John Rebecca Also in the 1820s he restored Penshurst Place, Kent, in Tudor Gothic style, and it was probably to Rebecca's designs that Sir John Shelley Sidney rebuilt the Sidney Chapel. Around 1820 Buckingham House (originally 'Buckinghams' or 'Buckingham Place') in Shoreham-by-Sea in West Sussex was rebuilt to John Rebecca's designs. Its grounds are now Buckingham Park but the house itself lies in ruins. The Old Rectory at the village of Crowell, Oxfordshire was designed by Rebecca and built in 1822. John Rebecca John Biagio Rebecca (died 1847), the son of Italian-born decorative painter Biagio Rebecca (1735–1808), was an architect of many
Buckingham Palace was frequently the scene of musical entertainments, and the greatest contemporary musicians entertained at Buckingham Palace. The composer Felix Mendelssohn is known to have played there on three occasions. Johann Strauss II and his orchestra played there when in England. Strauss's "Alice Polka" was first performed at the palace in 1849 in honour of the queen's daughter, Princess Alice. Under Victoria, Buckingham Palace was frequently the scene of lavish costume balls, in addition to the usual royal ceremonies, investitures and presentations. Widowed in 1861, the grief-stricken Queen withdrew from public life and left Buckingham Palace to live at Windsor Castle,