The Hampton Court Estate dates back to before the 15th Century.
The estate was originally formed by merging of the manors of
Hampton Richard and Hampton Mappenor. It was granted by Henry IV
to Sir Rowland Lenthall at the time of his marriage to Margaret
Fitzalan, daughter of the Earl of Arundel and a cousin of the
King. Lenthall built the original quadrangular manor house in
1427, twelve years after his knighthood at the battle of
Agincourt. In 1434 he was granted a licence to crenellate the
house by Henry IV. Sir Rowland was succeeded by his daughter who
married the Baron of Burford and it was their grandson who sold
Hampton to Sir Humphrey Coningsby in 1510. Cardinal Wolsey bought
and transformed Hampton Court into a sumptuous Palace in the
1520s, but it was annexed by Henry VIII as the Cardinal fell out
of favour (the official story is it was given as a gift).

Henry VIII rebuilt Hampton Court after his own tastes and
entertained all six wives here, some making a brief visit, en
route for the scaffold. A succession of later Kings and Queens
transformed the Palace according to their tastes too, which
accounts for the diverse styles. James I used Hampton Court for
its excellent hunting in the park. Charles II used it for lodging
his mistress(es).

After the 'Glorious Revolution' in 1689 which saw the
rights of Catholics much curtailed, William III and Mary II
commissioned Sir Christopher Wren to rebuild Hampton Court.
Fortunately the work was not completed as they planned to
demolish all of Henry VIII's additions. They did, however,
build the sumptuous Kings and Queen's Apartments which are
added on the back of Henry's buildings. King William
Apartments are said to be amongst the finest and most important
set of Baroque state apartments in the world and are still
furnished with the original furniture and tapestries from 1700
when they were completed for the King. Henry's Great Hall and
the Chapel Royal exist in their original form, as well as the
Tudor Kitchens, which are beautifully laid out as if a feast was
being prepared using all the food and utensils that would have
been used in the 16th century. The Palace was eventually handed
over to the Public by Queen Victoria.

Also worth seeing: the collection of renaissance paintings,
including Mantegna's Triumphs of Caesar, Henry VIII's
Astronomical Clock the 60 acres of gardens, including the famous
Maze.

Open Summer 10:00-18:00, winter 10:00 -16:30. Full tickets,
£10.50. Tel: 01568 797 777 for details or visit the website: www.hrp.org.uk )