generally been bestowed on the poorer female members of noble families,
or on the widows of distinguished generals and admirals who have died in
the service of their country. And several of these apartments contain
large suites of rooms, some of which are compact and self-contained,
whilst in other cases they are inconveniently disconnected. For the
accommodation of tenants of such suites there survives an ancient Sedan
chair on wheels, drawn by a chairman, and called the 'Push,' which is
used by ladies going out in the evening from one part of the building to
another. Of the fifty-three apartments into which the palace is now
divided, some contain as many as forty rooms, with five or six
staircases.
Among the distinguished personages who have at various times found an
asylum within the walls of Hampton Court Palace is William, Prince of
Orange, Hereditary Stadtholder of Holland. Driven from his country in
1795 by the advancing wave of the French Revolution, he sought refuge in
England; the apartments occupied by him in the palace were those on the
east side of the middle quadrangle. Gustavus IV., after having in 1810
been deposed from the Swedish throne by Napoleon, came to England, and
occupied a set of apartments here. He died in February, 1837.
One of the most curious circumstances in connection with the grant of
these apartments is the fact that Dr. Samuel Johnson made application
for one; his letter making it is still extant, and was, I think, first
made known by Mr. Law in his 'History of Hampton Court.' The letter was
addressed to Lord Hertford (then Lord Chamberlain), and dated 'Bolt
Court, Fleet Street, 11 April, 1776.' He says in it that hearing that
some of the apartments are now vacant, the grant of one to him would be
considered a great favour, and he bases his claim on his having had the
honour of vindicating his Majesty's Government. The reply to it was:
'Lord C. presents his compliments to Mr. Johnson, and is sorry that he
cannot obey his commands, having already on his hands many engagements
unsatisfied.' The answer sounds somewhat satirical. But what could Dr.
Johnson mean by making the application? If we thought him capable of a
huge joke, we might think he meant this for one; but, as he dealt in
small jokes only, we are driven to assume that he wrote seriously. Did
he know what he was asking for? Supposing his request had been granted,
he would very soon have wished it had been refused. Fancy Johnson, the
boisterous, arrogant tavern dictator, who considered the chair at a
punch-drinking bout in an inn the throne of human felicity, what would
he have done shut up in an apartment in the palace, in the midst of
haughty dowagers, serious widows, and prim old maids, who would speedily
have complained of the noisy companions who would have looked him up
there! Had he gone to the King's Arms or some other hostelry in the
neighbourhood, he would have had to return at early and regular hours.
How could he have submitted to that? Would he have taken all his old
women with him, and how long would they have been at peace with the
aristocratic ladies inhabiting the palace? The results of their
accidentally meeting on staircases or in passages are too awful to
contemplate, and Johnson's application remains an inexplicable enigma.
In 1838, whilst removing one of the old towers built by Wolsey, the
workmen came upon a number of glass bottles, which lay among the
foundation; they were of curious shape, and it has been suggested that
they were buried there to denote the date of the building.
On December 14, 1882, the palace had a narrow escape from destruction.
A suite of eight or nine rooms, in the occupation of a lady, and
overlooking the gardens and the Fountain Court, caught fire at half-past
seven in the morning, it is supposed by the upsetting of a benzoline
lamp in one of the servants' rooms. That the authorities should permit
the use of such lamps in the building seems strange, especially in rooms
situate as those were, over the tapestry-room, which adjoins the Picture
Gallery, and contains splendid specimens of Gobelin and other ancient
needlework. The flames spread rapidly through the rooms, and three of
them were entirely burnt out before the firemen, assisted by men of the
4th Hussars, then stationed at the palace, could check the outbreak.
All the other rooms were greatly damaged by fire and water. But the
saddest part of the occurrence was that one of the servants, the cook,
whilst rushing to the assistance of her fellow-servants, fell senseless
on the floor, overcome by the smoke, and her charred and lifeless body
was only got out when the fire had been subdued. It is to be hoped that
a cause which might involve a great national loss has now been removed
by prohibition.
In 1839 those parts of the palace which are not occupied by private
residents, and the gardens, were thrown open to the public, and during
the summer months are visited by thousands, who arrive there by rail,
river, van, or, latterly, on the wheel-horse--_vulgo_ bike. The
permanent residents bitterly complain of these invasions, and not
without reason, seeing how many 'Arrys and 'Arriets come down in holiday
time; but as the palace and gardens are maintained at an expense of
about L11,000 per annum out of the people's money, the right of visiting
them can scarcely be denied to the public. Nor can the amount spent on
the place be found fault with; it is a mere trifle in the domestic
house-keeping bill of the nation, and a larger sum is annually wasted in
useless firing off of cannon. The palace and gardens--
'The pleasant place of all festivity,
The revel of the earth, the masque of'--
Albion, are to us what Venice is to Italy:
'... a boast, a marvel, and a show.'
'But unto us'
Hampton Court
'Hath a spell beyond
A name in story, and a long array
Of mighty shadows.'
To us Hampton Court is a type of the progress of the nation from slavery
to freedom, from darkness to light. Founded to gratify the pride and
self-indulgence of an arrogant and scheming priest, for more than three
centuries Hampton Court was the symbol of oppression on the one side,
and of subjection on the other. But Time, which works such strange
metamorphoses, has, since the last sixty years, transformed what was
once the exclusive appanage of kings into the playground of the plebs,
and what this change implies may well form a subject of study for
inquiring and philosophical minds. But such study must be based on a
knowledge of facts, an axiom we have kept in view in the compilation of
our topographical and historical notes on the origin, progress, and
final realization of the architectural, political, and social idea
embodied in the monumental pile we have so concisely attempted to
describe, so as to endow the contemplation thereof, in all its phases,
with an intelligent appreciation of the physical and ideal beauties,
together with their importance as an index of national advancement,
which invest with an undying charm the palace and gardens of Hampton
Court.[#]
[#] In Herefordshire, not far from Leominster, there is another Hampton
Court, a spacious mansion of monastic and castellated architecture,
having a fine chapel with open timber roof. It was built by Sir Rowland
Lenthall, Yeoman of the Robes to Henry IV., who distinguished himself at
the Battle of Agincourt.
THE END.
BILLING AND SONS, PRINTERS, GUILDFORD.
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