About Hampton Court Palace and Gardens

Hampton court was originally built for Cardinal Wolsey  in the 18th century who was in the kings favor for some time. Henry VIII acquired it when Wolsey fell out of his favour and enlarged it to accommodate his luxurious tastes. In the 19th century William III began huge reconstruction and renovation projects on the palace adding several interesting aspects to it. The royal family no longer lives in the palace, but the palace is the venue for major events such as the Hampton Court Palace Festival and Hampton Court Palace Flower Show. It is open to visitors and has become a major London tourist attraction.

Hampton court palace is surrounded y over 60 acres of immaculate gardens, 750 acres of parkland, countless blooms and tinkling fountains. The entire palace site is partly surrounded by the Thames. The 700 acres of deer park with its many ponds and waterways is a tranquil setting attracting a wide range of wild life including varieties of birds.

The privy garden, in its formal symmetrical style was restored to its original appearance after much research on how it may have looked to William III in 1702. The restoration was quite accurate thanks a large number of documents related to layout of the garden found in the palace.

The maze had become a must see for all visitors to Hampton court palace. It is one of the most famous mazes in the world. It occupies one third of an acre of the Hampton Court gardens and is made up of half a mile of twisting paths enclosed by 7 foot tall yew trees.

The Tudor kitchens are open for inspection. In 1529 Henry VIII expanded the kitchens to encompass 50 rooms and accommodate 200 workers to provide meals for about 1,200 people twice a day. The kitchens included a confectionary, a pastry house, a vast spicery, a boiling house and three larders. At Hampton Court today, “history chefs” produce Tudor meals in the same way it was done for Henry and his large retinue.

The Great Hall is a large hall with an elaborately decorated hammer-beam roof. Its walls are hung with Henry's finest tapestries. It is considered one of England's most impressive medieval halls and one of England's oldest theatres.

Hampton Court palace is decorated with various pieces of priceless art from the Royal Collection. Among its most valuable pieces is Andrea Mantegna's Triumphs of Caesar. The collection constitutes of a series of paintings depicting an imaginary scene of Ceasars triumphal march home bringing with him  treasures, exotic animals and captured women. The collection was bought by Charles I in 1629.

Location

By train

South West Trains run services direct from London Waterloo to Hampton Court. The journey takes only 35 minutes and the palace is a 200 metre walk across the bridge from the station.

By bus

Bus routes: 111*, 216*, 411*, 451, R68, 5