Hampton Court Palace (Hampton Court Palace)

Member Name: tanyatigerlily

Product:	Hampton Court Palace
Date:	26/08/09 (22 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Interesting Tudor kitchens

Disadvantages: Rooms are quite empty of furniture

A few weeks ago my husband and I decided to visit Hampton Court Palace as we are very interested in Henry VIII and know that they have exhibitions focussing on him.

To start off with let me explain that I love all things Royal and one of my favourite things to do is visiting castles and Palaces. (I suppose that Royalty is a bit of a novelty for me as I grew up in South Africa and always admired the British Royal family from afar). I can generally say that Hampton Court Palace did not impress me very much. There are lovely parts that I will be mentioning, but generally it has a 'worn' and empty look about it and rather a lot of cobwebs hanging about.

Its proximity to London makes Hampton Court very easy to get to. You can take a train from Waterloo or a river boat from Westminster during the summer months (the river boat is on my to-do list). Hampton Court Palace is only a couple of minutes walk from the rather dismal-looking train station. Buying tickets (£14 per adult) was very easy as they have plenty of cashiers and the ticket hall is situated in a separate building close to the entrance gates. Once inside you have the option of taking a guided tour (we did not do this as there were hoards of people) or get an audio tour which is free of charge.

Hampton Court Palace itself was built in 1514 by Cardinal Wolsey as his country house. In 1528 the Hampton Court was passed over to King Henry VIII, who extended the Palace considerably.

The audio tour guides you through sections of the palace describing various historical people and events. I found that, compared to other palaces that I have visited, the rooms were rather empty of furniture. Here and there are magnificent pieces, but generally emptiness pervades this once royal abode. I have also mentioned that the palace is not very clean and there are plenty of cobwebs to be seen.

The part of the palace which is very well preserved and maintained is the kitchens. It is fascinating to walk through the various rooms and see what sort of food was eaten by Henry III and his court. Apparently Hampton Court's food historians regularly host Medieval Cooking Days where the public can see food of that period being prepared (and I dare say take part in the preparation and cooking).

The huge gardens are also well cared for and worth a visit. You can pay extra to have a ride around the gardens in a horse-drawn wagon. This would be a lovely place for a picnic, or alternatively you can tuck into some scrumptious food at the restaurant.

There is one exhibition that I would like to complain about: Henry's women. Visitors stand in a queue for up to an hour to be allowed into the small room containing the exhibition about the 6 wives of Henry VIII. It is not worth the wait! Only a small area is dedicated to each of the women and very little information is actually given about each. As the room is so small the number of people let in at a time is restricted, hence the long queue!

Things worth seeing:
The magnificent gardens
The fascinating Tudor kitchens
Chapel Royal
Astronomical Clock
The unbelievable chimneys all over the palace

I did not see any displays or exhibitions aimed at children, apart from the fact that both adults and children can get a 'gown' to wear for the duration of the visit to get into the 'Tudor mood'.

Summary: An interesting palace to visit with lovely gardens