Hampton Court is a Tudor palace, magnificently developed by Cardinal Wolsey and later Henry VIII, alongside a baroque palace built by William III and Mary II. Today, as well as a major tourist attraction, it also houses 'grace & favour' apartments for retired Royal staff. The grounds are magnificent and include a maze.
Entry is through this magnificent gatehouse into a great courtyard. The palace is huge, and the gardens immense. It really would take too long to fit it all in in a day, so it's best to work out which are your 'must sees'. Mind, they do give you a free map when you arrive!
The base courtyard is where the royal courtiers and guests were accommodated. There were around 1,000 people at court during Henry's reign, so things got a bit crowded!
These have been converted into 'grace and favour' apartments, so are not open to the public.
The 16th. century astronomical clock
Henry VIII took possession of the palace in the 1520s, from Thomas Wolsey, his then Lord Chancellor. Henry much enlarged the palace during his reign. However, little was done in the century or so between his death and1689, when William III and Mary II hired Christopher Wren to transform the palace into an alternative to the disliked Whitehall Palace.
Much of the Tudor Royal apartments were pulled down, to be replaced by State Apartments based around the new Fountain Court.
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