What a good question! What with fires and all, not that much left.
Depends on how intrepid you want to be. If you are there for a few
months, you can get beyond the central London spots. Hampton Court to be
sure; its Wolsey rooms, its paintings, and its Chapel and Great Hall are
first rate. V&A, sure.
Less visited, there is also Hall House in the southeast (built of stone
from the marvelous Lesnez Abbey-ruins splendid to visit along with a walk
up the hill behind in March when the wild daffodils are blooming); it's a
Tudor era house, though there isn't much besides the House to
admire-beyond splendid (but not Elizabethan) gardens. There is Hatfield
House (1611) to the north-with the Old Palace where QE spent childhood
time, but that presents logistical problems about getting there. In
London there is the very impressive Middle Temple Hall-where 12th Night is
said to have been performed before QE. The Old Hall in Lincoln Inn is
also Tudor, and interesting-though unless you plan your visit just right
you have to tip the porter to get them to open it to you.
There is also the Ranger's House at the south end of Greenwich Park-itself
dating from early 18th cent, but housing a stunning set of early 17th
century portraits. And in Greenwich is the newly refurbished Queen's
House, designed by Inigo Jones. Again, not quite Eliz (it's usually dated
about 1630), and Palladian, so not quaint and cozy tudor, but it's not far
from 1603, and it's filled with a lot of very interesting art.
There's also Charlton House, but that doesn't give much sense of its
original grandeur. For Restoration, don't miss Ham House in the West.
Run by the V&A, it's a really interesting late 17th century place.
Then there is Syon House-largely Tudor as an exterior, though pretty
thoroughly redone inside by Adam in the 18th cent. The Adam is
extraordinary--though still a little disappointing if you really want Eliz
interiors, as I did when I went there.
The Savoy Chapel just off the STrand ought to give you Tudor, but doesn't
really; too rebuilt. There is a Tudor room in the furniture collection in
the wonderful Geffrye Museum, in the north end of the City of London-great
lunchroom, too. That building is a wonderfully refurbished 18th century
almshouse with furniture collections from Elizabethan to twentieth
century. This also gets students out into an area of London not much
visited--a half hour walk north from Brick Lane.
But then there are also some pubs. My own favorite is the Old
Mitre--tough to find just off Ely Place, but well worth it when you get
there. The George in Southwark is good, too, but it's 17th cent, as is
the Anchor.
[BTW, My current favorite city pub, though, is the Globe--it's quiet, has
good beer, is close enough to the New Globe theatre that you can still get
a pint after a performance and before closing. It's near Southwark
Cathedral, just across the street from London Bridge UG station. (It's
more a 19th cent building, but it does have its own early 19th cent cannon
bollards out front--very cool.) (More on bollards will be forthcoming on
my website this summer....)]
Cheers,
John
Professor John Webster
College of Arts & Sciences Director of Writing
University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195-4330
206 543-6203
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