In
English architecture, mainly from the
Tudor period onwards, a banqueting house is a separate
pavilion-like building reached through the gardens from the main residence, whose use is purely for entertaining, especially eating. Or it may be on the roof, as in many 16th-century
prodigy houses. It may be raised for additional air or a vista, with a simple kitchen below, as at
Hampton Court Palace and
Wrest Park, and it may be richly decorated, but it normally contains no bedrooms, and typically a single room apart from any service spaces. The design is often ornamental, if not downright fanciful, and some are also
follies, as in
Paxton's Tower. There are usually plenty of windows, as appreciating the view was a large part of their purpose. Often they are built on a slope, so that from the front only the door to the main room can be seen; the door to the servants' spaces underneath was hidden at the back (Wrest Park). The
Banqueting House, Gibside is an example.