Chris and I visited Hampton Court last Sunday. We woke up to a grey and dreary day, and it was with a bit of lazy trepidation (I don’t want to walk around castle gardens in the rain! Waah!) that we boarded the train at Waterloo to Kingston. (Usually you can take a train direct to Hampton.) To both our delights, however, when we emerged from the Tudor Kitchens tour, it was brilliantly sunny! (Why didn’t I bring a picnic? Waah!) Needless to say, we had an absolutely wonderful day exploring the castle inside and out. If you have a chance, I highly recommend this as daytrip as it is so easy to get to from central London – even if you are just visiting London for a short while.
Fun Facts I learned while exploring Hampton Court with the free! audio guide tours. (Yes Chris and I walked around with audio guide tours. Headset? Check. Bright orange cord? Check. We looked cool. See?)
- Hampton Court was a “gift” to King Henry VIII from Cardinal Woolsey, who directed its original construction for his own use. (Methinks the dear Cardinal preferred keeping his head over keeping the castle.)
- King Henry VIII and his court had several royal residences. They stayed at each one for a short time before moving to another. Even these short stays wiped out the resources of the surrounding areas; imagine having to feed 600 people two meals a day for weeks on end!
- Henry VIII and his courtiers ate goose and otter during Lent because they thought geese and otter were born in the water and thus a type of fish. (I’m sure learned men of the day were aware of this fallacy, but were worried that to disrupt this illusion would also disrupt their head’s alignment with their body.)
- Henry VIII was married to Katherine of Aragon for almost twenty-four years and their union was a happy and constructive partnership. (No way! In the (great) show Tudors they are at each other’s throats and King Henry VIII is seeeexy (!) and young while Catherine is old and dowdy! No way! Historical drama isn’t historically accurate?? heh)
- The ghost of Katherine Howard, Henry's fifth wife, still haunts a hallway known, appropriately, as the Haunted Gallery. She was imprisoned in a tower for adultery (a crime which, unlike the similarly accused and executed Anne Boylen, she was most likely guilty). She managed to escape her guards in the tower and run down the passageway, trying to catch the King and plead for her life while he was at services in the Chapel. She was overtaken before she reached him, but her presence remains at Hampton Court undeterred, still running wildly down the corridor to plead for a life long-since extinguished.
- To celebrate one of his six marriages, Henry VIII had a fountain built that could flow with both water and… wine! (Perhaps this is why the British Foundation found it appropriate to place historical figurines in drunken attitudes at the fountain’s base….)
Hey Kids! Go sit with the drunken statutes and let me take your picture!
- King William III (r 1689-1702) and Queen Mary II (r 1689-94) intended to fully demolish Hampton Court and rebuild, but because of budget constrains they had to content themselves with rebuilding only a portion. This is why much of the castle maintained by King Henry VIII is still in its 16th century appearance. It also explains the mismatched styles in the different portions of the castle.
- William III was gay. Well, the prim and proper British narrator doesn't go right out and assert that - but it's clear that he wants to do so.
- William III also had really good decorative taste. The personally-acquired paintings in his private quarters are still hung as he arranged them.
- The weapons so impressively arrayed as decorative wall art all around the interior of The Kings Guard Chamber were kept in full working order so that they could serve a more practical purpose if the need arose.
- Do this look French to you?
- It should! France was the epicenter of all design and William III and Mary II had to emulate French architecture, garden design, fashion, even manners and social customs in order to be held in the respect commanded by their position. (Their claim to the throne was tenuous. Click here for more information.)
Things you should do if you should ever visit Hampton Court that various guidebooks may or may not tell you do to.
- Catch a glimpse of King Henry VIII as he walks from Chapel down the haunted corridor. (Ask the very helpful staff when he is scheduled to do so that day.)
- Take a look at the picture in the corridor that portrays the real King and marvel at the resemblance. (How did they find that guy?)
- Borrow a velvet robe when you are getting your free audio guides, and wander the halls of Hampton Court in regally ridiculous fashion.
- Tour the Tudor Kitchens with your free audio guide. They were the best part. (Even my relatively non-food-obsessed husband agrees.)
- If you must skip something, skip Queen Mary’s apartments, but don’t miss King William's!
- While looking at the grouped portraits called the Hampton Court Beauties, wonder if aesthetic standards have changed so drastically since the late 17th century. Or if, as Chris wisely pointed out, they were working with limited supply. (They were the most beautiful ladies of court, of course. Noble blood confers on you wealth, prestige, and royal favor, but not necessarily good genes!)
- Take a break in the castle outdoor café. The food is decent but the atmosphere sublime. Or better yet, if it is a beautiful day, bring a picnic!
- Spend time in all the gardens! They are beautiful and varied!
- And finally, if it is a nice day, walk to the Kingston train station. Exit the palace gardens by the gate to the left of the Great Garden Fountain and cross Home Park. (King Henry VIII had this 750-acre area enclosed for his royal hunts and 300 fallow deer still live here.) Just head straight across the grassy, tree-lined pathway and you will end up along the banks of the Thames in the very developed but still quaint town of Kingston Upon Thames. Along the river walk you will find plenty of outdoor seating in which to enjoy a pint and the fading sunlight.
- While walking through Home Park try and keep your eye out for some deer:
- Or some nesting swans!
And if you do decide to go, be sure to check out the Historic Royal Palaces website first at hrp.co.uk
Thank you for an enchanting revisit!
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