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Historic Hampton Court Palace - Part 1 (From 1236 to 1702)

By Rod Booth

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Published: 31Dec2008
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Hampton Court is England's last and greatest medieval hall with a hall whose roof is spanned by a large and sumptuously decorated hammer-beam roof.

The history of Hampton starts with the Knights of St John who acquired the manor of Hampton in 1236 and used the site as a centre for their agricultural estates to store produce. There were probably very few residences, but because the palace was in such a convenient location between the royal palaces at Sheen and Byfleet, Hampton was a perfect stopping point for royal visitors.

Thus it became a kind of high-status guest house until the Knights of St John decided to rent the house out to tenants in around 1490. The first tenant was the courtier Giles Daubeney, who lived here from 1494.

Henry VII and his queen stayed at Hampton on a number of occasions - it was a peaceful retreat from Westminster and the Tower of London. Hampton Court's next occupant was Cardinal Wolsey, also Lord Chancellor, and close friend of king Henry VIII.

He built a vast palace, a magnificent Bishop's palace, with sumptuous private chambers and three suites for the royal family: one for King Henry VIII, one for Queen Katherine, and one for Princess Mary. A grand processional led from these grand apartments to the double-height chapel. But one of the most impressive parts from this period is Base Court, the huge outer courtyard with about 40 guest lodgings - all ensuite with a lavatory!

Thomas Wolsey needed Hampton Court to entertain and host important diplomatic visits. These visits were occasions for impressive displays of wealth and the inevitable conspicuous consumption, though matters of state were also dealt with. Wolsey was criticised by many for his extravagant lifestyle and his ostentatious palace at Hampton Court. But what brought him down was his refusal to help Henry obtain a divorce from his first wife Katherine, who had not provided Henry with a male heir. Wolsey lost both Hampton Court and his position.

So then Henry decided to rebuild much of the palace so it was a modern and sophisticated residence. There were tennis courts, pleasure gardens, bowling alleys and a hunting park of more than a thousand acres. The kitchens were vast, as was the chapel, and so indeed was the communal dining room, and the multiple garderobe (or toilet) - the "Great House of Easement", it was called - which seated nearly thirty people at a time! Water flowed from Coombe Hill in Kingston through lead pipes for three miles to supply the palace.

All of Henry's six wives visited the palace and were given lavish lodgings. The palace provided accommodation for the King's children and courtiers, servants and visitors. In August 1546 Henry fêted the French ambassador and two hundred gentlemen of France plus a thousand courtiers of his own for six days.

But a year later, Henry had died, leaving three surviving children (9-year old Prince Edward and his older sisters Elizabeth and Mary), all of whom ruled England, and all of whom stayed at Hampton Court.

Edward was actually christened in the Chapel Royal here in 1537, and Mary honeymooned here in 1554. Hampton Court was a country retreat away from politics and the central London royal palaces like St James's. Little building took place over this time, since Henry's works had been so extensive.

When Elizabeth ruled, she visited Hampton Court Palace regularly; at this time it was the most splendid and magnificent royal building to be found in England. During her reign, Hampton Court it remained a stage for dramatic performances and court masked balls.

But Elizabeth's successor, James I, brought with him a new band of courtiers and a new, more lavish style of culture and entertainment. When James VI of Scotland became James I of England, Hampton Court provided excellent hunting and served as a venue for banquets and court masques, plays, dances, and productions by William Shakespeare. James's court was notorious for its huge expenditure on theatrical entertainments: and, for that matter, for its intoxicating revels. Each autumn the royal court, including James's wife and children, visited and James's queen, Anne, died at Hampton Court in 1619.

Charles I was James's son; he updated parts of Hampton Court, built a new tennis court and redirected the Longford River, so that its water came 11 miles to power the fountains of Hampton Court's gardens. He was an enthusiastic art collector and extended the royal collection of paintings and sculpture. His most remarkable addition was Mantegna's Triumphs of Caesar, purchased from the Gonzaga family in Mantua, which has been here since 1630. Sadly, Charles was deposed by Parliament in the civil war and kept prisoner here. He was executed in 1649.

Parliamentary troops seized the palace in 1645. Motivated by radical Puritanism, they stripped many of the Royal goods, and removed all the fittings from the Chapel Royal. Ironically, Oliver Cromwell, leader of the revolution, reserved Hampton and some of its greatest treasures for his own use and enjoyment. Cromwell's daughter, Mary, was married in the Chapel Royal, and Cromwell enjoyed a lifestyle similar to that of the Royals who had been deposed.

In 1660 Charles II came to power and it's clear he preferred Windsor Castle to Hampton Court. Nonetheless, he attended royal council meetings here and even built lodgings here for one of his mistresses, Barbara Villiers, and her illegitimate children by him. These rooms heralded a move towards the style soon to be favoured by William III and Mary II, who ascended to the throne in 1689.

They commissioned Sir Christopher Wren to rebuild Hampton Court; William decided the buildings needed replacing. Wren's first plan was to demolish the entire palace, except for the Great Hall. But money was short and he had to be satisfied with rebuilding the king's and queen's main accommodation on the site of the old Tudor lodgings. Work began in May 1689; but when Mary died in 1694, work stopped, and no more construction was undertaken until 1697. A spurt to his efforts was given by the burning down of Whitehall Palace in 1698!

Wren completely transformed the east and south facades of Hampton Court, replacing medieval Tudor towers and stone chimneys with the grand and elegant baroque constructions that dominate today. Inside, Gibbons carved magnificent elegant fireplaces and mouldings and Antonio Verrio was commissioned to paint triumphant and colourful ceilings.

The gardens were also dug up and re-landscaped with new plants, including a collection of exotic plants from all around the world. Gilded wrought-iron screens by Jean Tijou and a new Banqueting House by the river completed the works. But sadly William died at Kensington Palace from complications after falling from his horse in Hampton Court Park in 1702.

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