View of the Palace from Tilt Yard Approach, Eltham Palace

Eltham Palace was once an important Royal Palace. It was one of the few medieval royal palaces in England to survive with substantial remains intact and was one of only six palaces large enough to accommodate and feed the entire Tudor court. Initially a moated manor house, it was acquired by the future Edward II in 1305. Under Edward IV significant changes were made, most notably the addition in the 1470s of the great hall which still stands today. Eltham Palace was eclipsed by Greenwich and Hampton Court Palace in the 16th century and declined in the early 17th century as it didn’t have access to the Thames. 200 years after the civil war it was being used as a farm.