Hampton Court - Photos I

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Visiting Hampton Court Palace has been on my bucket list since before bucket list was part of our vernacular. So when it was cheaper to buy a week's pass on the coach service to London than to buy the individual days I needed, it made sense to spend one of my off days at Hampton Court. This is a blog of that afternoon I spent there. I am breaking it into pieces because I took about 120 photos and I'm using about a hundred of them.

Today's entry is going to cover the palace's first occupant, Henry VIII. Well, I should say the first royal occupant. You see, Cardinal Wolsey built Hampton Court for himself and he made it very grand and lavish. When the king saw this, well, let's just say it raised a royal eyebrow and Wolsey promptly gifted Hampton Court to His Majesty. Henry expanded the property and made it even more fit for a king. He added things like a gigantic kitchen capable of preparing massive banquets. He also finished the chapel. We weren't allowed to take photos in the chapel, but I snapped away everywhere else.

I arrived at Hampton Court via the local train service from Waterloo station. As I walked over the bridge, this is the first glimpse I had of the property.

This is the scene that greets you as you enter the front gate.

I loved the gilted filigree around this door.

The main entrance into the palace.

I spent more time with these statues on my way out.

I was very much reminded of the Oxford colleges I've visited as I walked the passages within the palace.

The king's kitchens.

I am fascinated by the brick work here. It's very artistic. 

More fancy brick work on these chimneys.

They had audio of a squealing pig playing in this room. It made me chuckle.

The old children's song came to mind: "Four and twenty blackbirds backed in a pie." 

The back alleys of Henry's kitchens. It was quite a large complex. It's easy to see how Henry grew to be so . . . robust.

That's a lot of crockery.


The serving table.

Part of the wine cellar. You have to have something with which to wash down all that food.

This is the great hall. Sorry it's a bit blurry. My camera was having issues with the lighting here. One of the main things that struck me was all the antlers. It made sense because Henry was an avid sportsman and hunter. I can see where he would want to display his prowess.

Gorgeous stained glass

I loved the intricate wood ceiling.

There is nothing demure about this room.

This window is from another room. I'm afraid I don't have details because my audio tour wasn't working right. I believe this was some type of receiving room. It was decorated to honor Henry's third wife, Jane Seymour, who died at Hampton Court shortly after giving birth to the king's only legitimate son, Edward.

This window boasts the lion of England, the king's coat of arms, and the Royal Dragon.

A third pane of glass.

The ornate ceiling.

The ceiling medallions celebrate Jane Seymour and Henry. They include the Tudor rose, Henry's coat of arms, the Seymour coat of arms, and Jane's emblem of a Phoenix rising from the flames.

The big man himself. It was really something to see this painting in person because I've oft seen it in books.

And this draws this part of the Hampton Court blog to a close. It's taken me days to do this because putting a lot of photos in here using this iPad app is arduous, at best. That's one reason why I've not been so detailed in my captions as usual. I just wanted to get them published! I will strive to do better with the other parts of the palace.






















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