SomersetHaus R&D Day 6

We had an historical tour... the Tudor palace on this site was demolished in 1775. One of the windowless meeting rooms, a blank room, bits of blue tac on the wall, an empty noticeboard with nothing to say, was called, the Edward Seymour Meeting Room. Henry VIII's third wife Jane Seymour, her brother was this very Edward Seymour, first Duke of Somerset. He took over Somerset House and made it into a palace. He had to demolish monasteries, churches, houses and businesses to do so...those folks were angry and got Edward Seymour sent to the Tower of London on some kind of charge. He got off only to be hauled back to the Tower again, this time for 'treason', he was beheaded. The windowless meeting room was his legacy. Queen Elizabeth 1 used Somerset House as a meeting place with her government. The building was demolished and new government offices were built on the site 17766-1780 to bring principle learned societies together under one roof, Royal Academy of Arts, Royal Society, Society of Antiquarians and slightly later The Navy Board. Nelson was a frequent visitor. A quote from Anthony Pasquin about Somerset House; 'in the damp, black, in the countless recesses, the clerks of the nation grope about like moles, immersed in the gloom where they stamp, examine, idle, doze and swear. Somerset House has 5 levels, built to emulate a row of town house.The levels; cellar, basement, ground floor, first floor, attic, garret. Later I put my mind to learning harmonies using a pitch pipe, diagrams and repetition.