Buckingham Palace:a historical landmark - Essay Example

Adam Tyler Mr. Lathrom Social Studies 30 April 2008 Buckingham Palace: A Historical Landmark Introduction Being very rich in art and history, Buckingham palace, originally known as Buckingham House, remains one of the most visited tourist spots in London (Royal Residences 555). Apart from this, Buckingham palace, to date, may be considered as one of the most well-known and most beautiful functioning royal places in the world. It also known for its neo-classical style for which it has gained the recognition in the whole of Europe. From the beginning of the 18th century, the Buckingham countryhouse was owned by the Dukes of Buckingham (Royal Residences 555). Sice 1837, the palace has been home to the British monarchy, and today, the palace serves as home and headquarters to the Queen of England (Royal Residences 569). In fact, every time that the Queen is inside the castle, the British flag is raised. Located in Westminster across from the St. James Park in London, the palace boasts of 19 state rooms, 52 bedrooms both for the royal family and for guests, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices, and 78 toilets and baths (Royal Residences 569). With this much rooms, only a part of the palace is still used by the Royal family. However, with more than 50,000 people from both England and other parts of the world visiting the palace, other parts of the castle like the state rooms are open for visitors and tourists (Royal Residences 569). Buckingham Palace In 1702, the Buckingham house was originally built to be the countryhouse of the first Duke of Buckingham, John Sheffield (About Britain para. 6). However, in 1761, King George III purchased the house for Queen Charlotte his wife, from the son of the duke, Sir Charles Sheffield (About Britain para. 6). Following this was the remodelling of the home to the King's likings by William Chambers in 1762 for a fee of 73,000 (Royal Residences 568). King George IV, on the other hand, upon his succession to the throne, renovated the house into a pied--terre, and hired John Nash in 1825 to do the reconstruction (Royal Residences 568). John Nash thus came up with a design so lavish and extravagant as he had ever accomplished. By the end of 1836, George IV changed his mind and thus decided to turn the house into a palace, and asked the parliament for a reasonable budget of 450,000 (Royal Residences 568). Due to the escalation of costs, John Nash was fired from his post. Hence, as George IV died in 1830, the successor to the thront, George IV's younger brother William IV hired Edward Blore to proceed with the reconstruction (Royal Residence 568). Gardens The garden at Buckingham palace is indeed one of the most lush and beautiful gardens in the world, with 16 hectares of land that is friendly and inviting to both wildlife and humans. As Jane Brown notes, the gardens of Buckngham Palace is the only place in London "where wintry magic can survive" (para. 4). These 16 hectares or 39 acres of land outside the boundaries of St. James's Palace were turned into a graden by the cavalier Lord Goring in the 1640s. Lord Arlington, a powerful politician, then bought this garden from Goring and developed what is now known as the notorious "Mulberry Garden". As Arlington was a ardent gardener, he was able to grow different plants - from lilies, violets, and carnations to tulips and roses. (Brown para. 6) When John Sheffield bought the property in 1702, he hired Henry Wise, the gardener of Queen Anne. Wise then laid out a lovely forecourt facing the St. James Park Mall, with sophisticated statues and fountains beside the house and a 600-yard canal along a meadow of flowers. Also present were orange trees in a glasshouse and lime trees. (Brown para. 7) As the Duke's gardens were very much envied by the royalties, when King George III purchased the Buckingham house, they then hired 'Capability' Brown who then redesigned the garden and turned it into a park. To date, Brown's serpentine drive around the boundary of the land remains. (Brown para. 9) When John Nash was commisioned to reconstruct the house into a palace, he designed a lake that was then built by William Townsend Aiton, the Royal Master Gardener. It was Aiton who also holds credit for the flower beds and walkways on the northern area of the garden. (Brown para.10) A lot of great gardeners and architects also hold credit for the vast number of species of flowers, plants, and trees in the garden at Buckingham Palace. Among them are George Wyness, Edwin Humphreys, and John Richard (Brown para. 11 and 12). The garden at Buckingham Palace has indeed seen countless numbers of garden parties and events. Royal Residents King George III turned the house into a palace and gave it to his wife. Hence during this period, it was Queen Charlotte who resided in the palace. His successor, King George IV renovated the palace and turned it into an extravagant one with the help of John Nash. Unfortunately, he died before he could make his move into the palace (Ballard para. 14). After King George IV, it was actually Queen Victoria who was the first monarch who resided in Buckingham Palace after moving out of Kensington Palace in July 1837 (Royal Residences 568). After her coronation on August 1837, the Buckingham Palace became the official residence of the British monarchy (Ballard para. 14). Queen Victoria married Prince Albert in 1840 and here they sired and raised their children while holding state functions and even court proceedings (Royal Residences 568). The music room of the Buckingham palace in fact witneesed the christening of four royal babies by the Archbishop of Canterbury (Royal Residences 569). These royalties are namely The Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal, the Duke of York, and Prince William (Royal Residences 569). At present, Buckingham palace is home to the Queen of England and the Duke of Edinburgh (About Britain para. 8). Architecture John Nash had the French neoclassical style in mind during designing the reconstruction of the Buckingham house (About Britain para. 6). The lavish remodellings of Nash to this date are in existence, yet he was best known for the Marble Arch, that which served as the grand entrance to the palace. This Marble arch was built to honor the victories of England at Trafalgar and Waterloo (Royal Residences 568). Tha architectural design of the palace also includes curved marble staircases, gilded ceilings, and large mirrors as dcor (Ballard para. 9). Due to Queen Voctoria's expanding family, the lack of nurseries and rooms prompted them to add a fourth wing to the estate, turning it into a quadrangle (Ballard para. 15). The Marble Arch was as well moved to Tyburn (About Britain para. 7). During Queen Victoria's reign as well, the Ballroom was added as she found that there was no room large enough to entertain guests. The ballroom that is 122 feet in length, 60 feet in width, 45 feet in height, was where she held investitures, state banquets, diplomatic receptions, memorial concerts, and the like (Ballard para. 16). This ballroom built in 1856 was also said to have been built to commemorate the conclusion of the Crimean war (About Britain para. 3). During World War II, the Queen's Gallery was built by Prince Philip. This gallery houses the Royal Family's collection of art, which has a new Doric Portico entrance inspired by the Greek classical style (Ballard para. 17). Art and Paintings A lot of the pieces of art and furniture in Buckingham palace were either made or bought for Carlton House, the home of King George IV when he was Prince of Wales (Royal Residences 568). The green drawing room meanwhile, boasts of English regency Furniture and Svres porcelain (Ballard para. 9). The Blue drawing room on the other hand displays a total of thirty fake onyx columns and Napoleon's porcelain table (About Britain para. 6). Of the drawing rooms, the white drawing room is considered to be the most splendid and elegant as it was furnished with French antiques and English cut glass chandeliers (About Britain para. 6). Three groups of sculpture by Antonio Canova are displayed in the Marble Hall, the heart of the old Buckingham house (About Britain para. 6). Amounting to the length of two tennis courts was the picture gallery, meant by Nash to exhibit paintings by Rembrandt, Rubens, Canaletto, Vermeer, Poussin, and Claude, and other famous painters at the time (Royal Residences 555 and Ballard para. 10). In addition to these, the state dinig room holds the portraits of Kings and Queens from George II to George IV (About Britain para. 4). These paintings are now held in trust by the Queen and are considered as Britain's National Heritage (About Britain para. 4). Conclusion Buckingham palace, aside from boasting a rich history of culture, architecture, and art, remains the residence of the British Monarchy and is busily functioning as the headquarters of the state (Royal Residence 569). At this, the palace holds magnificence and awe for tourists, not only because of its elegant and famous faade, but also because it actually serves the purpose for which it was built for. To date, the forecourt holds the ceremony of the changing of the guards every summer (About Britain para. 9). Apparent in the architecture, furniture, and art display of the palace is how the past and present royalties of Britain lived their lives. Anybody would be amazed. Works Cited About Britain. 2008. Excelsior Information Systems Limited. 30 April 2008. . Ballard, Barbara. "Buckingham Palace." Britain Express. 30 April 2008 . Brown, Jane. "The Garden." Royal Horticultural Society (2004). 30 April 2008 < http://www.rhs.org.uk/Learning/publications/pubs/garden1204/buckinghampalace.asp> Royal Residences. 2006. The Official Website of the British Monarchy. 30 April 2008. . Read More