Rain was in the forecast, so I usually have a rain plan and a fair weather plan for each day. As the rain did not materialize, I went off on another trip out of town.
If by any chance you are planning a trip to London, may I urge you to make Hampton Court a must see? After wasting my time on Kensington, I was a bit apprehensive, but Hampton Court did not disappoint.
Apart from the rich historical associations, the palace is beautiful and lots of fun, and, moreover, easy to get to lying about thirty miles down the Thames on a suburban train route from Waterloo. The palace has places to eat, and you could easily spend the day there.
I took the tube to Leicester Square and transferred to the Northern Line, which took me to Waterloo in good time for the 10:06 to Hampton Court. Lots of us got off the train at the end, and there were plenty of people already there, but the place is so big, it did not seem crowded. I had some rooms and large parts of the gardens to myself.
Hampton Court began as the country place of Thomas, Cardinal Wolsey who like most of the people who served Henry VIII well, got a raw deal from his master. The king’s girl friend Anne Boleyn complained that his eminence had a nicer house than Henry, so the Cardinal was compelled to offer it to the king. It did no good. Wolsey ended up in disgrace and was smart enough to die before he could be executed.
What I find fascinating about Hampton Court is the mix of styles. The buildings are laid out in a series of courtyards. A significant portion of the Tudor Palace remains with its fine brickwork and irregular lines, and there are solid exhibits on Henry VIII and his wives. The great hall has a wonderful and highly ornate example of hammer beam ceiling.
Sir Christopher Wren got a hold of the place at the request of William and Mary, so part of the complex is a beautiful late Baroque.
The state rooms which cover Tudor to Hanoverian are very grand, and many have gorgeous painted ceilings or are hung with huge tapestries. One of the room wardens explained that the state rooms were largely bare of furniture because it was illegal to sit in the presence of the monarch. Queen Anne’s throne dominates one room. She got to sit down!
Some of the privy chambers are also open, and they have a far more comfortable and human scale. One small paneled room looked like the perfect place to sit with a cup of tea and a book on a cold winter’s afternoon. Both Mary II and Anne were devoted to the revivifying amber liquid, tea, a habit they picked up from Charles II’s neglected Portuguese wife. Thus I will always have a soft spot for Catherine of Braganza.
The art on display is impressive as well. Andrea Mantenga’s magnificent Triumph of Ceasar fresco cycle is one his best works. You can see both tapestries and oil paintings done of Raphael’s cartoons on scenes from the New Testament. Both are extraordinarily beautiful. I also found Artemesia Gentileschi’s marvelously expressive self portrait, and some early Caravaggios.
But, you cry, we want gardens! And you shall have them. Hampton Court does not have the kind of woodsy or natural walks I have been describing in some of my visits. The gardens are formal, extensive and very beautiful with brilliantly colored blossoms, and spraying fountains, and if you get tired of them, you can leave the palace and take the Thames Path along the river and commune with the swans.
Cherrio!
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