Ghost of a flea

This 450-year-old picture, expected to fetch up to £1.2million when sold at Christie’s next month, is believed to show the true likeness of the palace, named Nonsuch as it was said no other could rival its beauty.

But even Joris Hoefnagel’s painting has only been seen twice in public. It is one of the oldest watercolours in the country and was painted at the palace near Ewell, in Surrey.

Only about three contemporary images of the palace survive, and they do not reveal very much about either the layout or the details of the building. The site was excavated in 1959–60. The plan of the palace was quite simple with inner and outer courtyards, each with a fortified gatehouse. To the north, it was fortified in a medieval style, but the southern face had ornate Renaissance decoration, with tall octagonal towers at each end. It was within one of these towers that the premiere of Thomas Tallis' masterwork, "Spem in alium" was performed. A motet for forty voices divided into eight choirs of five it is rumoured that each choir took position in one of the eight balconies of a tower and sang the piece for the patrons below.