- Where?
- Hampton Court Palace, , East Molesey
- When?
- Every Sunday (except the last two weeks of July, all of August, and the first week of September)
- 11 AM to 12 noon
- Price?
- It's free to attend the service only, but you will need to buy a ticket if you want to see the rest of the palace · See chapelroyalhamptoncourt.org for more information
- Usual entry cost: Adults £28.80; Children £14.30 (5-15); Infants free entry (under-5); Family ticket £78.90
- Buses:
- 111, 216, 411, 461, 267, 513
- Bus fares
- Trains:
- Hampton Court
- Train fares
They must have had a funfair on the green last night because it's in the middle of packing up and going home.
This is definitely how I recommend spending your Sunday morning... wandering through a field of closed tents, tied-up trash bags and neon lights sticking out the back of trailer-trucks, and then straight to Henry VIII's own private chapel in the heart of Hampton Court Palace. They open it up to the public every Sunday because they can't charge people to pray, so oh goody you're thinking... does that mean I can pretend to be religious and do a bit of sightseeing for free? That is what you're thinking, right? (Shame on you!) Well the answer is you're not supposed to. If you want to see the rest of the palace afterwards then you're supposed to buy an entry ticket.
The Tiltyard Cafe
It's worth turning up sixty minutes early for a stroll along the river because you can get a pretty good look at the back of the palace through the fancy iron railings. After that I recommend finding the Tiltyard Cafe for a cup of pre-church tea, before making your way to the reception at half-past ten. The reception is down the left-hand side of the palace. (Walk up the long drive and turn left before the front facade, then turn right towards the cop's cabin and car barrier. Reception is just to the left of that.) If you tell the nice lady that you're only there to attend the "service in Chapel Royal" then she'll let you in for free.
It only works on Sunday mornings though, because that's when the service is. And you do actually have to attend it. But I must say that they are extremely trusting because they let you make your own way to the chapel totally unescorted -- so what's to stop you walking wherever you like? Nobody stopped me to ask for a ticket. But do me a favour and play by the rules because if somebody did demand to see your ticket then you'll deserve to get kicked out for being so tight. If you want to see the rest of the palace afterwards then buy a ticket.
Henry VIII's Chapel Royal
The Chapel Royal is easily the best room in the palace and the ceiling is one of the most fantastic things you'll ever see, full of deep blues, dark reds and chestnut coloured wood. And above your head towards the back is the balcony where Henry and Anne Boleyn used to sit. About ten minutes before the service starts they begin letting people into the pews and if you're lucky you'll be allowed to sit in the quire (the stalls directly behind the choir, all warmly lit with lampshades). They surprisingly separate all the men from the women, though -- men on the left and women on the right -- so you might get split up from your family if you accept a seat in there.
Whilst this game of musical chairs is going on the organ will be pounding out in the balcony, and then all of a sudden the lamplights will dim down and the choir will parade in, made up of sixty year-old blokes and six year-old boys, all dressed-up in red tunics, white ruffles and frocks or smocks or whatever it is they wear on Victorian Christmas cards.
I actually made an effort to listen to the readings today but my head was filled with other things: thoughts of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn staring down from the balcony. It's quite something to imagine them sitting up here, in the exact same seats, looking down on the exact same proceedings that we're witnessing today: the organ's still playing, the choir's still singing, but the candles are electric instead of flame (you can't escape health and safety).
If you enjoy Hampton Court Palace then you might like to visit Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace and Windsor Castle. Other church services I recommend attending are the Evensong at St. Paul's, the Evensong at Westminster Abbey, and the Sunday service at the Tower of London
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
Your comments and questions
Sarah Hi. How can we get to Hampton Court from central London early on a Sunday morning?
Craig Hi Sarah. You have to get a direct train from Waterloo to Hampton Court. They go about every half hour from 6.55 AM and take about 35 minutes to get there
Brian&M Hello. I'm interested in going to see this but is it worth going all that way just to listen to the mass? I like the idea of it being free and I can happily skip the rest of the palace which I have seen before many years ago
Craig Hi Brian&M. If it was me I probably wouldn't bother if was just to see the mass, because you're looking at an hour on the train (35 minutes each way). That's a long trip just for the mass on its own. And you don't really get to see much of the palace as you're walking to the chapel. But having said that the Chapel Royal is definitely worth seeing if you haven't seen it before, and the singing is rather special. Have you thought about the Sunday service at the Tower of London instead? That is still free, won't involve a train trip, and whilst the chapel itself isn't as impressive as the one at Hampton Court you do get to see some interesting buildings as you walk there - city-guide.london/events/?p=24565