Motley Talk about Hampton Court
Built by a butcher's son, extended by kings, and later occupied by a queen's ghost and grace & favour residents.
Dear Motley Officers, Crew & Friends, we have been talking about monarchs, so now let us look at one of their palaces, Hampton Court Palace. It was built by Thomas Wolsey, who was born about 1473 in Ipswich, the son of a butcher. He attended Oxford University and was then ordained as a priest. A few years after he became chaplain to the Archbishop of Canterbury he entered into the service of King Henry VII. Both Henry VII and his son Henry VIII wanted to curb the power of the nobility and employ efficient administrators. This gave talented men from humble backgrounds more opportunities than in previous reigns – though, as Wolsey found out, they still encountered prejudice because of their humble beginnings.
Henry VIII became King in 1509. Henry was 18 years old, he was in charge, he was rich, and he wanted to have fun; and he was not interested in government matters. Wolsey was 36 years old and had shown his abilities working for Henry VII; he was very interested in government matters. Wolsey was appointed Grand Almoner for the Royal Household (distributing assistance or alms to the poor), but the post also gave him a seat on the Privy Council, a body that advised the King. Wolsey started his advancement.
By 1514 Wolsey controlled all matters of state and was extremely powerful within the Church. He became wealthy in part because of the number of appointments he had. Besides being the Grand Almoner of the Royal Household and a Cardinal, he was Bishop of Lincoln, Durham, Bath, Worcester and Hereford, the Abbot of St Albans, Archbishop of York and Lord Chancellor.
Wolsey lived well and this led to his being overweight. He suffered from several, probably weight-related illnesses, such as colic. To improve his health Wolsey wanted to find a country house with clean air and a pleasurable aspect. It had to be near to London, and the King,
Wolsey leased Hampton Court manor house on a 99-year lease, with permission to do what he liked with the buildings. The manor house was in the perfect position, close to the King’s large palace at Richmond. It was in the countryside, on the banks of the River Thames. Visitors usually arrived by boat; it was a 2-3 hour trip from London.
The manor house did not suit Wolsey, so in 1514 he proceeded to demolish the house and build a magnificent palace, beside the river Thames. By this time defensive castles were no longer appropriate (cannon balls could easily breach castle walls) or necessary. So, although the palace retained the moat of the old manor house, the buildings were spread out and open to the countryside.
Hampton Court Palace was built in the latest fashion, in a lovely red brick (which was also painted red). Brick was a new technology and immensely expensive. The palace had an imposing gatehouse (originally five storeys high, now three), square-headed windows, decoratively shaped gables and large ornate chimneys. The fancy chimneys were possible because the bricks were quite thin and could support fancy shapes.
If you had visited Hampton Court in 1517, you would have seen a beautiful, imposing, red brick palace. But you would have been most astonished by the chimneys, a recent innovation that showcased the wealth & power of Thomas Wolsey. Previously houses had been built with a gap in the roof to allow smoke to escape. Then it was discovered that enclosed fireplaces with chimneys successfully directed smoke out of the room, though it was thought a tall chimney stack was necessary to do this effectively.
When finished Hampton Court had over 1000 rooms, with 280 beds that were kept ready for guests at all times. The rooms were elegant, some with fine panelling, and filled with the latest fashion in European art, furniture & fabrics, with extortionately expensive & exquisite tapestries. Wolsey also enclosed 2000 acres of land with a wall, which can still be seen surrounding Bushy Park.
Wolsey’s establishment at Hampton Court was similar to a monarch’s. There were an enormous number of people who looked after the palace and gardens. Then Wolsey had his own personal staff, including 46 yeomen of the chamber to ‘attend on his person’, 16 doctors and a large number of secretaries and ‘running footmen’ to carry out his immediate commands.
Who knows what was going through Wolsey’s head when he built such an impressive palace? It may have been the need to show his detractors that the boy from lowly beginnings had made good, or (as he stated) it may have been that when he entertained diplomats and dignitaries from abroad he needed to represent the King in style. However, a satire of the time went:
“Why come ye not to court? To which Court? To King’s court, Or to Hampton Court? Nay, to the King’s court: The King’s Court Should have the excellence, But Hampton Court Hath the pre-eminence.”
By 1525 King Henry may have been thinking the same thing. He is said to have asked Wolsey why he had built so magnificent a palace. “To show how noble a palace a subject may offer to his Sovereign,” was Wolsey’s reply. It may have been meant as an empty compliment but the King took him up on the offer. In effect Wolsey gave Hampton Court to the King! However, for a time they both used the Hampton Court and Wolsey was also given permission to stay at Richmond Palace.
But in 1529 Wolsey fell from grace. He had failed to provide Henry with a divorce from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, so Henry could marry Anne Boleyn. Wolsey was stripped of his government offices and properties, and Henry took over Hampton Court outright.
Wolsey travelled to Yorkshire (he was Archbishop of York but had never visited the city) but was called back to London to face a trial for treason. During the journey back to London he fell off his horse and died. He was 57 years old.
King Henry VIII took over Hampton Court and, as was his habit, started building work. He spent the equivalent of £20 million in today’s money. The Great Hall and the vast kitchens are his work.
At the time the royal court travelled continuously between Henry’s 55 palaces. This was to maintain a presence and peace throughout the country, but also because one palace could only support the 800 or so nobles and servants of the court for so long – and the latrines filled up after a few weeks!
All of Henry’s queens visited Hampton Court. Jane Seymour died there after giving birth to a son. Henry and Catherine Howard were at Hampton Court when he was told that Catherine had committed adultery. It is said that when Catherine was arrested, she escaped and ran down the corridor towards the chapel to find Henry and plead her case, but she was dragged back to her rooms.
Catherine was beheaded in February 1542, aged about 19 years old (her date of birth is unknown). The running footsteps and cries for mercy of Catherine Howard’s ghost have occasionally been heard in the corridor to the chapel at Hampton Court; it is now called the ‘haunted gallery’.
Nearby Richmond Palace was demolished during the Commonwealth (1649 to 1660), but Hampton Court was spared. When King William III (1689 to 1702) became King, he was determined to demolish the Tudor palace and replace it with a modern building. Luckily, he had neither enough money nor time, so he only demolished half of the Tudor buildings, on the south and east side of the palace.
The result is a palace in two halves. One side is the Tudor palace and the other side the 17th Century Baroque palace, designed by Sir Christopher Wren. The baroque royal apartments have elegant, high ceilinged rooms, one room flowing into another, with large windows overlooking the beautiful gardens below.
After the death of Queen Mary in 1694 (from smallpox, aged 32), King William lost interest in the renovations and work stopped. In 1702, William was riding in Hampton Court Park when his horse stumbled over a molehill, William fell from his horse and later died from his injuries, aged 51.
King George II was the last monarch to live for any time at Hampton Court. In 1838 Queen Victoria opened the State Apartments to the public and it remains a popular tourist attraction, now run by the independent Historic Royal Palaces charity.
I love Hampton Court Palace and for a few years lived in a flat very close by. But some lucky people continued to live in the palace. These were people who had some link with royalty, and were given apartments as a ‘grace & favour’1 from the monarch at a very low (or no) rent. The last few grace & favour apartments were given in the 1960s, and now only palace staff live in Hampton Court full time, along with some organisations such as the Royal School of Needlework.
The Motley Extra this month, for paying subscribers, will be about the beautiful gardens and maze at Hampton Court, and the Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival that opens in July.
As always, any links are provided to give the reader more information. I do not make any money from these links. Where possible permissions have been sought for the use of images and text, unless they are in the Public Domain. If there is an issue with copyright, please contact me. I am an amateur historian covering a wide range of subjects. I do careful research using secondary sources (books, articles, videos and a little bit of Wikipedia). If there are any mistakes I apologise and please let me know.
An interesting read is The handbook of people who lived in Hampton Court Palace from 1750 to 1950 by Sarah E. Parker.
Very interesting Kate. How fortunate that the Tudor palace was not torn down in its entirety. I've never visited, but its one of the places I would most like to go.
It is a beautiful place and they have great talks and guides in Tudor costumes. I remember once coming across a string quartet playing in one of the rooms of the Baroque palace. So I went into one of the adjoining rooms, sat on the window seat looking out over the beautiful gardens, listened to the music and imagined I was a 17th Century grand lady!