Oatlands Palace

Oatlands Palace is an important part of England's historical past, located near Weybridge, Surrey. It started as an ancient manor and has served as a Tudor and Stuart royal palace. It has been a home to many royalty and has seen many historical events and eras. The Palace was constructed from 1538 to 1545 by Henry VII and was once the home of Anne of Cleves, his fourth wife. Much of the foundation stone for the palace came from the ruins of Chertsey Abbey that had been destroyed by the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Henry VIII came to the Palace on a progress in September 1514 and hunted stags on Chertsey Meads. Catherine Howard, his fifth wife, married him in the Palace in July 1540. His other wives, Catherine Parr and Mary I also stayed there, with Mary Tudor retreating to Oatlands after her supposed pregnancy. The palace was divided into three main adjoining quadrangular courtyards, covering an area of fourteen hectares, utilizing an existing 15th-century moated manor house. An inventory of the palace includes a bed made for Anne of Cleves with curtains of crimson cloth of gold and cloth of silver decorated with borders of purple velvet on the seams. It also contained 108 embroidered badges of Anne and Henry and their crowned arms on the tester and ceilier. In 1964, excavations of Oatlands Palace took place in order to uncover the secrets of the original building. Little remains of the palace today, however it remains an important part of history and a rich source of culture and heritage.

Location: Elmbridge

Source: Wikimedia