Eclectic Eltham

Two new acquisitions illustrate the stories of more than one of Eltham Palace’s historic owners, learns Claire Saul

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Eltham Palace, in south-east London, has a rich and varied history, its earliest records noting the manor of Eltham owned by William the Conqueror’s half-brother Odo, bishop of Bayeux. Odo is credited for commissioning its famous “tapestry”, depicting the Norman conquest of 1066, for display in his newly consecrated Bayeux Cathedral. The estate changed hands several times over the centuries until Anthony Bek, bishop of Durham, presented it to the future Edward II in 1305.

The 14th century saw Eltham grow in importance as one of the largest and most favoured royal residences, benefitting from the extravagant improvements by successive monarchs, including Edward IV whose magnificent timbered great hall survives to this day. It would have been very familiar to his grandson, the future King Henry VIII, who spent much of his childhood there with his siblings, benefitting from its relative peace, health and safety away from central London.

However, Henry’s daughter Elizabeth I was an infrequent visitor, and her successor, James I, declared the palace to be “farre in decay”. Over the next two centuries, Eltham would see more changes, including becoming a tenanted farm, additional buildings added on the site and running repairs, including remedial measures by the Office of Works in the 1910s.