The Queen's House.

Inigo Jones' Queen's House. © National Maritime Museum, London

Description: Designed by Inigo Jones, the Queen's House was the first classical building in England. Its symmetrical shape was very different from the rambling red brick houses people were used to, and it was sometimes called the 'White House'. The House was begun by Anne of Demark, wife of James I, after he made over the manor of Greenwich to her in 1613. Unfortunately she died three years after work started on the house, when it was still unfinished. For several years, work stopped. But Charles I, son of James and Anne, succeeded to the throne, he gave the house to his Queen, the French-born Henrietta Maria. The structure was completed in 1635, the interior during the following four years.

Creator: National Maritime Museum

Date: 2001

Credit line: National Maritime Museum, London