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Hampton Court, England - Hampton Court - 13th October 2001

Posted by Edmond on Friday, March 8, 2002

Hampton court is a palace that is steeped in the glorious and controversial history of the reign of King Henry VIII and less so with the Stuart and Hanoverian Kings and Cardinal Woseley. Originally handed over to Cardinal Woseley, Henry VIII acquired ownership of the buildings and claimed it as his place of residence. At Hampton court, tourists and visitors can see the personal apartments for the King, Queen and their guests, the Chapel Royal where marriage ceremonies of Henry VIII were held and a variety of gardens and courts within the palace grounds. I've provided some general information on Hampton court plus photos.

Hampton Court:
1. West Front
2. Base Court and Queen Anne's Gatehouse
3. Royal Chapel and Henry VIII apartments
4. King, Queen and Georgian State apartments
5. East Gardens and Privy Gardens
6. Formal and Pond Gardens
7. The Maze
Hampton court is easily accessible by train from London Waterloo station. It is probably a 20 min trip ride on the Hampton court train. The station is situated very close to the palace and is a few minutes walk from Hampton Court Station. There are also signs at the station showing directions to Hampton Court Palace. An alternative route is to go from Richmond and catch the bus down to Hampton Court.

We begin with the west front, which was first constructed by Cardinal Wosley about 1475 (who was the original owner) and completed by Henry VIII in 1547. Along the sides of the moat bridge are the Kings beasts holding his coat of arms. On the left and right wings roundels of the Roman Emperors made for Wosley by the Italian sculptor

After the palace entrance is the Base Court, which has remained unchanged to this day. Ahead lies the Anne Boleyn Gatehouse. The Bell above the gatehouse originally belonged to the Knights of Hospitallers who were the earliest owners of Hampton Court. On the left and right wings of the gatehouse are the roundels of Roman Emperors while the middle is a stone carving of the coat of arms of Henry VIII. Other than the odd gift shop, the gateway also leads to the picture gallery and Tudor Kitchens.

Walking through the Gatehouse, visitors enter the Clock court, home of the Chapel Royal, Henry VIII's Great Hall and the great astronomical clock that sits on Anne Boleyn's Gateway. The great hall and Chapel Royal is located north from the position of the the Astronomical clock. It is at the Chapel Royal where Henry VIII held many of the marriage ceremonies. At the south is the colonnade which contains an exhibition on the restoration of the King's apartments after being nearly destroyed from a recent fire. Visitors can enter the Chapel Royal and Henry VIII's state apartments and great hall can be entered through the doorway opposite Anne Boleyn's Gateway. Used as a dining and communal hall, vast tapestries of Henry VIII's collection hang along the hall's walls.

Proceeding past the chapel and Great Halls is the Georgian Rooms and Fountain Court. From here, visitors can get to the Queen's and King's state apartments, again designed by Sir Christopher Wren, as well as the Georgian rooms. Designed by Sir Christopher Wren for William III, the King's Apartments is the most elaborate, containing a variety of tapestries are hung along the walls of the bedrooms, dining rooms and hallways along with some paintings while the ceilings are decorated with more paintings and carvings. Similarly, the Queen's apartments, occupied by Queen Mary II who was William III's wife, was just as elaborate.

The Georgian rooms are less elaborate as those in the King's apartments. Probably the last set of rooms built for the Royal Family, these rooms were occupied by King George II. Highlights include the Cartoon Gallery which houses copies of the cartoons "he Acts of the Apostles". the painted panels of the Wolsey closet and the Queen's Bedchamber where more tapestries can be found.

Heading further east are the palace grounds. To the east is the eastern front which has a huge pediment of Caius Gabriel Cibber’s relief of Hercules triumphing over Envy, indoor tennis courts right next to the main building. In front of is the East Gardens where the trees are laid out in a semi-circular fashion while in the middle is a large fountain.

At the south part of the grounds, visitors can find the Privy Garden and the south front that forms part of the King's Apartments, which were both designed by Sir Christopher Wren for King William III. Further west are the smaller Formal and Pond gardens, a greenhouse housing the Great Vine, the oldest grapevine in the world and the Orangery. Originally used to house Mary II's botanical collection, it is now a gallery containing Andrea Mantegna’s Triumphs of Caesar, a sequence of nine paintings which depict the triumphs of the great Roman emperor, Julius Caesar. Probably one of the most important works from the Italian Renaissance, The Triumphs of Caesar were painted at the Italian court of Gonzagas between about 1484-1505.

Finally, the northern part of the grounds contain the famous maze of hedges where a couple of trees grows at the end of the maze. It was commissioned by Henry VIII in 1702 and was origninally part of a larger set of hedges that were planted and laid out in geometric shapes.


© Edmond, 2002