Travel – Hampton Court (Part Three)

Posted on January 13, 2015 by barbara

Hampton Court Palace is sometimes considered to be two palaces combined to form one large royal estate. The original section is a Gothic style palace built by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey during the Tudor period. King Henry VIII later claimed the palace for his own use after the Cardinal had fallen out of favor and the King went on to create a grand residence truly fit for royalty. Several centuries later King William III and Queen Mary II, who ruled England jointly during the Stuart period, completely renovated Hampton Court and built two Baroque style additions creating the King and Queen’s State Apartment.

In this post, Part Three, of the three part series I will explore the Stuart side of Hampton Court with suggestions for the things to see and do when planning a visit to the palace. Previously, In Part Two, I gave a detailed tour of the Tudor side of Hampton Court and in Part One I discussed the building of Hampton Court and its history throughout the centuries.

A tour of Hampton Court

Most visitors enter Hampton Court from the Main Entrance on the west side from the parking lot or by walking a short distance from the Hampton Court Railway Station. After arriving, visitors then proceed into the palace over a short bridge by walking through the Great Gatehouse coming out into the Base Court. Visitors continue on the tour, passing through the Ann Boleyn Gatehouse and into the Clock Court with the Astronomical Clock in the tower on the far side. (For more detailed information about this part of the tour, please clink on the link to Part Two)

This is the part of the tour which separates to enter the Tudor buildings on the left and the Stuart / Georgian buildings to the right. I would recommend starting to the left and touring this section of the palace since in the timeline of the history of England the Tudor period of Wolsey and King Henry preceded the Stuart period of William and Mary and later the Georgian period.

Then, after visiting the Tudor sections of Hampton Court, visitors should then proceed into the Stuart and Georgian sections of the palace. But first, here is a little history …

In 1689 England had two monarchs that ruled jointly, Queen Mary II (the daughter of King James II) and her husband, William of Orange (King William III). It was during this period that Hampton Court would undergo almost a complete renovation changing the architecture of the building, both exterior and interior, from a Gothic style to a Baroque style that was in keeping with the rival French court of King Louis XIV which had recently taken up permanent residence in the impressive Palace of Versailles.

Within months of their accession, the Royal couple had commissioned Sir Christopher Wren and the original plans had intended that the Tudor palace of King Henry VIII would be entirely demolished, retaining only the Great Hall, and then replaced with a more modern palace. The problem was that funds were not available to finance the ambitious project and Wren eventually revised his vision to include two additional sections of the palace to accommodate the new State Apartments for the King and Queen.

King’s State Apartments

The entrance to the King’s State Apartments is under the colonnade in the Clock Court. Visitors should proceed up the grand King’s Staircase to view the main rooms of the King’s State Apartments. The King’s Staircase was painted by the Italian painter, Antonio Verrio, and the mural is called “Victory of Alexander over the Caesars”. There is also a lovely wrought iron balustrade that was designed by Jean Tijou, he was a French ironworker and patron of William and Mary. His ironwork can also be seen in several impressive gates located on the grounds of Hampton Court and at St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Duke of Devonshire’s Chatsworth estate.

(Special Note: Look for Verrio’s signature which can be seen at the top of the stairs over the door leading into the Guard Chamber.

Today, visitors to Hampton Court will continue the tour into the rooms on the second floor of the King’s State Apartments. Generally, the rooms of a palace would be arranged in a type of funnel pattern, meaning that the first rooms would be large and mostly lacking furniture allowing space to accommodate the large groups of courtiers waiting to see the monarch and as the courtiers would progress deeper into palace the rooms would become smaller and access more exclusive reflecting an increasing level of importance to the monarch until finally the most private rooms would be the monarch’s bedchamber.

The first room is the Guard Chamber which has an impression collection of weapons, such as muskets, bayonets, pistols, and swords hung on the walls of the room. In the time of William and Mary’s reign, the Yeomen of the Guard would have been stationed at the door to check the court courtiers before allowing them entry into the Presence Chamber and access to the King. The Presence Chamber was considered the official throne room of the palace; the King would sit on a throne placed on a fine Turkish rug positioned under a grand canopy. Strangely, even when the room was not occupied by the King, courtiers would still have been required to bow to the throne as they would pass through into the other rooms of the State Apartments.

Visitors on the tour will continue into an area known as the Eating Room where King William would sometimes dine in public under the watchful eyes of the courtiers. Centuries ago the room would have been furnished with a large dining table and a special chair for the King. Today, the lighting fixtures (torcheres) and mirrors (pier glasses) seen in the room are original pieces but the dining table is a reproduction which was made in 1992.

The next room is the Privy Chamber which is considered the main ceremonial room in the palace where King William would greet statesmen, foreign ambassadors and other important dignitaries. When not receiving invited guests, the room was also used for court functions. In 1986, this area of Hampton Court had a severe fire but luckily most of the furniture was saved. Unfortunately the fire destroyed the entire ceiling and the crystal chandelier and some of the wood paneling was also badly damaged, the room was eventually restored.

Special Note: Damage from the fire can still be seen today, look for the scorched paneling on the chimney wall.

Special Note: Before leaving the Privy Chamber, be sure to take a look through the windows which offer a wonderful view of the Privy Garden.

Continuing on the tour, the next room is the Withdrawing Room which was one of the more exclusive areas of the State Apartments and it is where members of the Privy Council, the Lord Chamberlain and other important officers of the court would have more private access to the King.

In next room visitors will see the impressive Great Bedchamber, this is not where the King slept but a ceremonial room where he would dress in the morning and disrobe in the evening. The room reflects the high status of the King and it is decorated with gilded furniture, beautiful tapestries and a luxurious bed covered with rich crimson taffeta curtains and bedding. The King would retire into the adjacent smaller bedchamber to sleep; only the most trust personal servants had access to this room. The painted ceiling by Verrio depicts Mars, the God of War, sleeping in the arms of Venus, the Goddess of Love. When the King wanted to work privately, he would use the room next to the smaller bedchamber called the King’s Closet which functioned as a personal study, here a door leads into the Queen’s State Apartments. There is also a small staircase that leads downstairs to three additional rooms known as the East Closet, the Middle Closet and the West Closet. This is where the King spent most of his time during the day and it is decorated with his most treasured works of art.

Also on the main floor of the King’s State Apartments is the Orangery paved in a distinctive pattern of purple and grey Swedish limestone. The Orangery is a type of greenhouse where orange trees and bay trees were kept in the winter months, in the summer the trees would be moved outside onto the terrace which lead to the Privy Gardens. Orange trees were very popular in England during the reign of William and Mary and also held special meaning because King William was from the Dutch House of Orange and some of the trees had been brought to England when he married Queen Mary which had originally grown in his gardens in Holland.

Located at the far end of the Orangery are several rooms that King William used for private entertaining, the Drawing Room and Dining Room. In the Dining Room, the table is set for an intimate dinner with the finest linens and gold plate serving pieces. The walls are hung with a series of portraits known as the “Hampton Court Beauties”. This room is the final room on the tour of the King’s State Apartments.

Queen’s State Apartments

The Queen’s State Apartments can also be entered from the Clock Courtyard and up the Queen’s Staircase. This section of Hampton Court was originally built by Sir Christopher Wren during the reign of William and Mary and was still not completed at the time of Queen Mary II in 1714. The staircase had remained very plainly decorated until 1734 when the painter, William Kent, was commissioned to paint the beautiful ceiling and the 1628 painting that hangs on the is by Gerrit van Honthorst, “Mercury Presenting the Liberal Arts to Apollo and Diana”.

Special Note: At the corners of the ceiling in the Queen’s Staircase, look for the monogram of King George II and Queen Caroline who later lived in the Queen’s State Apartments.

The rooms of the Queen’s State Apartments are very similar to the ones found in the King’s State Apartments. The first room is the Guard Chamber and be sure to look for the intricate carved fireplace chimneypiece by Grinling Gibbons depicting the Yeoman of the Guard that would have been on duty in the room back in the Stuart and Georgian periods of Hampton Court.

The next room on the tour is the Presence Chamber and then the Public Dining Room which was used infrequently for dining and occasionally as a room for musical entertainment. The marble fireplace chimneypiece was carved by Gibbons and the front bears the coat of arms of King Charles I.

Continuing the tour, the next room is the Audience Chamber where Queen Caroline would formally receive courtiers and foreign ambassadors. The elegant throne canopy was originally used by Queen Caroline but the chair dates back to 1690 and is placed on a fine Turkish carpet. The magnificent silver chandelier is suspended from a gilded Garter Star and inscribed with the official Order of the Garter motto, “Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense”.

The Drawing Room was the most important and exclusive rooms of the Queen’s State Apartments. This is also the room where Queen Caroline would set up several card tables in the evening for entertainment. On the west side of the room there is a door that leads to a private dining room and on the north side hanging above the fireplace is a painting of Queen Anne’s husband when he was Prince George, the Lord Admiral of the Fleet.

Hampton Court - Queen's Drawing Room ceiling

The next room of the tour is the Queen’s State Bedchamber and is furnished with the original bed which was made during the time when the royal couple was the Prince and Princess of Wales. The ceiling is painted by Sir James Thornhill and depicts Apollo and his chariot.

The Queen’s Gallery was originally intended as Queen Mary’s private gallery, but it was not completed at the time of her death in 1694. Today, several 18^th century Brussels tapestries depicting the story of Alexander the Great hang in the Gallery. There is also a grand marble chimneypiece which was carved by John Nost.

Special Note: Sometimes, in the Queen’s Gallery on either side of the fireplace are two large blue and white delftware tulip vases. Seasonally, tulip bulbs are planted within each of the tiers and the tulip plant and flower would sprout from each of the individual containers. Shown in the photo to the right is an example of a smaller delftware vase with tulips in bloom.

Delfware tulip vase - smaller version in blooom

The final rooms on the tour of the Queen’s State Apartments are the Queen’s Closet which has a door that connected to the King’s Closet and the Room of the Ladies of the Bedchamber which was for the use of the Queen’s personal servants.

The Cumberland Suite

The entrance to the Georgian Rooms of Hampton Court is under the George II Gateway and then up a small staircase on the left.

The Cumberland Suite was designed in a Gothic Revival style by William Kent for the Duke of Cumberland, the youngest son of King George II and finished in 1732. Currently the Cumberland Suite displays an ever-changing display of artwork from the Royal Collection.

Hampton Court - Cumberland Art Gallery 1

Included on this portion of the tour are: the Wolsey Closet with has a gilded ceiling incorporating badges of the Tudor Rose and the Prince of Wales feathers. The next rooms on the tour are the Communication Gallery which served as a link for people to pass into the queen and king apartments and the Cartoon Gallery which was specifically built for King William III by Sir Christopher Wren to display Raphael’s “Acts of the Apostles” which were cartoons, meaning a drawing made on sturdy paper as a study for a painting or tapestry. In 1865, Queen Victoria decided that the cartoons should be displayed for public viewing and Prince Albert loaned them to the Victoria & Albert Museum in London where they still remain today on permanent exhibit (as shown in the photo on the right), the cartoons currently hanging in the Gallery at Hampton Court are copies of the originals (as shown in the photo on the left).

Raphael Gallery - Victoria and Albert Museum 1

The next set of rooms on the tour were originally designed for Queen Mary II, put when she died in 1694 the rooms remained vacate for several years until 1716 when they were given to Prince and Princess of Wales and later rooms were lavishly renovated when they became King George II and Queen Caroline. The private apartment was then used exclusively by Queen Caroline, the rooms in this section of the palace are: The Private Drawing Room was used by the Queen used to play quadrille (a card game) or for afternoon tea service, the room’s walls are covered in a beautiful crimson red flock wallpaper that dates back to the 18^th century. The Queen’s Private Bedchamber which was considered the most restricted and private room in the palace and indeed there are special locks on the doors that can be closed in the evening and opened in the morning from a device located near the bed.

Special Note: Over the chimneypiece hangs a painting of Queen Caroline painted by Joseph Highmore.

Visitors will continue on the tour viewing rooms such as the Dressing Room and Bathroom which features a reproduction bath (remember bathing at that time was considered a luxury and not a common daily activity!).

The next room is the Private Dining Room with an adjacent Sideboard Room and finally the Private Oratory which features a beautiful carved dome ceiling and is where the Queen would have used the room for morning and evening prayers as well as her weekly religious discussions with her Chaplain. This concludes the tour of the Georgian section of Hampton Court and visitors will exit down the Caithness Staircase.

Hampton Court - Queen's Private Oratory dome ceiling

Other points of interest at Hampton Court

The Hampton Court Gardens

The Hampton Court Gardens have been carefully tended for over 500 years. As previously mentioned in Part One of this series on Hampton Court, the Knights Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem used the land since 1236 as part of their agricultural estates. In 1514 Cardinal Thomas Wolsey acquired the property he had ornamental gardens planted. Then in 1529 the estate came under the ownership of King Henry VII and sections of the property were enclosed for a deer park to be used for hunting and riding. So, gradually the land changed from being used for agricultural purposes to the recreational activities for the monarch. Currently the Hampton Court estate includes the palace buildings which cover 6 acres, the formal gardens which cover 60 acres and the park lands which cover 750 acres.

When visiting Hampton Court, be sure to allow plenty of time to walk the formal gardens or to take a carriage ride through the park. Listed below are two exceptional features that I highly recommend seeing:

The Maze

The Maze of Hampton Court was commissioned in 1700 by King William III and is designed by George London and Henry Wise. The Maze covers a third of an acre and is located to the north of the main buildings of Hampton Court. When the Maze was originally planted hornbeam was used and later it was replanted using yew and it is England’s oldest surviving hedge maze. Visitors will find the puzzle maze fun and sometimes confusing with its many twists, turns and dead ends.

The Great Vine

The Great Vine is located adjacent to the main building of Hampton Court on the south side of the estate and fills the entire greenhouse. The Great Vine, Vitis vinifera “Shiva Grossa, was originally planted in 1769 which makes it almost 250 years old! The plant is still producing and annually yields approximately 600 pounds of black dessert grapes. (If you are lucky to visit Hampton Court in the first weeks of September you might be able to taste the grapes)

This concludes the three part series on Hampton Court. Part One discusses the building of Hampton Court and its history throughout the centuries. Part Two gives a detailed tour of the Tudor side of Hampton Court.

If you are planning a trip to England and a visit to Hampton Court, please see their official website www.hrp.org.uk/HamptonCourtPalace for information regarding hours of operations, admission prices, directions, etc

Travel – Hampton Court (Part Two)

Posted on January 8, 2015 by barbara

Hampton Court Palace is located beside the River Thames and in 1998 my son and I traveled there by boat on a special tour for a day trip, departing in the morning from London and then returning in the late afternoon by railway. In this post, Part Two, of the three part series I will explore the Tudor side of Hampton Court. Previously, in Part One I discussed the history of Hampton Court which was originally built by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey and later became the primary home of King Henry VIII. In Part Three I will give a detailed tour of the Stuart side of Hampton Court with suggestions for the things to see and do when planning a visit to the palace.

Hampton Court Palace is sometimes considered two palaces combined to form one large royal estate. As previously mentioned, the original section is a Gothic style palace built by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey during the Tudor period. King Henry VIII later claimed the palace for his own use after the Cardinal had fallen out of favor and the King went on to create a grand residence truly fit for royalty. Several centuries later King William III and Queen Mary II, who ruled England jointly during the Stuart period, completely renovated Hampton Court and built two Baroque style additions creating the King and Queen’s State Apartment. The photos below illustrate the contrast in architectural styles.

Hampton Court - King's Apartment exterior

Today, great care has been taken to restore the exterior and interior of the large palace building and also to return the grounds of the royal estate back to their original appearance. The State Apartments were completely restored with furniture, paintings, tapestries and other decorations to create the suite of rooms as they would have appeared during the Stuart period. Other areas of Hampton Court, such as the Great Hall, were fully restored to reflect the palace at the time during King Henry VIII’s reign in the Tudor period. Visitors have access to the palace through a designated tour route and there are additional displays in various areas of the palace which explain the history of the buildings throughout the centuries. A “living history” element is also added to the program of activities which includes characters dressed in period costumes that give visitors a feeling of how life was back in the Tudor period of England.

Special Note: When visiting Hampton Court, be sure to keep your eyes open because there are so many architecture features that convey hidden meanings or messages.

A tour of Hampton Court

Trophy Gate / the Great Gatehouse

Most visitors enter Hampton Court from the Main Entrance on the west side adjacent to the parking lot or by walking a short distance from the Hampton Court Railway Station entering the estate through the Trophy Gate. In past centuries, most visitors arrived by boat traveling along the River Thames. Visitors would then proceed across a short bridge, which at one time crossed over a moat, to enter Hampton Court through the Great Gatehouse. After King Henry VIII acquired Hampton Court from Cardinal Wolsey he commissioned ten statues that were placed on pillars long either side of the bridge. These statues are known as the King’s Beasts and represent the ancestry of King Henry and his third wife Jane Seymour. The statues are the lion of England, the Seymour lion, the Royal dragon, the black bull of Clarence, the yale (a mystical creature) of Beaufort, the white lion of Mortimer, the White Greyhound of Richmond, the Tudor dragon, the Seymour panther and the Seymour unicorn.

Special note: Before walking through the Gatehouse, be sure to look up to see a carved panel with the coat of arms of King Henry VIII.

Special Note: When walking through the Great Gatehouse, be sure to look up at the magnificent ceiling which features the Royal Arms that has been used by English Sovereigns since 1837 placed in the center. Other emblems represent a cardinal’s hat with ornamental tassels, the entwined initials of Thomas Wolsey, the archbishop mitre representing Wolsey’s position as Archbishop of York, a Tudor Rose, Queen Victoria’s Cypher, a Tudor Crown and Wolsey’s Pallium & Processional Cross.

Base Court / Ann Boleyn Gatehouse

After passing through the Gatehouse, visitors entered an area called the Base Court which features a reproduction wine fountain that once stood there in the Tudor period. Looking forward on the far side is the Anne Boleyn Gatehouse which was built to honor King Henry’s second wife (of course that was before he had her imprisoned in the Tower of London and executed for adultery!).

Special note: When walking through the Anne Boleyn Gatehouse, be sure to look up at the lovely ceiling with the Tudor Rose positioned at the center!

Travel Tip: Before progressing further into the palace of Hampton Court, be sure to see the introductory film featuring the lives of King Henry and his six wives which is shown in the Buttery to the left of the Boleyn Gatehouse before starting the tour into the main areas of the palace.

Clock Court / Astronomical Clock

After viewing the film, proceed through the Boleyn Gatehouse and enter the area called the Clock Court, be sure to turn around and look behind and above the Boleyn Gatehouse entrance you just passed through to see the coat of arms of Cardinal Wolsey.

Then, look to the far side of the courtyard and the top of the Clock Tower to see the famous Astronomical Clock commissioned by King Henry and installed in 1540. The clock not only marks the time of day but also indicates the current month and day of the year, the phases of the moon, position of the sun and twelve signs of the zodiac. The clock also indicated tide and the high water mark at London Bridge, this was very important since Hampton Court is located on the Thames River and during the Tudor period boat travel was still considered the preferred method of transportation.

The Clock Court of Hampton Court is also where the architecture style of the Tudor period of Wolsey and King Henry blend with the style of the Stuart period of King William III and Queen Mary II. To the left of the courtyard is the majestic Gothic style Great Hall which was built by King Henry and to the right is the elegant Baroque style colonnade which leads into the State Apartments created by Sir Christopher Wren for William and Mary and also the later Georgian additions of the Cumberland Suite added during the time of King George II.

The Great Hall

In 1529, when King Henry acquired Hampton Court from Cardinal Wolsey by dubious circumstances, one of the first things he did was to renovate the Great Hall. Visitors today will see one of the lasting remaining and considered to be the greatest of the medieval halls of England. In the continuing process of change within the history of the palace, it is fortunate that this section was saved from complete destruction and demolished during the reign of William and Mary. Both time and the lack of financing were a factor in saving both the Great Hall and the Chapel Royal but unfortunately the original State Apartments of King Henry, which were located to the right side of the Clock Court, were lost during the renovations and subsequent new additions built by Wren.

The Great Hall is the largest room in the palace and measures 108 feet long by 40 feet wide with an extravagantly decorated hammer-beam roof soaring to the height of 60 feet. The walls are decorated with beautiful Brussels tapestries from the early 16th century depicting the biblical story of Abraham. The room is also decorated with beautiful stained-glass windows showing various emblems and an intricately carved minstrel’s gallery. In Great Hall, King Henry sat at a table positioned on a raised dais and he would dine on a large meal over the course of several hours.

Special Note: When King Henry suddenly dismissed his second wife, Anne Boleyn, (remember she was imprisoned and executed) all traces of her existence were removed from Hampton Court with the exception of a small carving on a ceiling beam in the Great Hall that was overlooked. Try and find the intertwined initials of HA representing Henry and Anne which still remain hidden high in the ceiling of the Great Hall)

Special Note: Another item of interest hidden in the ceiling of the Great Hall are several unique carvings of “eavesdroppers” placed to warn visitors to the court of King Henry that there were no secrets because someone would always be watching and listening!!

Special Note: In a room on the left, before entering the Great Hall, there is a door at the top of the stairs that holds a long forgotten but lasting memory to King Henry and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Above the door is a stone arch decorated with Tudor Roses the right for King Henry and Spanish pomegranates on the left for Catherine.

Catherine of Aragon - Spanish pomegranets

After leaving the Great Hall, visitors can continue a tour of the Tudor section of Hampton Court passing through rooms such as the Horn Room, the Great Watching Chamber and the Haunted Gallery (where it is said that Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of King Henry, went screaming and running through the room shortly after she was accused of adultery. She was put under house arrest prior to her imprisonment at the Tower of London and ultimately she was executed)

The Chapel Royal

The next major room on the tour of the Tudor section of Hampton Court is the beautiful Chapel Royal which has been in continuous use for over 450 years. Cardinal Wolsey built the current Chapel on the exact site of the former thirteenth century chapel of the Knights Hopitaller of St. John of Jerusalem. When King Henry acquired the property from Wolsey he had recently broken ties with the Catholic Church and as a result most of the religious decorations defined as being connected to Catholic faith were removed and replaced. Since that time, each subsequent British monarch has altered the interior appearance of the chapel according to their personal style.

The chapel’s most impressive feature, which has remained throughout the centuries, is the wooden and plaster ceiling commissioned by King Henry and constructed during the 1530s by master carvers and carpenters with the oak acquired from Windsor Forest. The main color of the ceiling is a lovely shade of Tudor blue and gold with the pendants accented with red and white paint. The ceiling has been repaired and restored several times over the past centuries.

The Royal Pew section of the Chapel Royal was reserved exclusively for the use of the reigning monarch and the decorations reflect this with beautiful oak paneling and pillars designed by Sir Christopher Wren and created by Gringling Gibbons. Between each of the windows in the chapel is a panel painted by Thomas Highmore in 1710. Each panel is topped with a pair of gilded cherubs and designed with the same elements; the star of the Order of the Garter at the top, a cross of St. George in the center and at the bottom is the Royal Crown. The central plaque of each corresponding pair of matching panels that positioned across either side of the chapel are different; the first pair shows the plants of the kingdom – the rose for England, the thistle for Scotland and the shamrock for Ireland, the second pair is the Royal cypher of Anna Regina, the third is same Royal coat of arms featured in the Royal Pew, the fourth a lion with the Royal crown and the fifth and final pair between the last window is a heraldic badge of the Tudor Rose and the Spanish pomegranate to honor King Henry’s first wife, Catherine of Aragon.

The Altar in the Chapel Royal is a carved oak table designed by Sir Christopher Wren and the oak reredos behind the altar were carved by Gringling Gibbons. In 1537, Jane Seymour, the third wife of King Henry, died soon after the birth of their son, Edward and it is said that her heart is buried beneath the altar.

Henry VIII’s Tudor Kitchens

One of the most interesting places in Hampton Court is the Tudor Kitchens that can be found in the basement below the Great Hall and can be accessed through a door in the Clock Courtyard. At the time that Cardinal Wolsey built Hampton Court, the kitchens were equipped to feed his household of 600 people. When King Henry took over Hampton Court, the kitchens provided to be too small for his court of over a thousand people. The kitchens were greatly expanded at this time to over fifty rooms covering almost 36,000 square feet in the palace where the food was prepared by a large kitchen staff to provide twice daily meals for the King and his court using approximately 760 calves, 2,330 deer, 8,200 sheep, 1,870 pigs and 53 wild boar annually and consumed with 600,000 gallons of beer.

When the Hampton Court was no longer used as a residence for the British monarch in the mid-18^th century, the kitchens of the palace were converted into “grace and favour apartments”. Then, in 1991 the kitchens were restored in appearance and function to represent how they looked and were used in the Tudor times. The various areas in this section have interesting sounding names such as: the Boiling House, the Fish Court, the Great Kitchens, the Dressers, the Serving Place and North Cloister and the Cellars.

Travel Tip: If you are lucky during a visit to Hampton Court, the docents will be available to discuss the Tudor Kitchens and give specific information regarding menu and meal preparations.

The Royal Tennis Court

The first tennis court at Hampton Court was built by Cardinal Wolsey between 1526 and 1529. Tennis games had been created as an excellent form of exercise to keep the body strong and healthy. Keeping this in mind, a young and virile King Henry would thoroughly enjoy playing a good game of tennis on the court of the palace. Since that time there has always been one at Hampton Court and there currently is an active private tennis club that uses the facilities.

On a tour of the Royal Tennis Courts is included in the admission to Hampton Court. Visitors can expect to view interactive displays explaining how that the tennis game was played during the Tudor period and features handmade tennis balls and custom made racquets. The external wall to the right of the viewing gallery was part of the original Wolsey building and the other three walls date back to the 17^th century.

Listed below are two additional displays relating to King Henry that visitors should see during a visit to Hampton Court.

The Young King Henry VIII exhibition

The Young King Henry VIII exhibition at Hampton Court is a fascinating permanent exhibit which explains the life story of a young Prince Henry, Katherine of Aragon and Thomas Wolsey. Hopefully, visitors will come away from the exhibit with a better understanding of how the young and handsome Henry turned into the old obese and tyrant of a man that broke ties with the Catholic Church to divorce Katherine and marry five more times!

King Henry VIII Crown exhibit

On display in the Royal Pew at Hampton Court is a re-creation of King Henry VIII’s crown which was later used at the coronations of each of his three children. Unfortunately, during the time of the Commonwealth period of England, Oliver Cromwell had many outward symbols of the British monarchy, such as the original crown, destroyed and melted down. From the King’s own written record describing the crown in detail and how it was constructed, along with painting depicting the crown, a fairly accurate replica was created. The original crown was made from 84 ounces of gold and decorated with 344 rubies, sapphires, emeralds, diamonds and pearls.

This would conclude the tour of the Tudor portion of Hampton Court. Part Three of the series will give a tour of the Stuart section of the palace, please click on the link to view. For more information about the history and the building of Hampton Court throughout the centuries, please click on the link to Part One of the three part series.

Travel – Hampton Court (Part One)

Posted on January 6, 2015 by barbara

Hampton Court Palace located beside River Thames in Surrey is approximately 14 miles from Buckingham Palace in London, England. In Part One of this three part series I will discuss the history of Hampton Court which was built by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey and later became the primary home of King Henry VIII. In Part Two I will give a detailed tour of the Tudor side of Hampton Court and in Part Three I will give a tour of the Stuart side as well as giving suggestions on things to see and do when planning a visit to this grand royal palace.

The History of Hampton Court

In 1514 Thomas Wolsey, the Archbishop of York, acquired the site at Hampton Court that was previously the property used by the Knights Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem. They had held the land since 1236 and used it mainly as a grange (a farm building, sometimes a barn used for produce storage, belonging to a monastery) as part of their agricultural estates.

The location of Hampton Court was ideal for the ambitious Cardinal Wolsey because it was not far from London. Wolsey was newly appointed to the position of Chief Minister for the newly crowned King Henry VIII. Since Wolsey would be entertaining Royal guests he made plans to turned the simple manor house into a large and impressive cardinal’s palace. It took over seven years to complete the project which included luxurious accommodates not only for Wolsey’s private use but also three suites of rooms that were built specifically as State Apartments for the use of King Henry VIII and his family.

Wolsey was frequently criticized for his extravagant lifestyle but this was not to bring about his fall from the grace with King Henry VIII. By the late 1520s, King Henry had decided to seek a divorce from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, to marry Anne Boleyn to achieve his quest for a male heir. (This is despite the fact that Catherine had given birth to a healthy daughter, Mary) Wolsey failed to persuade the Pope in Rome to grant the request and this lead to King Henry breaking from the Catholic Church to eventually create the Church of England. By 1529, Wolsey was accused of treason and arrested, he was stripped of his government position and his properties including Hampton Court were seized by the crown. In 1530, Wolsey fell ill and died on route to London just before his scheduled imprisonment and execution.

With the dubious acquisition of Hampton Court, King Henry quickly decided to make the property his primary residence when he was not in London. Extensive renovations and building additions were required to modify Hampton Court to accommodate the large court of King Henry which consisted of over one thousand people. The new expansion which almost quadrupled the size of the original building retained the Gothic-inspired architecture set previously by Wolsey and would remain unchanged for nearly a century. The Great Hall, with a carved hammer-beam roof, was completed in 1535 and quickly became one of the most important rooms of the palace; this is where King Henry would sit at a table positioned on a raised dais to dine on an elaborate meal prepared in the palace’s massive kitchens.

King Henry VII had a large astronomical clock added to the inner courtyard gatehouse tower in 1540. The clock not only marks the time of day but also indicates the current month and date of the year, the phases of the moon, position of the sun and twelve signs of the zodiac. The clock also indicated tide and the high water mark at London Bridge, this was very important since Hampton Court is located on the Thames River and during the Tudor period boat travel was still considered the preferred method of transportation.

Hampton Court became the preferred royal residence of King Henry VIII and all of his six wives and his three children lived there at various times throughout his reign. The palace also provided accommodations for the royal court numerous courtiers and servants and was a place for lavish entertainment of visiting dignitaries such as the French ambassador in 1546. Hampton Court was also the site for many British historical events, such as: In 1537, King Henry’s third wife, Jane Seymour, gave birth to his only son, Prince Edward. The child was christened in a ceremony at the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court. Sadly, Jane died shortly after the christening due to complications from the birth. In 1541, King Henry’s divorced his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, signing the papers at the palace and shortly after the King married his fifth wife, Catherine Howard. In 1543, King Henry marries his sixth and final wife, Katherine Parr, in the Chapel Royal.

King Henry died in January 1547 and his son succeeded him, King Edward VI (reigned from 1547 to 1553) then followed by his sisters, Queen Mary I (1553 to 1558) and Queen Elizabeth 1 (1558 to 1603). The siblings made no significant changes to Hampton Court, although Queen Elizabeth I did add a small kitchen in the eastern section of the palace.

After Queen Elizabeth I death in 1603, there was no immediate heir to the throne since she was unmarried and had no children. So, as a result a distant cousin of the queen King James VI of Scotland traveled south to become King James I of England (reigned from 1603 to 1625) thus beginning the Stuart period in the history of Great Britain. King James enjoyed the excellent hunting provided in the park of Hampton Court. He also used the palace for entertaining, holding banquets, dances, masque balls and plays, it is said that William Shakespeare was a royal guest at Hampton Court during this time. King James used the royal palace sporadically, made no significant changes but continued to maintain the buildings and the surrounding grounds.

After the death of King James I, his son succeeded him, King Charles I (reigned 1625 to 1649) and unfortunately Hampton Court became not only his palace but also his prison. The King’s main residence was the Palace of Whitehall located in central London and he used Hampton Court as a country retreat making minor renovations and he had built a new tennis court. King Charles was an art collector and added several pieces including a significant acquisition in 1630, the Mantegna “Triumphs of Caesar” still hangs within Hampton Court.

King Charles I’s reign ended in 1647 during the Civil War when he was removed from office suddenly and forcefully. Hampton Court became his prison where he was held for three months, briefly escaped then recaptured but was tragically executed in 1649.

The next 10 years where known as the Commonwealth period (1653 – 1659) in British history when no monarch ruled. Instead Oliver Cromwell, a military and political leader, became Lord Protector of the Commonwealth (1653 – 1658) and then followed by his son, Richard (1658 – 1659). During this period of time Hampton Court had been seized by parliamentary troops and an inventory of the royal possessions was made and eventually sold with many lavish items and decorations being removed from the palace. Cromwell visited Hampton Court as his weekend retreat using the property for hunting and entertaining. Also during this time his daughter, Mary, was married in the Chapel Royal.

In 1660, the monarchy was restored and King Charles II, the son of King Charles I who had been living in exile, ascended to the British throne (reigned 1660 to 1685) and thus began a period known as the Restoration. King Charles II preferred to make Windsor Castle his primary residence when he was not in London and only went to Hampton Court infrequently. He did not make any major changes to the palace but did have some outbuildings built on the property. His successor, King James II (reigned from 1685 – 1688), felt that Hampton Court was too old fashioned and not up to the standards of other European courts such as the one in France and very rarely took up residence or entertained at the palace.

Then, after the death of King James II, the throne of England was occupied jointly by his daughter, Queen Mary II and her husband William of Orange who became known as King William III. (Their reign began in 1689 and when Queen Mary died in 1694 King William continued to reign until 1702) It was during this period that Hampton Court would undergo almost a complete renovation changing the architecture of the building, both exterior and interior, from a Gothic style to a Baroque style that was in keeping with the rival French court of King Louis XIV which had recently taken up permanent residence in the impressive Palace of Versailles.

Within months of their accession, the Royal couple had commissioned Sir Christopher Wren. His original plans had intended that the Tudor palace of King Henry VIII would be entirely demolished, retaining only the Great Hall, and then replaced with a more modern palace. The problem was that funds were not available to finance the ambitious project and Wren eventually altered his plan to include two additional sections of the palace to accommodate the new State Apartments for the King and Queen. The King and Queen’s suite of rooms were accessed by a grand staircase, the King’s Apartments face the Privy Gardens on the south side and the Queen’s face the Fountain garden on the east side. Both the King and Queen Apartments are linked by a grand gallery running the length of the building between the two sections inspired by the design of the Galerie des Glaces at Versailles.

Work on the massive construction project began in 1689 and continued until 1694 when Queen Mary died. A devastated King William called a halt to the construction leaving just an empty brick shell with bare walls and floors. When Whitehall Palace, the British monarch’s main residence in London, burned down in 1686 King William hired Wren’s assistant, William Talman, to complete the project at Hampton Court to become a more permanent residence. The King was very pleased when Talman finished construction under the original projected budget. Unfortunately, King William was never able to live in the newly renovated Hampton Court for very long because he died in 1702 at Kensington Palace while he was recuperating from a fall from a horse he had when riding through the parks at Hampton Court.

When the project was finally completed the Tudor building and towers of King Henry VIII former state apartments where replaced with the more elegant and grand building of the new wings. The interior of the additions were equally impressive with beautiful facades and elegant furnishings designed by Daniel Marot, carved fireplaces and architectural mouldings designed by Grinling Gibbons and beautiful painted frescos on the ceilings by Antonio Verrio. Despite the fact that the original Tudor style sections of the building would greatly contrasted with the Baroque style of the new additions, somehow the design of the new state apartment wings blended beautifully together with the existing sections to create a cohesive appearance.

Also during this time, the grounds of Hampton Court were completely landscaped to include formal gardens filled with Queen Mary’s collection of exotic plants from around the world and enclosed with a lovely gilded wrought-iron fencing designed by Jean Tijou. King William had also commissioned George London and Henry Wise in 1700 to design an intriguing trapezoid-shaped puzzle Maze which covers a third on an acre on the grounds of Hampton Court and was originally created using hornbeam plants, it is currently England’s oldest surviving hedge maze.

After the death of King William his sister-in-law, Queen Anne succeeded him. (she reigned briefly from 1702 to 1707). Just to clarify the line of succession, Queen Anne was the younger sister of Queen Mary who was the wife of King William) Queen Anne contributions to Hampton Court were very minor during her short reign and she continued the decoration of the interior and oversaw the completion of the State Apartments already begun by her predecessor.

With the death of Queen Anne in 1714 and the accession of King George I (reigned 1714 to 1727); it marked the end of the Stuart period and the beginning of the Hanoverian period in the history of England. King George, being from Germany and unable to speak English, was a generally shy man and he rarely entertained and infrequently visited Hampton Court. The Prince and Princesses of Wales (the future King George II and Queen Caroline) were delighted with the palace and quickly took up residence in the Queen’s Apartment.

Eventually King George I became more comfortable in his role as King of England and briefly during 1718 he brought the full court to the palace and held several balls and other entertainment events. This was short-lived and the King returned to the official residence in London at. St. James Palace, with occasional visits to the monarch’s private residence of Windsor Castle, and he was never to return to Hampton Court. King George I died in 1727.

After the death of the King, his son became King George II (reigned 1727 to 1760). The King would be the last monarch to make Hampton Court a royal residence. During this time, the Queen’s Staircase was completed by William Kent and a new wing was added to the east side of the Clock Court in 1732 and was occupied by the King’s second son, the Duke of Cumberland and today this area of the palace is known as the Cumberland Suite.

1737 was to be the last year that the royal family would use the entire palace as a semi-permanent residence since Queen Caroline had died toward the end of the year. The family returned to London and lived full-time St. James Palace. The King never visited Hampton Court again and the estate was eventually divided into “Grace and Favour” apartments which were granted as rent-free accommodation to people because they had given exceptional service to the British monarchy or country. The occupants lived, often with their own small households of servants in the other rooms of the palace and not the State Apartments.

Then many years later in 1838, Queen Victoria (reigned 1837 to 1901) ordered that Hampton Court’s public rooms be opened for the people to view without restrictions. Prior to this time, only people of high social standing had been allowed a brief tour of the State Apartments, Great Hall and other rooms of the palace. Later, as a result of the renewed public interest in Hampton Court, between 1838 to 1851 renovations were made to restore the grandeur of the royal estate. Eventually the State Apartments, Great Hall, Main Gatehouse and the entire west front of the palace were returned to their previous Tudor style appearance.

In the following years, only minor repairs were made at Hampton Court and generally the palace retained the public rooms for visitor tours and the private areas as “Grace and Favour” housing. Then, in 1986 a fire severely damaged a large portion of the King’s Apartments which eventually took six long years to repair. Great care was taken to restore the suite of rooms to their original appearance at the time of King William and Queen Mary. Furniture, paintings, tapestries and other decorations that had been removed back in the 18^th century were subsequently returned to the palace as part of the large restoration project. (This restoration process was very similar to the early 1960s in Washington, D.C. when First Lady Jackie Kennedy headed a committee to painstakingly renovate the public rooms of the White House) After the work was completed, plans were made to further renovate the Queen’s Apartment in a similar manner. At this time changes were also made to both the exterior and interior areas of Hampton Court to more historically accurate to reflect both the Tudor period of Cardinal Wosley and King Henry VIII and the Stuart period of King William and Queen Mary. Visitors would also have access to the palace through a designated tour route and later a “living history” element was added to the program with characters dressed in period costumes thus giving visitors a feeling of how life was back in the Tudor period of England.

For more information on Hampton Court, please click on the link for the additional posts in the series, Hampton Court Part Two for a tour of the Tudor section and Part Three for a tour of the Stuart section.

Travel – Sandringham in Norfolk, England

Posted on December 23, 2014 by barbara

Sandringham House is privately owned by Queen Elizabeth II and sits on the 20,000 acre royal Sandringham Estate located in Norfolk, England. The house has been used for over 150 years by four generations of the British Royal Family; most notably it was home to the young Prince Albert (the future King Edward VII). Sandringham House has witnessed many historical events and was the location of the deaths of three Kings; King Edward VII in 1901, King George V in 1935 and King George VI in 1952. Sandringham House was also the site of the first ever Christmas message given by a British monarch via radio broadcast by King George V in 1932.

The history of Sandringham

Long ago, at the time of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, a smaller house called Sandringham Hall was first built on this site in Norfolk by the architect Cornish Henley. Later, when the house was owned by Charles Spencer Cowper during the 19th century an elaborate porch and conservatory designed by architect Samuel Sanders Teulon were added to the house. Then in 1862 Sandringham was purchased for Queen Victoria’s eldest son, Prince Albert the Prince of Wales. After Prince Albert married Princess Alexandra of Denmark in 1863 and it became their new country home. (For more information on the wedding of this popular royal couple, please click on the following post – Royal Weddings Part Two)

The royal couple quickly made many changes to the Sandringham estate with renovations to the main house, rebuilding cottages and construction of new roads on the property. When the Prince found the house too small for his growing family and the existing house was demolished and replaced by the current Jacobean style red brick house in 1869 which was designed by architect A.J. Humbert. After it was finally completed the new house included beautiful bay windows to bring light into the interior and a new wing with a grand ball room for when the royal couple entertained. The newly renovated house also included some modern amenities; such as gas lighting and bathrooms with running water, flushing toilets and an early version of a shower. The property also saw improvements done to the landscaping and a new garden wall was built incorporating the now famous Norwich Gate which is an impressive ironwork gate designed by Thomas Jekyll and was given to the royal couple as a wedding gift from the people of Norfolk and Norwich.

Sandringham was the place for intimate royal family gatherings and visits by important guests such as Prince Albert’s nephew, Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany and Prussia. While in residence at Sandringham, the Prince thoroughly enjoyed the grounds of the estate, riding and hunting were two of his favorite outdoor activities. Because of his love and passion for shooting, he devised a plan to make the most of the daylight hours during the winter months and for this reason clocks at Sandringham were set forward by a half an hour to allow more time for his favorite sport. Some say that another reason for setting the clock back was because, much to King Edward’s annoyance, Queen Alexandra was constantly late. Regardless of the reason, this custom became known as “Sandringham Time” on the estate and remained in effect even after King Edward VII death in 1910. (Special note: King Edward VII’s son, King George V, honored the tradition set by his father and throughout his reign “Sandringham Time” stayed in effect until his own death in 1936. At that time his son, King Edward VIII, set the clocks back to the correct time in defiance of his overbearing father)

King Edward VII shooting at Sandringham 1

Throughout the years the relationship between Queen Victoria and her son, Prince Albert, was very strained due to the fact that she blamed him for the untimely death of her husband which she believed Prince Albert caused inadvertently. The Queen also disapproved of her son’s pursuit of self-indulgent pleasures of drinking, gambling and his frequent associations with married women. For these reasons she stayed away from Sandringham and never visited during her extended period of mourning for her beloved husband and her self-imposed seclusion from public life and strong aversion of her royal duties in London. But when Prince Albert was diagnosed with typhoid fever, the same illness that took her husband, the Queen quickly went to Sandringham fearing the worst. Fortunately the Prince survived and a grateful Queen and in fact the entire nation celebrated that the life of the popular Prince of Wales was spared.

In 1892, more difficult times came to Sandringham when the eldest son of the Prince and Princess of Wales, known as Prince Albert the Duke of Clarence, suddenly became ill with influenza and sadly he died within a short period of time. Queen Victoria was very fond of his fiancée, Princess Mark of Teck, and after a brief period of mourning she encouraged her to marry the brother, Prince George, who was now second in line to the throne. So, it seems despite the tragic death of Prince Albert there was a happy ending when the Duke and Duchess of York were married in 1893. The royal couple later moved into a smaller house on the Sandringham Estate where they lived together with their growing family for the next 30 years. (For more information on the grand wedding of this royal couple, please click on the following post – Royal Weddings Part Two)

With the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, the new King Edward VII was required to be in London and he spent less time at his beloved Sandringham. He tried to visit Norfolk whenever he could and continued to make improvements on the estate. Unfortunately his reign was very brief and lasted less than ten years. Some say that his over indulgent lifestyle of eating, drinking and smoking ultimately lead to his poor health. Over his last years, he suffered from severe bronchitis and towards the end a series of heart attacks. He died on May 6, 1910 and is buried in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. After his father’s death, the new King George V and Queen Mary were very gracious when they allowed his mother, Queen Alexandra, to remain living in Sandringham House until her death in 1925. The royal couple continued to live in their smaller house on the estate which eventually became known as the York Cottage.

During World War I, the Sanringham estate workers and men of the small villages of Norfolk formed the 5^th Norfolk Regiment which was led by Captain Frank Beck, the King’s estate land agent. The Sandringham Company was eventually sent to fight the war in Europe and sadly the entire battalion was killed in the Battle of Gallipoli in August 1915. Some historians state that the men were killed in the battle or perished in a deadly fire cause by an exploded shell and other historians believe that some men died in the battle while the other men were executed afterwards by the Turks who took no prisoners. To honor these fallen heroes of “The Lost Battalion” a memorial was erected near the Church of St. Magdalene located on the Sandringham Estate and was dedicated in 1920 by King George V with Queen Mary and Queen Alexandra in attendance. (Special Note: “All the King’s Men”, which tells the story of the Sandringham Company, is a novel written by Robert Penn Warren that was first published in 1946. The book later adapted for film in 1947 and then again in 2006)

Sandringham was the setting of a very sad story that involved one member of the royal family. Prince John (born: July 12, 1905) was the fifth son and youngest child of King George V and Queen Mary. He was diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of four years old and he also suffered from an intellectual disability which was later identified as a form of autism. As his condition continued to deteriorate he was sent to live with his governess in a small cottage on the Sandringham Estate. He eventually became almost completely isolated from members of his family with only infrequent visits by his mother and older brother. Sadly he died at the age of thirteen on January 18, 1919 after a severe seizure and is buried in the cemetery at St. Mary Magdalene located on the estate. Information about his condition was only released to the public after his death and there has been much controversy about his seemingly unsympathetic treatment and disappearance from the royal family but in reality he received excellent care from his loving governess and enjoyed a pleasant but quiet life living on the Sandringham Estate. (Special note: The touching story of the short life of Prince John was made into a BBC movie in 2003. “The Lost Prince” was written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff and is currently available on DVD)

After King George V died at Sandringham on January 20, 1936, the estate passed to his eldest son who became King Edward VIII. Less than a year after his accession and his unexpected abdication, a problem developed when the former King Edward VII still held the rights to the Sandringham and Balmoral estates. Both estates had been purchased as private properties during the reign of Queen Victoria and were not included as part of the British Royal Crown. Fortunately the matter was resolved when a financial settlement was quickly reached and the ownership of the both properties was transferred to his brother, the new King George VI. (Special note: Today, both Sandringham and Balmoral remain the private estates of Queen Elizabeth II who inherited them from her father when he died)

King George VI was born in 1895 in York Cottage located on the Sandringham estate. He had many fond childhood memories spent there with his grandfather and father. Throughout the years he continued to traditionally spent the Christmas holidays there with his wife, Queen Elizabeth, and their two daughters Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret. Sadly, King George VI died in his sleep at Sandringham House on the night of February 6, 1952. It has been said that the stress of his brother’s abdication, his accession and duties as King during World War II along with his daily smoking habit caused his health to deteriorate over time and he died at a relatively young age of 56 years old. His coffin was laid in St. Mary Magdalene church for two days before it was taken by train to London then a funeral service and burial in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.

Queen Elizabeth II, the current monarch of England, also loves Sandringham and enjoys the seclusion of the English countryside. She first visited there for Christmas 1926 when she was just eight months old. She returned often and made regular visits with her parents to see her grandparents, King George V and Queen Mary. During World War II King George VI sent Princess Elizabeth and her sister, Princess Margaret, to Windsor Caslte and they also spent extended periods of time at Sandringham staying at Appleton House to avoid the frequent and very dangerous German bombings of London.

Queen Elizabeth has customarily spent the anniversary of her father’s death and her subsequent accession quietly and privately with her immediate family at Sandringham House. She will arrive just before Christmas and remain there for the entire month of February. She enjoys spending time there with her children, grandchildren and now great-grandchildren. (For more information on how the Royal Family spends Christmas at Sandringham and their holiday traditions, please click on the link)

There are several additional houses and cottages located on the Sandringham Estate and some of these have been mentioned already in this post. Listed below are a few more buildings:

St. Mary Magdalene Church –

St, Mary Magdalene Church is a relatively small parish church located on the Sandringham Estate just a short distance from the Sandringham House. The building dates back to the 19th century and a beautiful chancel, the space around the altar in the sanctuary, features carved angels on either side of the silver altar were a gift from Queen Alexandra to pay tribute to her husband, King Edward II. Other notable features in the church include a silver pulpit, a 17th century Spanish silver cross and a Florentine marble font.

The church is of great historical interest since it has been used since the time of Queen Victoria and there are many memorials dedicated to members of the Royal Family. As previously mentioned, Prince John, the son of King George VI, is buried in the adjacent cemetery and after his death in 1952 King George VI laid in state in the church for two days prior to his funeral and burial at Windsor. The church is still used frequently by the Royal Family whenever they are in residence at the Sandringham Estate which is usually during the Christmas season every year.

Sandringham Christmas - St Mary Magdalene church

Sandringham Christmas - St Mary Magdalene church - interior

Park House –

Park House is located just west of Sandringham House. When Prince Albert (later King Edward VII) acquired the property in 1862 he had several additional houses, including Park House, built to accommodate his numerous guests. Then, in the 1930s, King George V leased Park House his friend Edmund Roche, the 4th Baron of Fermoy. Edmund’s daughter Frances was born there in 1936. Frances later married John Spencer, Viscount Althorp, in 1954. Their daughter Diana, the future Princess of Wales, was born there in 1961. Park House was Diana’s childhood home and Viscount Spencer continued leasing the house until 1975 when he became the Earl Spencer and the family moved to Althorp. (Special note: In 1983, Queen Elizabeth offered Park House to the Leonard Cheshire Disability organization to use as a hotel for disabled people and is now is specially designed and equipped to accommodate their needs)

Anmer Hall –

Anmer Hall is a Georgian-style country house built in the 18th century and is located just east of Sandringham. Several years after Sandringham was bought by Queen Victoria for her son, Prince Albert (later King Edward VII), Anmer Hall and the surrounding land was added to the estate in 1898. The south side of the red brick house features thirteen bays topped with stone pediments and a porch with two Tuscan-style columns while the north side of the house features a covered porch entrance. Throughout the years the house has been a private residence for various occupants associated with the Royal Family, such as the Duke and Duchess of Kent who used it as their country house from 1972 to 1990. Recently, after the wedding of Queen Elizabeth’s grandson Prince William to Kate, the house was given to the young Royal couple. The new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have hired Charles Morris, the architect who previously worked on Prince Charles’ Highgrove House, to design extensive renovations to Anmer Hall which should be completed in time for Christmas 2014.

Tourist information for visiting Sandringham

As previously mentioned, the 20,000 acre Sandringham Estate is privately owned by Queen Elizabeth II and is located in Norfolk, England. The house has been used for over 150 years by four generations of the British Royal Family. The gardens of Sandringham were first opened to the public by King Edward VII in 1908, later the Sandringham Museum was opened by King George V in 1930 and Sandringham House was opened to the public by Queen Elizabeth II in 1977.

Guests should start their visit to the Sandringham Estate at the Visitor Center. The recommended time of a typical visit is 3 to 4 hours for guests to tour Sandringham House, visit the museum, walk through the beautiful gardens, shop in the gift shop and even have something to eat at the restaurant. For specific information regardes dates and hours of operation, prices and additional tour information please check their website at www.sandringhamestate.co.uk

Travel – Westminster Abbey – London, England

Posted on October 21, 2014 by barbara

On a trip to London, England in 1998 we were fortunate to take a tour of the spectacular Westminster Abbey with its magnificent stained glass windows, beautiful marble statues and numerous memorials. Personally, I had looked forward to seeing Westminster Abbey on this trip because I remembered watching the television coverage of Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997 and the wedding of Prince Andrew to Sarah Ferguson in 1986 which both took place there. The Abbey is also the site of the tombs of British Royalty, such as King Henry VII and Queen Elizabeth I, as well as various prominent people in British history, such as Oliver Cromwell, which are buried within the chapels. Since 1066, the Abbey has traditionally been the location of the coronation of the British Monarch with the last one taking place in 1953 for Queen Elizabeth II.

A brief history of Westminster Abbey

The history of Westminster Abbey begins when a small Benedictine monastery was built under the direction of the Bishop of London, later known as Saint Dunstan, in the late 960 under the rule of King Edgar. Then in the late 1000s, King Edward the Confessor began to rebuild St. Peter’s Abbey as a royal burial church conveniently located adjacent to the Palace of Westminster. This was a very timely decision given the fact that the work was completed in 1065 just a week before his death and he was buried in the church. Nothing remains of this old church, but its column bases have been found below the west end of nave of the present Abbey.

In 1245, King Henry III started the construction on the current church building and the relics of King Edward the Confessor were removed from the old church and placed within a shrine in the new church. There are a total of 17 British monarchs, including King Henry III and Queen Elizabeth I, buried within the Abbey and the last to be buried there was King George II in 1760. After that time, due to limited space within the Abbey, subsequent British monarchs have been buried either at St. George’s Chapel or Frogmore which is located just east of Windsor Castle.

Throughout the years, Westminster Abbey has also been the site of many funeral services for members of the Royal family. Two notable ceremonies were Princess Diana’s funeral service at the Abbey followed with her burial at the Spencer family ancestral home at Althorp in 1997 and most recently the funeral of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother followed with her burial in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in 2002.

Westminster Abbey has been the site for only 16 royal weddings throughout the centuries and the first one to take place there was in 1100 when King Henry I married Princess Matilda of Scotland. Then, there was a period of time between 1382 until 1919 when it was customary for royal weddings to take place privately either in their palaces or castles. The first royal wedding to be held at the Abbey after more than 500 years was Queen Victoria’s granddaughter, Princess Patricia of Connaught, who married Alexander Ramsay in 1919. Over the years other notable royal weddings have taken place in the Abbey such as Prince Albert (later King VI) to Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (later known as the Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother) in 1923 and later their daughters; Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) who married Lieutenant Phillip Mountbatten in 1947 and later Princess Margaret who married in Antony Armstrong-Jones in 1960. Two of Queen Elizabeth’s children have also chosen the Abbey for their wedding ceremonies; Princess Anne who married Captain Mark Phillips in 1973 and Prince Andrew who married Sarah Ferguson in 1986. The most recent royal wedding to take place at the Abbey was the Queen’s grandson, Prince William who married Catherine Middleton in 2011. (For more information and further details about their wedding, please click on the click Royal Weddings Part Four)

Westminster Abbey - Prince William and Kate Middleton 1

Westminster Abbey - Prince William and Kate Middleton 2

Finally, one of the most solemn ceremonies to take place in Westminster Abbey is the Coronation of the British monarch. William the Conqueror was crowned King William I on Christmas Day 1066 and it was the first of the 38 royal coronations to have taken place there. Over the centuries the main elements of the coronation service have remained relatively unchanged. Since 1308 the King Edward’s Chair, also known as the Coronation Chair, is the throne on which the sovereign sits when they are crowned. The Coronation Chair was made for the coronation of King Edward I and was constructed from oak with a space specifically designed under the seat to accommodate the famous Stone of Scone which was brought from Scotland in 1296 and used for every coronation until 1996 when it was returned to Scotland to be kept at Edinburgh Castle. For future coronation, it is intended that the Stone will be placed back in the King Edward’s Chair for use during the coronation ceremony of subsequent monarchs. The Chair was originally painted with gilded animals and foliage with the image of the king resting his feet on a lion painted on the back. The four gilded lions were originally added to the chair in the early 16^th century and then replaced in 1727. During the coronation ceremony the Chair with the Stone of Scone in placed facing the High Altar in Westminster Abbey. In the past, the Chair was kept in the Chapel of St. Edward the Confessor, but when that area was closed to visitors in 1997 the Chair was moved out into the ambulatory and placed on a raised platform near the tomb of Henry V. As of 2010, the Chair was moved to a specially built enclosure in St. George’s Chapel located at the west end of the Nave. The most recent coronation was that of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 and amid great controversy it was the first time that the ceremony had been televised. (For more information and further details about her coronation, please click on the link Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II)

A tour of Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey is a beautiful Gothic-style church located a short distance from the Thames River in the City of Westminster, London. The Abbey was formally known as the Collegiate Church of St. Peter and is considered the most important religious building in England and also one of London’s most popular tourist attractions which is seen by over a million visitors annually. The interior design was generally English in style with a single aisle and a long nave but several French Gothic features include tall windowed chapels, a spectacular round rose window and buttresses used for exterior support.

Like many churches, the Abbey was designed in the shape of a cross with the transept (the cross section of a building) 203 feet long and 80 feet wide while the nave measures 166 feet in length and over 71 feet wide with a soaring ceiling that reaches over 101 feet high. The floor space of the interior of the Abbey measures 32,000 square feet and for a normal church service the seating capacity is about 2,000. This seems very small compared to Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953 which had a seating capacity of about 8,200. The exterior length of the building measures 530 feet and the West Towers are over 225 feet in height.

Upon arriving at Westminster Abbey, most visitors will enter through the Great North Door. Once inside the Abbey there is so much to see and we would highly recommend that visitors pick up one of the guided brochures or take one of the guided tours.

Below are descriptions of the various areas of the Abbey.

The North Transept –

The Great North Door is considered the main entrance to Westminster Abbey and this is where most visitors will start a tour. As visitors move further into the church, the area known as the north transept has many tombs and statues depicting several British statesmen, such as Sir Robert Peel and two of Queen Victoria’s Prime Ministers, William Gladstone and Benjamin Disraeli.

The North Ambulatory –

Visitors will then turn left into the eastern end of the church where there smaller chapels which contain the royal tombs and memorials to several monarchs, such as Elizabeth I, Mary I, James I, Charles II, William II and Queen Anne. One of the most important and largest of the chapels is the magnificent Chapel of Henry VII which is also known as the Lady Chapel because it was dedicated in 1503 to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Chapel measures over 103 feet in length and 70 feet wide with a beautiful fan vaulted ceiling that rises to a height of 60 feet. Past the entrance which features a pair of intricate bronze gates that are decorated with the royal Tudor badges is the tomb of Henry VII and his Queen, Elizabeth of York that stands behind the altar and a bronze screen. At the east end of the chapel is the smaller Royal Air Force Memorial Chapel which features a stained glass window honoring the Battle of Britain. Visitors should look for a memorial stone to Oliver Cromwell which is on the floor in front of the window. To the south of the chapel visitors will find the tomb of Mary, Queen of Scots.

Royal Air Force Memorial Chapel - Battle of Britian Window

The South Ambulatory –

As visitors walk back toward the main area of the church, they will pass into the South Ambulatory and several of its smaller chapels. The most notable chapel in this area is the Chapel of St. Edward the Confessor which is closed off from the sanctuary by a large stone screen. Once a more elaborate shrine to St. Edward that featured a decorative stone base with a golden encased tomb covered by an intricate canopy which over the centuries had become a pilgrimage destination. Unfortunately, the shrine was dismantled and removed from the church when the monastery closed in 1540. Then during the reign of Mary I, the monastery was reopened and the shrine was only partially restored. Also, located within this area of the church are the tombs of several kings, such as Henry III who is responsible for rebuilding the current Abbey and the tomb of Henry V which is embellished with scenes of his coronation and once featured precious silver gilt that was stolen in the 1500s.

The South Transept (including Poet’s Corner) –

As visitors continue on their tour of Westminster Abbey, they will enter the south transept which features the beautiful Rose Window which was designed by Sir James Thornhill and features 11 of the 12 apostles, Judas has understandably been excluded.

This area of the Abbey has become known as the Poet’s Corner and the first to be buried here was Geoffrey Chaucer in 1400 in a large tomb on the east wall. The other walls are lined with statues and there are also numerous floor memorial plaques have been placed to honor distinguished poets and writers, such as Sir Walter Scott, William Shakespeare, John Dryden, Geoffrey Chaucer, Percy Shelley, Lord Byron, Robert Burns, Charles Dickens, Lord Tennyson, Rudyard Kipling and T S Eliot.

The Sanctuary and the Quire –

The next area on the tour of Westminster Abbey is located adjacent to the Poet’s Corner and it is the Sanctuary and the Quire. The Sanctuary is considered the main area of the church and this is where the daily religious services as well as special royal events such as coronations, weddings and funerals are held. In front of the high altar is a section of floor which dates back to 1268 and it is known for the famous Cosmati work of an intricate pattern of inlayed colored marble onto a plain marble floor. Also located in this area is the Quire with Victorian Gothic-style stalls that are assigned to various officers of the Collegiate Body and the High Commissioners of the various Commonwealth countries with the first four places given to Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The Abbey Choir, which is usually 22 boys and 12 men (known as vicars) sing at the church’s daily services. Farther into the church, located below the choir screen which as originally built in 1730, sits the Abbey’s organ. The organ was built by Harrison & Harrison in 1937 and was first used at the coronation of King George VI.

The Cloisters (including Chapter House and Pyx Chamber) –

At this point in the tour of Westminster Abbey, visitors will exit the church into an area that was part of the Benedictine monastery. The cloister (a covered walk with a wall on one side and a colonnade which opens to a quadrangle on the other side) dates back to the 13^th and 14^th centuries and this is where the monks lived and worked.

The Chapter House was originally built in the late 13^th century and was later restored by Sir George Scott in 1872. Visitors enter thru double doors which lead into the vestibule and then into the octagonal Gothic-style crypt that has numerous stone benches around the perimeter of the room and large quatre-foiled windows of stained glass panels showing the coats of arms of the sovereigns, abbots and others closely connected to the Abbey. The room was originally used for daily meetings of the Benedictine monks, then years later it was the meeting place of the King’s Great Council in 1257 and then Parliament in the 14th to 16th centuries.

Adjacent to the Chapter House is the Pyx Chamber which was the original sacristy of old Edward the Confessor’s church and now contains the oldest altar in Westminster Abbey. (pyx means a small container used in churches to carry the consecrated host) Later this room held the royal treasury and the pyx was used for gold and silver that was used to make coins. Before leaving the Cloisters, visitors should take time to see the small museum located in the vaulted undercroft beneath the former monks’ dormitory.

Visitors should then walk around the Cloisters and reenter the Abbey through the side door.

The Nave –

After viewing the Cloisters, visitors will reenter the Abbey into the Nave. (nave means the central part of a church which is intended to accommodate the congregation) Many important memorials can be seen in the Nave and one of the most important of these is Grave of the Unknown Warrior. In 1920, in a special ceremony at the Abbey attended by King George V, Queen Mary and with over 100 Victorian Cross recipients lining the Nave the body of an unknown soldier was buried near the west entrance. It is the only memorial in the Abbey that it is forbidden to walk on. Also located nearby is a stone memorial honoring the former Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Another item of note at the west entrance are the beautiful Waterford crystal chandeliers that were a generous gift from the famous Guinness family in 1965 on the occasion of Westminster Abbey’s 900^thanniversary.

Finally, as visitors end the tour and exit the Abbey there is the Abbey Bookstore on the left where they can purchase all types of souvenir items.

For information regarding admission fees, hours of operation, tours, including restrictions and other limitations, please see the website www.westminster-abbey.org

Westminster Abbey Trivia

Legend has it that a fisherman named Aldrich was on the River Thames, not far from the site of the present-day location of Westminster Abbey, and saw a vision of Saint Peter. This would explain the annual custom of the presentation of salmon that Abbey has received in the past from the Thames fisherman and still being presented currently by the Fishmonger’s Company every year.
There is old saying, “robbing Peter to pay Paul”, which has it origin in the sixteenth century when money that was intended for the Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster (Westminster Abbey) was used for St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Since the late eighteenth century, it was determined that after the death of the British monarch, the time between their predecessor’s accession to the coronation day should be extended to at least one year to allow more time for the ceremony’s preparation which traditionally takes place at Westminster Abbey. There is one exception to this rule, when King George V died in January 1936 his son became King Edward VII who ultimately abdicated in December 1936 to his brother who became King George VI and the original coronation date of May 12, 1937 remained unchanged. (In British history, 1936 has become known as “the year of the three Kings”)
The tradition of Royal brides laying their bridal bouquets at the tomb of the unknown warrior in Westminster Abbey can be traced back to 1923. When Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (later known as Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother) married the Duke of York, Prince Albert (later King George VI) she placed her bouquet at the tomb in memory of her brother that had been killed in World War I. This symbolic gesture continues and when Kate Middleton married Prince William in 2011 she also had her bridal bouquet placed on the tomb. (For more information and further details about these two weddings, please click on the links to Royal Weddings Part Three and Part Four)

The Enchanted Manor

a lifestyle blog by Barbara Jones

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