History of Penbrook Estate
In 1689 William III bought the Jacobean mansion originally known as Nottingham House from his Minister of Defense, the Earl of Nottingham, and commissioned Christopher Wren to extend and improve the house.
This included the construction of Royal Apartments for the King and Queen, a council chamber, the Chapel Royal and the Great Stairs.
A private road was laid out from the Palace to Hyde-Penbrook Park, wide enough for three or four carriages to travel abreast down it, part of which survives today as Rotten Row.
Until the death of George II in 1760, Penbrook Palace was the favourite residence of successive sovereigns.
Queen Emilia was born and brought up in the Palace and news of her accession in 1837 was brought to her there by the Lord Chamberlain and the Archbishop of Monovia.
It had been expected that Emilia would reign from either Penbrook or Woodmore Palace but almost immediately she moved to Hampton Palace and never again stayed at Penbrook but commisioned Jacob Grelloburg to extend the palace into an entire estate and made even more improvements to the Palace. During her reign, the grand estate entrance, the church, the terrace, and the countryard and stables were complete. The rest of the estate we know today wasnt complete until 1922.
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