Great Hall
Hampton Court Palace is a royal palace in the borough of Richmond upon Thames, 11.7 miles (18.8 kilometres) south west and upstream of central London on the River Thames. Building of the palace began in 1515 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, a favourite of King Henry VIII. In 1529, as Wolsey fell from favour, the cardinal gave the palace to the King to check his disgrace; Henry VIII later enlarged it. Along with St James's Palace, it is one of only two surviving palaces out of the many owned by King Henry VIII.
In the following century, King William III's massive rebuilding and expansion work, which was intended to rival Versailles, destroyed much of the Tudor palace. Work ceased in 1694, leaving the palace in two distinct contrasting architectural styles, domestic Tudor and Baroque. While the palace's styles are an accident of fate, a unity exists due to the use of pink bricks and a symmetrical, if vague, balancing of successive low wings. King George II was the last monarch to reside in the palace.
Today, the palace is open to the public and is a major tourist attraction, easily reached by train from Waterloo station in central London and served by Hampton Court railway station in East Molesey, in Transport for London's Zone 6. In addition, London Buses routes 111, 216, 411 and R68 stop outside the palace gates. The structure and grounds are cared for by an independent charity, Historic Royal Palaces, which receives no funding from the Government or the Crown. In addition the palace continues to display a large number of works of art from the Royal Collection.
Apart from the Palace itself and its gardens, other points of interest for visitors include the celebrated maze, the historic real tennis court, and the huge grape vine, the largest in the world as of 2005.
The palace's Home Park is the site of the annual Hampton Court Palace Festival and Hampton Court Palace Flower Show.
The grounds as they appear today were laid out in grand style in the late 17th century. There are no authentic remains of Henry VIII's gardens, merely a small knot garden, planted in 1924, which hints at the gardens' 16th-century appearance. Today, the dominating feature of the grounds is the great landscaping scheme constructed for Sir Christopher Wren's intended new palace. From a water-bounded semicircular parterre, the length of the east front, three avenues radiate in a crow's foot pattern. The central avenue, containing not a walk or a drive, but the great canal known as the Long Water, was excavated during the reign of Charles II, in 1662. The design, radical at the time, is another immediately recognizable influence from Versailles, and was indeed laid out by pupils of André Le Nôtre, Louis XIV's landscape gardener.
On the south side of the palace is the Privy Garden bounded by semi-circular wrought iron gates by Jean Tijou. This garden, originally William III's private garden, was replanted in 1992 in period style with manicured hollies and yews along a geometric system of paths.
On a raised site overlooking the Thames, is a small pavilion, the Banqueting House. This was built circa 1700, for informal meals and entertainments in the gardens rather than for the larger state dinners which would have taken place inside the palace itself. A nearby conservatory houses the "Great Vine", planted in 1769; by 1968 it had a trunk 81 inches thick and has a length of 100 feet. It still produces an annual crop of grapes.
The palace included apartments for the use of favoured royal friends. One such apartment is described as being in "The Pavilion and situated on the Home Park" of Hampton Court Palace. This privilege was first extended about 1817 by Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, to his friend, Lieut General James Moore, K.C., and his new bride, Miss Cecilia Watson. George IV continued this arrangement following the death of Prince Edward on 23 January 1820. The Queen continued the arrangement for the widow of General Moore, following his death on 24 April 1838. This particular apartment was used for 21 years or more and spanned three different sponsors.
A well-known curiosity of the palace's grounds is Hampton Court Maze; planted in the 1690s by George London and Henry Wise for William III. It was originally planted with hornbeam; it has been repaired latterly using many different types of hedge. there is a 3D online browser simulation of the Hampton Court Maze.
Inspired by narrow views of a Tudor garden that can be seen through doorways in a painting, The Family of Henry VIII, hanging in the palace's Haunted Gallery, a new garden in the style of Henry VIII's 16th-century Privy Gardens, has been designed to celebrate the anniversary of that King's accession to the throne. Sited on the former Chapel Court Garden, it has been planted with flowers and herbs from the 16th century, and is completed by gilded heraldic beasts and bold green and white painted fences. The heraldic beasts carved by Ben Harms and Ray Gonzalez of G&H Studios include the golden lion of England, The white greyhound of Richmond, the red dragon of Wales and the white hart of Richard II, all carved from English oak. The garden's architect was Todd Langstaffe-Gowan, who collaborated with James Fox and the Gardens Team at Historic Royal Palaces.
The formal gardens and park are Grade I listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.
(Wikipedia)
Hampton Court Palace ist ein Schloss im äußersten Südwesten Londons am linken Ufer der Themse im Stadtbezirk Richmond upon Thames. Das Schloss war von 1528 bis 1737 eine bevorzugte Residenz der englischen und britischen Könige. Ursprünglich wurde es im Tudorstil erbaut, gegen Ende des 17. Jahrhunderts und im 18. Jahrhundert wurden große Teile im Stile des englischen Barock umgebaut. Mit seinen gewaltigen Ausmaßen, seiner prächtigen Innenausstattung und seinen ausgedehnten Gärten gilt es als eines der Hauptwerke des Tudorstils und des Barocks in England.
Das Schloss erlebte mehrere königliche Hochzeiten, Geburten und Sterbefälle. Heinrich VIII. heiratete hier seine sechste Gemahlin Catherine Parr. Sein Sohn Eduard VI. wurde im Schloss geboren und getauft, dessen Mutter Jane Seymour sowie die Frau Jakobs I., Anna starben in dem Schloss, und Wilhelm III. erlitt im Park einen Reitunfall, an dessen Folgen er wenig später starb.
Die gewaltige, eine Fläche von 2,43 ha bedeckende Anlage besteht aus zwei Schlössern: im Westen die Anlage im Tudorstil, im Südosten das Barockschloss.
Astronomische Uhr über dem Torturm zwischen Haupt- und Uhrenhof
Der Zugang zum Schloss führt heute vom Ende des 17. Jahrhunderts errichteten Trophäentor auf die Westfassade des Schlosses zu. Durch die Restaurierungen des 19. Jahrhunderts erscheint diese zwei- bis dreistöckige Ziegelfassade heute wieder im Tudorstil mit Zinnen, Türmen und zahlreichen verzierten Schornsteinen. Durch einen Torturm, das sogenannte Pförtnerhaus, gelangt man in den Haupthof, der noch am ehesten das Bild des Schlosses im 16. Jahrhundert wiedergibt. Durch den gegenüberliegenden Torturm, das Anne-Boleyn-Tor, gelangt man in den Uhrenhof. Der Hof erhielt seinen Namen von der am Torturm befindlichen astronomischen Uhr, die 1540 von Nicolas Oursian erbaut wurde. Die Nordseite des Uhrenhofs nimmt die große Halle ein, die Kolonnade auf der Südseite stammt von dem Umbau durch Christopher Wren. Ein neugotisches Tor von 1732 führt in den Brunnenhof, der von den vierflügeligen Schlossbauten Wrens umgeben ist. Im Erdgeschoss läuft ein Arkadengang um diesen Hof. Im ersten Obergeschoss liegt das Piano nobile mit den Paradezimmern, die weiteren Obergeschosse enthielten Wohnungen für Höflinge.
Die zum Garten zeigende Ost- und Südfassaden sind das Werk von Christopher Wren. Die beiden Flügel sind viergeschossig, der Mittelteil der Ostfassade wird durch einen Dreiecksgiebel mit einem Relief von Caius Gabriel Cibber betont, der Mittelteil der Südfassade durch eine Verblendung mit hellem Portland-Stein.
Der Nordteil des Schlosses besteht aus den Küchen und Wirtschaftsgebäuden, die um mehrere kleinere Höfe angelegt sind.
(Wikipedia)
