Savoy Palace

Savoy Palace, an ancient palace of London, situated between the Strand and what is now the Thames Embankment, was first built by Peter, Count of Savoy, uncle of Henry III.'s queen, Eleanor of Provence. It was the prison of the captive king John of France after the battle of Poitiers. Then it was the town residence of John of Gaunt, and was burned by the peasants during Wat Tyler's revolt (1381). Henry VII. rebuilt it, and in 1505 endowed it as a 'hospital' or house for one hundred poor people—'rogues and masterless men' they came to be. In its precincts was held in 1661 the Savoy Conference (see PRAYER-BOOK, Vol. VIII. p. 381). 'The Savoy' also included a chapel royal, built in 1515; it was injured by fire in 1864, but restored at the expense of the Queen. The Savoy Theatre occupies part of the site. See Loftie, Memorials of the Savoy (1879).