Hampton Court Palace is located in southwest London in the borough of Richmond upon Thames. The first building on the estate was a manor house, built in the 12th century. The estate was owned by the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, also known as the Hospitallers. The Hospitallers were a knightly order dedicated to protecting the Holy Land from invasion by the Turks. They sold produce from the manor to support their work. By the 15th century, the Order had become increasingly wealthy and several building were added to the estate.
In 1505 the Hospitallers leased Hampton Court to Giles, Lord Daubeny, Henry VII’s Chancellor. Lord Daubeny lived there until his death in 1508. In 1514, the property was leased to Thomas, Cardinal Wolsey, Henry VIII’s chief minister. Cardinal Wolsey built many of the Tudor buildings that visitors to Hampton Court Palace see today, including the Base Court and lodgings for Henry VIII and his family.
Cardinal Wolsey
Cardinal Wolsey spent lavishly on Hampton Court Palace and his entertainments were legendary. By this time, Hampton Court was more magnificent than any of Henry VIII’s palaces, a fact that did not escape the king’s or others’ notice. It also prompted the poet John Skelton to write:
Why come ye not to Court?
To which Court?
To the King’s Court,
Or to Hampton Court?
Nay to the King’s Court.
The King’s Court
Should have the excellence
But Hampton Court
Hath the pre-eminence.
Wolsey did not enjoy his palace for long. By 1528 he had fallen from favor because he had failed to secure the king’s divorce. Sensing his downfall, Wolsey gave Hampton Court Palace to Henry as a gift. Wolsey died the next year.
Henry VIII
Within six months of Wolsey’s death, Henry began expanding the palace. By the time these projects were completed, Hampton Court Palace was one of only a few places that could house the entire Tudor court of over 1,000 people.
Henry spent much time at Hampton Court and many of the great events of his reign took place here. In October 1537, Henry’s son, the future King Edward VI, was born. Thirteen days later, Edward’s mother, Jane Seymour, died at the palace. In 1540, he married his fifth wife, Kathryn Howard. The next year he was told of her infidelity while in the Royal Pew during Mass. In 1543, he married his sixth and last wife, Catherine Parr, in the Queen’s closet.
The Stuarts
After Henry’s death in 1547, successive monarch stayed at the palace, but there was very little building. In 1604, James I held the Hampton Court Conference at the palace. This conference reformed the Anglican Church and ordered the preparation of the Authorized Version of the Bible. During the Civil War, Charles I was kept as a Oliver Cromwell’s prisoner.
William and Mary
The palace escaped major damage during the war, but repair and restoration was needed, but nothing was done until the arrival of William and Mary. William and Mary chose to rebuild and modernize Hampton Court. Sir Christopher Wren was chosen as the architect and he designed a Baroque-style palace. In 1694, the exteriors of the south and east fronts were complete, but building stopped when Mary caught smallpox and died in September 1694.
Hampton Court remained as it was for the next four years. Then in January 1698, the palace at Whitehall was destroyed by fire. As a result, building began again at Hampton Court. In 1700 William moved into the palace and lived there until 1702, when he fell from his horse in Hampton Court Park. William later died at Kensington Palace.
Later Years
Both George I and George II stayed a the palace, but there was little expansion. George III did not care for the palace and soon much of it was given as Grace and Favor residences – homes for retired servants of the Crown. King George II was the last monarch to reside at Hampton Court Palace. In 1838 Queen Victoria opened the palace to the public. Today Hampton Court Palace is one of the most popular visitor attractions in London and it still occupied by many Grace and Favor residences.
Sources:
“Hampton Court Palace,” Historic Royal Palaces (accessed June 12, 2009)
Thurley, Simon. Hampton Court Palace: Souvenir Guide Book. London: Event Communications Ltd., 1993.
 |
