Nonsuch Palace

Detail of Georg Hoefnagel's 1568 watercolour of the south frontage of Nonsuch Palace
An early 17th-century depiction of Nonsuch Palace
Detail of Nonsuch Palace from the North East, circa 1666–1679, attributed to Hendrick Danckerts
These reliefs in the Lumley Chapel in nearby Cheam are believed to be the only surviving depictions of the Nonsuch Palace interiors.

Nonsuch Palace /ˈnʌnˌsʌtʃ/ was a Tudor royal palace, commissioned by Henry VIII in Surrey, England, and on which work began in 1538. Its site lies in what is now Nonsuch Park on the boundary of the borough of Epsom and Ewell (in Surrey) and the London Borough of Sutton.

The palace was designed to be a celebration of the power and the grandeur of the Tudor dynasty, built to rival Francis I's Château de Chambord.[1] Unlike most of Henry's palaces, Nonsuch was not an adaptation of an old building; he chose to build a new palace in this location because it was near to one of his main hunting grounds. However, the choice of location was unwise, for there was no nearby supply of water suitable for domestic use.[2]

The palace remained standing until 1682–3, when it was pulled down by Barbara, Countess of Castlemaine, mistress to Charles II, to sell off building materials to pay for her gambling debts.[3]

  1. ^ "Look, think, do: Nonsuch Palace". The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  2. ^ Guy, John (2014). Henry VIII : the quest for fame. London: Allen Lane. p. 96. ISBN 9780141977126.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).