THE events leading up to the beheading of Charles I in 1649 are among the most discussed in British history, as befits a monarch whose association with central London can still be glimpsed in its streets, buildings and monuments. His influence even extends to its historic artefacts, although, sadly, the silk vest the King wore at his execution—which the Museum of London was primed to grant a rare public display of this autumn—will not soon be seen, as the exhibition in which it was to feature has been cancelled owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.
It’s not known through which window of Banqueting House the shivering, but dignified King stepped onto a makeshift scaffold, erected in front of the north annexe on a bitingly cold January day in Whitehall. A bust and plaque on the wall draws attention to the event. The irony is that Charles once enjoyed Court entertainments within the building, which Inigo Jones had designed for his father, James I, in 1619. Charles himself commissioned Peter Paul Rubens to create the ceiling paintings for central London’s first truly Classical building, although Jones’s earliest surviving work is the Queen’s House, Greenwich, built between 1616 and 1635.
Denne historien er fra October 07, 2020-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra October 07, 2020-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Happiness in small things
Putting life into perspective and forces of nature in farming
Colour vision
In an eye-baffling arrangement of geometric shapes, a sinister-looking clown and a little girl, Test Card F is one of television’s most enduring images, says Rob Crossan
'Without fever there is no creation'
Three of the top 10 operas performed worldwide are by the emotionally volatile Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died a century ago. Henrietta Bredin explains how his colourful life influenced his melodramatic plot lines
The colour revolution
Toxic, dull or fast-fading pigments had long made it tricky for artists to paint verdant scenes, but the 19th century ushered in a viridescent explosion of waterlili
Bullace for you
The distinction between plums, damsons and bullaces is sweetly subtle, boiling down to flavour and aesthetics, but don’t eat the stones, warns John Wright
Lights, camera, action!
Three remarkable country houses, two of which have links to the film industry, the other the setting for a top-class croquet tournament, are anything but ordinary
I was on fire for you, where did you go?
In Iceland, a land with no monks or monkeys, our correspondent attempts to master the art of fishing light’ for Salmo salar, by stroking the creases and dimples of the Midfjardara river like the features of a loved one
Bravery bevond belief
A teenager on his gap year who saved a boy and his father from being savaged by a crocodile is one of a host of heroic acts celebrated in a book to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Humane Society, says its author Rupert Uloth
Let's get to the bottom of this
Discovering a well on your property can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, but all's well that ends well, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee, as she examines the benefits of a personal water supply
Sing on, sweet bird
An essential component of our emotional relationship with the landscape, the mellifluous song of a thrush shapes the very foundation of human happiness, notes Mark Cocker, as he takes a closer look at this diverse family of birds