As a property long held by the royal family Somerset House is filled with history as well as much pomp and circumstance as almost any other home or mansion in the UK. Tracing back to 1539 when Edward Seymour, the Earl of Hertford purchased land outside of Temple Bar in London that was known as "Chester Place" and then some ten years later cleared the land of old buildings such as the Inn of Chancery in preparation of erecting an imposing residence he would then call Somerset once he became the Duke of Somerset. The new house, built two stories high, surrounded a quadrangle and demonstrating a three story gateway, is considered to be an early example of Renaissance style architecture. The Duke of Somerset never lived long enough to reside in the house of his dreams because he was executed (at Tower Hill) in 1552. His unpopularity and extensive amount of enemies made it impossible for him to survive life in England at the time.
England's Queen Elizabeth I assumed possession of Somerset House
From the time she was Princess Elizabeth her home became the noble place known as Somerset House. From the time of her sister Mary I of England's reign the house was slowly built until completion and it apparently took many years because reports of it still remaining "unfinished" came to be as late as 1598, some 40 years later. During the 17th century Somerset House became the residency for many royals including James I and both Charles I and Charles II. James VI and his wife Anne of Denmark took it upon themselves to rename the noble residence Denmark House and went about making improvements and adding on. When a small cemetery was added on some were entombed in a wall and many can still be seen beneath the present quadrangle.
Army headquarters take over Somerset House in English Civil War days
Parliament decided to sell Somerset House in 1649 but failed to find buyers who qualified but did have success in selling off much of the inside contents before it was taken over and used for Army headquarters. Many Parliamentary members of note stayed in the house temporarily. Over the ensuing years there have been many restoration projects taken on by royals and others. However by 1775 it was decided the old house must be demolished!
The new Somerset House becomes the public house of England
With government departments having no permanent locations for meetings and formal gatherings it was decided to bestow the honor to the newly erected Somerset House. Moving to the new location permanently were the Tax Office, the Public Lottery Office, the Navy Office, the Hawkers and Peddler Office, the Stamp Office, and the Salt Office among many other distinguished departments of the government. Designed and built by Sir William Chambers for a salary of some £2,000, a hefty sum for those days. Chambers began the monumental task in 1775 and worked on it until his death in 1796. There is evidence that as late as 1819 there was some decorative work yet to be completed, proving the dedication of those involved with the historic and valuable Somerset House.
Article Source: Rubel Zaman
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