Eltham,
anciently written Ealdham and Aletham, from the Saxon eald,
or old, and ham, a town or habitation, lies in the
hundred of Blackheath, at a distance of eight miles from London,
on the road to Maidstone. In the Georgian period it was mot
delightfully situated, contained a great number of respectably
houses, and about 360 acres of woodland.
The
manor of Eltham dates from Saxon times, and the kings of England
had a palace here from similarly early times (Eltham Palace
is sometimes referred to as King John's Palace as he was born
here). James I was the last monarch to visit Eltham Palace in
1612. During the time of the Commonwealth in the mid-seventeenth
century the palace was surveyed and described: "The capital
mansion called Eltham was built of brick, wood, stone, and timber.
It consisted of one fair chapel, one great hall, forty-six rooms
and offices below stairs, with two large cellars; and above
stairs, seventeen lodging rooms on the king's side, twelve on
the queen's side, and nine on the prince's side, in all thirty-eight;
and thirty-five bayes of buildings, or seventy-eight
rooms in the office round the courtyard, which contained one
acre of land." At this time none of the rooms were furnished,
except the chapel and the hall, and the palace was reported
to be much out of repair. By the late eighteenth century the
palace was even further dilapidated; the great hall was in use
as a barn while some of the outer buildings had been converted
into homes.
The
engraving below shows the Great Hall as it stood c. 1800
