If you’ve ever yearned for the glamour of 1930s Art Deco, then look no further than
Eltham Palace: the south east London home of Virginia and Stephen Courtauld, which they
transformed into an iconic luxury in entertainment in the 1930s. Eltham has a long history stretching
back to the 13th-century and has been home to kings and queens of England, including
Henry VIII. But Virginia and Stephen turned it into a glorious backdrop for their lavish
and decadent Art Deco parties. Now, you too can be a VIP guest at Eltham. You’ll be
welcomed as if you were a friend of Stephen and Virginia’s and invited to one of their
glamorous weekend parties. Curator Lester Oram opens the doors for a private tour of
the newly refurbished palace. Arriving at Eltham over the medieval moat
bridge, you get a real sense of the site’s historical importance. More than this, you
experience the excitement felt by those attending one of the Courtauld’s many lavish parties.
Arriving at the entrance hall, the true decadence of the building reveals itself. Here you’ll
find the very essence of luxurious living. Used as a backdrop for feature films such
as Brideshead Revisited, the interior simply oozed glamour. Strikingly modern for its time,
the palace’s bold patterns and geometric shapes make it a masterpiece of interior design.
Elsewhere in the palace, eccentric designer Peter Malacrida created some of the property’s
most striking design features. The dining room truly embodies the Art Deco style. Entering
Virginia’s private bedroom quarters, you get a real sense of her lavish taste. The
curved inlay maple walls exude glamour. The visit to her bathroom is like entering an
ancient temple. Stephen, a businessman and veteran of the First World War was by contrast
a far more reserved character. It was said that he went through entire meals without
even speaking to anybody. He did however boldly pursue his own interests. He funded expeditions
to the Arctic and even climbed Mont Blanc. A visit to Stephen’s library reveals a man
with a passion for reading and collecting art. The walls are lined with books, often
about far flung places in the world and decorated with reproduction Turners and Italian earthenware.
Running around the house in the Courtauld’s day was an array of pets: a great dane, an
afghan hound and even a pet lemur; Mah-Jongg. Bought by Stephen from Harrods as a wedding
gift for Virginia, Mah-Jongg, had free reign of the building. In keeping with access to
the rest of the palace, Mah-Jongg, even had his own luxurious living quarters, featuring
a mural of his native Madagascan jungle. The Great Hall, dating back to the 1470s, connects
the palace with its medieval history. By the time Turner painted it in 1790, it had fallen
into disrepair and was filled with hay bales. But the Courtaulds renovated it, maintaining
some continuity with the building’s past. In April, several newly renovated areas of
Eltham will be open to the public, including a luxury bomb shelter, billiard room and
a walk-in wardrobe. In addition, you can enjoy freshly replanted gardens, as well as a café,
shop and visitor centre. Showing the full extent of the Courtaulds’ widespread explorations
is the map room, where their secretary would plan their exotic holidays. In the map room,
English Heritage conservators have carefully and patiently uncovered and conserved a number
of wall maps which we reveal for the first time in decades.
This has been an incredibly exciting project to work on and I really hope you are able
to come to Eltham and enjoy the new rooms we have been able to open up.