Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
up there with the Tower of London when it comes to the variety of attractions on
offer: not only does it boast Tudor halls and kitchens, it's got some fabulous Baroque
interiors in the wings designed by Wren, superb works of art, a beautiful riverside
setting, a yew hedge maze, a Real Tennis court, impressive formal gardens and a vast
royal park. If your time is limited, the most rewarding sections are Henry VIII's
Apartments, William III's Apartments and Henry VIII's Kitchens - and be sure to
leave time for the Maze.
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Brief history
The present building was begun in 1516 by the upwardly mobile
Cardinal Wolsey
,
Henry VIII's high-powered, fast-living Lord Chancellor. Wolsey fell from favour when
he failed to secure a papal annulment for Henry's marriage to Catherine of Aragon, and
Hampton Court (and his palace in Whitehall) fell to the king in 1528.
Like Wolsey,
Henry VIII
spent enormous sums of money on the palace, enlarging the
kitchens, rebuilding the chapel and altering the rooms to suit the tastes of the last five
of his six wives. Under Elizabeth I and James I, Hampton Court became renowned for
its masques, plays and balls; during the Civil War, it was a refuge and then a prison for
Charles I. The palace was put up for sale during the Commonwealth, but, with no
buyers forthcoming, Cromwell decided to move in and lived here on and off until his
death in 1658. Charles II laid out the gardens, inspired by what he had seen at
Versailles, but it was
William and Mary
who instigated the most radical alterations,
hiring Christopher Wren to remodel the buildings. Wren was told to tear down the
whole palace and build a new Versailles, but, in the end, had to content himself with
rebuilding the east and south wings, adding the Banqueting House on the river and
completing the chapel for Queen Anne.
George III eschewed the place, apparently because he associated it with the beatings
he received here from his grandfather. Instead, he established grace-and-favour
residences for indigent members of the royal household, which still exist today. The
palace was opened to the public in 1838, and, along with the vast expanse of
Bushy
Park
, it's now a major tourist attraction.
INFORMATION AND TOURS
Admission
Tickets to the Royal Apartments cover entry to
everything in the palace and grounds - to save money and
avoid queuing, buy your tickets online. If you don't want to
visit the apartments, you can buy a separate ticket for the
gardens (April-Sept; £5.20) and the Maze (£4).
Tours
The State Apartments are divided into six thematic
walking tours, which are numbered and colour-coded.
There's not a lot of information in the rooms, but guided
tours, lasting half an hour or so, are available at no extra
charge; all are led by period-costumed historians, who do a
fine job of bringing the place to life. In addition,
audioguides are available from the information centre on
the east side of Clock Court.
Events
The Hampton Court Palace Flower Show takes
place in early July, rivals Chelsea for sheer snob factor, and
is likewise organized by the Royal Horticultural Society
(
W
rhs.org.uk). The Hampton Court Palace Festival
(
W
hamptoncourtpalacefestival.com) features stars from
the classical and pop music worlds, and takes place each
year in June.
The Palace
The Tudor west front may no longer be moated but it positively prickles with turrets,
castellations, chimneypots and pinnacles. The
Great Gatehouse
looks suitably
imposing, but was in fact five storeys high until George III's reign. The first and largest
courtyard,
Base Court
, is reminiscent of an Oxbridge college and features another
Tudor gateway known as Anne Boleyn's Gateway, though it too dates from the time of
Wolsey. Beyond lies
Clock Court
, which has none of the uniformity of the other two
quadrangles: to the north rises the Tudor Great Hall, to the south Wren's colonnade,
announcing the new State Apartments, and to the east a fairly convincing mock-Tudor
gateway by William Kent. Originally centred on a large fountain which was equipped
by Elizabeth I with a nozzle that soaked innocent passers-by, the courtyard gets its
