Almondsey

The Royal Palace of Gerousle

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It is a pity that Almondsey disappeared in some sort of time warp or sank beneath the waves of the North Atlantic a couple of decades ago. We have recently found information about the Royal Palace in Gerousle -- not the old medieval castle that served that purpose for centuries, but the 18th Century neo-Gothic Baroque monstrosity constructed by King Lorenzo-Tzerplash the Fourth, and embellished by his great-grandson King Phlilph à la Biftek in 1893 (he added the Casino).

The plan shown below is an image map -- move your mouse over different areas to see them described.

<the keep -- private quarters for the Royal Family> <chapel and garth> <garden gate and fish-pond moat> <the ramparts -- they surround the building, but just look martial as they are not very effective fortification> <great hall> <household apartments and cloister> <swimming pool> <the public areas -- courts, meeting halls, etc.> <kitchen & servants quarters <garrison -- home of the Immortal Gerousle Housecarls> <stables and carriage house> <constable's tower> <gatehouse and butler's quarters> <courtyard and tennis court> <bar and casino> <picnic garden and pavilion>

This is a rather elaborate structure, though not in the Ludwig of Bavaria class. The keep itself is six stories tall (see plans below). Defensively, this is a fairly weak building, as it is built on flat land and the so-called moats are basically decorative fish ponds; however, the Housecarls brigade, fanatical royalists, were housed in the southeast sector and more than made up for the rudimentary defenses. The stabling area, including carriage house, grooms's quarters, and provision barn, only held eight horses -- King Phlilph's extensive thoroughbread horse stables and race track are elsewhere on the estate (via the Garden Gate exit tower). The 'garden' to the north of the palace actually extends for something like 200 acres and contains not only geometrical flower beds, yew hedges (and a maze), a race track, a glass arboretum, but also a deep lake for rowing, swimming, and fishing. The kitchen and the servants' rooms along the north side of the garrison courtyard are rather extensive, given the size of this household when it was initially built. On the southwest side are the facilities the King as a sportsman set up for his own amusement, and for that of his richer subjects: The Casino and Bar, a swimming pool, and a tennis court. (There are also a bowling green, croquet court, nine-hole golf course, a cricket pitch, and a football field in the garden -- there was also a gymnasium for boxing, acrobatics, fencing, and cockfighting.)