Getting There:
Underground stations: Victoria
or Green Park
Map
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7766 7300
Website
Opening Times: 28 July - 28
September 2007 09:45 - 18:00 (last
admission 15:45)
History - This palace is probably the
most photographed
Grade 1 listed Building in the world and is
currently the
London home to the reigning monarch. It has
probably the most famous and easily recognizable façade of any palace and
everyday thousands of visitors peer through the iron railings to catch a
glimpse of the changing of the guard ceremony.
Buckingham Palace
currently has 775 rooms. These include 19 State rooms, 52 Royal and guest
bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices and 78 bathrooms. The palace itself
is 108 meters long across the front, 120 meters deep (including the
quadrangle) and 24 meters high. The total floor area of the Palace, from
basement to roof, covers over 77,000 square meters. Within the palace itself
you can find 1514 doors and 760 windows.
Queen Elizabeth has many Royal residences at her disposal but this building
originally much altered over the last several hundred years is her London home
and you can tell when she is in residence as her flag is flown from the mast
situated above the balcony where many historical events have occurred. As well
as being the Queens London home Buckingham Palace performs many other
functions, it is the administrative headquarters of the Royal Family and plays
host to many official functions, banquets and ceremonies as well as being open
to the public for part of the year. The Prime Minister, government ministers,
civil servants and various heads of state all visit the building in both a
working and social capacity. Present estimates are that in excess of 50000
people each year visit this working home.
The monarchy’s association with living in a property situated in this location
goes back to the time of Henry VIII who decided to acquire a building that was
the former home of Cardinal Wolsey. He later moved to the site which is now St
James Palace and developed the area to include parks and lakes. It was Lord
Goring of Hurstierpoint that first constructed a property at the now site of
Buckingham Palace in approximately 1640, this was the forerunner to the grand
palace that is there now and this property passed through many hands until it
came in to the possession of the Duke of Buckingham.
The Duke of Buckingham it is said was a suitor of Queen Anne and in an effort
to impress her he decided to alter the existing structure after she had given
him a parcel of land in the area including the land on which the building
currently stands. Situated at the end of the long carriageway known as the
mall, the house was deemed to be the finest in London. Caen stone was used in
the construction work, a material that was usually reserved for important
religious buildings. After his death, George II tried to buy it without
success, however his successor George III met with more success and in 1762,
he acquired the premises for £28000 and the building became a royal property
for the first time.
George gave the palace to his wife to use as a London residence and it became
known as the Queens House but it wasn’t until the reign of Geoge iV that much
of the remodelling work took place. George employed the services of John Nash,
the for most architect of the time to help turn the building in to the famous
palace we see today. Nash had previously worked for royalty on the pavilion at
Brighton and George managed to secure from parliament a sum of £150,000 to go
towards the redevelopment work. The project was vast and at one time Nash was
overseeing over a 1000 workmen who were busy re-facing the building in Bath
stone. At the same time, the North and South wings were completely demolished
and rebuilt.
Today, the rooms which are known as the State and semi-State Rooms remain
virtually unchanged since Nash's time.
Alas Nash’s remodelling work as deemed too extravagant for the tastes of the
day and he was eventually sacked as architect by the new King William IV.
William hired Edward Blore to continue the work in a more sedate fashion but
he grew to dislike the building and never actually moved in. By the time Queen
Victoria was crowned, the cost of works had increased to over £700,000 but the
queen loved the building and set up home there. She expanded the property
again added the ballroom which at 122 feet long was deemed suitable for grand
entertaining. Today, this room is still in use for such occasions as state
banquets. The Queen had a new wing added to the building and the former
entrance to the palace was moved top its present location at Marble Arch.
After the death of Queen Victoria, Buckingham Palace was finally remodeled in
to the building that we all recognize today. In 1911 the familiar forecourt
and the wrought iron railing were added as was the Queen Victoria memorial
situated immediately in front of the main gate. Finally in 1913 the building
was faced with the white Portland stone by Sir Aston Webb. This was one of the
first acts of conservation carried out at the palace to protect it, the stone
formally used had decayed through pollution alas a factor that effect all our
historic buildings particularly ones that are
situated in cities.
Since this time, minor works have been carried at the property towards its
conservation and upkeep. During the war, the palace suffered much damage from
bombing action, it was hit directly, no less than nine times and some parts
were completely destroyed. A chapel that had been converted by Queen Victoria
from Nash’s’ conservatory was one part that suffered extensive damage. Prince
Philip oversaw its rebuilding in to the Queens gallery and this part has seen
much on going renovation work.
Today Bucking Place stands not just as the home of the monarch but a valuable
historic
grade 1 listed building that needs to be
preserved for future generations to enjoy.
