The Carpenter Who Built Henry VIII’s World

Ever looked up at Hampton Court’s Great Hall and wondered who made that jaw-dropping roof?
On this day in Tudor history, 22 September 1544, James Nedeham, master carpenter, architect and Surveyor of the King’s Works, died while on campaign with Henry VIII at Boulogne. You may not know his name, but you know his work: Hampton Court’s Great Hall roof, Traitors’ Gate timbering at the Tower of London, and key projects at Whitehall and beyond.

I’m historian and author Claire Ridgway. In this episode, meet the craftsman who helped stage Tudor power.

What you’ll learn:

• How a London guildsman rose to Master Carpenter & Surveyor of the King’s Works
• The story behind Hampton Court’s hammer-beam masterpiece
• Nedeham at the Tower of London: Jewel House & Traitors’ Gate (1532)
• Whitehall, Canterbury, and reusing monastic sites after the Dissolution
• His final campaign with Henry VIII and memorial at Little Wymondley

Question for you: If you could time-travel through one Tudor space, which would it be—Hampton Court, Whitehall, or the Tower—and why?

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