Are you going ice skating in London this Christmas? Every year a number of locations around London open up their doors to ice skaters looking to experience the magical Christmas feeling of ice skating in some of the most stunning locations. Within this blog we look at some of the different locations offering ice skating in London and their beautiful surroundings.
Hampton Court Palace
Hampton Court Palace. Vince Smith, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Image has been cropped.
Hampton Court Palace was originally built by Thomas Wolsey in 1514. The Palace has a rich history, with Henry VIII acquiring the property in 1528 when Wolsey fell from grace. All of Henry VIII’s wives came to the palace, and most commissioned their own new and lavish lodgings. The King also rebuilt his own rooms a number of times.
Soon after their accession to the English throne, in 1689, King William III and Queen Mary II commissioned Sir Christopher Wren to rebuild Hampton Court.
In 1737, the royal family left Hampton Court Palace, and the palace was divided up for ‘grace-and-favour’ residents who were given accommodation after giving great service to the Crown or country. Once the palace was no longer occupied by the royal family, architects showed an increasing interest to restore the historic parts of the Tudor Palace.
Between 1838 and 1851, about £7,000 a year was spent on restoring the building to its previous Tudor style. The Great Hall, the Great Gatehouse and the whole of the West Front were ‘re-Tudorised’. Sash windows that were introduced in the 18th century were removed, and new casement windows in a Tudor style were inserted in their place.
To find out more about skating at Hampton Court Palace, click here.
Somerset House
Somerset House is located by the Strand and the River Thames in Central London. The initial Somerset House was commissioned by Edward Seymour, the Duke of Somerset, after King Henry VIII’s death. However, after falling into disrepair, it was demolished in 1775 to make way for the new Somerset House which still stands today.
The new, Grade II* listed, Somerset House was mostly completed by 1780. The sash windows within the left hand wing reduce in height in the upper storeys of the building, with nine-over-six panes on the ground floor, six-over-six on the first floor and three-over-three on the second floor.
Find out more about Somerset House ice skating, by clicking here.
Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace. Image by Oliver Spalt, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Image has been cropped.
Alexandra Palace, located in North London, initially opened in 1873 on Queen Victoria’s 54th birthday. Just sixteen days later a fire broke out at the Palace, severely damaging the building. As a result Alexandra Palace wasn’t reopened to the public until 1875.
During the First World War, the Palace was used as an internment camp, with barbed wire fencing and sentries. There was then a second fire at the Palace in 1980, which burnt a large part of the building to the ground. Substantial restoration work was carried out, before the Palace was reopened in 1988.
In 1996, Alexandra Palace was recognised as a building of special architectural and historic interest, and gained listed building status.
To find out more about skating at Alexandra Palace, click here.
The Sash Window Workshop
At The Sash Window Workshop we manufacture, install and refurbish bespoke period timber windows and doors. Our craftsmen and surveyors are all experts in the restoration of timber windows and doors for historic properties, allowing us to provide customers with the high quality product and service they expect.
For a free, no obligation site survey and quotation, please contact us on: 01344 868668.