Building    From 1440  To 1660

Greenwich Palace / Palace of Placentia

Categories: Property, Royalty

The palace was built, as Bella Court, by Humphrey Duke of Gloucester, regent to the child king Henry VI.  When the king married Margaret of Anjou Humphrey fell out of favour and died in prison in 1447.  Margaret took over Bella Court and renamed it the Palace of Placentia, under which name (derived from Latin for 'pleasant place to live') it was the main royal residence until the 1600s, though it was rebuilt by Henry VII, 1498 - 1504. 

The Civil War left it in a bad state and Charles II had the Tudor buildings demolished intending to build a sumptuous replacement.  But only the King’s House was built and the site was never again a royal residence. It remained empty until the Greenwich Hospital was built.

The dates 1440 - 1660 are approximate.

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This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Greenwich Palace / Palace of Placentia

Commemorated ati

Greenwich Palace

The plaque was unveiled to commemorate the 450th anniversary of Queen Elizabe...

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John Blanke - Trinity Laban Conservatoire

'fl' stands for 'floruit' (Latin) which means 'he or she flourished', and den...

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Other Subjects

Church Row

Church Row

The photograph appears under Stoke Newington Manor House/Church Row on the Hackney Plaques and Local History website, without any further explanation. We have to assume that this is a picture of Ch...

Place, Property

1 memorial
William Bell

William Bell

Chairman of the GLC Historic Building Committee, 1977 - 1981. British Universities Film and Video Council have an 1979 audio file: "Interview with William Bell, Chairman of the Historic Building C...

Person, History, Politics & Administration, Property

1 memorial
Blackfriars gatehouse

Blackfriars gatehouse

This was initially part of Blackfriars Priory. From St Etheldreda: From about 1590 onwards the gatehouse become a building where Catholics secretly worshipped and it was repeatedly raided by gover...

Building, Property

1 memorial
George Bird and family

George Bird and family

Builders and brick makers in West London. Considering their contribution to many prominent projects (listed on the plaque), it is surprising that there is no information available on them. We firs...

Group, Property

1 memorial

Previously viewed

William Blake - W1, S. Molton Street

William Blake - W1, S. Molton Street

W1, South Molton Street, 17

Initially we were puzzled why the Corporation of the City of London would erect a plaque so far to the west of its patch, but our colleag...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Laura & Harold Knight

Laura & Harold Knight

NW8, Langford Place, 16

They lived here 1922 - 1970 and this is where Laura died.

2 subjects commemorated, 1 creator