’s Banqueting House still remains (Cannon and Crowcroft).
View of Whitehall from St. James Park. Image courtesy of the Folger Digital Image Collection.
View of Whitehall from St. James Park. Image courtesy of the Folger Digital Image Collection.

References

Cite this page

MLA citation

Whitehall. The Map of Early Modern London, Edition 6.6, edited by Janelle Jenstad, U of Victoria, 30 Jun. 2021, mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/6.6/WHIT5.htm. INP.

Chicago citation

Whitehall. The Map of Early Modern London, Edition 6.6. Ed. Janelle Jenstad. Victoria: University of Victoria. Accessed June 30, 2021. mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/6.6/WHIT5.htm. INP.

APA citation

2021. Whitehall. In J. Jenstad (Ed), The Map of Early Modern London (Edition 6.6). Victoria: University of Victoria. Retrieved from https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/editions/6.6/WHIT5.htm. INP.

RIS file (for RefMan, RefWorks, EndNote etc.)

Provider: University of Victoria
Database: The Map of Early Modern London
Content: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

TY  - ELEC
ED  - Jenstad, Janelle
T1  - Whitehall
T2  - The Map of Early Modern London
ET  - 6.6
PY  - 2021
DA  - 2021/06/30
CY  - Victoria
PB  - University of Victoria
LA  - English
UR  - https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/6.6/WHIT5.htm
UR  - https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/6.6/xml/standalone/WHIT5.xml
TY  - UNP
ER  -

TEI citation

<bibl type="mla"> <title level="a">Whitehall</title>. <title level="m">The Map of Early Modern London</title>, Edition <edition>6.6</edition>, edited by <editor><name ref="#JENS1"><forename>Janelle</forename> <surname>Jenstad</surname></name></editor>, <publisher>U of Victoria</publisher>, <date when="2021-06-30">30 Jun. 2021</date>, <ref target="https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/6.6/WHIT5.htm">mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/6.6/WHIT5.htm</ref>. INP.</bibl>

Disambiguation for York Place and York House

York Place was the residence of Cardinal Wolsey before it was seized by Henry VIII and renamed Whitehall. York House was the residence of the Archbishops of York, starting with Nicholas Heath during the reign of Mary I.

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