Hampton Court Palace
Historic site · Hampton Court, England
Hampton Court Palace stands in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames despite the Surrey postal address that Historic Royal Palaces publishes: the Office for National Statistics postcode directory gives KT8 9AU the administrative district "Richmond upon Thames" and the ward "Hampton". The palace is Grade I listed, NHLE 1193127, a scheduled monument, NHLE 1002009, which carries no grade, and a Grade I registered park and garden, NHLE 1000108. No source states its opening hours, so none are given here.
History
Building began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey; in 1529, as Wolsey fell from favour, he gave the palace to Henry VIII, who enlarged it for his retinue. William III's rebuilding in the early 1690s, intended to rival Versailles, destroyed much of the Tudor palace, and work ceased in 1703, leaving the building in two contrasting styles, domestic Tudor and Baroque. The walls and railings to the palace are separately Grade I listed, NHLE 1358066. Twenty-three separate entries fall within 250 m of the palace centre, among them the Banqueting House, NHLE 1357714; the Tennis Court, NHLE 1080809; the Lower Orangery, NHLE 1193195; the Royal Mews and Great Barn, NHLE 1192945; the Lion Gates, NHLE 1065442; the Trophy Gates, NHLE 1065444; and the Tilt Yard Tower, NHLE 1065440, all Grade I. Six of the twenty-three are named "Privy Garden", one of them Grade I, NHLE 1065446, and five Grade II, and six more are named "Fountain Garden", all Grade II. Hampton Court Rail Station, on South Western Railway, is across the bridge in Elmbridge, Surrey, outside Greater London.
Visit
Hampton Court Palace, East Molesey, Surrey KT8 9AU