I’m Henry VIII I am, I am

If our friends and family hadn’t guessed by now, I’m a  huge fan of  Henry VIII.  I find his about face behavior and appearance  from a jovial, well liked and svelte young man to an old and crotchety  big fat fatty fascinating.  Therefore, it only made sense to visit his former palace Hampton Court while in Surrey.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While Hampton Court started its days as a country showpiece for Henry VIII’s advisor Cardinal Wolsey, it came into Henry’s hands due to his rage at Wolsey for failing to gain him a divorce from his first wife.   In true Henry VIII form, he appropriated the house for himself, gifting it to his new wife Anne Boleyn.  He remodeled the palace for his young bride,  making it more grand and ostentatious than Wolsey’s former home, only to have to redo the H + A monographs throughout the palace to H+J with the beheading of his second wife and new marriage.  It became a favorite summer home of the court, who liked to escape the heat of London for the summer months and enjoy the gardens, and stocked hunting grounds at Hampton Court.  It remained a favorite retreat for the royal family until the mid 1800s.  The length of time that Hampton Court spent in the royal eye can be seen in the differing periods of architecture throughout – from the brownstone Tudor Buildings to the red and white grand palace style of the mid 1700s.

Old meets less old

The grounds themselves also show a mixture of styles, with natural looking gardens, sculpture gardens and highly structured Georgian gardens.  Since I am the daughter of Brenda Deal, I spent a large amount of time wandering through the gardens and taking photos.  In the span of the two hours we checked out the garden, I got ideas and plans for several new garden designs in my own yard (which I’m sure Kevin is thrilled about).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Perhaps the coolest part of the gardens, for the wine-lover that I am, was the grape vine housed in the greenhouse.  Certified by Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest grape vine in the world.  Planted in 1768 by Capability Brown, the vine is a cutting of a Black Hamburg vine from Essex that no longer exists.

Sadly for wineauxs like myself, the grapes aren’t actually used to make booze, but instead are sold to tourists at a huge markup each fall. 

 

The palace itself housed several different exhibits, from the architectural history of the estate to Henry VIII to the Georgian life of the inhabitants. 

 

In all, Hampton Court is easily a full day trip for the garden/history enthusiast like myself.  It even held an interest for Kevin, with a maze, Henry VIII era Royal Tennis Courts and a pair of Clydesdales.