Hampton Court Palace

Hampton Court Palace is a former royal palace in South West London. The palace is located to the south west of Charing Cross and upstream of Central London on the River Thames. It is currently open to the public as a major tourist attraction.

The Hampton Court Palace Home Park is also the site of the annual Hampton Court Palace Flower Show.

The Knights Hospitaller had operated a farm on the site since 1236. In 1505, the Lord Chamberlain, Sir Giles Daubeney, leased the property and used it to entertain Henry VII.

Thomas Wolsey, then Archbishop of York and Chief Minister to the King, took over the lease in 1514 and rebuilt the 14th-century manor house over the next seven years (1515–1521) to form the nucleus of the present Hampton Court Palace.

Hampton Court Palace was appropriated by Wolsey's master, Henry VIII, in about 1525, although the Cardinal continued to live there until 1529. Henry added the Great Hall - which was the last medieval Great Hall built for the English monarchy - and the Royal Tennis Court, which was built and is still in use for the game of real tennis, not the present-day version of the game.

In 1604, Hampton Court Palace was the site of King James I of England's meeting with representatives of the English Puritans, known as the Hampton Court Conference; while agreement with the Puritans was not reached, the meeting led to James's commissioning of the King James Version of the Bible.

During the reign of William and Mary, parts of Henry's additions to Hampton Court Palace were demolished, a new wing was added (partly under the supervision of Sir Christopher Wren), and the state apartments came into regular use.

In later reigns, the Hampton Court Palace state rooms were neglected, but under George II and his queen, Caroline, further refurbishment took place, with architects such as William Kent employed to design new furnishings. The Queen's Private Apartments at Hampton Court Palace are still open to the public and include her bathroom, bedroom, and private chapel.

From the reign of George III in 1760, monarchs tended to favour other London homes, and Hampton Court Palace ceased to be a royal residence, although it continued to house grace-and-favour residences until the late 1970s, one of them home to Olave Baden-Powell, wife of the founder of the Scouting movement.

In 1796, restoration work began in the Great Hall. In 1838, Queen Victoria completed the restoration and opened the palace to the public.

Hampton Court Palace is also the site of the world-famous Hampton Court Palace maze.

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