Perigord and pinxtos: Greenwich in our time

Our next jaunt was another of those accidental wonderful days that just seem to happen but work for no reason other than luck must have its day.

After walking the Embankment from the north side near Somerset House to the South Side where we lucked out on a visit to The Globe theatre where we ended up playing bit parts in a rehearsal for two faerie scenes of Midsummer Night’s Dream that’s to start on Saturday, we were casually chatting to a passing Englishman who happened to mention that within 30 minutes you could be in Greenwich via the Thames, so, we did just that. We jumped on a boat heading east, part of the river scene, off to Greenwich.

Who would’ve thunk it would have been so wonderful! As we landed we headed in the direction of instrumental music being practised and came upon a group of young uni students who all happened to be part of one or other of the music degree programs out of University of Greenwich or Trinity School of Music occupying a set of glorious naval buildings, which once were the Royal Naval College, overlooking the Thames waterfront.

The students led us in the direction of something as accomplished as the Sistine Chapel: the old Royal Naval College’s Painted Hall, and opposite it: the elegantly painted Chapel.

Just as Michelangelo lay on his back painting the Sistine Chapel, a fabulous English artist, John Thornhill, spent 19 years of his backbreaking life painting the walls and ceiling of this amazing hall which, right up until 1998, was used as the Royal Naval College Dining Hall.

Long before it rang to the sound of music or became the Royal Naval College it was the grounds of Henry V111’s favourite castle in all of England. It was in this castle that he married Catherine of Aragon–and, later, Anne of Cleves. (The remains of the Tudor chapel where Henry married Anne has just been excavated from under one of the car parks! How cool is that!)

It was here that Henry and his merry Tudor men would relieve themselves against the white walls of the palace, in fact. But this became so disgusting a practice that it was decreed that red crucifixes be stamped onto those very walls, thereby deeming it disrespectful to wee in the vicinity.

It was here that Elizabeth 1 of England was born. Her half sister, Mary, had been born seventeen years earlier in Scotland. When she was queen, Mary, herself a confirmed invalid, deemed that it was not sufficient that the army had a place in Chelsea for wounded soldiers, but that there should be a similar place for wounded sailors near her home in Greenwich. Thanks to Mary, the hospital plans which were initially so huge, were subsequently adjusted to enable building in defined quadrants which allowed these grand edifices to arise along the waterfront separated by a stately central walk up to the Queen's House, allowing Mary an unimpeded view of the water.

It was here, later, that Elizabeth signed Mary’s death warrant. It was here, too, that she also banned mirrors from the palace, perhaps to avoid noticing that her teeth had turned black from eating too many sweets.

It was here that John Thornhill ironically painted his own image into one corner of the Dining Hall mural with one hand outstretched. And, after being paid the pittance of £3 per square metre for the ceiling and £1 per square metre for the walls, he may well be forgiven for appearing aggrieved, although he didn’t end up gaining a brass farthing more.

It was here that Admiral Nelson lay in state when he died just a few months after the Battle of Trafalgar. His body was actually lifted home from Spain in a barrel of brandy. Not to be wasted, for when the body was transferred to a proper coffin and placed in the Painted Hall at Greenwich, his crew drank the brandy preservative, for good luck, it was said.

Across the courtyard from the Painted Hall is the Seaman’s Chapel, equally sensational and just as skilfully painted. Not long after it was completed, though, a group of tailors, drinking gin in the roof of the chapel one New Year’s Eve, started a warming fire that eventually took hold, gutting the building. As money was short many of the repairs such as the marble columns and stone pillars ended up being just very good fake replacements. They look brilliant, regardless.

It is in this chapel with its lovely Wedgwood colouring and decoration that the University of Greenwich music students we met outside will be awarded their degrees on graduation later in the year.

We had time for a tour through the Greenwich Observatory and the Market downtown, before catching a bus back to our abode in a wonderful old Franciscan convent in the heart of London. Tomorrow we head off in the morning via coach to Peterborough where we collect the new motorhome we have bought and head off to the Continent on the ferry.