Hi, everybody. It's Margaret
here from Free Tours by Foot and today we're going to be
exploring the amazing and beautiful Hampton Court Palace.
Hampton Court Palace is truly unique. Half of it is the
original Tudor building constructed in the early 1500s
and then used as a home by King Henry the 8th and a few of his
wives and 150 years after that, half of the palace was
demolished during the reign of King William the third, a
completely restructured in a totally new architectural style
which means you're kind of getting two palaces for the
price of one. Since its construction in the early 16th
century to the turn of the 18th century, Hampton Court Palace
has been used as a primary royal home for numerous kings
and queens which means there's a lot of history inside as well
as a few royal secrets and scandals that need to be
uncovered. So, if you're ready, let's go. We begin by exploring
the one-of-a-kind Tudor kitchens followed by the
beautiful courtyard and incredible great hall. Then,
we'll discover what remains of Henry the apartments before
traveling through time to the 17th century to see the rooms
built during the reign of Queen Mary the second and King
William the third. Next, we'll follow the story of the
Georgians getting an inside glimpse of the Hanoverian Court
and the family dynamics that played out here at the Palace.
Lastly, we'll stroll through the stunning and iconic Hampton
Court Gardens before finishing our tour with the last glance
at one of the 16th century's most interesting creations.
This is the incredible Hampton Court Palace. Such on the edge
of the River Tens to the southwest of Central London
Hampton Court was originally designed owned and inhabited
not by a king but by Thomas Wolsey Archbishop of York and
Chief Minister to King Henry the eighth Wolsey began
construction here in 1514, however after failing to secure
Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon Wolsey handed the
palace over to the king in 1528 in an effort to save himself
from Henry's wrath it didn't work however Henry received his
gift and embarked on a huge project of rebuilding and
expansion turning Hampton Court Palace into one of his most
favorite residences. The stunning entrance to the palace
features the king's beasts. 10 statues of heraldic animals
that represent the ancestry of Henry the eighth and his third
wife Jean Seymour. Here's the king's crowned lion And then next to that is the
Seymour Panther. You can see all the detail there. And then
we'll come round to see my favourite. The Seymour Unicorn holding the
arms of Queen Jane. Here we go. Beautiful. And then just next
to that unicorn is the royal dragon holding the tutor coat
of arms. There he is. Will enter the palace through the
original Tudor Gatehouse adorned with Henry the eighth's
coat of arms supported by the Lion of England on the left and
the Tudor Dragon on the right. And we enter the palace through
what is known as the Great Gate House. You can see some
Halloween decorations there. Maybe we'll see a few ghosts on
our journey today. But first let's look up. Now look at this beautiful fan
vaulted ceiling made of bathstone decorated with
various royal symbols. In the center a shield featuring Queen
Victoria's royal arms. You may also spot the VR symbol
representing Queen Victoria. Clues as to when this ceiling
was redesigned in the 19th century. We also have the red
and white tudor rose. Red Cardinal hats, gold miters, and
white pallium. All three nods to Cardinal Wolsey whose TC
initials are also depicted here as well as the crown. Stunning
design. And now we enter the palace
grounds. This is Base Court, the
arrivals hall of Henry the eighth Palace. It's here that
visitors, courteous, their servants, and all their luggage
would enter Hampton Court. The more important to guest, the
further into the palace they were permitted to go. So a
large proportion of people stayed right here. And we'll
return to learn a bit more about Base Court and the people
who stayed here in a bit. But first I want to show you
something truly unique. Here at Hampton Court Palace we have
the largest surviving Renaissance Kitchens in all of
Europe. These kitchen were originally built to feed around
450 people, but Henry needed more. Henry the eighth could be
accompanied at any time by around 800 courtiers and they
all needed to be fed. In 1529, the kitchens here were
quadrupled in size. Rebuilt and equipped to serve 1, 600 meals
per day. In fact, the kitchens here during the reign of Henry
the eighth were so large. They employed 200 staff and took up
to one third of the entire palace complex. We enter Master
Carpenter's Court. This is where all the provisions for
the court would have entered the kitchen complex before
being taken to storage or directly to one of the kitchens
themselves. The higher ranking a person was, the better their
food and drink. So there was a wide variety of both coming
through this courtyard. To sort it all out, there were 19
different departments, all organized and overseen by a
group of officials known as the Board of the Green Cloth as
well as John Dale, master cook for the king's household.
Today, the courtyard is set up to look as though there's
recently been a delivery made and we can see some of the
goods that have been brought in before us with their two
spelling. Now, we enter the kitchens.
Firstly, into the boiling house. This area was used for
food preparation such as preparing pies to be baked or
part cooking joints of meat. As we come around the corner, we
see a number of kitchen staff depicted as well as kitchen
goods such as equipment, dried herbs, and meat. And just down
here we have a list of a small amount of the meat that would
have been served at Henry's Palace. Beef, veal, mutton,
deer, pheasant and chicken. And like I said this is just a
small sample of the variety that could be found at Henry's
Palace. Over here we see more pies ready for baking and then
we'll see a small staircase that would have led up to a
giant pot of boiling water where meat was constantly being
boiled before being roasted over a spit later. Hence the
name of this kitchen, the boiling house. Here's where the
fire would have burned to keep that water boiling. And now
we're going to leave the boiling house. Passing more
pies and a fire extinguisher which is definitely not
original to the 16th century and we come out into fish court
no prizes for guessing what was kept in this part of the
kitchens as we come down this alleyway we're actually walking
down a tutor refrigerator this narrow courtyard runs north to
south which means the sun never shines in and the space is open
to the air year round keeping the stones and bricks nice and
cool perfect for storing fish. Behind each of these green
doors you would have found barrels packed with seaweed
containing all sorts of sea fish like place, turbot,
halibut and even purposes. Fresh water fish would have
been kept live in the fish ponds within the gardens. Now
we enter the great kitchen. From 1530 until 1737, the great
kitchen was a central part of life at court and not only just
for feeding the hundreds of people who were here.
Throughout the centuries, food served at court was a direct
display of the monarch's power. A large menu full of variety
featuring foods which were considered exotic from far away
countries where a display of the monarch's wealth. Henry's
guest could expect not only fresh meat and fish but almonds
all oil and citrus fruits from the Mediterranean. Dishes
sweetened with sugar from the Middle East. Meals made with
spices from Africa, India and even as far away as China.
These images to pick some of the staff including children
who would have worked here. And as we come around we'll see a
charcoal stove which was a later addition to the kitchen.
There we go. Replacing a roasting spit that would have
been here in Henry's time. In fact there were six huge fires
in these kitchens. All set up with spits to roast meat. Which
in itself impressive. For most people in tutor times, cured,
salted, or smoked meat would have been all they had access
to. But at Henry's Court the meat was always fresh and
served everyday. An incredible luxury at the time. Up here you
can see the gigantic wood ceiling hanging over us which
would have had great holes in it for all the steam and smoke
to escape which in reality did little to help the harsh
conditions inside the kitchen. It was so hot the joints of
meat were partially basted with the sweat of the workers
turning the spits. Yum. A Spanish visitor to court in
1554 recorded that the kitchens were quote veritable hells. In
fact Henry had to issue a specific order to the kitchen
staff instructing them that they had to wear clothes while
working as so many of them to go about their business naked
which seems quite of a risky move to me especially given
that many cooks are retired and pensioned off after being badly
burned at work here we see a number of cauldrons which would
have been near constant use next to the fire ahead a pile
of wood just some of the 1. 3 million logs that would have
been burnt throughout the year in the kitchens here some of
those spices I mentioned earlier again with that
interesting spelling cinnamon with an S Y there now what's
over here a sign that says do not eat for the king's mouth
only these bags would have eventually been taken to a
smaller private kitchen which is where Henry's food was
prepared by his master cook John Brickett the notes on the
table cloth here tell us that these herbs all of which are
real were grown in the Palace Gardens and through here we see one of
those tutor fires actually in use. You can see the iron work
for all the spits that would have been here and imagine how
hot it would have been to turn them for hours and hours. You
can see the suit here left behind from centuries of smoke
climbing up the wall. The kitchens are busy today as they
would have been in centuries gone past. The amount of food
that came through here was astounding. In one year during
the reign of Queen Elizabeth the first, the kitchen staff
prepared 53 wild boar, 760 calves, 1, 240 oxen, 1, 870
pigs, 2, 330 deer, and 8, 200 sheep, as well as the of birds,
seafood and non-meat dishes that would have been served.
And in this area the plating all the items you see here are
valuable pewter and this is where all the food was placed
to be taken to the great hall and other chambers it was taken
through the big hatches that you can see there on the left Now on the other side of those
hatches in what's called serving place we have the
office where the kitchen clerks would have worked. Checking
things over before dishes were officially served. And where
all the pewter was returned. And counted to make sure
everything actually came back again. And from serving place
were following the route that some of the food would have
taken. Dishes that were to be sent to the great hall would
come this way through a little room up here on the right. Here
we go. This is also where table settings and linens were kept
and taken up before the meals. These back stairways ensured
that guests wouldn't have to see the staff working behind
the scenes. Here we can see a napkin being pressed in a
wooden device on the table. And now to one of my favorite
rooms in the Palace which will tell you a lot about how I
spend my free time the wine cellar there were a few sellers
here during Henry's time storing not just wine but also
beer and ale it may surprise you to hear that Hampton Court
also had running fresh water safe to drink that was piped in
from a spring over two miles away here we see the vaulted
stone ceiling keeping all the wine nice and cool in the
sixteen century wine was a status symbol. Much of it
shipped in from Europe and at great expense. So of course
that is what Henry liked to serve and drink himself. Clara
and Bordeaux were the most popular at Henry's court. Sweet
wines from Greece and Cyprus were popular for after dinner.
When ready the wine was placed into jugs in this room which
were then carried throughout the rest of the palace. Now
when we come over here I'm going to share a little ghost
story with you. Hampton Court is said to be haunted by
numerous spirits one of whom supposedly resides in this
cellar the sand man and if this isn't your sort of thing feel
free to skip the next 30 seconds. it is said that
through the years palace guards would hear thumps and banging
coming from the wine cellar during the night but whenever
they would go to investigate the noises would stop and the
cellar would be empty palace staff reported seeing shadows
on the walls the outline of a man in a wide brimmed hat but
when they turn around nobody would be there. Is the sandman
still lurking in the lower cellar to this day? Some people
say yes. The barrels that we see today represent only a
fraction of what would have been consumed at Hampton Court
during the reign of Henry the eighth. It's estimated that on
average Henry's court would consume 75, 000 gallons of wine
and 600, 000 gallons of ale the beverage served to his staff
costing an estimated 6 million pounds every single year. And
out of the cellars now along this long corridor which will
take us back out onto base court opposite the side from
which we entered the palace complex you may notice a
gentleman ahead of me wearing green dressed in the style of
the 16th century a visitor from Henry's Court perhaps now you
might remember that I described a base court as an arrivals
area and also where many people stayed while visiting the
palace servants and those lower down on the social ladder would
literally camp in base court those higher up how would stay
in the rooms that surrounded it. Behind many of the windows
you see are dozens and dozens of courteous lodgings which
were said to be some of the finest in the country.
Furnished with silver candlesticks and a pot of wine.
Each room also had its own fireplace and its own garter
robe or toilet. That may not sound very exciting to us but
lower ranks of courteous were expected to use the great house
of easement, a two-story communal toilet block hanging
over the moat that could seat up to fourteen people at a
time. Up ahead of us, you can see a red and white structure.
A fully working recreation of a 16th century wine fountain. In
2008, archaeologists working in base court uncovered the
foundations of an octagonal fountain that previously stood
here. It's not known if that fountain flowed with water or
wine. The fountains flowing with wine were incredibly
popular site at Tudor Celebrations. In addition to
having wine fountains at court. They would be erected
throughout London in times of royal celebration. Weddings or
coronations for example. And public water fountains would
occasionally flow with wine for the same reasons. Anybody could
simply grab a glass, walk on down and have a good old time.
The one aham decor is as faithful to recreation as can
be. Given no original wine fountains still exist.
Architects based this one on the fountain depicted in a
painting showing the field of the cloth of gold which was a
summit meeting between Kings Henry the 8th and King Francis
the first to France in 1520. The painting depicts the two
kings and even wrestling each other as well as hundreds of
courtiers some of whom are gathered around the fountain
enjoying the freely flowing wine this version although
smaller than the one used during the field of the cloth
of gold is built using authentic materials timber led
bronze and gold leaf the inner workings however are straight
from the 21st century and are equipped to serve both red and
white wine just as Henry's would have done and now we're
going to head back into the palace to Henry the eighth
apartments. To get there, we're going to enter through another
gatehouse up ahead, now known as Anne Berlin's gatehouse,
where her apartments once stood. While we're walking, I
want to mention 2 architectural features that are of note.
Firstly, most of the palace is constructed in red brick. An
incredibly expensive material, highly fashionable in the upper
classes and a real display of wealth at the time. Secondly,
On top of the palace, 241 decorated chimneys. Another
status symbol. A sign of the number of fireplaces the king
could afford to keep burning for his guests. Now, we'll get
to Henry the eighth's tumultuous matrimonial life in
a moment but for now, let's refer to 1536. Anne Berlin,
Henry's second wife, has recently been executed at her
husband's command and Henry is married again to Jane Seymour.
The king has order that Anne's apartments at Hampton Court
should be refurbished for his new queen and all reminders of
his previous wife be erased from the building sounds a
simple enough task but somebody somewhere along the line seems
to have forgotten something right up here as we look
straight up you can see the large tutor rose right in the
middle of the ceiling but on either side of it the upper
right and lower left are two emblems circled in red
containing the initials A and H Anne and Henry encircled by
what's known as a lover's knot. Another one of these can also
be found carved in wood in the great hall. A closer look also
reveals two falcons circled in blue. Anne Belin's principal
badge was a white falcon wearing a crown and holding a
scepter in one claw. The falcon was said to represent an
ambitious person who would never rest until their task was
complete. The ones in the gatehouse today are Victorian
replacements but here an image of one of the original falcons
that once adorned the gatehouse ceiling. A lasting reminder of
the second wife that Henry tried so hard to erase from his
past. And now we climb the stairs toward the magnificent
great hall as we climb the stairs here if you look ahead
you'll see a crisscross or diamond pattern on the brick
work in front of us this pattern is repeated all over
the palace and was made using over fired bricks strategically
placed amongst the regular red ones this was considered quite
fashionable in the 16th century now as we come to this doorway
you can see Henry's coat of arms here in the corner there's
an level of detail around all of Henry's doorways throughout
the palace and I'll show you another example as we go. Here
we can see the other side. Now, we're going to be entering
firstly into a smaller chamber adjacent to the hall where
staff would have scurried to and fro bringing goods up from
the kitchen through a door hidden behind the green cloth
ahead of us. To the right, a glimpse of the hall through the
cloth and over to our left, a portrait of Catherine of
Aragon. Henry the eighth's first wife framed by her motto,
humble and loyal. And below it, an example of a Hampton Court
Palace doorway decoration dating from the time of Henry's
marriage to Catherine. On the left, you see her coat of arms
and trailing along the right are a number of pomegranates
which is Catherine's emblem representing Christ's
resurrection and was also a symbol of fertility. And over
here opposite Catherine is Anne's portrait. And her motto
the most happy. Which I'm sure seem like a good choice at the
time. Both her motto and Catherine's fertility symbols
seem a little bit cruel in retrospect. But this is in the
wives of Henry the eighth video so I will move along but do let
me know if you'd be interested in that. As we turn around here, we will
finally be stepping into the great hall. This beautiful
building was the primary hub of core activity during Henry's
rain and was by far the largest room in the palace and one of
the largest in the country towering to 18 meters over 60
feet high. Built between 1532 and 1535, Henry's masons,
carpenters, bricklayers, and laborers sometimes worked
nearly 24 hours a day constructing by candlelight
when necessary to complete it. Once it was completed, this
hall was used every single day and not only by the family.
When the king wasn't throwing elaborate feasts and parties,
the great hall acted as a staff canteen and seated up to 450
people twice a day at 10 AM and begin at 4 PM exactly. Up above us sits this beautiful
hammer beam roof. The work of the king's master carpenter
James Needham. And in Henry's time it would have been painted
in shades of blue, gold, and red. Love it. This is a view of the small
chamber we entered into behind those wood screens and above a
ledge overlooked by beautiful stained glass where musicians
could play during banquets. You can see Henry in the middle of
the glass and it's little disappointing to have to tell
you that the glass dates from the 19th century. None of the
original tutors stained glass in the hall survived. And come around In the center of the hall is a
rarely used hearth. Then we see the high table where the king
and queen would have presided. More beautiful Victorian
stained glass. And another look up to this fabulous roof where
I can just about see we are being watched. High in the
rafters lurk the ease droppers. Intricately carved busts of men
and women constantly looking down at the going zone in the
hall. A reminder to everybody that just because the king is
not present doesn't mean nobody's watching you. Now, can
you imagine this hall during one of the king's banquets?
Packed with hundreds of people on long benches, the flickering
light of hundreds of candles, the music playing, the smells
of course after course of delicious food, piles of
shining gold plate, the singing and the laughter, the clack of
footsteps on the sumptuous green and white floor tiles,
all completely surrounded by these hanging tapestries whose
gold threads would have glittered in the candlelight.
Henry eighth loved tapestries in fact by the time of his
death he owned over 2, 000 of them believed to be the largest
collection in history especially impressive given
that even Henry's richest courteurs would only own
between 50 to 100 today only 30 of them are left many of which
are hanging here in the great hall richly woven in silk and
gold these works of art are another way for Henry to
display his wealth a portable means of showcasing his status
these luxurious hangings could be rolled up and transported to
any destination constantly surrounding the king and his
guests with splendor. Many of the tapestries most of which
came from Brussels depicted biblical stories or heroic
legends so visitors would associate these great tales
with Henry himself. Others would depict virtues or vices
encouraging good behavior among the court. A set of tapestries
to adorn a standard size room could take a team of men around
two years to make. So this collection decades of man hours
and untold sums of money. And now we come to the high table.
Today the table is set with pewter but of course the king
himself ate off gold plate. He would also be the only person
provided with a fork. Everybody else was given a spoon and were
expected to bring their own knives. Henry's feast and
banquets were always over the top with constant
entertainment, dozens and dozens of dishes served,
plentiful drink, courtly displays like live music or
plays which Henry himself would occasionally take part in. In
fact in his earlier he was known as an excellent dancer.
Everything was meant to impress and his entertainment efforts
did not go unnoticed. Letters from foreign ambassadors who
are guests of his detail the food, music, and spectacles
enjoyed at Henry's court. Notice the peacock in this next
painting. It was quite common for Henry's guests to be served
roasted peacock or swan whose feathers would be carefully
placed back after cooking to create impressive centerpieces.
In addition to the dozen of dishes to choose from, guests
could expect treats like edible sculptures, a tutor favorite.
Known as subtle teas, they will be made from sweet meats,
Marzipan, and gold leaf or truly luxurious, chocolate. In
fact, there was a chocolate chest set served at one of
Henry's banquets and guests were encouraged to play a game
before eating it. It was also noted that Henry was a keen
musician who was known to entertain his guests at dinners
by playing every instrument he owned as a bit of a party
trick. In addition to music and masks, fools or menstruals such
as one of Henry's favorites, Will Summers, would often
stroll through the hall during feasts, casually insulting
courtiers as they went, asking somebody quote, sir, what say
you with your fat face, was a favor of one of Henry's fools,
the only person at court who would dare speak to the king
that way. It worth mentioning that court entertainment and
feasts in the Great Hall didn't die with Henry the eighth. The
stewards also utilized the space for Courtney Theatrics.
Shakespeare himself appeared before King James the first
here while Anigo Jones and Ben Johnson designed extravagant
court masks. Parties during the 17th century were so hedonistic
that their court was described as quote a nursery of lust and
impertinence. Strategically adjacent to the
high table is this huge bay window. This would have been
the brightest area in the hall. The light coming in directly
toward the raised dice where the high table sat ensuring
Henry was always the center of attention. It's believed this
window was originally part of Wolsey's Hall and Henry opted
to keep it as part of his new building. The beautiful glass
amended in the 19th century and restored again in 2008 to picks
coat of arms such as these of Cardinal Wolsey's showing
tidals, badges and symbols. Get a good close look here. His titles are listed at the
bottom of the windows as well. A final look around the hall
note that while the great hall was open to most of the court
on a daily basis the further into the palace we go the fewer
people were allowed the next stream for example was only
accessible to lords knights gentlemen officers of the
king's house and other honest persons servants rascals and
boys were not to enter unless absolutely necessary More
doorway detail in there. Is the great watching chamber.
It gets its name from the fact that this is where Henry's
guards would have been stationed on constant watch and
controlling access to Henry's private apartments. The
entrance to which lies on the other side of the room. Up ahead here we have more
stained glass windows. Henry's coat of arms makes another
appearance. And he is actually here himself. Here we go and
he's right underneath the depiction of Cardinal Wolsey I
don't know how either of them would feel about that Again, we see the tapestries on
display here, part of Wolsey's original collection. And as we
come down there's a marble fireplace which is a later
edition If we focus in on the shield in the middle of the
fireplace, you'll see the design features a C and an R,
Charles Rex, King Charles, dating from the 1620s at the
earliest. A watercolor version of a mural
that once existed in Henry the eighth's Palace in Whitehall.
Painted by Hans Holbine the younger in 1537, the painting
is intended to reiterate Henry's right to hold the
throne through his family dynasty. Behind him stands his
father King Henry the seventh and opposite him is Henry's
mother Elizabeth of York. Their union brought together the
warring houses of Lancaster in York. Highlighting Henry's
bloodline through both families. Opposite Henry stands
Jane Seymour, mother of his only surviving son, and
continuation of the great tutor bloodline, Edward the sixth.
Take note that aside from the tapestries and the ceiling,
everything else in this room dates from the late 1600s, when
King William the third carried out heavy reconstruction to the
palace demolishing the majority of Henry's private apartments
which we'll talk more about shortly. In Henry's time, this room was
decorated to celebrate Henry's third queen, Jane Seymour. She
and Henry were married in 1536 and in September of 1537, Jane
and Henry came here in preparation for the birth of
their child. On the 12th of October, at around two in the
morning, Jane gave birth to Henry's long four male heir,
Edward. Shortly after his birth, Edward was processed
through the palace and was carried through this room on
display to the eagerly awaiting courteers who'd congregated
here and in the great hall hoping to get a good view
However, tragedy would soon strike. Jane never recovered
from her difficult labor and delivery and would die on the
24th of October here at Hampton Court Palace. Unknown to all at
the time was that Edward himself would have his life cut
short dying at the age of just fifteen. But before that sadness was
pure joy. And Henry ordered this ceiling decorated with not
only his own emblems but that of his wife as well. Jane's
badge was that of a phoenix rising from a castle. A symbol
of birth and renewal. The new queen ready to be all that the
king desired. Her chosen motto was quote bound to obey and
serve. The badges and decoration on the ceiling area
are a mix of restored originals as well as some 19th century
copies but as you see it now is exactly how it would have been
in the time of Henry the eighth. Henry's Palace would
have been rich with color in every room. Would you want a roof like that
in your house? Let me know what you think. As we leave the great watching
chamber, we now go to the processional chamber. And
immediately on our right is the pages room. Pages at the
chamber spent most of their days serving quarters in the
adjoining great watching chamber. Pages were to awake at
7 AM And began their days by making fires for the rest of
the palace. This was their office as well as their
bedroom. And as you can see here where they would have
dined as well. They had remain here all day because they would
constantly be on call. Just a close up. Doesn't look like
they're getting too much to eat. As we exit, straight ahead
of us, is a portrait of Anne of Cleaves, as well as her motto,
quote, God send me well to keep. Anne was Henry's fourth
wife. Chosen as his bride based primarily on this portrait by
Hans Holbine. Despite the fact that commentators at the time
described the portrait as a true likeness, Henry disagreed
and was unhappy with her appearance when he first saw
her, announcing to his court chairs quote, I like her not.
Their marriage would last only six months, not long enough for
her to make an impression in the king's court. Her badge,
the badge of cleaves depicts an eight spangled wheel with no
rim and it appears nowhere in Henry's apartments. Next to the
processional chamber, we come across an enigmatic painting. A
portrait of an unknown man in red, painted by an unknown
artist. His clothing as well as technical analysis tells us
that this portrait was created between 1530 and 1550. It was
purchased by King Charles the second who was told it was a
portrait of a young Henry the eighth although this seems
unlikely. Other candidates are Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey,
which I can kind of see or Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond
in Somerset, Henry the eighth's illegitimate son. What do you
guys think? And next, a commanding portrait
of the king himself. Portraits like these were meant to convey
Henry's physical presence, particularly to people who had
never met him in person. It is unlikely that the portrait was
hung here originally as the processional chamber was one of
the few locations in the palace where visitors would get a
chance to glimpse the king. Dressed in his crown and finest
robes, Henry would emerge from his private apartments and
process through this corridor on Sundays and religious
festivals as this was the path from his private apartments to
the chapel. Quarters blind the root, everybody eagerly
awaiting an opportunity to see the king and for the king to
see them. Reportedly, it was during one of these processions
that Henry first set eyes upon his next wife, Catherine
Howard. And now we enter the next part of Henry's
Processional Route The Haunted Gallery as we enter there's a
portrait on the left depicting Catherine Howard as well as her
motto quote no other will than his Catherine and Henry were
married just 19 days after the annulment of Henry's marriage
to Anne of Cleaves Catherine's age isn't known but she was
likely around 19 while the king was 49 Henry was besided with
her spoiling her with gifts at their first Christmas together
spent here at Hampton Court and calling her his quote rose
without a thorn leading to the creation of her badge depicting
a thornless tutor rose within two years of their marriage
however Catherine was accused of adultery and Henry was
furious reportedly his counselors thought he had gone
mad such was the extent of his rage Henry was in the nearby
chapel when Catherine learned she was to be charged with
adultery a crime for which her cousin Anne Berlin had been
executed hysterical she escaped her guards and ran screaming
down the processional route trying to get to the king. She
believed that she could get to him, she could convince him of
her innocence. However, she never made it. She was seized
by guards and taken, screaming and wailing back to her
apartments. She would never see Henry again and was executed at
the Tower of London on the 13th of February 1542. Reportedly,
Catherine's spirit is not at rest. For centuries, stories
have circulated that Catherine's ghost can be seen
rushing down the gallery and the echoes of her screens are
heard in this part of the Palace. So embedded in Palace
Laura is this story that by the time Hampton Court was open to
the public in the 19th century, this room was already referred
to as the haunted gallery. The Victorians loved ghost stories
and really tried to capitalize on the idea of Hampton Court
Palace being haunted as you can see from these historical
postcards, property of HRP featuring the quote quote
Ghosts of the Palace. Catherine Howard is there of course. In
fact, she appears twice. Here and then again in the great
hall with confusingly what appears to be her executioner.
How did he get here? There she is. Another shows us
Sybil Penn known at the Palace as the Grey Lady. A wet nurse
to Edward the sixth, she later nursed Queen Elizabeth the
first devotedly during about a smallpox. The Queen would
survive but Sybil didn't. Her restless spirit is still said
to walk these halls. Although these days, perhaps the most
famous ghost is that of the affectionately named Skeletor.
For three consecutive nights in 2003, Hampton Court security
staff were notified of the opening of a fire door near
Clock Court. CCTV foot from all three nights clearly shows
doors forcefully being flung open but on the second night,
the footage reveals a figure. Dressed in period clothing, the
unknown entity reaches out after the doors have been
forced open and closed them one by one. If a prank, noone has
ever come forward to claim credit and the true origins of
skeletor remain a mystery. Now. Back to the haunted gallery and
immediately over to this huge painting here. At the top of
the painting is Saint George attacking the dragon and below
him two tents whose flaps are being held open by an angel
revealing Henry the seventh his wife Elizabeth of York and all
of their children sons behind Henry and daughters behind
Elizabeth the reality behind the figures isn't a happy one
of the princess only Henry was alive in this painting was
created in the early 1500s of the women only two princesses
were alive Mary and Margaret Elizabeth herself died shortly
after giving birth to her last daughter who also did not
survive Catherine Hi, Now just through here we can see a small
anti chamber on route to the chapel. Still in active use
today the chapel was built by Thomas Walsey but it was Henry
the eighth who installed the magnificent vaulting in the
1530s and Queen Anne who refurbished the rest of the
interior in the early 1700s. There was once a great stained
glass double window featuring images of Henry the eighth and
Catherine of Aragon but this was sadly destroyed during the
Commonwealth. Note however that during worship the royal family
would not have sat with everybody else. The door in the
haunted leads to a small first floor room like a box at the
opera overlooking the chapel. This is reserved for the
monarch and smaller boxes on either side are for the
gentlemen and ladies of the court. The next painting along
this corridor is another family portrait again showcasing
Henry's donastic importance. Although the artist is unknown,
the painting is believed to date from around 1545 when the
king finally acknowledged his daughters as heirs to the
throne. This portrait of an idealized family features Jane
on the left, a fool, who lived in Princess Mary's household,
followed by Mary, future Queen Mary the first, aged about 29,
next come Hen beloved heir eight year old Edward standing
right next to the king himself who is also flanked by Jane
Seymour the highly regarded deceased mother of his son
further down is the future Queen Elizabeth the first here
as a 12 year old princess and in the doorway behind her Will
Summers Henry's fool past the chapel exit we then
come to a set of three paintings the largest is that
of King Edward the sixth a child king always leads to an
unsettled power dynamic as various courtes fight to
control the monarch the purpose of this portrait is to show us
that the young king is just as strong as powerful and as
capable as his father was the fact that Edward is standing in
exactly the same position his father was so frequently
depicted in is no coincidence and to the right, two smaller
portraits, firstly, Ann Berlin and below her, her daughter,
Queen Elizabeth the first, in a painting dating from the 1580s
by an unknown artist. And then just ahead of us on an
easel you can see on the left a portrait of Henry the eighth's
sixth wife Catherine Parr displaying her motto quote to
be useful in all that I do. Catherine and Henry were
married on the 12th of July in 1543 at the Chapel Royal here
at Hampton Court Palace. Although their marriage was a
relatively smooth one. Catherine's badge depicting
Saint Catherine and a tutor rose was never incorporated
into the palace design. Catherine and Henry would
remain married until Henry's death in 1548 and adjacent to
Catherine's portrait is the couple's wedding certificate
amongst all the words here is a record of Catherine's words at
the wedding beginning with as a still common today the words
quote with this ring I the wet That's alright. And now we say goodbye to the
haunted gallery and goodbye to Henry the eighth and the
sixteenth century. Final look. On we go. Although Hampton
Court was Henry's luxurious and fashionable Grand Palace, by
the 1680s, it was considered woefully out of date.
Particularly in comparison with new centers of European
entertainment such as the Palace of Versailles which
you're looking at here. In 1689 joint monarchs William the
third and Mary the second set out to completely rebuild
Hampton Court intending to demolish the Tudor Palace piece
by piece starting with Henry the eighth state rooms and
apartments preserving only the great hall replacing it all
with a new baroque building this plan never reached
complete fruition but from here on we will be walking through
the rooms William and Mary and Architect Royal Christopher Ren
along with his clerk of works Nicholas Hawksmore created we start with the queen's
staircase. Although the staircase with its raw iron
balustray dates from the time of William and Mary, it was
Queen Caroline, wife of King George the second, who in 1734,
ordered the painting of the walls and ceiling, which had
originally been left plain. Caroline called in her favorite
architect, William Kent, to create the visuals you see on
the walls today. Kent's design is a Roman style tribute to
Caroline, whom he compares to the ancient goddess Britannia.
The huge painting opposite is by Garrett Vaughn Hawthors and
is titled the Liberal Arts are presented to Charles the first.
In the middle of the painting is the king's controversial
favorite, The Duke of Buckingham, dressed as Mercury,
leading figures representing the arts and sciences. In the
cloud sits King Charles the first and his wife, Henrietta
Maria, as Apollo and Diana, emphasizing Charles's position
as a powerful monarch and patron of the arts. Another
look at that lovely raw iron created by Master Smith. And as
we look to the ceiling we see the cross of Saint George
surrounded by a garter. The arms are the most noble order
of the garter which still exist today. Straight in the centre
is the chain that holds the chandelier which was being
cleaned during our visit. And now we'll enter the Queen's
Guard Chamber built on the site of Ann Berlin's apartments.
This was the first room in the suite of the queen's apartments
and where the yellman of the guard would have kept watch and
controlled access to the queen's rooms. The higher a
person's status, the further into the apartments they were
permitted to go. This room is large, well lit, and open. The
closer to the king or queen a visitor would get to, the
smaller and more intimate the rooms would become. An
interesting feature of this room, believed to have been
added during the reign of King George the first, so 1714 to
27, depicts two somewhat comical and I think a little
creepy Yoman of the Guard framing the fireplace. Here's
the other one. Let me know what you guys think of this in the
comments. I don't know. Note that although these rooms were
laid out for William and Mary they were sadly not to be
enjoyed for long. Queen Mary the second died in 1694. Five
years after her and William's rebuilding began. William
distraught ceased work only resuming in 1699, but he too
would die just three years later in 1702. Mary's sister
Anne took control of the palace and did some decorating
including refurbishing the chapel we discussed earlier but
it was after Anne's death when the Hanoverians came to the
throne that Hampton Court truly began to thrive resuming its
role as a fashionable entertainment venue King George
the first a distant steward cousin inherited the throne in
1714 not something he was pleased about having wished to
remain in his beloved Germany seen as a and cold individual,
George was never popular with his subjects. He also had no
queen, considered a crucial part of court, having divorced,
then imprisoned his wife, seen here when she was accused of
having an affair, forbidding her to ever see her children
again. His court was not one of fun or fashion. However, when
George had returned to Hanover for the summers, his son,
George, Prince of Wales, seen here and his wife, Carolina
Vonsbach, who you'll see next, would take control of the court
and they did it in aisle. The prince of Wales disliked his
father. You would too if your dad locked her mom away for 30
years until her death and was determined to outdo him and win
the favor of the court. The young couple would entertain in
lavish style here at the palace. And most of the decor
that we see from here on is the result of the future King
George the second and his queen Caroline. Originally this room
would have been furbished of course. Provided you would
dress nicely enough. Anybody could enter the 18th century
palace. Which means the guards day here were literally
protecting the gateway to the court and had complete power to
throw out any undesirables who tried to enter. Luckily today,
we passed the test. Through this window here, we have a
brief view of fountain court around which this half of the
palace was built. It's currently partially under
construction, hence the wooden board around the center. The
view opposite us is repeated on all four sides of the
courtyard. Now, we enter what's called the
presence chamber. When Prince George and Princess Caroline
were living at Hampton Court, there would have been two
chairs under a canopy where they would sit to receive
visitors. Today, the room is decorated with a series of
portraits and paintings all related to the Hanoverians. As
we pan around, you can see the beautiful wooden paneling More windows. And then I really
like the huge decorative doorknobs and locks. Look at
that. The first portrait we see in here is that of King George
the first the first Hanoverian ruler who we talked about
earlier George elector of Hanover was not raised
expecting to inherit the British throne after the act of
settlement in 1701 Roman Catholics or anybody who
married a Roman Catholic were barred from taking the crown
George was the airless Queen Anne's nearest protestant
relative directly descended from King James the first and
it was he who inherited the throne after Queen Anne's death
in 1714. This next painting takes us back in time depicting
princess Elizabeth James the first daughter and her new
husband Frederick elector Palatin leaving England for
Bohemia where they would rule as queen and king George the
first was their grandson Next, another beautiful marble
fireplace. Quite a few here. Very grand and then a portrait
of Princess Caroline When her father-in-law, George the
first, inherited the throne in 1714, she was already married
to his son, future King George the second. The couple came to
England the same time as the new king, along with their two
daughters, but leaving behind their son, Frederick and
Hanover, to be raised by private tutors. And over here Caroline's
husband George Prince of Wales. George was described as having
quote loved his mother as much as he hated his father. Upon
arrival in England George corded popularity with the
public. Claiming that he had no drop of blood that was not
English. His embracing of his new country and their language
the opposite of his father's behaviour made him popular.
Much to the new king's annoyance. After an argument
the christening of George and Caroline's second son George
William the prince of Wales and his wife began to create a
rival court actively opposing the king. You see the ceilings
here relatively simplistic but still beautiful. As we leave the presence
chamber, we'll take a quick detour down a hall to the left.
This will take us to what was previously the apartments of
the prince and princesses of Wales' daughters. Sadly, George
and Caroline's children became pawns in their conflict with
King George. After the argument at the christening, the prince
and princess were confined to their apartments before being
banished from court. However, the king kept their children,
occasionally in the rooms in this area of the palace, not
permitting George and Caroline to see them. The prince and
were devastated once even sneaking into the palace to see
their children where upon Caroline fainted and George
broke down in tears the king would eventually allow them to
see their son and daughters once a week little consolation
to the couple especially as the youngest son George William
would die within a matter of weeks Now, into the public dining
room. Not the room where the public would dine but rather a
room where the king would dine and the public would watch.
This tradition had been carried out for centuries and King
George the first was not inclined to continue it.
However, the prince and princess of Wales did it much
to the appreciation of the court. So, George was compelled
to continue the tradition. The idea behind this strange ritual
is that it displays the king's magnificence and good health as
well as showing off the food and drink that was accessible
at court. George particularly enjoyed French dishes as well
as German dishes he missed from home and all of it was served
on gold and silver plate. On special occasions, the table
would be decorated with starched and intricately folded
linens manipulated into the shape of vegetables, animals,
and mythical creatures. Napkin folding was an art particularly
popular in the royal courts of Germany. And George brought it
with him here to Hampton Court Palace. You see there there's a
horse down here potentially fish. Oh and there's a lobster
there on the plate at the end. Watching the King E was wildly
popular. So popular that a rail around the table and benches
had to be erected to manage the crowds. You can imagine dozens
of people crammed into the room hoping for that guaranteed view
of the monarch or even a rarified invitation to join him
in his dining. The room itself is decorated with paintings
from the 17th and 18th century that center around hunting,
dining, and entertaining. This piece by Reubens who painted
the people and Snyders who painted the food is titled
Pythagoras Advocating Vegetarianism. And on this side
of painting that I'm not personally wild about. This is
the work of France Snyders and it depicts a boar hunt. The
idea behind a painting like this was for the artist to show
off their skills. You can see no two dogs are in the same
position. So he's showing us that he can paint these
creatures in any conceivable way. Here another marble fireplace.
This one with a beautifully carved chimney piece by Grimlin
Gibbons depicting the royal coat of arms. Very elaborate. I
do like that. And another napkin over here, a
goose, I think. Maybe a duck. What do you think? And these
are figures that represent members of court made out of
crisp white linen these particular three represent the
king George the first and his two so-called mistresses
excellently nicknamed the elephant and the maple in
reference to their varying body shapes this is the king here
and next to him is the Maypole his powerful mistress let's see
if I can say this Melusina Vonder Schulenberg Duchess of
Kendall She was powerful at court, provided George with
three children, and some believe was secretly married to
the king. George had brought her with him on his move to
England as he did with Sophia Von Kelsmanzek, countest of
Darlington, or the elephant, who's depicted over here. She
was actually the king's illegitimate half sister, but
for decades was believed to have been his mistress. Next, we enter the queen's
privy chamber. This room was used by Prince George and
Princess Caroline to hold formal audiences when they were
representing the absent king. Above the marble fireplace is a
portrait of Queen Anne of Denmark, wife of King James the
first, who inherited the throne upon the death of the childless
Queen Elizabeth the first. The placement of this portrait is
deliberate to remind visitors of the shared blood of the
stewards and the Hanoverians. Another tapestry here depicting
Christ. And then a beautiful rock crystal chandelier. And here the canopy under which
the prince and princess would sit. The couple had matching
throne chairs made in 1715, but only one has survived. The
chair on the left was created by furniture designer Gareth
Neal to represent the missing throne. The room is crowded today but
in the 18th century, it would have been jam packed with
courtiers in their most expensive outfits glittering
under the light of that chandelier. The next room we
visit is the queen's drawing room. This was the grandest
room in these apartments and was used strictly for
entertaining and impressing both while George and Caroline
were prince and princess of Wales and also when they were
king and queen. A weekly occasion known as the drawing
room took place here where lucky courtiers would meet with
the king or with the prince and princess. On Sundays, the
drawing room was formal and courtiers would stand in the
center of the room in a circle and if lucky, maybe spoken to
by the king or the royal couple. This is one of the
rooms that Queen Anne oversaw during her short reign. The
wall paintings reference Anne and her husband Prince George
as if there weren't enough George's on the tour already
and they also emphasize the rise of Britain's naval power.
The ceiling is designed to make the room appear larger than it
already is. The painting is a beautiful tribute to the tragic
Queen Anne by Antonio Vario. You can spot her there very
easily right in the center. I say as poor Anne had seventeen
pregnancies. Only five of which resulted in a live birth but
none of her children lived past the age of eleven. Paving the
way for the Hanoverian Dynasty. Another marble fireplace.
You'll be tired of them by the end. And more courtiers over
here. Now, if we pause, look behind the central figure, you
can just make out hidden door built into the wall. This would
have led to a private dining room. Over here a beautiful replica
of a 17th century harps accord. Caroline loved music and
routinely had musicians invited to the palace. Not just to play
for her guests but also to give lessons to the royal children.
In addition to the drawing room events, occasionally, Caroline
would call for card tables to be brought out and guests would
enjoy various games. Often times gambling huge sums of
money. Two of the most popular were Hazard, a dice throwing
game that had been popular at court since the 14th century.
It's even mentioned in the Canterbury Tales. And Brag, an
18th century card game based on a 16th century ancestor of
poker. Now we enter the Queen's
Gallery. The tapestries on the wall depict the history of
Alexander the Great. An illusion to King George the
second. The last British king to fight in battle. The room is
kept dim to preserve the tapestries. Up until now all
the rooms you've walked through were accessible to the public.
But this room was private. This is where the royal family could
spend time together and they even exercised here in the
winter. On the other side the gallery, there's some
conservation work taking place. On Queen Caroline's bed. The
queen's bed had six mattresses filled with horse hair, sheep's
wool or feathers. Four of the mattresses were still climbed
and the whole bed was draped in beautiful red bricade. The bed
needed to be extravagant and luxurious because the most
privileged and high status courtes would be granted access
to the monarch's bed chamber and would be received by the
king or queen while they were in bed. Some visitors would
witnessed the queen having breakfast and being dressed or
they'd watch the king shaving or even using the toilet. This
show would occur again in reverse at the end of the day
and then occasionally the king or queen would slip through a
hidden door into another smaller bed chamber where they
actually spent the night. Adjacent to these mattresses is
this beautiful chimney piece installed by King William the
third intribute to his late wife Mary. The blue and white
tulip faces and yours were hers and above the fireplace you can
see well me but then far more beautiful Mary herself carved
by the flemish sculptor John Nost. And there are two more of those
white courty figures over here representing George and
Caroline. The prince and princess of Wales who in 1727
became king and queen. They continued to utilize Hampton
Court spending their summers entertaining here. But they
would be the last royal couple to do so. The fractious
relationship they had with King George the first seemed almost
hereditary with the following three generations of sons all
having terrible relationships with their parents. First was
George Caroline's son, Frederick, who you can see
here. And then Frederick's son King George the third who you
can see here and then of course his son King
George the fourth seen here The relationships between father
and son got so bad that King George the third refused to
ever come to Hampton Court once he was king owing to some poor
and shocking experiences he had here as a boy with his
grandfather King George the second but that is a story for
another day As we leave the state apartments, we come down
into fountain court which we glimpse through a window
earlier. Although the overall design was inspired by
Versailles, Christopher Ren did give it some British flare with
slightly pink and brick and pale Portland Stone.
Architectural historian Sir John Somersen says the
courtyard looks quote startling as of simultaneous exposure to
a great mini eyes with raised eyebrows. I'm not Sure about
that but what do you think? Get a view over here. These rooms
were apartments for the king and queen. Some that we just
been exploring and the top floor were lodgings for leading
servants and courtiers. Now, we've explored a fair bit of
the Palace interior which means it's time to make our way
outside to the incredible Palace Gardens. Hampton Court Palace actually
has an astonishing nine gardens covering 60 acres and since
this video can't be 10 hours long I'm going to show you two
of them and the first that we're going to visit is the
grandest the Great Fountain Garden created for William and
Mary in 1689. The Great Fountain Garden rests along the
decorative east front of the palace. In part of what was
previously Henry the eighth's hunting grounds. The couple
French gardener, Daniel Marrow, placed the gardens around three
long, wide avenues in what's known as a crow's foot or a
goose foot pattern which was very fashionable in the 17th
century. In this contemporary sketch,
you can see Daniel's original garden plan. We're walking down
the central path now. Originally the garden featured
beds of flowers, box hedging, holly globes, coloured gravel,
and 13 water fountains. But the fountains never worked
particularly well. And all aside from this one were
removed after Queen Anne came to Hampton Court. She disliked
the expense of the upkeep of the garden. As well as the
scent of the box hedging which she had replaced with the
clipped U trees that still stand here today. Oh some
friends here. By the 1760s, the palace had
ceased being used as a home for the royal family and instead
had become a grace and a favour home. This term refers to
property that is owned by the crown or in some cases the
prime minister no comment which is least often rent free to a
person as part of their job specification or in gratitude
for services rendered. As we look back here, we'll see
Christopher and his beautiful east front. Very picturesque. The Grace and Favour Rooms at
Hampton Court were allocated by the Lord Chamberlain as a
reward for past services. There are currently no more Grace and
Favour tenants at the Palace although there were still 3
here as late as the year 2005. Just a small piece of trivia
related to that. The scientist Michael Faraday lived here as a
Grace and Favour resident from 1862 until his death in 1867.
This is him aged around 70 about the time he came to
Hampton Court. But back to the 1760s. With royalty no longer
living here, King George the third's gardener capability
brown stopped clipping the topiary both because it saved
money and also because formal gardens had gone out of
fashion. The U trees here would grow wild for years. This
bronze statue depicts the three graces and is based on the
funerary of the monument of the heart of King Auri the second
of friends. Quite a nice view there. It wasn't until after
the first World War that gardeners resumed clipping the
trees into the toads jewel shapes they maintained today.
The team of gardeners that work here continue to clip these
trees every summer. And now we come to the long water. The
long water predates William and Mary and was created at the
order of King Charles the second in 1660. Charles had
intended it as a wedding gift for his new bride Catherine of
Briganza. Charles carried out much refurbishment in
preparation for his wife to be's arrival at court. And
while the beautiful long water lined with a double row of 2,
000 lime trees and at that time sporting a Venetian gondola was
lovely. The fact that the king's was also at Hampton
Court and about to give birth to his child during Charles and
Catherine's honeymoon probably took the shine off things a
little bit. Now we're walking along the far reaches of the
Great Fountain Garden right on the edge of what's called home
park. 750 acres of ancient parkland. I mentioned to you
earlier that this space used to be the hunting grounds for
Henry the eighth. He had the parkland in this area entirely
closed off to the public so he could hunt his deer in private.
But Henry wasn't the only king who hunted or rode horses here.
King William the third took advantage of home park too. But
with ultimate fatal results. On the 21st of February 1702
William's horse Sorrel is famously believed to have
stumbled upon a molehill throwing the king from his
seat. William fell badly and suffered a broken collarbone
which seemed to spell the beginning of the end. He would
die around two weeks later. Get a beautiful view toward the
palace here. The last bit of that goose foot design. Queen
Anne suffered ill health throughout her adult life but
she still loved to hunt. She had a special single horse
carriage created from which she could hunt while being wheeled
through the parkland and note that there are still deer in
the park today. Thankfully, protected rather than hunted.
In fact, there's around 300 of them. All descended from Henry
the eighth's original herd. As we circle back toward the
palace, we've got a great view of those toad stool-shaped U
trees and heard of geese as well. You can see it started to
rain a little bit and then here an interesting red brick
building. This is a 400 year old royal tennis court.
Formerly belonging to Henry the eighth. Yes, really. To be
fair, it was originally built for Cardinal Wolsey between
1526 and 1529, but I'm not sure how many games he managed to
squeeze in before Henry snatched it off him. I know
most people have an image of Henry the 8th as an older
hugely overweight grumpy tyrant but when he was a young king
that was not always the case graceful athletic and handsome
I know that by 16th century standards anyway young Henry
was a keen sportsman and talented tennis player in 1519
a Venezian ambassador wrote home that quote it was the
prettiest thing in the world to see him play his fair skin
glowing through a shirt of the finest texture Tennis was an incredibly
popular sport at Henry's court. In fact, Anne Berlin was
betting on a game of tennis when she was arrested to be
taken to the Tower of London. Reportedly, she even complained
she hadn't had a chance to collect her winnings. This
tennis court was heavily refurbished in the 17th
century. So, most of the brick work dates from then. It was
first overhauled during the reign of King Charles the first
in 1625 and later by his son, Charles the second in 1660.
Today the court home to a real tennis club which currently has
over 450 members. We're approaching the east front of
the palace again and I have a nice photo to share with you
that shows 18th century visitors in the same location
as us. This drawing dates from 1744
and is by Anthony Highmore. You can see they're just outside
the east front as are we. Queen Anne had statues and
ornamental urns placed in the gardens and there's one here.
You see the faces at the bottom. There's so much detail. And a nice overview of Ren's
design here. The rooms we're facing are the apartments we
saw earlier laid out for Queen Mary used by Anne and later
Princess then Queen Caroline. And now we visit the privy
garden. This area of the palace grounds have always been a
private space for the monarch. Each sovereign that has resided
here has changed it for their own personal use. As usually
their rooms would have overlooked this section of the
garden. For example in the time of King Charles the first it
was a simple place to display his collection of statues. We
can see here where the king's rooms would have been. Where are you going? The
version of the Privi Garden that we're walking through
today is a faithful recreation of the garden during the time
of King William the third. Unusually, we have a very
detailed record of what this garden looked like,
specifically in the year 1702 because that is the year that
William died. The king had died before his privy garden was
completed and all the gardeners and craftsmen that had worked
on it were nervous that perhaps they would not be fully paid.
So they submitted a hugely detailed faithfully reported
account of all the work that was out here. That means, when
this garden was replanted in 1995 and officially opened by
Charles, Prince of Wales, it was an exact replica of that of
King William the third. As we look around, we see more
ewe trees as well as holly trees and box hedging inside
which are planted flowering spring bulbs. I promise, it's
just October in this video. During the period of time that
Hampton Court was being used as a grace and favor residents.
This garden had been allowed to grow freely. The overgrown
trees here blocked the view to the river so gave the residents
some privacy as by the 1800s, Hampton Court had been open to
the public as a tourist attraction. A fish opened by
Queen Victoria in 1838 Hampton Court became a popular
destination. Its gardens in particular being a draw and by
1881 had welcomed over 10 million visitors. Now as we turn here as we turn
here you'll see a decorative iron screen designed again by
separating the garden from the River Thames. The screen is
decorated with the monogram of William and Mary as well as
emblems representing England, Scotland and France. I'll get a
close up for you here. Right in the center So you can't see the
river but it's just the other side of that beautiful gate. In
the time of Henry the eighth, this garden would have looked
completely different and although we don't have as
accurate an account of Henry's garden as we do of Williams, we
have a very small clue into what royal gardens in the time
of Henry the eighth would have looked like and it's hidden in
a portrait. We've already seen today. Family portrait hanging
in the haunted gallery. If we look to the far left and right
behind the two fools, we glimpse Henry's garden. It
appears as though his garden was laid out and designed
featuring various squares, bordered with small and green
railings. Most interesting of all, the gardens feature green
and white poles, a top which heraldic beasts with flowing
flags are perched. The privy garden in Henry's time opened
up onto the River Thames and he would have docked his royal
barge there ready for his return into Central London. And
now we return to the palace but I do have something else to
share with you on top of those stairs up ahead this sun dial
this is a faximile of the original which was part of a
pair commissioned by William the third for this privy garden
they were created by Thomas Tompian whose name you can see
engraved on top this sun dial was so perfectly executed and
accurate no matter the season that this is what was used to
set the time of the clocks inside the palace And our last
view of the privy garden. Before we head back into the
great fountain garden and make a left. It's almost time to
leave the palace so we're going to retrace our steps and
reenter the building but we do have one more place to explore
before we say goodbye. To leave the palace, we're
going to exit through Plaque Court highlighting the contrast
between the 17th century building there on the left and
the original tutor. The building ahead previously held
ambulance apartments and to the right, the outside of the great
hall that we visited much earlier. It's beautiful even
from the outside, isn't it? Big window we saw. Now this
courtyard is named clock court because of the beautiful 500
year old astronomical clock you can see here installed for
Henry the 8th in 1540 note that the sun moves around the earth
the clock features three separate copper dials all
revolving at different speeds to display the current hour
month sign of the zodiac number of days since the beginning of
the year and the phases of the moon the last of which held
particular importance as this would indicate high and low
tides essential information when most people travel to and
from Hampton Court by bar The clock as we see it today has
been restored throughout the centuries with as many of the
original pieces maintained as possible. And now we walk back through
Amberland's gate house and return to base court. You'll
remember the wine fountain from earlier up ahead on our left.
Look for me there on your next visit to the palace. As we pan
around, you can again see that beautiful diamond pattern on
the brick. It's very clear here. Looking lovely and back around
toward the kitchens. You'll see the door that we exited out of
about an hour ago there in the corner. And just in red here we
see a tutor guardsmen. History stays alive at Hampton Court.
If you've enjoyed this tour of Hampton Court Palace, please
let me know in the comments. I love reading people's messages.
Well, the nice ones anyway. Make sure you like and
subscribe to the Free Tours by Foot London Channel and if
there's a castle or a palace you'd like to see or another
topic you think I should cover, just let me know. Thank you for
coming along with me today. Again, my name is Margaret and
it's been lovely travelling through time with you and now
we return to the 2-1st century.
