Editing Woodstock Palace (section)

== Elizabeth I and the gatehouse ==
Elizabeth I, as Princess or "Lady Elizabeth", was at Woodstock from 20 May 1554 to June 1555.<ref>[[Joseph Stevenson]], ''Calendar State Papers Foreign, Elizabeth, 1558–1559'', 1 (London, 1863), pp. lxv–lxiv.</ref> Her keeper was [[Henry Bedingfeld]] of [[Oxburgh Hall|Oxburgh]].<ref>Richard Grafton, ''Chronicle At Large'', 2 (London, 1809), p. 548.</ref> She is said to have been lodged in the upper floors of the gatehouse in 1554, and scratched inscriptions on the palace windows with a diamond ring, and written on a shutter with charcoal.<ref>John Nichols, [https://archive.org/details/progressesandpu01nichgoog/page/6/mode/2up ''Progresses of Queen Elizabeth'', 1 (London, 1823), pp. 8–11]</ref> Including the verse:<blockquote>Much suspected by me,<br>Nothing proved can be,<br>Quoth ELIZABETH the prisoner.<ref>A. F. Pollard, ''Tudor Tracts'' (Archibald Constable, 1903). p. 359.</ref></blockquote>
Her words were noted by the travellers [[Paul Hentzner]] and [[Henri, Duke of Rohan]] in 1600. A chamber in the gatehouse had an arched oak ceiling, with carving, painted blue with gilt decoration, and was later known as Queen Elizabeth's Chamber.<ref>Edward Marshall, ''The Early History of Woodstock Manor and Its Environs'' (Oxford, 1873), pp. 155-7, 164-5.</ref> According to [[John Foxe]], Elizabeth envied the freedom of milkmaids at Woodstock who she could hear singing in the garden.<ref>A. F. Pollard, ''Tudor Tracts'' (Archibald Constable, 1903). p. 360.</ref>

Repairs made to the palace in 1576 included the plastering of several rooms. The accounts mention a courtyard with a fountain decorated in an earlier period with [[King's Beasts, Hampton Court Palace|heraldic beasts]], and a stairway to the great hall also featured four beasts.<ref>Howard Colvin, ''History of the King's Works'', 4:2 (London: HMSO, 1982), p. 353.</ref>