Located in the Fort Raleigh Visitor Center, this oak paneled room is a stunning example of Elizabethan Era Architecture.The Elizabethan Room at Fort Raleigh serves as a tangible link to a 400-year-old past, holding within its walls stories of religious divide, world exploration,
the illustrious reign of Queen Elizabeth I, and the dramatic history of the Tudor Dynasty in England. 
NPS Photo 
NPS Photo The wood paneling in this room once graced the walls of an Elizabethan estate, but it didn’t come to the New World with the colonists. The ornately carved oak panels were likely crafted in 1585 and originally installed at Heronden Hall in Kent, England. The paneling was brought to America in 1926 by wealthy newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst to furnish his legendary castle in San Simeon, California. However, the room would never see America's west coast. The paneling remained stored in a warehouse in the Bronx, New York until the National Park Service purchased the paneling from Hearst's estate in the 1960s. Rooms like this one would have been found in the homes of wealthy men like Sir Walter Raleigh and the upper-class investors of the Roanoke Voyages. While to the casual observer the room may appear as any other sixteenth-century manor room would, its carvings are a tangible link to a defining era of English history – an era that would change the course of European history forever and would be one of the driving forces behind English exploration of the New World, the settlement of Fort Raleigh, and its fate as one of the world’s greatest mysteries. 
Hans Holbein the Younger, "Portrait of Henry VIII," after 1537. Walker Art Gallery. Liverpool, England; Artist Unknown, "Near Contemporary Painting of Anne Boleyn at Hever Castle," c. 1550. Hever Castle, Kent, England. The walls themselves tell a story through art of English history, specifically the religious turmoil seen throughout England in the 16th century. Elizabethan architecture varies from its early Tudor counterpart. Like most of European history, this distinction is a result of the pendulum swing of religious practices. Prior to 1536, England, like most of Europe, firmly practiced Roman Catholicism. For this reason, much of the architectural design found in great homes and churches were of the Italian Renaissance style which based its theories in Roman Classicism. Hallmarks of the style include columns, arches, domes, pediments, vaulted ceilings, and high levels of ornate craftsmanship. However, in 1536 England was turned upside down when King Henry VIII broke from the Roman Catholic Church and formed his own Church of England. Along with this break from Catholicism came the disenchantment with Italian Renaissance architecture. For this reason, England began to gain much of its artistic influence from the Dutch low countries and from areas that would later be known as Germany. However, many of the artists in these areas were studying at art schools in Italy. Thus, although English art appeared to be distinctly Northern European, certain Italian Renaissance design components were still seen throughout. This type of design became known as the Northern Mannerism -- characterized by the carving's complexity and novelties. Taking a Closer Look... Until the mid-16th century, costly architectural design was reserved for cathedrals rather than private homes. However, with the change in religious practice and sums of money being stripped from England’s monasteries, upper-class families began displaying their wealth in palatial manor homes complete with ornate hand carvings and expensive furnishings. An exquisite example of this is the Elizabethan Room at Fort Raleigh. While the entire room is abundant with design components and symbols, there is perhaps no greater display of this than in the room's fireplace mantle. Let's take a closer look.
The room's fireplace mantle showcases a mix of classical motifs and other visual references to the antique with stylized arabesques and an abundance of flora and fauna. Let's take a minute to evaluate the room's use of ancient architectural components.
The mantle is divided into sections using Ionic and Doric order pilasters. A variation of egg and dart molding is seen on the mantle itself, as well as shields within the mantle's arches, and square dentrils lining the top. A "modern" take on the classic Vitruvian Wave is created in the mantle's frieze, incorporating what appear to be acanthus leaves -- a popular fauna in classical design, seen largely within the capitals of Corinthian columns. The three classical orders of column. 
Diagram of Ancient Greek architectural orders. Note how the Elizabethan Room combines all three orders. Each section is glaringly ornamented with a protruding head. On the left is the head of a man, and on the right is the head of a woman. Both figures are unknown but are likely the master and mistress of the estate -- a clue which leads one to believe that this room was likely one in which the heads of the household would greet and visit with their guests. They closely resemble the popular 16th century architectural addition of eavesdroppers. An example from King Henry VIII's Hampton Court Palace can be seen below. Eavesdroppers were incorporated into rooms to remind those present that someone is always listening.
Could these be the faces of Heronden Hall's owners? 
Eavesdropper in Hampton Court Palace's Great Hall. Below each wooden head is carved a vase from which several different types of flora blossom. The late 16th century brought an increase in interest in botany and flowers, leading to an increase in their presence in decorative arts as both a symbol and a decorative element. Notably, these vases remind one of a Dutch still life painting. Although still life paintings of florals did not gain widespread popularity until the 17th century, they can still be found throughout art history as early as the 15th century and would have been known to both artists and the upper class of British society.
Swirling out of the vases, we see a Tudor Rose at center and other flora to include lilies and Scottish thistles. The symbols seen here are likely representative of England and its land holdings. The Tudor Rose is, of course, symbolic of England and the Tudor Dynasty. The lilies represent France and the English Crown's claim to lands in France's northern territories. Finally, the Scottish Thistle is appropriately symbolic of Scotland. While England's additional land claim of Ireland is missing from the mantle, shamrocks are present within the room -- they are carved into the decorative motif surrounding the room's original entryway. 
An example of a 15th century floral still life painting. Not to be ignored, the room's plaster ceiling is a recreation based off contemporary examples. Installed in the 1990s, the ceiling's artist, Jeffrey Batchelor, performed extensive research to ensure an accurate representation of an English manor home's interior. Within the ceiling's composition are several Tudor Roses, a common motif seen throughout art and architecture during the Tudor Dynasty.
The Tudor Rose was adopted as the dynasty's emblem by its founder, King Henry VII. The rose joins the red rose of Lancaster and the white rose of York to symbolize the unification of the two dueling houses after Henry's marriage to Princess Elizabeth of York in 1486. Henry VII and Elizabeth of York were the grandparents of Queen Elizabeth I. Detailed view of the Elizabethan Room's plaster ceiling. Artist Jeffrey Batchelor works on some floral details on the Elizabethan Room's ceiling. 
The Pelican Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I (r. 1558 - 1603) Note the Tudor Rose in the upper left. 
NPS Photo / T. Hegler 
Image courtesy of the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House. Did you know that other pieces of Heronden Hall exist in the United States? When William Randolph Hearst purchased Fort Raleigh's Elizabethan Room in 1926, he also acquired another smaller room from the same estate! Both rooms were purchased at auction from the English antique firm, Roberson's, Ltd. whose owner and namesake, Charles L. Roberson, composed a catalog of his inventory highlights. Within Volume III of Roberson's catalog titled Historical Rooms from the Manor Houses of England, page 18 features the smaller of the two Heronden Hall rooms. This room was also purchased by the National Park Service in the 1960s, and was originally displayed at Fort Frederica National Monument. Additionally, it has recently been discovered that a fireplace mantle from Heronden Hall is preserved at the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan. The mantle is similar in style to the mantle at Fort Raleigh and has the date "1585" carved into it. The mantle was likely purchased by the Fords at auction from Roberson's, Ltd. at approximately the same time as the Hearst purchase. |
Last updated: May 3, 2024