The Royal Homes & Britain

Evening Star, Issue 22194, 23 November 1935, Page 10

The Royal Homes & Britain

Round Tower now stands. The first complete Round Tower was built by Henry IH. about 1272, but was wholly recontructcd on a more massive .scale by Edward 111., who in 13T1 designed the now tower to form a meeting-place lor In’s newly-established order of the Knights of the Garter. .Edward selected the place because, according to a popular legend, it was on the summit of the circular mound that King Arthur used to sit surrounded by bis Knights of the Table Round. The main bulk of the present Round Tower is of this date, but its’walls were heightened and the tall Jlag turret was added in the reign of George TV. The magnificent chapel of St. George ranks next to Westminster Abbey as a royal mausoleum, though no king was buried there before Edward IV. SANDRINGHAM, THE KING’S PRIVATE HOME. Sandringham, in Norfolk, is the King's most private home, in which he loves to live as a country gentleman, with no one but his family and such special friends as ho invites there. The present Sandringham House dates from 1870. Built in the Elizabethan stylo, it is planned in the shape of a parallelogram which measures roughly

GREAT HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS

Their Majestie’s Love of Balmoral

Few are the countries of the world which possess buildings offering greater wealth of tradition, historical iur, . * teiest, and architectural beauty than those possessed by the British people, in the homes of the Eoyal family. * Ihe London residence, Buckingham Palace, with its imposing ‘ facade, the historic pile of Windsor, charming Sandringham, ■ grim Holyrood, and Balmoral, the delightful Scottish re- * treat, are each and all richly endowed with most interesting associations of -which this article is*a brief outline.

mounting it, is carried round the build- • ing, three pavilions on the front being i crowned by substantial pediments. Ju the tympanum of the centre pediment arc sculptured' the Royal arms. Fach ; pediment is carried by two Corinthian columns with Hanking pilasters of the same order. A stone halustraded balcony projects from the first lioor, below which the stone facing is rusticated. The principal state apartments are the throne room, the drawing room, and the picture gallery. And for its pictures and gallery this palace is famous. The latter is.lSOft long and 2Ult wide, and contains many works of the English, Dutch, Flemish, and French schools, Reynolds, Wilkie, Lely, Rembrandt, Rubens, Claude, Gcltcc’ and Watteau being worthily represented. Part of the collection was formed by George IV., but it was later enriched by the gallery of Sir Francis Baring. It is at Windsor, however, that (lie greatest, art treasures tiro stored, with the most complete libraries of rare and notable books in the kingdom, whilst the staterooms contain an extremely valuable collection of miniatures.

LONDON HOME. The Third George was the first Bri- . tish monarch to reside at Buckingham Palace. Originally, it was the ducal abode of one John Sheffield, of Bucks' inghani, who built it in 17013 to plans , by a Dutch architect, whoso name ap- ■ pears to have disappeared into the ; mists of obscurity. “ Fanner George ” ! paid £21,000 for it in 1761, and half ; a century later it was reconstructed , in the Palladium style by John Nash, . a further member of the architectural - fraternity, James Ulorc, adding a new ‘ wing in 1846. The last addition ’ was made in 1856, a magnificent ballroom being built. As re- , cently as 1013, however, Sir Ashton Webb was retained to refront the build- ' ing, a commission he executed in a straightforward renaissance style and in Portland stone. Thus in its two and a-quartor centimes of existence Buckingham Palace has been almost completely renewed. This detracts in no way, however, from the architectural excellence of the building, a few details of which are ot , interest. A well marked cornice, with dentils supporting and a balustrade sur-

The ago of Windsor Castle and the part it Inis played in British Royal history for many centuries put it at the head of the list so far as Royal treasures arc concerned. The historic value of the pictures there is beyond computation, and their market value would be difficult, if not - impossible, to ascertain. They include —probably first and most important—a coHcctiou of drawings by Holbein of personages at the Court of Henry the Eighth. , •!» many cases these drawings arc the [ only portraits wo have of important . people of that time, and for this reason , their preservation is one of the most i important duties connected with roy- , alty. 1 hey arc under the special care , of an official known as the Keeper of . the King’s Pictures; but His Majesty himself has an expert knowledge of . Eiis aspect of art. Not only is he able to appreciate the valuable works in the Royal collections, but bo is an authority upon their preservation. The Holbein portraits in W indsor Castle arc so numerous that His Majesty is able to loan lor exhibition each year an entirely different collection. ROMANTIC WINDSOR. Windsor Castle, from its commanding position, its stately group of ancient buildings, and its long list of historical associations, is one of the most magnificent and interesting of all Royal palaces. Before (ho time of King Alin’d a stronghold of some importance existed at Windsor. The chief part of this still remains, and forms flic great circular mound on which the ,

: 4ooft by 70ft. r J'lio King’s Sandringham cstnl.c comprises well over 12,000 acres. The beautiful gales to the entrance were the wedding present of the County of Norfolk to King Edward and Queen Alexandra, and they make a fitting introduction to the glories and beauties of the King’s estate. The house itself is the last word in dignity and comfort. The ballroom is a magnificent apartment, built in 1883, and is connected to the house proper by a gorgeously decorated corridor. Ballroom and corridor arc panelled in sixteenth ccntnry stylo. The lavourite dining room is the ■Serapis Boom—a unique apartment that is also half library and half smoke room. The bedrooms for guests are large and airy, and most of them are titled with a telephone. Ihc (lower gardens arc the host in Britain, and arc rightly the pride of the head gardener and his able assistants. 'the kitchen garden, which supplies the Royal tables with vegetables and han't, is over 35 acres in extent, seven of which arc wall-enclosed, and round the walls there is a delightful carriage drive. The model dairy farm, originated by Queen Alexandra in her native Danish style, is a picturesque place indeed, and the gabled building sot amid lovely Huwcr beds never fails to charm all who see it. The King's Home harm, at Sandringham, is 1.000 acres ill extent, and from there conies all the beef and mutton and bacon lor all the Royal households.

The Sandringham stud farm and stables are on a bigger scale than is generally imagined. Over 50 horses are kept. A visit to the stables every day is part of the King’s routine during his residence, and he likes his guests to come round with him. HOLYROOD COMES BACK TO FAVOUR. The historic pile of Holyrood in l£dinhurglL is the only Royal palace outside England belonging to the British Crown. When James VL of Scotland left Holyrood in 1603 to bo crowned as James L of Great Britain in Westminster Abbey the ancient home of the Stuarts received almost a mortal blow. To-day, however, thanks to the affection for the place of their Majesties the present King and Queen, the historic palace is no longer neglected, as it had been for centuries prior to the present reign. Queen Victoria disliked this residence, and King Edward said that it gave him “the creeps.” Lying in the shade of Arthur’s Seat, with its forbidding crags, there is cause for its suggestion of gloom, but in recent years it lias been made much more cheerful and habitable. The first Royal residence built at Holyrood was commenced by James

IV., 1501, hut this was totally destroyed hy an invading Knglish army in 1544. A new and larger palace was immediately begun, and this was the residence in which Mary Queen of Scots took up her abode on her return from Franco in 1561. A much older Holyrood Abbey was dissolved at the Reformation. After Cromwell’s troops had burned down the greater part of it it was rebuilt by the “ jnerrio monarch ” in the form in which it stands to-day. The apartments occupied by Mary Queen of Scots fortunately escaped the disastrous Cromwell fire,, and annually these “ historic apartments ” aro visited by thousands of tourists from

all over the world. The Abbey was burnt by the mob in 1688, and since the repaired roof fell in in 1768 it has been left in ruins in melancholy roofless splendour. In the Abbey vaults many Scottish kings are buried, and also Lord Darnley, tho murdered husband of Mary Queen of Scots, and tho father of James 1, Holyrood Palace regained for a brief period its old brilliance when “Bonnie Prince Charlie!’ stayed in it on his march southward in 1745. When the Stuart cause was finally defeated the palace became sunk in obscurity and neglect, and no reigning British sovereign crossed its threshold until 1822, when George IV., during his memorable visit to Scotland that year, held a court within its historic walls. BELOVED BALMORAL. One of Queen Victoria’s black marks against her eldest son, afterwards King Edward VII. (writes Elissa St. John), was his ill-concealed dislike of Balmoral Castle as a residence. It was a great gratification to the- old Queen when her two grandsons, the Duke of Clar- 8 ence and Prince George, did not share their father’s dislike or her Highland home, but were delighted when they were invited to their grandmother’s Scottish seat. That grandson Prince George is now King George V., and he has never lost his affection for Balmoral.

Outwardly Balmoral Castle is rr.r.cK the same to-day as when it was first built. Stoutly and solidly constructed in the Scottish baronial style, it has a dignity of its own which even its majestic hill setting hardly-lessens. Tho Royal routine at Balmoral changes little each year. Every morning pipers resplendent in full gala dress march up and down the courtyard of tho castle playing stirring airs. These performances do not delight one or two English and foreign guests at times, perhaps, but the King enjoys them greatly, even if the same cannot be said truthfully of the Queen. The dining and drawing rooms at Balmoral Castle are large, lofty chambers with art unmistakably “ Scotch smell,” as the English guests' describe theml Much of the tartan decorations in them in the old Queen’s time have been removed, but pictures portraying stirring events in Scottish history and weapons such as dirks, claymores, and Ifathei shields, are prominent on the walls and corridors. The furniture generally ii typically Victorian, the sideboards especially being huge and massive, and the great majority of the pictures ar« likewise of a very large size. His Majesty likes to wear the kill when at Balmoral, as do all his sons, and the only fly in the ointment to many male guests at the castle is th« King’s earnest endeavour to get then to do likewise.