Hampton Court Palace
On the Sunday before I left the UK this past September, Derry and I headed to Waterloo Station in London. Waterloo is a very busy railway station that serves the southwest of England. The Eurostar trains also leaves from and arrives to this station, meaning it links to the Channel Tunnel, or Chunnel, going to Paris and Brussels.
Our train stop was Hampton Court, home of Hampton Court Palace and Gardens.
Located in southwest London, Hampton Court Palace was originally the home of Thomas Wolsey, but is best known for being the home of King Henry VIII. It offers some 500 years of royal history. The above image show the Great Gatehouse.
The Court Clock, an astrological clock made in 1540 for King Henry VIII and located in the second inner courtyard of the gatehouse (also called Anne Boleyn’s Gate). According to the information provided, the clock continues to work and shows the time of day, the phases of the moon, the month, the quarter of the year, the date, the sun and star sign, and even the high water at London Bridge. Whew!
I’m happy just knowing the approximate time when I look at a clock.
Inside the palace, there are fantastic tapestries. We were told that at the time of King Henry’s death, there were more than 2,000 of them, including some 200 “gold-rich” tapestries! The tapestries were made almost entirely by men, including the dyeing and weaving.
I was particularly interested in the conservation aspects, but the textile conservation studio is not open to the public. I did read that in 1976 the focus changed from restoration to conservation, “Generally, no attempt at replication is undertaken, and all conservation work is reversible and visible to the discerning eye only.” The prime motto: “Do no harm.”
I also learned that there are approximately 8 acres of buildings consisting of some 70 display rooms that must be cleaned once a week! Another stat I read: 33 hours a year spent peeling chewing gum from the Royal State Apartment floors! And, it takes three conservators and one electrician to change one light bulb because many of the ceilings are about 10 meters high.
The above left is the ceiling in William III’s apartment; the right is a royal bedchamber. See footnote below.
The above right is the ceiling above Queen Mary’s bedchamber. Somewhere in my notes is information about the other ceilings. I’ll update this when I find them.
Architecture — the windows, archways, passageways, and stairs –always captures my attention . I take so many of this type of photo, hoping to incorporate such items into my work.
There are over 60 acres of formal gardens.
The Maze, created in 1702, is part of the North Gardens and considered the most famous maze in the world. It has 1/2 mile of paths. We made it to the center!
The “Great Vine” is believed the be the oldest vine in the world.
A nice pix of Derry.
It was closed when we were there. Being a past member of the Embroiderer’s Guild of America for many years, I would have absolutely loved to see what was going on inside of this Guild, which is the “leading independent educational charity promoting embroidery.” Next time.
Great day, but I was tuckered by the end of it! I took a lot of little movies, but mainly to show my mom (she loves that time period and watched an entire season of The Tutors in one sitting!). Maybe one day I’ll splice some together to add here. Maybe.
For more information on Hampton Court Palace, visit Historic Royal Palaces.
A footnote: While we were walking in the Palace, I started having kidney pains. I have a long history of kidney stones and still have one that hasn’t moved in a few years. Kidney stones can be incredibly painful, and a couple times in the past,without much warning, I ended up on the ground unable to move pending medical help. Visions of headlines started popping into my head: “America woman passes out in royal bedchamber” “American woman soils priceless tapestry” and so on. Luckily, no such story to report.
October 11th, 2009 at 8:43 pm
I’ve done a lot of traveling, but have never (gasp!) been to London. You are whetting my appetite. I am planning a trip this year and hope to do Paris, even though I’ve been before, and London. I’d like to do a week in each. But for now I will do it vicariously. Thank you for sharing and for the great photography.
October 11th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
Oh! I can almost feel the history. I dream of centuries past. Thanks for this tour and glad that you had no flare up whilst strolling the gardens.I pray that once more before I go I will be able to go to England and revisit places I had seen in my youth – and some others that I did not know existed at the time I first went ! Yes, I would say that this is my historical period!
October 11th, 2009 at 9:31 pm
Norma, my pleasure. And, you should go. In London, you can get the Eurostar to Paris and spend a day or two there, then return to London.
October 11th, 2009 at 9:33 pm
Marie, thanks for your comments. And I hope you get to return, too! :)
October 12th, 2009 at 8:58 am
Gloria, The pictures are beautiful. Thanks for sharing. Hope you get to feeling better soon.
October 12th, 2009 at 9:04 am
Thanks Barb! And, yes, I’m feeling better. :)
October 13th, 2009 at 4:51 pm
Hi Gloria,
you will have to go to Kensington Palace next! Where Queen Victoria was living when she found out she was Queen, and also the residence of Princess Margaret and Lord Snowden, and later Princess Diana. Has exhibitions of her gowns as well as rooms set up as historical exhibits of bespoke makers of regimental ornamentation, etc.
Or if you are there in the late summer when Buckingham Palace is open, that is spectacular. Then come out to Windsor Castle. Buckingham Palace is the Queen’s “office” and Windsor Castle is her “home”. But the history there goes WAAAAY back. If you do come to Windsor, let me know and I can come say Hi! It is only about 8 miles from me.
Sandy in the UK
October 13th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
Hi Sandy,
Derry has taken me to a lot of castles. I can’t keep them all straight! Funny thing, years ago I lived in an apartment complex in NJ called Windsor Castle. Thus, the first time I went to England years back, that was the first place he took me — so I could see “the real” Windsor Castle. But, yes, I certainly will let you know if we get there. I’d love to meet up. As an aside, the town I live in is East Windsor (near Windsor). Maybe getting there was meant to be? :)