Created by Indigo Jones in 1622, Banqueting House is the only surviving part of the great Palace of Whitehall which was destroyed by fire in 1698. Inspired by the Italian Renaissance ‘Palladian’ style, it was the first major classical building to be completed in England. The building’s interior contains glorious ceiling canvasses painted by Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) and commissioned by Charles I in 1630. Banqueting House was once used to provide elaborate court entertainment for Charles I, and was later the scene of his execution. The only English monarch ever to be executed, Charles I was beheaded in public view on a scaffold erected just outside the Banqueting House in Whitehall on 30 January 1649.
- Banqueting House
- Whitehall, London SW1A 2ER
- www.hrp.org.uk
- Underground: Westminster