King Charles Block

In 1662, the Tudor Palace of Placentia was demolished and its rubble used to make a level place within a bend of the Thames. A new royal palace, designed by John Webb, was begun the following year. It was built for Charles II, a cousin to Louis IV, who returned much of the gaiety to court life. It was he who was responsible for the Royal Commission who drew the plans for the rebuilding of London after the plagues of 1665 and the Great Fire of 1666 It was in the design of the King Charles Block that the first hints of the Baroque influence were seen in an exterior.