Natural history The result of his interest in the habits and characteristics of animals was a series of pleasant and popular books on natural history. He also edited
Izaak Walton's
The Compleat Angler. (See
Bibliography)
. Guide books Jesse contributed to the second edition of
Leitch Ritchie's
Windsor Castle, and edited later editions of
Gilbert White's
Selborne. He wrote a number of handbooks to places of interest, including
Windsor and
Hampton Court (see
Bibliography).
Hampton Court Palace In 1832 the
Office of Works and Public Buildings was subsumed into the
Office of Woods, Forests and Land Revenues, and responsibility for the maintenance of unoccupied Royal palaces was passed to the reconstituted Office of Works in 1838. As Itinerant Deputy Surveyor with responsibility for the districts of Hampton Court and Windsor,
Hampton Court Palace fell under Jesse's responsibility. The Palace was opened to the general public in December 1838, initially displaying works from the
Royal Collection in the State Apartments, with only the interior courtyards, gardens and Apartments open for viewing. Previously, members of the public had been able to tour the palace in small groups conducted by the housekeeper, but the Great Hall had been inaccessible throughout. The Hall had been cleared in the early 18th century by architect
James Wyatt (on the orders of
George III), removing the theatre fixtures and fittings installed by
William III and
George I, and adding a new door at the east end of the Hall through to the Great Watching Chamber. In July 1840 Jesse began a substantial restoration of the Great Hall for public display, his
Romantic interpretation aiming to give "an appearance similar, perhaps, to that it formerly presented when it was occupied by the Cardinal of York and his princely retinue." Jesse's restoration was influenced by the
Gothic Revival of the mid-nineteenth century, and in particular the work of architects
Jeffry Wyatville (who had remodelled
Windsor Castle), and
Edward Blore, who had assisted Jesse with the Tudor restoration of the West Front of Hampton Court Palace. Jesse was also influenced by the historical novels of
Walter Scott, whose tales of romantic chivalry in medieval settings were popular with the Victorian reading public; Jesse referenced Scott in several of his works. Jesse decorated the Great Hall with stag's heads between each window, banners displaying the "devices of Henry VIII and the arms of Wolsey", and a
string course of Tudor
roses and
portcullises. Jesse commissioned a statue of
St George slaying the
Dragon, which was placed on "a richly-carved stone bracket, inscribed '
Seynt George for merrie Englande,'". Tapestries depicting
The Story of Abraham were moved from the State Apartments, where they had formed the backdrop to the growing population of paintings from the Royal Collection, to hang in the Great Hall, Jesse noting each to be "of such excellent design, and of such costliness of material, that it may be safely asserted that its parallel does not exist in Europe at this time." Collections of arms and armour were placed at either end of the Hall, specially-commissioned or loaned from the
Tower of London collection. Informed by research of the original building accounts, Jesse undertook a second phase of restorative works in 1844, which included the painting of the
hammerbeam roof members in bright shades of white, vermillion, blue and green, and gilding the heraldic badges in gold.
Thomas Willement stained glass commission Jesse also commissioned
stained glass artist
Thomas Willement to chart the Tudor history of the Palace in a series of windows on all sides of the Hall and the Great Watching Chamber. The west window, relating to Henry's wives and family, provides a full-length portrait of Henry VIII beneath a
canopy of state and his arms,
cyphers and badges. Alongside Henry are the arms,
devices and mottoes of each his wives, and beneath him those of his children
Edward VI,
Queen Mary and
Queen Elizabeth. The two small gable windows above show the arms of the
Order of St John of Jerusalem (the original owners of the Manor of Hampton), Lord
Thomas Docwra (who leased the Manor to
Thomas Wolsey), the
Archbishopric of York and Cardinal Wolsey. The east window is dedicated to Henry's lineage, showing Henry surrounded by the arms and badges of
John Duke of Somerset,
Margaret of Richmond,
Henry VII,
Elizabeth of York,
Edward IV,
Richard Duke of York,
John Earl of Somerset,
John Duke of Lancaster,
Edmond Duke of York and
Richard of Cambridge. Williment also set out the line of descent of each of Henry VIII's wives in alternate windows on the north and south sides of the Hall.
Criticism and legacy Jesse's restoration of the Great Hall was the subject of both contemporary criticism (on the grounds of aesthetics and historical authenticity) and praise (for the vivid presentation of context, colour and armour).
Henry Cole wrote "[the] effect would have been far more satisfactory if the judgment of the decorator had been as good as his intention," yet despite the incongruous juxtaposition of disparate Tudor actors and symbolism in Willement's windows, "the restoration of the coloured glass ... is most welcome, and characteristic of old times." Jesse's arrangement of the Great Hall continued to be presented until 1925, and Willement's stained glass remains in place today. Jesse's presentation of the Great Hall has since been described as "one of the great Romantic interiors of the mid-nineteenth century". Jesse himself has been described as "both the first curator and the first interpreter of Hampton Court Palace," and "a forerunner to the HRP Conservation and Learning Department". == Bibliography ==