Talk:Bridewell Palace

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Bridewell Palace is shown on a map of London in 1300 which I am going to add to the History of London article, so Henry VIII presumably rebuilt an earlier palace (most of his palaces were rebuilds), but I can't readily find details on the net. CalJW 03:38, 14 May 2005 (UTC)

I've seen that map before. It is, unfortunately, wrong. Bridewell Palace wasn't completed until 1523. The previous structure there hadn't been a palace; it was an inn called St Bride's. The site belonged to the Knights Hospitallers, who leased it to one of Henry VII's minister's in 1507. The minister (Richard Empson) was executed in 1510, and the lease reverted to the Crown, which granted it to Cardinal Wolsey. Wolsey began to build a new house there for himself, but after he was elevated to the Archbishopric of York, his attentions moved elsewhere and Henry VIII took over the Bridewell site. (for more, see Simon Thurley, The Royal Palaces of Tudor England: Architecture and Court Life, 1460-1547 (New Haven, CT, 1993), p 40.) I'm going to update the Bridewell article accordingly. Ptomng 17:19, 19 September 2005 (UTC)