One of the oldest civil buildings of the Moscow chamber of the Old English court, which today is a branch of the Museum of Moscow. This miraculously preserved gem of Russian medieval architecture has repeatedly changed its appearance, it experienced the period of complete oblivion and was on the verge of demolition. Rediscovered Soviet and restorer Peter Baranovsky, she in the 1970-ies returned to its original appearance.
About how the Old English court, who owned it at different times and that it has remained unchanged since the beginning of the XVI century, read in joint material mos.ru and the Agency “Moscow”.
the First owner of a farmstead with exposed stone structure was a wealthy merchant Ivan D. Bobrischev. From his house, built in 1510-ies, there is not much: lined with white stone ground floor (basement) with the barrel vaults, the oldest part of the Old English court, and later rebuilt the upper chambers.
About Bobrisheva little is known. I believe that he came from a merchant family, grown rich on trade with the city of Surozh (now Sudak) who was a prominent commercial center of the Genoese Republic in the Crimea. The neighbouring churches of Saint Barbara and of Maxim the blessed was built on the contributions of the comrades Bobrisheva craft, guests coroian, who also owned land on the barbarian.
“And all those churches was the master Aleviz Fryazin” — according to the chronicle for 1514. Aleviz Fryazin, or Aleviz Old, or, Aloisio da Carcano, one of the most famous Italian architects, who came to Russia at the invitation of Ivan III. By the way, with the arrival of artists, foreigners have the same appearance in the Russian language the word “chamber”, formed from Latin palatium, whether from the Italian palazzo, which means “Palace”.
Possession of Bobryshev not confined to a single stone building for storage of valuables and goods. It also consisted of a wooden dwelling and outbuildings and to the side of the river, stretched an orchard. The choice of location suggests that the first owner of the possession belonged as Only the extremely wealthy Muscovite could afford to settle, on the one hand, near the Kremlin and red square, which at that time took shape as a Great bargain, and the other — near the Marina on the Moscow river, which was used for the transport of goods by water or ice.
What ended the story of a wealthy merchant, is unknown. Probably he had no heirs. Next time in written sources “the structure of the guest of Ivan Bobrishev” POPs up in 1550 and is listed already in the Royal Treasury.
the beginning of the XVI century, in the midst of the era of Great geographical discoveries, the world’s major trade routes went across the Atlantic to America, India and China. The path was controlled by the Spaniards andregality that with the approval of the Pope was divided between the whole world into spheres of influence. Land road to the East after the fall of Byzantium was in the hands of hostile Christian Europe of the Turks. In such circumstances, English mariners had to look to overseas wealth, while avoiding an open confrontation with the major Maritime powers.
England had yet to become the mistress of the seas — to changing the balance of power in the world arena the defeat of the Spanish Armada remained for over 80 years, until the second in the history of mankind circumnavigation of Francis Drake — a little less. Essential skills and experience English sailors accumulated while diving in difficult conditions to the coast. However, for the first time to be here they were destined for error.
As once Columbus in search of the unknown route to India, in may 1533 the British Isles left three ships “Good Hope”, “Good Hope” and “Edward the Good Enterprise”. Their goal was to find a Northern sea route to the East. Around Scandinavia, the ship was caught in a violent storm. Two of the crew died a few months during the winter, only “Edward is a Good Company,” headed by captain Richard Celerom continued on his way. The vehicle crossed the White sea and came to the mouth of the Northern Dvina river, where she cast anchor near St. Nicholas karelskogo of the monastery.
Local residents have welcomed the unexpected guests warmly. While the team remained in the hut, captain cansler has overcome almost a thousand kilometers by land. In January 1554 he appeared in the Kremlin in front of the young Russian Tsar, who would later be nicknamed the Terrible. Overseas visitor stayed in Moscow for eight months. Home he took the promises of Ivan, who needed diplomatic and commercial partners in Europe, to confer upon subjects of the English crown the right of free trade in the Russian cities.
London instantly responded to the generous offer — in 1555, was founded by the Moscow joint-stock trading company. A new market has attracted not only merchants, but also — according to some reports, the company included the six lords, one count, 22 knight, 13 esquires, eight aldermen and eight gentlemen.
So, the White sea for a good one hundred and fifty years has become the Russian state’s main gateway to Europe — overland route to the West and exit to the Baltic was unavailable due to a succession of military conflicts with neighbors, called Livonian war (1558-1583). And near the site of the first landing of the British at the end of life of Ivan the terrible there was a settlement Novoholmogory from which eventually grew the city of Arkhangelsk.
Already in 1556 Ivan IV granted the Moscow joint-stock trading company the vacant possession of the merchant in charge. So, in Moscow appeared the English court. His old call has��e, when in 1636 the English will have another New yard at the Ilyinsky gates in the modern area of the Museum.
Then the house was completed spontaneously, without a plan, now it represents two fused with each other volume. The building has a main residence in the attic with a double hatch on the South facade perfectly normal for Western European architecture, in medieval Moscow it was new.
During the later excavations at the Western facade of the archaeologists were in for a rare success — a complete set of furnace with plant and animal ornament, which is allowed to completely restore the furnace in the exchequer. It also recovered the remains of a Russian wall of chests with wooden lids, and the socket of the vaults reconstructed near the time of the sample in the Alexandrovskaya Sloboda.
was losing charge in the Middle ages: the chief archaeologist of Moscow — on the findings of the latest Leto the footsteps of Stanislavski, Shechtel and the Queen of England. The five main buildings of China-town
the Only known schematic representation of the yard came on one of the earliest plans of Moscow — so called, published in Amsterdam in the early seventeenth century with a legend (explanations) in Latin. It the possession is marked as Aula Anglorum Moskuae negotiantium — “the court of the English merchants in Moscow”.
the British were transported to Moscow cloth and necessary facilitator of continuous war Ivan VI weapons, gunpowder, saltpeter, sulfur, copper, lead, tin and other components of ammunition. And the great English fleet grew up on Russian raw materials — the ship forest, denim, hemp. The latter was of such high quality that the Moscow joint-stock trading company was soon sent seven rope masters for local production for the needs of the English fleet, which for a long time was equipped with Russian rigging.
Also in great demand in England had a wax, fat, oil, honey, eggs, flax, fur. With a light hand of the British in Europe has spread the fashion for a Muscovite, or Muscovite glass, that is. It was cheaper and udaroprochnogo glass of the time, allowing you to paste it into the Windows of horse-drawn carriages and portable lights.
a Certificate of interest in a distant country can be considered more than a dozen references of the Muscovites, or Russians, noted in the works of a contemporary of the formation of Russian-English relations of William Shakespeare. You can find them in “Vain efforts of love”, “Measure for measure”, “Henry V”, “Macbeth”, “Winter Wonderland”.
the British built a trading settlement in Moscow, Kholmogory, Vologda, Yaroslavl and other cities, and these offices being assigned to oprichnina, were under the care of the king. With his permission, the British traveled down the Volga to Persia. They also were allowed to look for iron ore on the river Vychegda, and mint from your silver Russian coin in Moscow, because local residents wary of foreign money.
the Russian Tsar tried to get from sitting on the English throne of Queen Elizabeth I’s military and diplomatic Alliance, but this did not succeed. Ivan the terrible expressed the desire to intermarry with the Royal house of Tudor, which caused dissatisfaction among the Russian boyars (and according to one hypothesis — led monarch to a violent death in 1584). When lived in Moscow, the English envoy came to the court after learning of the death of the Emperor, he was met with the words:.
Feodor Ioannovich, the successor of Ivan the terrible, the British did not complain and soon deprived them of the privileges issued by his father. Relations between the two Nations has improved again under Boris Godunov, surnamed by flatterers the British. Mutually beneficial Russian-British ties continued until 1649, when Moscow was shocked with the news that in revolutionary England executed king Charles I Stuart.
none of the subsequent owners of the Old English court is not owned by them so long as British merchants. In the second half of the seventeenth century settled here boyarin Ivan Andreevich Miloslavsky, whose race was exalted by his first wife of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich to Maria Miloslavskaya. In the year of her death the estate passed to the jurisdiction of the Embassy of the order, and after several years it housed the town Church of Metropolitan of Nizhny Novgorod.
In 1720, Peter I gave in old English houses one of the first arithmetic schools. The school did not last long, but left a trace in the appearance of the building: the window of the hut was restesanu for better lighting.
Medieval chamber has virtually disappeared in the early nineteenth century. The new owner Ekaterina Melas before the fire of 1812, upwards and outwards, and decorated his fashion Empire facade from the side of the Varvarka street. By mid-century Old English court in the guise of apartment houses were already completely unrecognizable. On the eve of the First world war, the Association of Russian-American rubber manufactory “Triangle” intended to erect in its place an eight-story skyscraper-cocheres. The project was agreed in July 1914. If not for the war, from ancient houses would not remain and a trace.
In Soviet times, the Old English court was considered lost, and the decrepit building was used for various offices and public housing. In 1948 moved all-Union state library for foreign literature, known as Rasinki from a rename Varvarka street of Stepan Razin. The ancient walls after centuries once again sounded English language.
In the 1960-ies during the construction of the Rossiya hotel on hidden historic monument is facing a new threat — his place was to take esta��hell for buses. Do not represent, as then wrongly considered of no value the building had to be demolished. The Savior, the masterpiece of medieval architecture was an outstanding architect and restorer. Studying the library room, he came to the conclusion that the core of the building is more ancient building of the XVI–XVII centuries.
the Historical basis of the monument were revealed during the restoration of the 1968-1972 years. The work was carried out with the participation of engineers who directed the charges carefully, step by step, without destroying valuable Foundation. In the end, after all rehabilitation work, the structure of the building has once again become what it was when the English merchants.
In 1994 the building was opened the Museum “Old English court”. The opening was attended by Queen Elizabeth II. Through the interactive exhibition of the Museum revives the atmosphere of an ancient merchant’s house and helps to touch the Sciences, crafts and skills of the people of the era of Great geographical discoveries.
