HAMPTON COURT PALACE
In the high tide of its popularity, Hampton Court Palace was
considered the finest and most commodious palace in England, an
opinion which was corroborated by the foreign ambassadors of the time,
who spoke of it in terms of the highest praise. One distinguished
foreign visitor, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, recorded in his
diary: "This is the most splendid and most magnificent royal palace of
any that may be found in England, or, indeed, in any other kingdom."
And though to-day the tide of royal favour has receded for ever from
the shores of Hampton Court, the palace remains as stately and as
dignified as when the proud Wolsey paced its galleries.
[Illustration: Hampton Court: The First Court.]
Its situation has always been a happy one, for though built on the
banks of the River Thames, it has avoided all the disadvantages
of damp, owing to the gravelly nature of its soil. The nearness to
London, only thirteen miles away, with easy access along the broad
river, made it a delightful residence for the monarchs who were able
to get to and fro from London, however bad the roads might be. When
wearied with the smoke and bustle that surrounded Whitehall, the
royal owners rejoiced in escaping to their beautiful palace at Hampton
Court, from whose windows they looked over the clean river, across
fresh green meadows to the horizon of the blue Surrey hills.
Cardinal Wolsey was largely influenced by the healthy position of
Hampton Court, when he bought the place from the Knights Hospitallers
of St. John, who had owned it since the early part of the thirteenth
century. The Cardinal, like so many other great men, had never been
strong, and had taxed his strength to the uttermost by the enormous
quantity of work which he undertook. Not only was he Archbishop of
York, holding various other bishoprics, but he was Lord Chancellor of
England, an office which carried with it vast legal duties, and also
that of chief adviser to the King, through whom all the business of
the State was carried out. No wonder he needed a quiet spot far from
the busy throng, but he would have been wiser had he built a modest
country house, which would not have aroused the envy of the King.
But Wolsey had a passion for building, as his work at Whitehall, his
college of Christchurch, Oxford, and the school at Ipswich, witness,
and he apparently could not refrain from erecting a palace, which was
to excite universal admiration, and ultimately to assist in his fall
from power. Though suffering from a variety of ailments, among which
were ague and dropsy, Wolsey never rested, but, having bought Hampton
Court in 1514, pushed on the building, so that it was finished and
ready for occupation two years afterwards. No word concerning any
architect has come down to us, so that we may presume that the palace
was erected according to the Cardinal's own plans, and that he
is responsible for the romantic charm of the Tudor work, with its
clustered chimneys, gabled roofs, mullioned windows, and all the
picturesque dignity of the red-brick courtyards.
No sooner had the builders evacuated, than Wolsey filled the palace
with the most rich and costly furniture, magnificent tapestries, and
beds upholstered in gorgeous velvet and silk, everything being adorned
with the Cardinal's arms, until it quite outshone anything that the
King possessed.
King Henry often honoured his "good Cardinal" with a visit, sometimes
coming unexpectedly to surprise his Chancellor. The greatest banquet
Wolsey ever gave was to the French Ambassador in 1527, when 280 beds
were prepared, each room being lighted with blazing fires and candles
in silver candlesticks. Music was performed all through the banquet,
at which marvellous dishes appeared representing St. Paul's Church and
various birds and beasts.
Though Wolsey had handed over the lease of Hampton Court to the King
in 1525, when the first small cloud of royal displeasure had appeared,
he continued to occupy his beautiful palace for four more years, until
his final disgrace over the question of the divorce with Katharine of
Aragon. King Henry took possession in 1529, and at once began building
apartments for the Lady Anne Boleyn, though Queen Katharine was still
with him. Four years later, after Cranmer had pronounced a divorce,
the Pope still remaining obdurate, Anne Boleyn spent a gay and
brilliant honeymoon within the Cardinal's palace, recking little that
the fickle King who had thrown off a faithful servant and a devoted
wife for her sake, was to condemn her within a few years to a cruel
death.
Hampton Court remained Henry's favourite palace, for he was proof
against any sad memories of past wives, while he was enjoying the
company of another. Jane Seymour, Henry's third wife, whom he married
the day after Anne Boleyn was executed, gave birth to Henry's only
son, Edward, within the palace, the young Prince being received with
great rejoicings, which were cut short by the death of his mother a
few days afterwards. Catharine Howard and Catharine Parr were both
married at Hampton Court, and Anne of Cleves also spent a short time
there, so that the palace is associated with all the wives of Henry
VIII.
As a builder, King Henry is responsible for the Great Hall, on the
north side of the Clock Court, a fine Perpendicular building, with a
rich ceiling and large bay window.
Even when, in his later years, he could no longer enjoy his favourite
sports of hunting, archery, tennis, and fishing, owing to his
increasing corpulence, Henry retained his love for the Cardinal's
palace, and was often there amusing himself with games of backgammon
and dice, and playing on the lute, having been always fond of music.
Queen Mary, Henry's eldest daughter, spent her gloomy honeymoon at
the palace, none of her English subjects welcoming her marriage with
Philip II. of Spain. Philip, though outwardly devoted, was not much in
love with his plain and unattractive wife, who seems to have lost all
joyousness during the years of her retirement following the divorce
of her mother. Deep melancholy and despair settled down upon the
unfortunate Queen, when her hopes of an heir to carry on her work of
restoring the Roman Catholic religion in England were denied, and she
knew that her Protestant sister must succeed.
During the reign of Queen Elizabeth no very important events occurred,
for though the Queen constantly visited the palace, she came for
periods of rest and amusement, away from all political cares. When her
successor came to Hampton Court, he was delighted with it, as he was
with most of the English royal palaces, which were so much more rich
and luxurious than those of Holyrood or Falkland. The park allowed
him opportunity for his much-loved occupation of hunting, when, his
ungainly figure clad in a vivid green hunting suit, he would follow
the stag with great keenness. But, enthusiastic as he was, he much
disliked any crowds assembling at the royal meets, thinking that
they worried the hounds and spoilt the game, and so he issued peevish
proclamations against "the bold and barbarous insolency of multitudes
of vulgar people," who, if they followed the hunt at all were to be
conveyed to the nearest gaol.
The favourite indoor entertainment at this time was the masque, which
reached the height of its popularity and glory during James's reign.
Ben Jonson, the greatest poet, and Inigo Jones, the greatest architect
of the day, were employed as author and designer of these stately
dramatic performances, in which the nobles and ladies of the Court
took part, before an audience representing the highest in the land.
But King James could not spend all his time watching gods and
goddesses upon the stage, or hunting the deer in his park, for the
question of religious toleration had to be decided. A conference was
held in January, 1604, at the palace, between the Puritan clergy and
the bishops, on the question of some lesser ecclesiastical reforms
involving no change in the organization of the Church. James delighted
in presiding at the conference, as it gave him an opportunity of
showing forth his scholastic accomplishments, which were real, though
extremely pedantic. No settlement was arrived at, for James, after
his experience under the Presbyterians in Scotland, delighted in the
Church of England with its subservience to royal authority. King James
thought he had crushed the Puritans with his arguments, but he had
only left them certain that all concessions would have to be wrested
from the King by force, resulting in the deadly struggle of his son's
reign.
Though Charles I. grew to be devotedly attached to his French bride,
Henrietta Maria, he had some unfortunate disagreements with her during
the early months of his married life, which he spent at Hampton Court.
Owing partly to the interference of the Duke of Buckingham, Charles's
unwise favourite, and to the young bride's extreme youth and lack of
tact, there were constant quarrels between the royal pair. Henrietta
Maria's large train of French followers were extremely unpopular among
the English, owing to their religious beliefs, and the Queen herself
was ill-advised enough to refuse to take part in the coronation
ceremonies, as they were performed by Protestant clergy. At last
Charles grew so annoyed that he dismissed all the French suite in a
high-handed manner, and sent them back to France. Though the Queen
never became popular among the Puritans, who attributed much of the
King's stubbornness to her suggestion, yet she and her royal husband
learned to live together in great domestic bliss.
The first hint of the gathering storm was made evident to the King
when the Commons brought down to the palace their Grand Remonstrance,
a document in which they had recorded, in unqualified language,
all the King's misdeeds. Charles retaliated by the fatal error of
attempting to arrest five members of the Commons; after the failure of
which he retired from London to Hampton Court--the last time (except
for one night) that he visited it as a free man. In the summer of
1647, when his armies had all been crushed and dispersed, he came
to the palace once more, but this time as a prisoner. He was still
treated with great respect and allowed considerable liberty, visiting
his children at Sion House, and having them visit him. Unhappily
Charles determined to escape, and was so far successful that he
succeeded in slipping from the palace, crossing the river, and
reaching the Isle of Wight. But there his success ended, for he
was obliged to give himself up as a prisoner to the governor of the
island, to be treated afterwards with increasing severity.
Cromwell's soldiers are credited with effecting considerable damage
to historic buildings, but we are indebted to the Protector for the
saving of Hampton Court Palace. It had already been sold to various
purchasers, when Cromwell became Lord Protector and the Parliament,
knowing his liking for the palace, at once set to work to repurchase
it. The Protector and his family soon after took up their residence
there, provoking the mocking laughter of royalists, either for the
regal state which Cromwell maintained, or the homeliness of his
wife. It is strange to remember, that along with all his austerity of
character Cromwell used to indulge, in his lighter moments, in great
buffoonery, putting sticky sweetmeats on to the chairs on which
the ladies were to sit, slipping live coals into his officers' coat
pockets, or throwing wine about.
Hampton Court had often served as a honeymoon palace, but the young
brides had seldom been very happy, unless, perhaps, Anne Boleyn had
managed to be care-free during her short reign. Certainly Queen Mary
and Henrietta Maria had been far from happy, but the insignificant
little Portuguese wife of Charles II. was the unhappiest of all.
Her husband did not love her, and she succeeded in annoying him by
persisting in wearing her Portuguese style of dress, which seemed
grotesque to English eyes. When she gave in on this point, she was
ordered to receive Lady Castlemaine, one of the King's favourites,
as a lady of her bedchamber, an indignity which she was justified in
refusing. But Charles's open rudeness, and studied indifference to
his wife, at last forced poor Catharine of Braganza to accept the
notorious lady, after which the King treated her with respect, though
never with love.
When William III. first saw Hampton Court, he was enchanted with it,
it reminded him of his beloved Holland, and besides, the air was free
from smoke, so that his asthmatical frame could breathe easily. He at
once began to set about rebuilding and altering the palace, and laying
out the gardens in the formal Dutch fashion. Sir Christopher Wren
was entrusted with the new work, creating the stately east and south
fronts, and the Fountain Court that we see to-day. The architect had
to join on the Renaissance style of architecture in vogue at that
time, to the late Perpendicular of the original builders, and by
adhering to red-brick with stone facings and copings, he made a
combination which is both restful and dignified. Queen Mary took an
intense interest in the new building which she was never destined
to see finished, her early death causing King William to lose all
pleasure in the palace, which they had both loved. For some years
work almost ceased on the new building, until the disastrous fire at
Whitehall rendered it necessary for the King to have another palace.
Work was then hurried on, Grinling Gibbons working at the interior
carving, Verrio painting the ceilings and staircases, gardeners laying
out the avenues and maze, till all was ready for the King in the
winter of 1699. Little more than two years later, William, who had
been very ill for some time, was riding in the park, when his horse
stumbled on a mole-hill, throwing his royal master on to the ground.
When the doctor examined him, King William was found to have
broken his collar-bone, which was immediately set. In spite of the
remonstrances of the doctor, the King insisted upon returning to
Kensington, where he rapidly became worse, the jolting of the roads
having shifted the bone, which had to be reset. A fortnight later he
died.
The succeeding monarchs did little to the palace, though the first
two Hanoverian Kings occasionally resided there. George III., whose
partiality for Windsor and Kew caused him to neglect all the other
palaces, never visited Hampton Court after he became King, so that
it was gradually left to various private families, who were granted
apartments by the royal bounty. When Queen Victoria came to the throne
the palace was made open to the public, who have much appreciated the
privilege of seeing one of the most beautiful royal residences ever
erected in England.