Museum of the Month: Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge Part 2

M@
By M@ Last edited 179 months ago
Museum of the Month: Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge Part 2

qehltimbers.jpg
Images courtesy of the City of London Corporation.

Throughout April, we're jumping on the Tudor bandwagon and exploring the history of the little-known hunt standing on the edge of Epping Forest. See here for the introduction.

One of the most memorable things about Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge is the chance to inspect Tudor construction techniques up close and personal. Mock Tudor is all around us, but it is a rare treat to see and touch an original 16th Century timbered building in the London area.

The builders of the Lodge employed high quality joinery, using outsize timbers probably from Chelmsford area. Dendrochronological reports suggest that the Lodge was built in 1543, and it contains the earliest known example of a particular joint bearing the arcane name 'twin diminished double haunch tenon'. As can be seen from the image at top, specially curved timbers in the roof appear to have been selected because of their resemblance to antlers, a nod to the purpose of the hunt standing.

The Hunting Lodge was used as a reference building during construction of the Globe in the 1990s. The stair case in particular was closely examined by researchers in order to create an authentic replica of a Tudor theatre.

Visitors to Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge can learn more about Tudor joinery and carpentry from a small hands-on exhibition on the top floor. Entrance is free, and the building is just a short walk from Chingford station.

Last Updated 16 April 2009