Henry III was one of England’s greatest royal builders exceeding in scale of patronage anything achieved by his predecessors since 1066 – in all, over his reign, spending some £30,000 on his residences. He was extremely interested in architecture, sculpture and painting, passions shared by his wife, Eleanor of Provence (m. 1236). Together, they placed England in the mainstream of contemporary European art and architecture. The excellent survival of royal records shows them issuing instructions, almost daily, for the improvement of their estate
Henry’s reign was known, in particular, for the extension of the queen’s lodgings in his residences and for the building of an astonishing eighteen new chapels. His piety also extended to the rebuilding of Westminster Abbey as a shrine to Edward the Confessor and a royal mausoleum. Henry admired Louis IX of France and especially the Sainte Chapelle in Paris that he saw on a visit there in 1254. His chapels and Westminster Abbey drew much inspiration from French examples.
Henry III spent £10,000 at Westminster Palace embellishing the so-called Painted Chamber, a royal bedchamber containing a great curtained bed and fabulous wall paintings. These were recorded before they were destroyed and reveal something of the beauty of the room. Another £15,000 was spent at Windsor where, although much was spent on defensive curtain walling, new domestic accommodation and chapels were built. Lesser, but substantial, sums were spent at Clarendon, Woodstock, Havering and Guildford.
Clarendon, which has been excavated, reveals much about the king’s tastes: a large new kitchen was built, and the size of the wine cellar doubled; the great hall was modernised. This was a palace for feasting. But it was also a place of private luxury and the accounts reveal the extensive painting of murals, of glass and the manufacture of encaustic tiles. One amazing tile pavement from Clarendon can be seen in the British Museum.
This enthusiasm for building and decoration attracted to his household both designers and craftsmen. Some came from France and Italy others were native. Anyone wanting to get an impression of the beauty and skill of the Henry III’s craftsmanship should go to Westminster Abbey and see the mesmerizingly beautiful Cosmati Pavement laid in 1268 by Italian craftsmen using stones from all over the Mediterranean world.
Henry and Eleanor transformed the domestic residences of the English monarchy into places fit for a great and magnificent European monarch and well as places of enduring beauty.