Palace of Placentia

Welcome, fellow travelers of time, to the hallowed grounds of Greenwich. We stand upon the southern banks of the River Thames, a historic waterway that has served as the lifeblood of London for countless centuries. …

Our journey begins exactly as a royal visitor's would have in the sixteenth century, arriving by ornate barge upon the River Thames. Stand here on the grand wharf and cast your imagination back to a time when this river was the…

As we step away from the dazzling light of the river and pass underneath the colossal structure of the King's donjon, we enter the cool, shadowed embrace of the main gateway. Before you move out into the sunlight again, pause for…

Step across the threshold and allow your eyes a moment to adjust to the hazy, smoke filled air of the Great Hall. This is the single largest enclosed space within the entire palace complex, and it is entirely overwhelming to the…

Ascending the stone stairs from the Great Hall, we leave the smoke and clamor behind, entering the deeply formal, heavily guarded public apartments of the King on the first floor. We arrive first in a grand lobby, flanked by…

Navigating a tight, winding spiral stone staircase, we ascend into the very highest reaches of the five story donjon. We have left the public posturing of the presence chamber completely behind, entering a sanctuary of intense…

Descending from the scholarly heights of the donjon, we depart the King's personal lodgings and enter a breathtaking architectural marvel known as the Privy Gallery. This is a massively long corridor, stretching a staggering two…

We step from the sunlit warmth of the Privy Gallery into the Queen's privy lodgings on the south side of the courtyard. Instantly, the atmosphere changes drastically. …

We now navigate towards the far eastern extremity of the palace complex, arriving at the deeply spiritual epicenter of the royal court, the Chapel Royal. We enter first into the Queen's Holy Day Closet, a beautifully intimate,…

Leaving the quiet sanctity of the chapel behind, we step completely outside the main palace walls, making our way to the expansive grounds to the southwest. If you visit Greenwich today, you will find a thoroughly ordinary, flat…

From the blood pumping excitement of the tiltyard, we walk slightly westward, following the phantom path of an old Tudor thoroughfare known as Friars Road. We are entering the relentlessly noisy, fiercely hot, industrial heart of…

As our profound journey through the vanished corridors of the Tudor age draws to a close, we have walked up the steep, grassy incline into the sprawling expanse of Greenwich Park. Turn back now, and look down from the great hill…