Beaumont Palace, built outside the north gate ofOxford, was intended byHenry I about 1130 to serve as a royalpalace conveniently close to the royal hunting-lodge atWoodstock (now part of the park ofBlenheim Palace). Its former presence is recorded inBeaumont Street, Oxford. Set into a pillar on the north side of the street, nearWalton Street, is a stone with the inscription: "Near to this site stood the King's Houses later known as Beaumont Palace.King Richard I was born here in 1157 andKing John in 1167." The "King's House" was the range of the palace that contained the king's lodgings.
Henry spent Easter 1133 in thenova aula – his "new hall" at Beaumont – in great pomp, celebrating the birth of his grandson, the futureHenry II.[1]Edward I was the last king to sojourn in Beaumont officially as a palace, and in 1275 he granted it to an Italian lawyer,Francesco Accorsi, who had undertaken diplomatic missions for him.[2] WhenEdward II was put to flight at theBattle of Bannockburn in 1314, he is said to have invoked the Virgin Mary and vowed to found a monastery for theCarmelites (the White Friars) if he might escape safely. In fulfilment of his vow he remanded Beaumont Palace to the Carmelites in 1318.
In 1318, the Palace was the scene for the beginnings of theJohn Deydras affair, in which a royal pretender, arguing that he was the rightful king of England, claimed the Palace for his own. John Deydras was ultimately executed forsedition.[3]
When the White Friars weredisbanded at the Reformation, most of the structure was dismantled and the building stone reused inChrist Church andSt John's College.[4] An engraving of 1785[5] shows the remains of Beaumont Palace, the last of which were destroyed in the laying out of Beaumont Street in 1829.[6]
51°45′18″N1°15′46″W / 51.7550°N 1.2627°W /51.7550; -1.2627