BANQUETING HOUSE
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Right next door to the Palace of Westminster, Banqueting House is a resilient presence within Whitehall, remaining the only part of the building not destroyed by the tragic fire of 1698. The fire, started by a maid inadvertently leaving her washing to dry far too close to the fireplace, engulfed much of this magnificent palace. Banqueting House, an authentic architectural treasure, was built by Inigo Jones between 1619 and 1622, one of England's leading classical architects. A testament to the classical style, and more specifically the Palladian style, close to the Italian Renaissance, Banqueting House embodies an aesthetic which, at the time, was totally revolutionary in England.
Comprising a single hall spread over two levels, Banqueting House was long the epicenter of grandiose festivities. In 1635, Charles I commissioned Rubens to paint a fresco on the ceiling in memory of his father. But once the work was finished, he feared that the smoke would damage the painting, and the feasts were held elsewhere. It was this same Charles I who was beheaded in front of the Palace of Whitehall on January 30, 1639, bearing the brunt of the first English revolution. Rubens' work is the painter's only in situ painting. It features three main scenes: the union of the crowns, the apotheosis of James I and his reign. Between 1890 and 1964, the building served as an army chapel and museum. Today, it is occasionally used for receptions.
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