Hampton Court Palace
November 27th 2007 18:59
]Just 30 minutes by train from London Waterloo, on a picturesque tree-bordered bend in the Thames and set in 60 acres of rambling gardens, is magnificent Hampton Court Palace.
This was the home of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon, then, when she was ousted after failing to give him a son, of his second wife Anne Boleyn. Henry’s third wife, Anne of Cleves, was banished to Hampton Court and lived here, in exile, until her death.
Cardinal Wolsey, Henry VIII's right hand man, also lived at Hampton Court in the 1520s, until he fell from favour with the King and was beheaded for treason. The Wolsey rooms house the current Young Henry VIII exhibition, which looks at the life of the “pin-up” prince (hot blooded lover, warrior and superb athlete with a well-turned calf) before he became a grumpy old man, (paranoid, constipated impotent ruin with a septic calf)
Despite the many subsequent occupants and renovations to the palace, it still has the stamp of the court of Henry VIII. The kitchens which, when the King was in residence, fed up to 800 people on the most exotic fare, are the largest surviving 16th century kitchens. The Chapel Royal was the scene of Henry’s son Edward’s Baptism and of his marriage to his last wife, Catherine Parr. In the Tiltyard, which now houses a café, Henry apparently displayed his skill with the jousting stick or watched tournaments from the towers. He also enjoyed Real Tennis on the Royal tennis courts which are still in current use. It was Henry who enclosed the 250 acre Home Park for hunting. Today, it is home to 350 fallow deer, as well as a golf course and the annual Hampton Court Palace Flower Show. And somewhere among the ancient spears, shields, pistols and muskets displayed in extraordinarily complex and really beautiful formations in the guard room of the King’s Apartments, there must surely be one that was grasped in the hand of the hot-blooded warrior King.
Most of the rest of the Palace and gardens speaks of later reigns. The King's appartments we see today, furnished in 1700 by William III with magnificent period tapestries and works of art, are said to be the best baroque apartments in the world. The Queen’s apartments were originally intended for his wife, Mary II, who unfortunately died of smallpox in 1694, before they were completed. The Banqueting House, overlooking the Thames, where William held small private parties, was built in 1700. In 1837, George II decorated and furnished the private informal apartments now known as the Georgian Rooms. The Queen’s apartments, as they are at present were furnished and decorated for his Queen, Caroline.
Over the centuries, many people added their own touch of beauty to the Hampton Court Palace gardens and many of them been maintained or restored to itheir original design. The 13 fountains and the parterre of the Great Fountain garden were the work of William III and Mary II. The Yew trees were planted by Queen Anne (1702 to 1714). The flower beds are Victorian and the herbaceous borders were added in 1920. The Privy, King William’s private garden, has been restored to its 1702 state. The Knot garden, is a modern recreation of a 16th century garden of Henry VIII’s time. The sunken Pond Gardens, now planted with flowers, once held freshwater fish. The Orangery was built to nurture Mary II’s exotic collection which included cacti, orange and lemon trees. Planted in 1768 by landscape gardener Capability Brown, but still yielding beautiful grapes, the Great Vine is one of Hampton Court’s most famous attractions.
The Wilderness garden began as orchard in Henry VIII’s time, then, in the 17th century it became a series of intertwining paths with a maze of tall hedges. Today, only the maze remains. The most recent addition is the 20th century garden which was converted from a horse paddock in the 1970s to train apprentice gardeners.
Hampton Court Palace has everything. It has beauty, history, stories, and the marks of so many people, famous, infamous and completely anonymous, who lived and worked here. It is truly fascinating and enchanting place.
Hampton Court Palace on the Thames
This was the home of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon, then, when she was ousted after failing to give him a son, of his second wife Anne Boleyn. Henry’s third wife, Anne of Cleves, was banished to Hampton Court and lived here, in exile, until her death.
Cardinal Wolsey, Henry VIII's right hand man, also lived at Hampton Court in the 1520s, until he fell from favour with the King and was beheaded for treason. The Wolsey rooms house the current Young Henry VIII exhibition, which looks at the life of the “pin-up” prince (hot blooded lover, warrior and superb athlete with a well-turned calf) before he became a grumpy old man, (paranoid, constipated impotent ruin with a septic calf)
Hampton Court Palace, main entrance
Despite the many subsequent occupants and renovations to the palace, it still has the stamp of the court of Henry VIII. The kitchens which, when the King was in residence, fed up to 800 people on the most exotic fare, are the largest surviving 16th century kitchens. The Chapel Royal was the scene of Henry’s son Edward’s Baptism and of his marriage to his last wife, Catherine Parr. In the Tiltyard, which now houses a café, Henry apparently displayed his skill with the jousting stick or watched tournaments from the towers. He also enjoyed Real Tennis on the Royal tennis courts which are still in current use. It was Henry who enclosed the 250 acre Home Park for hunting. Today, it is home to 350 fallow deer, as well as a golf course and the annual Hampton Court Palace Flower Show. And somewhere among the ancient spears, shields, pistols and muskets displayed in extraordinarily complex and really beautiful formations in the guard room of the King’s Apartments, there must surely be one that was grasped in the hand of the hot-blooded warrior King.
The Stairs up to the King's Appartments
Most of the rest of the Palace and gardens speaks of later reigns. The King's appartments we see today, furnished in 1700 by William III with magnificent period tapestries and works of art, are said to be the best baroque apartments in the world. The Queen’s apartments were originally intended for his wife, Mary II, who unfortunately died of smallpox in 1694, before they were completed. The Banqueting House, overlooking the Thames, where William held small private parties, was built in 1700. In 1837, George II decorated and furnished the private informal apartments now known as the Georgian Rooms. The Queen’s apartments, as they are at present were furnished and decorated for his Queen, Caroline.
The Privy Garden
Over the centuries, many people added their own touch of beauty to the Hampton Court Palace gardens and many of them been maintained or restored to itheir original design. The 13 fountains and the parterre of the Great Fountain garden were the work of William III and Mary II. The Yew trees were planted by Queen Anne (1702 to 1714). The flower beds are Victorian and the herbaceous borders were added in 1920. The Privy, King William’s private garden, has been restored to its 1702 state. The Knot garden, is a modern recreation of a 16th century garden of Henry VIII’s time. The sunken Pond Gardens, now planted with flowers, once held freshwater fish. The Orangery was built to nurture Mary II’s exotic collection which included cacti, orange and lemon trees. Planted in 1768 by landscape gardener Capability Brown, but still yielding beautiful grapes, the Great Vine is one of Hampton Court’s most famous attractions.
The Great Vine
The Wilderness garden began as orchard in Henry VIII’s time, then, in the 17th century it became a series of intertwining paths with a maze of tall hedges. Today, only the maze remains. The most recent addition is the 20th century garden which was converted from a horse paddock in the 1970s to train apprentice gardeners.
The Orangery
Hampton Court Palace has everything. It has beauty, history, stories, and the marks of so many people, famous, infamous and completely anonymous, who lived and worked here. It is truly fascinating and enchanting place.
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