Okay, so I’ve not wandered too far this week – a train ride, rather than a plane ride, away. Still, it’s to a rather interesting place. London is home to some wonderful palaces – I have another post about the Tower of London still to write – and Hampton Court Palace is one of the finest, a treasure trove of history, design and architecture.
Built by Cardinal Wolsey and taken over several years later by Henry VIII, the palace was constructed between 1515 and 1694. Not much of the original Tudor palace remains in its original state, as successive monarchs each sought to put their stamp on the building.
The palace remained a royal residence until Victorian times, though George II was the last monarch to reside there. However, the monarch with whom the palace is most closely associated is Henry VIII. Oranges carved over an internal doorway are symbols of Catherine of Aragon, Henry’s first wife, while the clock above is the Hampton Court astronomical clock, set in the Anne Boleyn gate, named for his second wife. Jane Seymour, his third wife, gave birth to their son Edward, and subsequently died there, two weeks later. It was also at Hampton Court that Henry learned of the infidelity of his fifth wife, Catherine Howard. Imprisoned in her rooms, it is said she escaped and ran the length of the Haunted Gallery, screaming for mercy, but was recaptured and, eventually, executed.
Large landscaped gardens surround the building, running alongside the river Thames. One of the original 16th century tiltyard towers remains, part of Henry VIII’s jousting range, as does his Royal Tennis Court. My friend and I also walked the Hampton Court Maze, planted between 1689 and 1695 for William of Orange, the ancient green hedges taller than we were.
This is the Fountain Court, designed by Sir Christopher Wren during the reign of William and Mary, when a huge program of renovation took place at the palace. William and Mary wanted the design to reflect their status as equal monarchs, so two sets of apartments, equal in size and stature, were designed, as well as two identical interior staircases. However, when Mary passed away, William lost interest in the renovation project and work ceased.
With all this history, it’s not surprising that the palace is reputed to be haunted. Several tourists have reported strange occurences, and then there’s ‘Skeletor’, a famous image captured on the CCTV cameras which has not been adequately explained. We didn’t see any ghosts, but we did see a rather dishy fellow, a cross between Damien Lewis and Tom HIddleston, decked out in full Elizabethan regalia, including a single pearl drop earring. Seeing him on the train later in civilian clothes rather spoiled the illusion… 😀
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Helen Glynn Jones 
you are right; it’s a wonderful place
Kind of hard to compress it into one short blog post, really! And I could have sworn I took more photographs, too… 🙂
You have such interesting places to visit.
Thanks, Craig 🙂 I’m lucky to be so close to such wonderful places.
Beauty. I love those weird trees in the garden. As for the dishy fellow in period costume, are you SURE the guy on the train was the same person? Not his great-great-great-whatever-son?
Well, you never know… There’s a story in that, I think 🙂
What, no photo of the dishy re enactor? 🙂 It’s a lovely place, and no offence to Queen Mary, but I’m glad she died when she did so the renovation works stopped at the reaer of the palace, or all of that lovely red brick migh have vanished for good. I’d love to have seen some of the lost Tudor palaces, Nonsuch particularly. Lovely images, Helen and glad you threw in a ghost story – can’t have a royal palace without one!
Thanks, Lynn 🙂 You know, I could have sworn I did take a photo of him but when I looked at my shots he wasn’t there! It’s been happening to me a few times lately…
And yes, I agree, no offence to queen Mary but thank goodness those renovations stopped when they did. I’d love to see some of those lost palaces too.
Hah, see, there’s proof! He really *was* a ghost, so you couldn’t catch him on camera.
Maybe you’re right! He certainly was dishy in his Elizabethan garb 😉
Maybe your guide was related to Skeletor, just a lost soul wandering the grounds with the other ghosts. Must get pretty crowded at some of these places 🙂 Just makes me think of a song we used to sing in the choir at school, With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm – do you know it? It always appealed to my dark side! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3a0cFYa5Ffw
Maybe he was! I agree, places like that must be thronged with ghosts, all those lives lived inside their walls. And omg I’ve never heard that song before! How hilarious you got to sing it with your school choir. It is certainly dark! 😀
Haha! Yes it is dark isn’t it? Loved it for that And love a ghost story – real or imagined 🙂
And I enjoyed being allowed to say the word ‘bloody’ to of course!
Well, of course! ;-D
Haha!
What a beautiful place! Nice pictures! 🙂
Thank you! It is a pretty wonderful place, definitely 🙂