A team of archaeologists has uncovered remains of the riverside palace where King Henry VIII was born.
Greenwich Palace, otherwise known as The Palace of Placentia, was also the birthplace of his daughters Queen Mary I and Queen Elizabeth I.
Experts working on a major development underneath the Old Royal Naval College in South London discovered two rooms of the now-buried palace - including a floor of lead-glazed tiles...
Inside the birthplace of King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I: Two lost Tudor palace rooms are uncovered in Greenwich in a 'remarkable find'
Experts were working on a development under London's Old Royal Naval College
They stumbled upon two rooms used as part of the royal Greenwich Palace
They were service areas where the kitchens, bakehouse and brewhouse were
The site once had a scale and splendour comparable to Hampton Court Palace
The palace had state apartments, a chapel, elegant gardens, and a jousting yard
By Harry Pettit For Mailonline
15 August 2017
A team of archaeologists has uncovered remains of the riverside palace where King Henry VIII was born.
Greenwich Palace, otherwise known as The Palace of Placentia, was also the birthplace of his daughters Queen Mary I and Queen Elizabeth I.
Experts working on a major development underneath the Old Royal Naval College in South London discovered two rooms of the now-buried palace - including a floor of lead-glazed tiles.
Experts working on a major development underneath the Old Royal Naval College (top of image) in South London have discovered two rooms of Greenwich Palace (bottom of image) - the birthplace of King Henry VIII, Queen Mary I and Queen Elizabeth I
The team were preparing the ground for a new visitor centre when they discovered the two rooms, the college reports.
As they are set back from the nearby Thames, the rooms are likely to have been service areas, possibly where the kitchens, bakehouse, brewhouse and laundry areas were.
One of the rooms was clearly subterranean and contains a series of unusual niches, which archaeologists believe may be 'bee boles' for the keeping of hive baskets, or 'skeps', during the winter months when the bee colonies were hibernating.
Bee boles have occasionally been found in historic garden walls, but it is very rare to find them inside a Tudor building.
The niches were probably used for keeping food and drink cool in the summer months when the skeps were outside.
Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of Historic England said: 'This is a really remarkable find.
'To find a trace of Greenwich Palace, arguably the most important of all the Tudor palaces, is hugely exciting.
'The unusual and enigmatic nature of the structure has given us something to scratch our heads over and research, but it does seem to shine a light on a very poorly known function of the gardens and the royal bees.'
Greenwich Palace had a scale and magnificence comparable to Hampton Court Palace, set in a riverside setting close to the Woolwich and Deptford docks.
The two rooms (pictured) are set back from the nearby Thames river, meaning they are likely to have been service areas, possibly where the kitchens, bakehouse, brewhouse and laundry areas were
One of the rooms includes a floor of dazzling lead-glazed tiles (pictured). Greenwich Palace once comprised everything from state apartments, courtyards, a chapel, elegant gardens, and a substantial tiltyard for jousting with a five-storey tower for viewing
The Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich
It comprised everything from state apartments, courtyards, a chapel, elegant gardens, and a substantial tiltyard for jousting with a five-storey tower for viewing.
Experts say the palace was at the very heart of Tudor cultural life and intrigue.
Nothing of Greenwich Palace survives above ground today after it fell into disrepair during the civil war years.
Most of the buildings were subsequently demolished, and today only their foundations exist, buried beneath the Old Royal Naval College.
One of the rooms was clearly subterranean and contains a series of unusual niches (pictured), which archaeologists believe may be 'bee boles' for the keeping of hive baskets, or 'skeps' during the winter months when the bee colonies are hibernating
Henry VII, having taken the throne and ended the Wars of the Roses, extended the site into Greenwich Palace, and it was here Henry VIII was born in 1491. Henry VIII, who thrived on lavish displays of wealth and power, would make the palace the centre of courtly life
The site was occupied in the 1420s by Bella Court, a manor house owned by the powerful nobleman Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, brother of Henry V.
Later, Queen Margaret of Anjou - wife of Henry VI - extended the manor to create the lavish Palace of Placentia (or Pleasaunce).
Henry VII, having taken the throne and ended the Wars of the Roses, extended the site into Greenwich Palace, and it was here Henry VIII was born in 1491.
Henry VIII, who thrived on lavish displays of wealth and power, would make the palace the centre of courtly life.
Nothing of Greenwich Palace survives above ground today after it fell into disrepair during the civil war years. Most of the buildings were subsequently demolished, and today only their foundations exist, buried beneath the Old Royal Naval College
Greenwich Palace (artist's impression pictured) had a scale and magnificence comparable to Hampton Court Palace, set in a riverside setting close to the Woolwich and Deptford docks
A crack team of archaeologists have uncovered the remains of the riverside palace where King Henry VIII (left) was born. Greenwich Palace, otherwise known as The Palace of Placentia, was also the birthplace of his daughters Mary and Elizabeth I (right)
Experts working on a major development underneath the Old Royal Naval College in South London discovered two rooms of the now-buried Greenwich Palace
Greenwich Palace, otherwise known as The Palace of Placentia, was also the birthplace of his daughters Queen Mary I and Queen Elizabeth I.
Experts working on a major development underneath the Old Royal Naval College in South London discovered two rooms of the now-buried palace - including a floor of lead-glazed tiles...
Inside the birthplace of King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I: Two lost Tudor palace rooms are uncovered in Greenwich in a 'remarkable find'
Experts were working on a development under London's Old Royal Naval College
They stumbled upon two rooms used as part of the royal Greenwich Palace
They were service areas where the kitchens, bakehouse and brewhouse were
The site once had a scale and splendour comparable to Hampton Court Palace
The palace had state apartments, a chapel, elegant gardens, and a jousting yard
By Harry Pettit For Mailonline
15 August 2017
A team of archaeologists has uncovered remains of the riverside palace where King Henry VIII was born.
Greenwich Palace, otherwise known as The Palace of Placentia, was also the birthplace of his daughters Queen Mary I and Queen Elizabeth I.
Experts working on a major development underneath the Old Royal Naval College in South London discovered two rooms of the now-buried palace - including a floor of lead-glazed tiles.
Experts working on a major development underneath the Old Royal Naval College (top of image) in South London have discovered two rooms of Greenwich Palace (bottom of image) - the birthplace of King Henry VIII, Queen Mary I and Queen Elizabeth I
The team were preparing the ground for a new visitor centre when they discovered the two rooms, the college reports.
As they are set back from the nearby Thames, the rooms are likely to have been service areas, possibly where the kitchens, bakehouse, brewhouse and laundry areas were.
One of the rooms was clearly subterranean and contains a series of unusual niches, which archaeologists believe may be 'bee boles' for the keeping of hive baskets, or 'skeps', during the winter months when the bee colonies were hibernating.
Bee boles have occasionally been found in historic garden walls, but it is very rare to find them inside a Tudor building.
The niches were probably used for keeping food and drink cool in the summer months when the skeps were outside.
Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of Historic England said: 'This is a really remarkable find.
'To find a trace of Greenwich Palace, arguably the most important of all the Tudor palaces, is hugely exciting.
'The unusual and enigmatic nature of the structure has given us something to scratch our heads over and research, but it does seem to shine a light on a very poorly known function of the gardens and the royal bees.'
Greenwich Palace had a scale and magnificence comparable to Hampton Court Palace, set in a riverside setting close to the Woolwich and Deptford docks.
The two rooms (pictured) are set back from the nearby Thames river, meaning they are likely to have been service areas, possibly where the kitchens, bakehouse, brewhouse and laundry areas were
One of the rooms includes a floor of dazzling lead-glazed tiles (pictured). Greenwich Palace once comprised everything from state apartments, courtyards, a chapel, elegant gardens, and a substantial tiltyard for jousting with a five-storey tower for viewing
The Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich
It comprised everything from state apartments, courtyards, a chapel, elegant gardens, and a substantial tiltyard for jousting with a five-storey tower for viewing.
Experts say the palace was at the very heart of Tudor cultural life and intrigue.
Nothing of Greenwich Palace survives above ground today after it fell into disrepair during the civil war years.
Most of the buildings were subsequently demolished, and today only their foundations exist, buried beneath the Old Royal Naval College.
One of the rooms was clearly subterranean and contains a series of unusual niches (pictured), which archaeologists believe may be 'bee boles' for the keeping of hive baskets, or 'skeps' during the winter months when the bee colonies are hibernating
Henry VII, having taken the throne and ended the Wars of the Roses, extended the site into Greenwich Palace, and it was here Henry VIII was born in 1491. Henry VIII, who thrived on lavish displays of wealth and power, would make the palace the centre of courtly life
The site was occupied in the 1420s by Bella Court, a manor house owned by the powerful nobleman Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, brother of Henry V.
Later, Queen Margaret of Anjou - wife of Henry VI - extended the manor to create the lavish Palace of Placentia (or Pleasaunce).
Henry VII, having taken the throne and ended the Wars of the Roses, extended the site into Greenwich Palace, and it was here Henry VIII was born in 1491.
Henry VIII, who thrived on lavish displays of wealth and power, would make the palace the centre of courtly life.
Nothing of Greenwich Palace survives above ground today after it fell into disrepair during the civil war years. Most of the buildings were subsequently demolished, and today only their foundations exist, buried beneath the Old Royal Naval College
Greenwich Palace (artist's impression pictured) had a scale and magnificence comparable to Hampton Court Palace, set in a riverside setting close to the Woolwich and Deptford docks
A crack team of archaeologists have uncovered the remains of the riverside palace where King Henry VIII (left) was born. Greenwich Palace, otherwise known as The Palace of Placentia, was also the birthplace of his daughters Mary and Elizabeth I (right)
Experts working on a major development underneath the Old Royal Naval College in South London discovered two rooms of the now-buried Greenwich Palace
Last edited: