The Banqueting House was designed originally for holding
gala events at the Palace of Whitehall, and is now managed by HRP as a museum and site for private events. Initially the building’s major functions were for the
formal reception of foreign ambassadors and for the performance of masques, a
type of theatre very popular in the early 17th century, but the "Banqueting" of the name quickly followed. Certainly the building's most notorious use was as
the execution site of Charles I; the monarch was led up the stairs and through
a window where scaffolding had been erected for public view of his
beheading. The rest of the palace was destroyed by fire in 1698 and for the next two centuries the
building was used as a chapel, but in the 19th century it was
converted back into an open space and has been a popular site for formal events
ever since.
The sheer volume of private events held in the space lead to
some serious interpretation challenges.
Clearly it is not appropriate to have anything obtrusive and permanent
in the space. Nevertheless, the
interpretation that is present is disappointing and at times embarrassing. Visitors are instructed by the very
friendly staff (and it should be noted that HRP have, hands down, the
friendliest and most helpful front of house staff that I have ever encountered across all 5 of their
properties) to visit the undercroft first where a
video plays on a loop, and then to return to the desk for an audioguide, before
proceeding upstairs. The
undercroft turns out to feel pretty much exactly like the basement of a church
that is also used for functions. There
is a bar area, and some screens by the wall, and it is easy to imagine the
space’s transformation into a cloakroom and cocktail reception area. The one display case in the room is
empty, and the video is in a far corner, with definitely the most elegant
chairs I’ve ever seen in a museum A/V viewing area: all cream and gold.
The video is purely an embarrassment. It’s difficult to believe that the same
organisation that has developed the revelatory interpretation schemes at
Kensington and Kew Palaces could allow this to continue. The picture and sound quality are
terrible, it feels interminable, and the editing is poor, cutting suddenly between
a couple of different production styles.
From an access point of view, the subtitles extend outside the frame of
the screen, so are very difficult to read, and the acoustics of the undercroft
meant that if anyone is speaking or even whispering, the video is impossible
to hear. Particularly cringe-worthy
moments are the use of shaky camera work to symbolise Charles I’s death march,
and when a description of Henry VIII’s building projects notes that he
completed the works while “still having time for six wives”.
The content of the video was very interesting, and part of
the reason it felt like it would never end is because the site has such a rich
history. I knew little about
masques and Maundy Thursday celebrations, both of which have important roles in
the history of Banqueting House. I
knew more about Inigo Jones, Peter Paul Rubens, and Charles I and II, but it
was interesting to have their stories contextualised at this particular site. However, I was exceedingly disappointed
to discover that the audioguide contains all the same information. I would strongly recommend that visitors
skip the video and head right to the audioguide.
This is not to say that I was particularly pleased with the
audioguide either. The handheld
devices don’t work very well (I had to bring back the first one I was given,
and the second one worked only slightly better), perhaps due to age. They don’t seem to have a volume
mechanism, and mine was set on volume 1million so I couldn’t put it anywhere
near my ear. Most irritatingly,
though, there was no way to navigate content. Because the guide is essentially a continuous narrative
for which you have to manually change tracks, there are no visual cues within
the space as is usual for audioguides.
The tour was almost as dated as the video, with someone actually
declaring, with some pride, that “George Bush came here”.
If I seem relentlessly negative, it’s because this is a
fascinating site and as an HRP member and visitor to their other sites, I know
they can do better. There are some
gestures at this in the graphically interesting display in the staircase, which
(very) briefly summarises the Civil War.
The undercroft also displays an amazing hidden gem: the proposed seating
plan for the wedding of Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson that was to take place
at the Banqueting House, had other matters not intervened. What I really don’t understand is why more
isn’t made of the Rubens ceiling in their marketing and interpretation of the
site. The designers of the
audioguide do take advantage of this interpretation method’s capability of
allowing people to listen to multiple in-depth descriptions or to skip them as
they choose, but the tracks about the symbolism and techniques of Rubens’ work
here are the runaway highlights. Also
buried deep in the audioguide was just how significant Inigo Jones’ Palladian
design was when it was built; Classically influenced architecture doesn’t
really phase anyone walking around London today, but the Banqueting House was
one of the very first buildings in this style to appear in London in modern
times, and the contrast must have been shocking.
I don’t know what actual visitor numbers are, but it is abundantly
clear that the Banqueting House is the least popular of the sites managed by
HRP. This is evident both in the
ticket price (£5, substantially lower than for the other sites) and from
the number of visitors present when I visited (there were approximately 30
other people there during peak tourist season). Considering
the location in the tourist hub of Westminster and the quality of the
attraction, the place should be teeming.
Despite the low price, I’d find it very difficult to
recommend visiting if you are not a member of HRP and have to pay
separately. Nevertheless, I highly
recommend an HRP membership, as the price is an absolute steal if you plan on
visiting even three of the palaces within a year. I hope that HRP are able to find interpretation solutions
that bring the presentation of the Banqueting House more in line with their
other sites without interfering with the site’s importance as a revenue stream
through private events. Banqueting House deserves better.
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