Photo: Craig CrossIf you grew up within ten miles of Hampton Court then this was your history school trip, walking around the grounds for two hours counting up all the Tudor chimneys. Then they’d make you do five mile runs along the tow-path (or five mile walks, in my case) so it’s amazing that I still like the place – but I definitely do. This is one of my favourite days out.
Photo: Craig CrossEverybody associates it with Henry VIII but there were actually lots of monarchs who lived here through the Tudors, Stuarts, House of Orange and Hanovers, and they all seem to have added a suite of rooms in their own century’s style. You step through fifty years of history every time you walk through a door. So the first thing you need to do is pick up an audio guide from Base Court so TV historians Tracy Borman and Lucy Worsley can take you through it.
Photo: Craig CrossHenry VIII’s Tudor Kitchens
There are some lovely little lanes and cobbled courtyards around the kitchens with the background sounds of banging, barking, trundling cart wheels and traders’ conversations playing out the speakers to add a bit of atmosphere.
Photo: Craig CrossLong wooden tables are laid out with stuffed birds, herbs and spices, pastries and pies, with butchered animals hung up by a burning furnace of a fire, wood all black and crackling.
The staff keep feeding it chopped logs and you can really feel the heat coming off it as the fireflies disappear up the chimney.
Great Hall & Tapestries
Henry’s Great Hall has a whiff of Beowulf about it with its hammerbeam roof and deer antlers angled down at the costumed staff all chatting conspiratorially about events that happened five hundred years ago.
Photo: Craig CrossThe audioguide pipes up with a few lyres and lutes and stories of how Henry once danced with Anne Boleyn in here, how Shakespeare once performed a play for James I, and how the hanging tapestries cost more than the Mary Rose, making them some of the most expensive artworks in the entire Royal Collection.
Chapel Royal & Haunted Gallery
The Chapel Royal has one of the most beautiful ceilings in the country and you can stand in the balcony where Henry sat with Anne Boleyn. Years later he was sitting in this same seat when Catherine Howard was dragged down the Haunted Gallery outside. The hysterical woman had just been accused of adultery and they had to manhandle her away from the door crying and screaming and begging to see her husband.
Photo: Craig CrossClock Court
The astronomical clock on top of the gatehouse is the Tudor equivalent of those Casio calculator watches we all had at school with ten thousand alarms, stopwatches and contact books on them. It’s supposed to tell the time, the date, the phases of the moon, the position of the sun in the twelve signs of the zodiac, the number of days that have passed since the beginning of the year, and even the time of high tide at London Bridge.
Photo: Craig CrossThe Stuarts, William III & Mary II
Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I made few changes to their father’s palace and James I largely left it alone as well, but Charles I beautified it with expensive artworks like Mantegna’s Triumph of Caesar.
Charles II tried to impress Catherine of Braganza by digging out the Long Water and then spent a romantic honeymoon floating up and down it in a swan-shaped boat.
The biggest changes came when William III and Mary II decided they’d had enough of Whitehall and upped sticks to Kensington Palace, transforming Hampton Court into a summer residence to rival Versailles.
Photo: Craig CrossUnfortunately their expansion plans destroyed large parts of the original palace and Henry VIII’s staterooms and private apartments were lost. In return we got Christopher Wren’s Fountain Court and a brand-new suite of Royal rooms across the back.
Photo: Craig CrossWilliam III’s State Apartments
If the Natural History Museum has the best escalator in London then William III definitely had the best set of stairs – the King’s Staircase looks like a mini-version of the Painted Hall in Greenwich and takes you up to his Guards Chamber decorated with gleaming wheels of guns and muskets and military drums.
Photo: Craig CrossIf you made it past his guards then you’d enter his Presence Chamber, Privy Chamber and private rooms. He seemed to use tapestries like posters in here, oil paintings like family photos, and had his crystal chandeliers hanging ten feet off the floor like disco glitterballs.
The Hanovers: George I & II
If you’re in a rush then I recommend skipping the Georgian Story because the rooms are basically just a repeat of William’s with a bit of green and cream on the walls. But if you make it as far as the private apartments then they suddenly step up a gear with Sistine Chapel-like ceilings and artworks by Ricci and Rubens.
Photo: Craig CrossThe audioguide also shares some interesting little stories about the world’s most dysfunctional family. (If you thought the Windsors were a soap opera then wait until you hear about the Hanovers!)
The palace’s heyday came to an end when George III started palming the apartments off to his loyal courtiers. This practice continued right up to the 1960s and there are still a few elderly guests living in these ‘Grace and Favour’ residences today.
Photo: Craig CrossOrnamental Gardens & Hedge Maze
If you make it this far then you’ll have been on your feet for 2-3 hours and you still have the wild gardens, kitchen gardens, ornamental garden and hedge maze to go – you can easily spend another hour just walking around those.
Photo: Craig CrossDon’t worry about getting lost in the maze because it took me all of three minutes to find the centre. Once you reach the middle you can take a photo of the plaque and then head to the Tiltyard cafe for a cup of tea.
Photo: Craig CrossIn summary…
I’ve been visiting this place since I was a kid so I already know my way around, but it still took me the best part of three hours to complete. That included every room worth doing plus the ornamental garden out the back. I don’t think it’s possible to see it any quicker than that. If you come away in less than three then I can guarantee you’ve missed something.
People sometimes ask me if it’s possible to visit Hampton Court and Windsor Castle on the same day and I always say that it’s just about doable (if the trains aren’t playing up) but I don’t recommend it. I’d much rather take my time at just one or the other, otherwise you’ll end up running around both and won’t have time to appreciate anything.
If you have to choose between the two then most tourists will probably prefer the spectacular scenery at Windsor, but if you’re a serious history reader then I think Hampton Court is better (especially if you’re into the Tudors).
If you enjoy this then try Buckingham Palace; Kensington Palace and Windsor Castle. You might like to read my review of Hampton Court’s Ghost Tour and a choral service in the Chapel Royal as well
The author Craig Cross owns city-guide.london and has spent the last decade reviewing the capital’s landmarks, attractions and hotels. His guidebook London Squire is available from Amazon. This review was updated on
Your comments and questions
ester Hello. I would like to know when they hold the Hampton Court Flower Show
Craig Hi Ester. They usually hold it for five days in the first week of July
Warren How much of the palace can you see for free, or do you have to pay to see everything
Craig Hi Warren. You can walk up the long drive to the entrance, and then around then lefthand side to see the little kitchen gardens and rose garden. Then you can turn right at the Tiltyard cafe and walk through 'The Wilderness'. You can't walk through the formal, ornamental gardens, but you can see them if you walk up the river to the very end. That will give you a good view of the back of the palace as well. You can't get into the fountain garden either, but you can get inside the huge Home Park beyond it.
Chris Hello Craig, I really appreciate all of your research and details on logistics ... thank you! If we have to choose between Hampton Court Palace and Windsor Palace, which would you recommend?
Craig Hi Chris, I think Windsor is better for most people. The scenery is a lot more spectacular and will knock your socks off even if you’re not particularly into history. The surrounding town is also worth a walk around, whereas there’s hardly anything to do outside of Hampton Court. But if you’re seriously into history (especially the Tudors) then Hampton Court is definitely worth a visit.
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