Office, Eltham Palace, London

This is the office at Eltham Palace, the former royal palace where Henry VIII grew up converted and extended as a marvellous Art Deco house in the 1930s by Stephen & Virginia Courtauld.

Bedroom, Eltham Palace

Bedroom, Eltham Palace

Entrance Hall, Eltham Palace

This is the Entrance Hall at Eltham Palace, the 1930s Art Deco home of Stephen and Virginia Courtauld built next to the remaind of a medieval palace.

The room was design by Swedish architect Rolf Engströmer and is bathed in light from a large concrete and glass dome. The walls are lined with blackbean veneer (from Australia) and feature figures of a Viking and a Roman soldier as well as some of the Courtauld's favourite buildings.

The large circular carpet was commissioned from designer Marion Dorn. The original is now in the V&A Museum and the one in the house is a hand knotted replica.

Staircases lead to the bedrooms on the upper levels and doorways lead to the rooms on the ground floor including the extrodinary Dining Room.

As an entrance hall, the room provides a stunning welcome to a stunning house. And it is large space, ideally suited as a sitting room which is how the Courtaulds used it.

I've seen this room pop up in various TV shows and movies. If you pay particular attention during the scenes in Delysia's penthouse apartment in Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day you'll recognise where they got some of the inspiration for the set.

Reference:
English Heritage - Information for Teachers

Dining Room, Eltham Palace

This is the dining room at Eltham Palace, the boyhood home of Henry VIII. Naturally this part of the palace was not around in Henry VIII's time. It is part of the mansion that Stephen & Virginia Courtauld built in the 1930s next to the remains of Henry's palace.

The Courtauld's incorporated the Great Hall into their mansion so you get this mix of over the top deco leading on to medieval masonry. The palace and gardens are now Grade II* listed and under the management of English Heritage and open to the public so we can all enjoy it. And when you go, make sure you have a look at the room where the Courtauld's pet ring-tailed lemur, Mah-Jongg, slept.

The decoration in the Dining Room has a Greek style to it as can clearly be seen on the fireplace, side table and the amazing doors featuring exotic (to England) animals including their beloved Mah-Jongg.

The dining table can comfortably sit Stephen and Virginia and a dozen of their intimate friends. The simple stylish chairs covered in red leather matching the colour of the curtains.

The walls are lined with bird's eye maple giving the room a light feeling despite the black doors.

A small clock of inlaid wood is set into the wood panelling and could easily be missed among the overall glamour of the room.

A stunning space and that's just one room in this spectacular mansion.

Reference:
Eltham Palace and Gardens, English Heritage website

Public Baths, Eltham

The public baths in Eltham in South-East London were built in 1939 but with the redevelopment of Eltham Centre in incorporating a new swimming pool rendered it surplus to requirements.

The site was sold in January 2008 for £4m and since then I beleive the building has been demolished.