Invited to Court

Last Sunday, we re-visited our local palace (I love being able to say that!). Hampton Court Palace was glowing in the wintry sunshine, and hosting an ice-rink with lots of people skating around. It's a must for Tudors fans as it was transformed by Cardinal Wolsey, and then later Henry VIII. The more famous Tudor palace is alongside a Baroque Palace built by William III and Mary II.



Entrance gateway


Base Court


And Clock Court (for obvious reasons!)


There are great little tidbits of script in the Tudor palace, which serve well to give you an impression of what life was like back then!



I loved the atmospheric corridors...



A giant wine cellar with oak barrels.



The Great Hall, with an amazing wooden ceiling. The Tudor palace was hosting Henry VIII's wedding to Kateryn Parr (his last wife), which happens daily. Costumed actors take you through the wedding day with special events throughout the palace, including helping Kateryn choose her wedding clothes.





Cardinal Wolsey in beautiful stained glass. The original builder of the palace, but Henry VIII soon decided he wanted it for himself!



Hampton Court Palace is also home to some magnificent, huge tapestries. There's a lot of work involved in their conservation, and there was a clever light projection onto this tapestry to show how vibrant the colours would have looked in Henry VIII's day, as the bright colours have dulled and the gold and silver thread tarnished over time.



This is the Haunted Gallery - supposedly haunted by Catherine Howard, Henry VIII's fifth wife, who was beheaded for her infidelity.



There are interesting details everywhere - this is a tulip vase!



Another interesting part of the Palace were the kitchens.



Storage was an issue, with some interesting solutions. This is Fish Court, which is deliberately shady and cool. A medieval refridgerator!



Here's the giant spit for the roasted meat, several of these fireplaces would cook enough meat for the whole court. It's very hot and heavy work.





Lots of pies! Apparently they didn't have many decent baking pots at the time, so pies made a perfect pot for the meat and most courtesans wouldn't even consider eating the pastry.



Below there are medieval charcoal barbeques on the left - 6 of them no less - and a giant bread oven built into the wall on the right



Lots of pewter dishes and bowls, specially made in modern times with the proper old-fashioned techniques.



We didn't venture out into the Gardens, but they looked amazing. We were inside the Palace enjoying the atmosphere when it started raining heavily!



It was a great visit with lots of Palace characters brought to life through the stories and the interiors.