Geograph - photograph every grid square

The first thing to say about Hampton Court Palace is that it is vast - more like a small town than a house.
It was begun in 1514 by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey in the reign of Henry VIII (reigned: 1509-1547) for whom he was Chief Minister at the time. But Wolsey fell out of favour with the monarch over the latter's desire to have his marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled, which Wolsey resisted as the Pope's representative in England. In order to appease the King's ire, Wolsey gave him the palace (on which he had already spent the vast sum of 200,000 gold crowns, untold millions in today's money) in 1529. Wolsey died the following year, once more in the King's bad books.
Henry set about expanding the already lavish palace and turning into perhaps his favourite residence (of which he had many).
Towards the end of the following century William III (co-ruler from 1689 with his wife Mary II until her death in 1694, then as sole monarch until his death in 1702) expanded the palace greatly and altered many of the original Tudor features. This huge Baroque extension, though very different in style from the original building is strangely harmonious mainly due to the sympathetic use of similar building materials (predominantly pink bricks) also the scale and symmetry were generally adhered to. The last monarch to reside here was George II, a very distant relation of Mary II, but only three monarchs later (Anne, George I in between).
On visiting today, the palace is an intriguing warren, most particularly the Tudor 'streets' around the kitchens. It is almost three historic properties in one as there are the distinct areas of the Tudor (Henrician) palace in particular the kitchens and Great Hall; secondly the William III wing and thirdly the Georgian rooms.
Vast amounts have been written about this palace and I can only skim the surface here. For more information here are some useful links:
Historic Royal Palaces website: Link
EH Scheduled Ancient Monument: Link
Park & Garden (Grade I): Link
Grade I listed properties:
The Palace: Link
Lower Orangery: Link
Banqueting House: Link
Barracks: Link
Trophy Gates: Link
Tilt Yard Tower: Link
Real Tennis Court: Link
Fountain Garden (1): Link
Fountain Garden (2): Link
Fountain Garden (3): Link
Walls & Railings: Link
Privy Garden: Link
Lion Gates: Link
Flowerpot Gate: Link

Created: Fri, 18 Mar 2022, Updated: Fri, 18 Mar 2022