Hampton Court Palace
Henry VIII's kitchens at Hampton Court once fed around 600 people twice a day, and the palace's famous maze was planted for a Dutch king to get lost in.
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Quick Facts
- Location
- Beside the River Thames at East Molesey, south-west London
- Built or begun
- 1514, by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey
- Taken over by the Crown
- Given to Henry VIII in 1529 after Wolsey's fall
- Architectural styles
- Tudor brick and Baroque, the latter by Sir Christopher Wren for William III and Mary II
- Famous maze
- Planted around 1700, often described as the oldest surviving hedge maze in Britain
- Great Vine
- Planted in 1768 by Lancelot 'Capability' Brown and often called the largest grape vine in the world
- Royal use
- Last used as a regular royal residence under George II, who died in 1760
- Famous ghosts
- Catherine Howard and Jane Seymour are said to haunt the building
The palace a cardinal built, and a king took
Hampton Court began as a show of power. In 1514 Thomas Wolsey, Henry VIII's Lord Chancellor and Archbishop of York, started turning a country estate by the Thames into a home grand enough to impress the crowned heads of Europe. It worked a little too well. Wolsey's fortunes collapsed when he failed to secure Henry's annulment from Catherine of Aragon, and in 1529 he handed the palace over to the king. Henry promptly enlarged it, and it became one of his favourite residences. The Great Hall, with its hammerbeam roof, was built for Henry in the 1530s. It is still one of the glories of Tudor England.
A kitchen that fed a small town
Henry's court was enormous, and it ate in proportion. The Tudor kitchens at Hampton Court covered around 50 rooms, and are famous for the scale of the cooking needed to feed some 600 people twice a day. There were separate spaces for pastry, for roasting, for fish and for the great cellars of beer and wine. Huge fireplaces are still visible today, and the kitchens remain one of the most vivid parts of a visit. The palace also kept the king entertained. Henry played real tennis here, and a court is still in use on the site, descended from the one he knew.
Six wives, one palace
Hampton Court is bound up with the story of Henry's marriages. Jane Seymour gave birth to the future Edward VI here in 1537, and died days afterwards. Her ghost is said to walk the corridors near the Silver Stick Gallery. Catherine Howard's story is darker. In 1541 she was confined at the palace while accusations about her past were investigated. Legend says she broke free and ran towards the chapel to plead with the king, and that her screams still echo along what is now called the Haunted Gallery. It makes a wonderful tale. Whether or not she really made that dash, the gallery is one of the best-known ghost stories in Britain.
Wren, William and the Baroque makeover
Two centuries later, the palace was reinvented. William III and Mary II, who shared the throne from 1689, wanted a residence away from the smoke of London, and they turned to Sir Christopher Wren. The plan was ambitious: to demolish most of the Tudor palace and replace it with something in the style of Versailles. Mary's death in 1694 and the cost of the work meant only part of the scheme was carried out. The result is a palace with two faces, rosy Tudor brick on one side and elegant Baroque on the other. The Baroque wing, with its grand courtyard and the King's Apartments, gives the palace its distinctive double personality.
Maze, vine and a lost way
The hedge maze was planted around 1700, in the time of William III, and is probably the best-known puzzle in British gardening. It is trapezoid in shape, and a surprising number of visitors fail to reach the centre on their first attempt. The gardens also hold the Great Vine, planted in 1768 by Lancelot 'Capability' Brown, who was Master Gardener at Hampton Court. It still produces grapes each year, and a limited number are sold in the palace shops. Beyond these stand the Privy Garden, restored to its 1700 appearance, and the Long Water canal, which sweeps out across the park.
What to look for when you visit
Start with the Tudor clock in Anne Boleyn's Gateway, which shows the position of the sun and moon, and the phases of the moon. Look up in the Great Hall to see the carved roof, and keep an eye out for the astronomical clock in Clock Court, made for Henry in 1540. The Chapel Royal, still used for worship, has a spectacular ceiling with gilded pendants. Elsewhere, costumed interpreters bring Tudor life to the kitchens and corridors. Give yourself time for the gardens too. On a summer day, the river, the lawns and the red brick glowing in the sun make it easy to see why two very different monarchs chose to make this place their own.
Notable people
- Thomas Wolsey
- Henry VIII
- Jane Seymour
- Catherine Howard
- William III
- Mary II
- Sir Christopher Wren
- Lancelot 'Capability' Brown
- George II
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