At the age of 25, Jones made his first visit to Italy. He remained there for 4 years, studying the architectural works of Andrea Palladino. It is speculated that his trip may have been paid for by the fifth Earl of Rutland, though no source has proof of this. Jones returned to Italy in 1613, this time accompanied by the Earl of Arundel, a well-known English patron and art collector. This visit lasted only a year, but upon his return he had a full understanding of the rules associated with Classical and Renaissance architecture, which he would apply to all of his designs.

Jones had learned much of his basic style before his travels by reading De Architectura, 10 books of Architecture, written by the ancient Roman, Marcus Vitruv

The hall went unused for the most part until 1660, when King Charles II was welcomed in a procession through the London streets and held a ceremony there. Again the hall became a place for receptions, traditional ceremonies and to entertain foreign embassies. During his reign, King Charles enlarged The Whitehall Gate and made a side entrance so that visitors could travel from there to the Banqueting House or the main palace and remain under cover. This project was completed in 1699.

On January 4th of 1698, fire nearly destroyed the entire palace; all that survived were the two gates, Holbein and Whitehall, and the Banqueting House. Sir Christopher Wren, an architect, was asked to convert the hall into a chapel. He did as instructed, and 11 months later it contained a pulpit, pews, altars, and a brand new organ. Considerations were made about rebuilding some or all of the rest of the palace, but nothing ever came of that. Over the years, however, many repairs were made to the Banqueting Hall. For 5 years beginning in 1728, the Ruben paintings were restored by William Kent, as well as many of the masks and festoons. In 1759 the Holbein gate was tore down; and finally, in 1829, the roof was replaced, Portland stone that formerly covered only parts of the exterior replaced any other existing stone, and the basement windows were opened up, having been blocked. This restoration took 8 years for Sir John Soane and Sir Robert Smirke, respected architects of that time, to complete.

ius Pollo. It is no coincidence that Palladino was greatly influenced by Vitruvius as well, as he had designed his buildings guided by the same principles. It can be assumed that together, the two had a great impact on Jones’ decision to tour around Italy.

There was no mention of a wife or children in any source I came across, nor did anything mention whether or not he was alone when he died. He seemed to be a man of many friendships and relations, so no mention of any love or life beyond architecture is very sad. Then again, the thought crossed my mind that he may have been gay; the travel to Italy with the Earl of Arundel helped my suspicion along, but I did not read anything about that either so anything could be true. Maybe he had a family that he chose to keep out of the public eye; I will not judge.

Across the street from Whitehall was a park where Henry would build tennis courts and other recreational buildings. The two gateways of Holbein and King Street would allow members of the court to get from park to palace without using the public road. Later, in 1581, the very first Banqueting House would be constructed by order of Queen Elizabeth. Two more halls would follow, the third designed by Indigo Jones.

Ten years before Jones became the king’s surveyor, he began working closely with Ben Johnson in the art of the masque. According to the American

Some topics in this essay:
Banqueting House, Ben Johnson, Indigo Jones, William Kent, Hall England, Heritage Dictionary, Henry VIII, Earl Arundel, Mary II, James II, banqueting house, indigo jones, queen elizabeth, banqueting hall, ben johnson, whitehall palace, christopher wren architect, earl arundel, wren architect, respected architects, christopher wren,