Name: Inigo Jones' architecture
Start: 2023-07-17T12:00
End: 2033-07-17T12:00
Location: Banqueting House

Skip the event ticket details and go to event summary.

When

Open days and Members-only days

Ticketing information

Included in palace admission (Members go free)

Buy Banqueting House tickets

Things to see

The Banqueting House marks the beginning of a revolution in British architecture. Inigo Jones's masterpiece is one of the first examples of Palladian architecture in England, an architectural style inspired by ancient Roman design.

Inigo Jones had travelled to Italy and seen the buildings of the ancient world and the Italian Renaissance and decided to recreate something of their effect in rainy London for King James I and VI. Jones was fascinated by the order and logic of classical buildings, and by the style, shape and colour of classical architectural ornament.

He made detailed drawings and notes, recording his observations on the ruins, palaces and churches he visited on his travels. Later, many of these shaped his own designs for buildings and masque scenery.

Jones intended the Banqueting House to look like a piece of ancient Rome transposed to Whitehall, and the effect was extraordinary.

Tap to read more

Architectural highlights

At Banqueting House, the status of the interior of the building is reflected on the outside. Tap the information spots for more details.

Basement

At basement level, the exterior is faced in ‘rusticated’ stonework, with no ornamental carving. By contrast, the double-height main hall above it is faced with dressed stone, columns, capitals, balustrades, a pronounced string course separating the lower from the upper level, and a carved frieze of masks and garlands.

Centre of the façade

At the centre of the façade, the central three bays are pushed further out into the street, to create a central focus for the building. The capitals are simple Ionic ones at low level, whereas at upper level they are the opulent Composite type.

Classical frieze

The beautifully carved frieze of classical drama masks and garlands of fruit and flowers around the top of the building reflects the original purpose of the Banqueting House – as a venue for masque performances.

Weathervane

Perched on the roof is a huge wrought iron weathervane, installed in 1688 for James II, which is still in working order. The weathervane was installed to fore-warn the king of weather conditions which might prove favourable for an invasion.

Recreating ancient Rome in London

Inigo Jones was careful to use the classical ‘orders’ correctly on his building, just as he had seen in ancient Roman constructions, and in the palaces designed by the great Venetian Renaissance architect, Andrea Palladio.

The great height of the Banqueting House meant that it towered above the rest of Whitehall Palace – it was a real statement, when first built. In the present day, it's hard to distinguish from the later neo-classical buildings which surround it, but four centuries ago it was the pioneer for this architectural style.

Impressive stonework

The Banqueting House was originally built with three different types of stone, each in different tones. In the 1830s, the outside of the building was re-faced in white Portland Stone by John Soane, though the architect was careful to preserve the original design in his new stonework.

The West façade (overlooking the street) is the same as the East side (facing the river). This is because the view of the Banqueting House from the River Thames was once as significant as the view from Whitehall.

The original entrance was through the corridors of Whitehall Palace, which burnt down in 1698. Today, the entrance is through an annexe built by architect James Wyatt over a century later.