1st February 2012
History of Nonsuch Palace by Jeremy Harte - Curator of Bourne Hall Museum (below left)
Let’s get one thing straight right at the beginning, Nonsuch Palace was not a Royal Residence it was a Hunting Lodge. It might also have had a passing resemblance to a “Travelodge” since the King, Henry VIII, would travel from London or Hampton Court to Nonsuch at a leisurely pace in his carriage. He would be accompanied by a long train of farm carts, requisitioned to carry his furniture and fittings from one palace to the next. This included the Royal bed; and its passage through the country would cause a shudder of nervousness amongst many of the daughters of the nobility, causing their fathers to attend to locks on their bedrooms. Of course one or two more ambitious young “maidens” might have seen a way to get ahead by helping the King air his bed after the long march. History shows them more likely to be losing their heads after the initial passions wore off.
Jeremy Harte gave a vivid and humorous account of Nonsuch Palace and how it influenced the region at the time of its building and in the centuries up to the present day.
Nonsuch Palace Parks in the times of the of King Henry VIII (c1538)
It seems that the king did not make frequent visits but when he came there was always the royal hunt. Nonsuch Park as it exists today, a wide swathe stretching from Ewell to Cheam, is only a fraction of the size of the original park which extended northwards to include what is now Worcester Park and Stoneleigh. The main approach to the palace was from the north but the most imposing elevation was the southern flank.
The site was selected by two civil servants on horseback searching the South East close to London for land suitable for creating a large hunting park. They lit upon a scrubby wasteland known as Sparrowfields which had at its centre the remnants of the Black Death devastated village of Cuddington, comprising just 4 farmhouses. They quickly saw the potential and in 1538 construction began. The finished palace was one of the most magnificent in Europe, and hence the world, and was a major tourist attraction for visiting dignitaries. It was Henry’s boast and he particularly wanted to humiliate the French.
Jeremy was especially interested in bringing to life not just the royal aspects but how life went on when the King was not there, which was most of the time. A lively community grew up in and around the Palace, looking after all aspects of the estate: and it was from this community that the evolution of the whole present day suburbia developed. In the mid 17th century Nonsuch ceased to be, sold off to pay gambling debts and dismantled stone by stone. The said stones reappearing in many buildings in Epsom and Ewell and surrounds, where the greenstone, quarried in Reigate, can still be seen.
Nonsuch palace itself faded from the memory and was almost becoming a myth when excavations by Professor Martin Biddle in 1959 brought it back to life and revealed it in all its glory. A fine model can be seen at the exhibition in Nonsuch Mansion in the park, some of which are shown below.
The facts (This edited page was researched and written by Peter Reed in 2009 more here)
Work started on the Palace on Henry's 30th birthday 22 April 1538, when an army of workmen started razing the site. Building the palace took about 9 years, employed an estimated 500 workmen and after just 7 years had cost £24,536 (about £10.3m at 2008 prices). This was much more than Hampton Court Palace which cost approx £16,000 and was about 3 times the size of Nonsuch! Back in 1538 a carpenter would only be paid about 6d a day (say £123.23 a day at 2008 prices.) To save costs Henry recycled stone taken from Merton Priory which had been surrendered to the Crown on 29th April 1538 as part of the dissolution of the monasteries, and work on dismantling the priory started within a week and soon 3,600 tons of stone were carted away.
Nonsuch Palace from a wood carving
It's not certain that all this stone went to Nonsuch but the palace needed a further 96 loads of stone from Reigate, and 364 loads of Liege and Caen stone were carried from Ditton. The palace also used some 259,000 tiles from Kingston and Streatham. Brick and lime kilns were built on site using 5 loads of bricks from Hampton Court. The lime kilns alone consumed 89 loads of lime. Many building supplies arrived from London via the Thames at Kingston including 250,000 nails supplied by just one ironmonger. Surrey and the southeast was scoured for the 1000 loads of timber which included 15,000ft of floor boards
What did you see? (with thanks to Bourne Hall Museum)
The Tudor Palace and garden cost half as much again as Henry VIII's palace at Hampton Court. Consequently, there was 'none such' palace in all England. Anthony Watson, Rector of Cheam wrote a description of Nonsuch c1590: 'From there the way goes up by generous winding steps, leading to the most glorious precincts of the royal presence...A somewhat narrower rooms leads, to the right, to a lofty tower if you go up, to a richly planted garden if you go down; while to the left it leads into two fine chambers exclusively reserved for the king... The door which opens to the right of the king leads into the garden. From there, if you turn your gaze to the lofty towers, the turreted walls, the projecting windows, the plaster-work, the exquisite statues, you will wonder whether you are walking in the courtyard or garden, for the face of each has the same splendour and majesty.
Nonsuch Palace painting by Hendrick Danckerts
Leaving the garden, we enter the wilderness, which is, in fact, neither wild nor deserted. The land, which is naturally somewhat hilly and is plentifully watered, is set out with lofty and magnificent tree-lined walks to the south and west. At the end of the path to the south, the trees have been trimmed to form canopies. Through the heart of the wilderness there are three paths, the middle one worn and sandy and the others turfed. There are trees for shade and fruit: almost countless young apple trees, shrubs, evergreens, ferns, vines
The end
Charles II gave the estate to his mistress Barbara Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland who became Baroness of Nonsuch. Barbara dismantled the palace and quickly sold it and its contents to repay some of her gambling debts. It is said that she lost £20,000, worth about £3.2 m at 2012 prices, together with some jewellery in just one nights gambling. She also divided much of the parks into farms.
Deric Tonge gave a well earned vote of thanks on behalf of the Club and a members and visitors joined in the applause.
Report by Ken Taylor whilst many of the pictures are by Deric Tonge
Nonsuch Palace Model by Ben Taggart - more below (cost £30,000)
Nonsuch Palace Model by Ben Taggart - more below
Barbara Villiers - Charles II gave the estate to his mistress Barbara Villiers, Barbara dismantled the palace and quickly sold it and its contents to repay some of her gambling debts.
Drawings required by Ben Taggart - more below (cost another £10,000)
Today the Nonsuch Mansion in Nonsuch Park
Bollards mark the site of Nonsuch Palace - excavated 1959 but then covered and grassed over.
