| Banqueting House | |
|---|---|
 Whitehall facade | |
| Type | Banqueting house |
| Location | Whitehall, Westminster |
| Coordinates | 51°30′16″N 0°07′32″W / 51.5044°N 0.1256°W |
| Built | 1622 |
| Architect | Inigo Jones |
| Architectural style(s) | Palladian |
| Governing body | Historic Royal Palaces |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
| Official name | Banqueting House |
| Designated | 1 December 1987 |
| Reference no. | 1357353 |
  Location of Banqueting House in Central London | |
The Banqueting House, on Whitehall in the City of Westminster, central London, is the grandest and best-known survivor of the architectural genre of banqueting houses, constructed for elaborate entertaining. It is the only large surviving component of the Palace of Whitehall, the residence of English monarchs from 1530 to 1698. The building is important in the history of English architecture as the first structure to be completed in the classical style of Palladian architecture which was to transform English architecture.[1]
Begun in 1619 and designed by Inigo Jones in a style influenced by Andrea Palladio,[2] the Banqueting House was completed in 1622 at a cost of £15,618, 27 years before King Charles I of England was beheaded on a scaffold in front of it in January 1649. The building was controversially re-faced in Portland stone in the 19th century, though the details of the original façade were faithfully preserved.[3] Today, the Banqueting House is a national monument, open to the public and preserved as a Grade I listed building.[4] It is cared for by an independent charity, Historic Royal Palaces, which receives no funding from the British Government or the Crown.[5]
- ^ While the Queen's House at Greenwich is often referred to as England's first consciously classical building, its completion was delayed until 1635, some thirteen years after the completion of the Banqueting House. Halliday, p 149
- ^ Coppelstone, p 835
- ^ William, p 47
- ^ Historic England. "Banqueting House (1357353)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
- ^ "Who We Are". Historic Royal Palaces. Archived from the original on 1 September 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2012.