Eltham Palace

All that is left of the medieval Palace is the Great Hall. Magnificent as it is, the main reason to visit is the amazing Art Deco mansion that has been added to it in the 1930’s by the fabulously wealthy – and eccentric – Stephen & Virginia Courtauld.

Henry VIII spent a lot of his childhood in the palace. With the rebuilding of the nearby Greenwich Palace Eltham declined in importance to the extent that the Great Hall was used as a cow shed in JMW Turner’s time – as his sketch shows.

The wealthy Courtaulds did not stint in building and decorating their new English home and used the best materials and latest flamboyant designs for the interior decorations. The round domed entrance hall is particularly spectacular. The gardens are certainly worth exploring as well.

01

The rear entrance

03 South Side

The south side with the 15th century Great Hall to the left & the Art Deco House to the right

04a

05

The main entrance leading to the magnificent entrance hall

The Art Deco Rooms

07 Virginia’s bedroom

Virginia’s bedroom

08

Ann dressing-up

09

Virginia’s OTT bathroom with Psyche overlooking her onyx bath

11 Stephen’s bedroom

Stephen’s adjoining bedroom

12 Leather Map

The Map Room with a leather map wall to plan their extensive travels

13 The Library

The Library

13a The Sentry by Jagger

The Sentry by Jagger

14

Stephen’s Study

15 The Drawing Room

The Drawing Room

16 The Dining Room

The Dining Room
with a glimpse into the Entrance Hall through the open door

The Great Hall

Turner’s depiction of the Great Hall, 1793