Syon House is set to close for winter so we decided to pay a visit. Last autumn, when the house was closed due to the pandemic, we visited its beautiful gardens. Today, we explored the inside of the London home that has been privately owned by the same family, that of the Duke of Northumberland, for more than 400 years. The present house dates to about 1775. It replaced an older house which replaced a medieval convent. Syon House has had a long and captivating history. King Henry VIII had his fifth wife Catherine Howard, not yet 20 years of age, imprisoned here before he had her beheaded (1542) in the Tower of London. Lady Jane Grey was residing in the house when she was proclaimed Queen. Nine days later, only 17 years old, she was also beheaded (1553) in the Tower of London. Today Syon House is open to the public and is full of intriguing old paintings, portraits of nobility associated with the house, as well as recent photographs of Ralph Percy, the 12th Duke of Northumberland, and his family, who live most of the year at Alnwick Castle in northern England.
See blog entry for Friday, October 16, 2020, Autumn at Syon, for photos of the gardens.
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| The Great Hall |
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| Bold black & white design on a marble floor |
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A copy of The Dying Gaul
Commissioned by the 1st Duchess of Northumberland
The original is in Rome |
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| Great Hall statuary |
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| Apollo |
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| Aphrodite |
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| Ante Room |
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| State Dining Room |
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Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia
Granddaughter of Mary Queen of Scots |
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| Charles I and his wife Henrietta |
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| Red Drawing Room |
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| The Long Gallery |
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Can you find Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Mother?
Hint: They are not sitting together. |
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| The "Nine Days" Queen |
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| Green Drawing Room |
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I love this painting.
I think this is King Edward III. |
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| The Print Room |
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| Queen Elizabeth I as a little girl |
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| The Private Dining Room |
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| Old depictions of Syon House |
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Henry VIII and his 3rd wife Jane Seymour
She became Henry's wife upon the execution of Anne Boleyn |
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| The Conservatory |
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| Syon House |
