Hampton Court

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First glimpse of Hampton Court

(This visit was part of our London trip in May 2023.)

John had never been to Hampton Court Palace before, and I had last been as a student in the late 1970s, so a visit was long overdue.

The palace was originally built, starting in 1514, for Henry VIII’s chief minister, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. When he fell from favour in 1529 Wolsey gave it to the king to try (unsuccessfully) to check his disgrace. Henry then enlarged the palace, which became one of his favourite residences, and it was further enlarged in the early 1690s by William III so there is a mixture of Tudor and Baroque architecture. George II was the last monarch to live here.

I loved the gates to the palace, and the wildflower meadow as we approached.

Hampton Court Palace gates
Approach to Hampton Court
Approach to Hampton Court

We had booked tickets in advance, so there wasn’t much queueing. Once inside we were given a map and set off to explore. I still have that map and have used it to identify the different parts of the palace in our photographs, so I hope I have done that correctly!

We started in Henry VIII’s kitchens.

Fish Court, Hampton Court
Henry VIII’s kitchens, Hampton Court
Henry VIII’s kitchens, Hampton Court
Henry VIII’s kitchens, Hampton Court
Henry VIII’s kitchens, Hampton Court
Henry VIII’s wine cellar, Hampton Court

Then the rest of Henry’s apartments, including the Great Hall where a troupe of actors was performing part of Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Great Hall, Hampton Court
Titania, Great Hall, Hampton Court
Titania and Bottom, Great Hall, Hampton Court
Great Watching Chamber, Hampton Court. Wolsey top centre of window.
Roundel in Henry VIII’s apartments at Hampton Court
Council Chamber, Hampton Court
Henry VIII and Kathryn Parr married here, Hampton Court

Next, William III’s apartments entered by a magnificent painted staircase.

King’s Staircase, William III apartments, Hampton Court
King’s Staircase, William III apartments, Hampton Court
King’s Bedchamber, William III apartments, Hampton Court
Commode, William III apartments, Hampton Court
Decorative flowers, William III apartments, Hampton Court
Statues, William III apartments, Hampton Court
Private dining room, William III apartments, Hampton Court

Moving into Georgian spaces, the Chocolate Kitchen and Chocolate Room were the domain of Thomas Tosier, personal chocolate maker to George I (1714-27) and George II (1727-1760). Chocolate was a luxurious drink, much more expensive than tea or coffee.

Chocolate kitchen, Hampton Court
Chocolate kitchen, Hampton Court

The main Georgian rooms were decorated with ghostly figures, some named such as Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough.

Georgian Rooms, Hampton Court
Georgian Rooms, Hampton Court
Georgian Rooms, Hampton Court
“Sarah Churchill” at Hampton Court

Before heading for the grounds, a look at the courtyards – Chapel Court and Fountain Court:

Fountain Court, Hampton Court
Chapel Court, Hampton Court
Fountain Court, Hampton Court

Base Court and Clock Court:

Base Court, Hampton Court
Base Court, Hampton Court
Chimney detail, Base Court, Hampton Court
Base Court, Hampton Court
Base Court, Hampton Court
Clock Court, Hampton Court
Astronomical Clock, Hampton Court

We were lucky to have such a beautiful sunny day for our visit which made exploring the grounds a pleasure. It was also good to get exterior views of the palace, both Tudor and Baroque versions.

Great Fountain Garden and the Long Water:

John in Great Fountain Garden, Hampton Court
Great Fountain Garden, Hampton Court
Anabel in Great Fountain Garden, Hampton Court
Three Graces in Great Fountain Garden, Hampton Court
The Long Water, added to Hampton Court by Charles II

Looking back at the Baroque buildings, and avoiding the dust from the carriage rides!

Baroque buildings from grounds, Hampton Court
Anabel in Hampton Court gardens
Carriage rides in Hampton Court gardens

Privy Garden:

Privy Garden, Hampton Court
Privy Garden, Hampton Court
Privy Garden, Hampton Court
Privy Garden, Hampton Court
Privy Garden, Hampton Court

As we approached the Tudor buildings the gardens became smaller and more intimate.

Hampton Court Gardens with Tudor buildings behind
Pansies and wisteria
Hampton Court Gardens with Tudor buildings behind
Lower Orangery Garden?
Intricate chimneys from garden
Pond gardens?
Pond gardens?
Pond gardens?

Throughout the gardens we met a variety of figures sculpted from wicker or bark, from simple gardeners to the King himself.

Bark gardener with spade
Bark gardener
Bark gardener
Wicker figure carrying child
Wicker knights jousting
King Henry VIII in wicker

We managed not to get lost in the maze, then made our way past the Rose Garden to reach the front of the palace again. As we left, we very much admired the entrance to the Clore Learning Centre.

John in the centre of Hampton Court’s maze
Hampton Court Rose Garden
Hampton Court entrance
Clore Learning Centre, Hampton Court
Clore Learning Centre, Hampton Court

And that was it! We got the train back to central London after a fabulous day out. Not a cheap visit (entrance is currently £21.80 for a Senior) but highly recommended.

PS If like me you have been frustrated by the subscription pop-up box that appears every time someone leaves a comment here is how to turn it off, thus keeping your own readers happy. Thanks to Becky for figuring this out.

Go to ‘Newsletter Settings’ which you will find listed in the main Settings menu on the Dashboard. Then unclick all of the boxes – but especially the one that says ‘enable subscription pop-up for commenters’.

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60 Comments »

  1. Hi Anabel – I haven’t been to Hampton Court Palace for years … often thought about it – I should have given a brief talk during our Georgian era History talks about your Chocolate man … still we’re now in the Plantagenet era. I’ve always loved the brickwork of Hampton Court … cheers Hilary

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  2. We drove by the sign for Hampton Court 2 weeks ago, and I thought, “must visit there on our next England trip.” Definitely looks worth while. Great photos and descriptions.

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  4. I love a day trip to Hampton Court! The palace and gardens are beautiful, and I like the mix of Tudor, Stuart and Georgian styles. You certainly had fantastic weather for your visit. I had no idea George I and II had a personal chocolate maker, that’s something I could get behind.

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  5. what did you think of your arrival at the station & the route out of the station to the bridge around the tatty green hoarding & across all the illegally moored boats? I’m a local & just interested in a visitors perspective.

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  7. When I was a child in the early 1970s my family moved to East Molesley (near Kingston-on-Thames) where our local tourist site was Hampton Court Palace. I loved learning about the Tudors at school, and went to the palace with my class one year. I have only been back once as an adult (around 2006) and only to the gardens. I did a lot of online research looking at all those rooms when I wrote a chapter book about a boy time-traveller who ended up in Hampton Court at the celebration of Edward VI’s birth. I would love to go back and see the interiors again!

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  8. I really enjoyed this post, Anabel. It brought back memories of my sunny day there in 2016. I remember being shocked to discover the totally different building tacked on the back. I had no idea about that.

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  9. Hampton Court Palace is one of my most favourite UK places and I’ve been there twice. The first time I went with a friend to the flower show and then we walked all around the grounds. What an amazing day that was. The second time I went with Glen and we went inside the palace. It was incredible and I love all the history. Thanks for taking me there again.

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  11. Anabel, Looks like you had perfect weather for this visit. It’s wonderful to see your pictures and descriptions. They jogged my memory of my visit in the 1990s. I don’t remember seeing the bark figures in the gardens then. Thank you for the virtual tour. P.S. I also turned off the subscription pop-up setting on my blog a while ago.

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    • Thanks Natalie. We had great weather for that particular trip to London – perfect for the gardens. I suspect the bark figures are quite new. I turned my pop ups off when Becky first mentioned them but I keep coming across them elsewhere, so hopefully each time they are mentioned one or two more will check.

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  15. The clothing and deco were so elaborate back in the day. I can imagine the mayhem when it was the party season. Hampton Court was one of my first places I visited back in the 1980s. Money was tight so didn’t get to do the tour. So, I’m pleased to see it all now via you and John’s visit.

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  19. Great visit indeed. We have been to London many times but never managed to get to Hampton Court or Windsor Castle for that matter… So thanks for taking us along for free!

    P.S. Thanks for the tip on removing the annoying pop-up. I have just turned it off on my site…

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  20. Gosh, I don’t think I’ve visited Hampton Court since I was a child and I remember very little if those visits apart from the maze! It was great to be reintroduced to it through your images and descriptions.

    BTW, if you plan any more London visits do let me know – I would love to meet up in person one day!

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  23. An impressive place, even the commode seems to have a touch of luxury! I actually find the kitchens as fascinating as the grand rooms. They must have ran like clockwork.

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    • Thanks Anne. I didn’t know you could switch these annoying pop-ups off until Becky raised it. Not having a newsletter as such, I had no idea that setting could have anything to do with my regular posts. I do feel when something like that is introduced the default setting should be Off!

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    • It’s quite something, isn’t it? I don’t remember much about my first visit, and obviously the fabric of the place won’t have changed, but the presentation must have. I loved things like having the actors and the white figures, and that there were casual pieces of information pinned to curtains (presumably not valuable ones!)

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