
When visiting Hampton Court Palace you are actually visiting two
palaces in one; a Tudor palace alongside a baroque palace!
Hampton Court also boasts amazing gardens; the park covers 750 acres,
the formal gardens 60 acres and the actual palace buildings 6 acres. Do
not miss the restored Privy Garden and the famous Maze!
When visiting Hampton Court Palace you are actually visiting two
palaces in one; a Tudor palace magnificently developed by Cardinal
Wolsey and later Henry VIII, alongside a baroque palace built by
William III and Mary II.
The first buildings at Hampton were acquired by the Knights
Hospitallers Of St John Jerusalem in 1236 but Henry VIII remains the
Palace’s most prolific occupant and by the time Henry was finished with
his renovations the palace was one the of the most modern,
sophisticated and magnificent in England.
Sir Christopher Wren, under instruction of William III developed the
‘second’ part of the palace in the late 1600’s and transformed the east
and south facades of Hampton Court with the grand and elegant baroque
exteriors that dominate the Formal gardens today.
Do not miss the Tudor Kitchens – a living monument to 230 years
of royal cooking. The kitchens were designed to feed at least 600
people twice a day and are still regularly used to prepare Tudor meals.
Hampton Court also boasts amazing gardens; the park covers 750 acres,
the formal gardens 60 acres and the actual palace buildings 6 acres. Do
not miss the restored Privy Garden and the famous Maze!