Hampton Court Palace

Yesterday we had a school field trip to Hampton Court Palace. It was mandatory for my Crime and Punishment class, and our professor gave us a thorough tour of the complex. He explained its past importance as a center of power. The original part of the palace (from the beginning its purpose was as a grand palace and not as a defensive castle - it was built after England's castle-building period had ended) was constructed for Cardinal Wolsey around 1514. The palace was much nicer than that of King Henry VIII at Whitehall, then called York Palace. In 1529, the King took over the Hampton Court as his personal residence and began expanding it.

The Palace would see many more changes starting in the late 17th century when William and Mary came to power. They began a major development project where they planned to replace all but the Great Hall of the Tudor Palace. They charged Sir Christopher Wren with the task of transforming Hampton Court into a new Baroque-style residence to compete with Versailles. Work was half done when Queen Mary died and William lost interest. Work stopped and the palace was left mostly the way it is today, with the front half in the Tudor style and the rear in Baroque.


This is the original Tudor-style entrance that was built for Cardinal Wolsey. Almost all of what Wolsey built remains today. The front was made to look grand, and to leave an impression of power with any visitor to the Palace. The only major changes that have been made are the chimneys, which were added in the 18th or 19th century. Originally there was a mote that went around the palace. The trench is still there on the other side of the low brick wall behind the grass.


As we went in, we saw this old car come out from one of the side driveways. I have no idea what kind it is or when it's from, but sure looks nice!


When you walk through the main gate, this is what you see. It is a large rectangular courtyard called Base Court that leads to the next gate. The large section on the far left of the picture is King Henry VIII's Grand Hall.


Walking through the next gate takes you into Clock Court. This side was modified with the columns under Wren's design. Most of this court retains it's original Tudor-period construction, and this is as far as Wren's alterations go.


This post-Copernican astronomical clock was installed over the second gate (the one that leads into Clock Court) in 1540. It still works, and tells the time of day, month, moon phase, quarter of the year, date, star and sun sign, and high water at London Bridge. It is considered to be one of the finest astrological clocks in England.


The kitchens originally were designed to prepare enough food for everyone in the King's Court and any guests visiting (this would have amounted to at least 1,000 people). The enormous fireplace speaks to the huge amounts of food prepared each day. Notice the loft on the top right: most of the people who worked in the kitchen also lived there, with the exception of the top chef. There would have originally been several more levels (you can see the holes in the wall were support beams used to be), each filled with straw to provide a place to sleep.


"The Kitchen" was actually made of up several different areas that were linked together with little alleyways, which are common all around the Tudor half of the castle.


The next room contained this arrangement that functioned like a huge stove. Charcoal was burned in the hollowed-out areas below and heated the kettles on top. Charcoal was used because it produced a better taste that wood-fired stoves, and it was cheaper than coal.


This table sits in front of a smaller fireplace. Our professor told us that in the past there was a display of a rotisserie mechanism that worked much like a grandfather clock. A combination of a pendulum and moving weights would automatically turn the meat on the spit so the kitchen workers could attend to other things. The display also gives you an idea of what some of the bowls and pottery looked like in Tudor times.


This cellar is where the drinks were stored. I'm not sure if this was all wine, or ale. I think it was probably a combination...ale for the workers and wine for the King and the aristocratic members of the court.


King Henry VIII's Great Hall was used for dining and probably for entertaining as well. It was built between 1532 and 1535, and features one of the best hammer-beam ceilings in England. It was the last medieval great hall built for an English monarch.


This is where the King and his wife would dine in state at the head of the Great Hall.


I love the old brickwork in the palace, and the lighting in this picture does a nice job of showing it. If only these walls could talk...


I took this picture through a second story window that faces one of many sections of gardens. Our professor tells us this is a recreation that was built about 15 years ago. The original had become so overgrown and inaccurate that it was necessary to start over. I believe that this is supposed to be one King Henry VIII's gardens.


This is the public bedroom where the King would be ceremonially put to bed each night. After all of the people left, he would go to a real bedroom nearby where he would sleep. In the morning another waking up ceremony would take place back in the room shown here.


This is a study in the state apartments near the bedrooms.


This what King Henry VIII's toilet looked like.


Back on the ground floor is a dining room in the Wren-designed portion of the palace. During the time of William and Mary, it was common to dine in front of members of the public on Sundays. Normal people would be allowed in to see their King and Queen, and their family, eat. There were some reports that hundreds of people sometimes showed up and bleachers were set up to accommodate everyone.


One of the many grand Baroque staircases in the palace.


The Fountain Court - the major court designed by Wren (the other two big ones are original Tudor).



The two pictures above are the Baroque gardens designed to compliment Wren's vision. The garden photos below are from a side garden. I'm not sure which era the side garden is from, but I suspect it is from the Tudor period. There is also a hedge maze in this section, but unfortunately it had closed for the day by the time we got there. This is a great time of year to see the gardens though, with all of the flowers out and the trees blossoming.








One last look at the entrance on the way back to the bus. It was strange to see nobody there! Although it was supposedly a quiet day, we had run into elementary school groups several times during the course of our tour.


The weather was very strange. Sometimes there was a beautiful blue sky, and other times...


...the dark clouds rolled in and we had to get out the umbrellas. It did allow for a great combination of cloud and sky shots though.


Finally, my favorite picture of the day saved for last. I took this as I crossed the bridge over the River Thames that runs right next to the Palace. I was walking back to the bus and I happened to look over and see this amazing lighting...dark clouds in the background and the last rays of sun illuminating the Palace. I had to take a picture, and here it is.