Nonsuch Palace Banqueting House 1959

As I had achieved top marks in the History exam, I was invited to participate in the dig at Nonsuch Park. That also meant two weeks off school! We were assigned to the small excavation at the Banqueting House.

With mattocks and picks we started to dig, a bit downcast as we were not part of the big picture – it did not get any better when we were given the western corner.

To our delight we were the first to find evidence of Tudor brickwork and tiles. What we had uncovered was an open tiled drain, so mattocks were replaced with trowels, subsequently a similar drain was found in each corner of the hall.

Bowled along by our find, we joined the main dig in the centre of the Banqueting House. What followed was a week or more of heavy physical labour in the hot summer sun, and slowly the foundations of the Banqueting House were exposed!

Side foundation

 Cellar

Office and store

A satisfying dig, and although overshadowed by the main excavation in the park, we all felt that our work added in no small way to the overall picture of Nonsuch Palace.

Photographs by Terry Friday © Terry Friday 2024

See: Nonsuch Palace Banqueting House by Louise Aitken.