CHAPTER VIII 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, [pg 40] 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.

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 [pg 41] 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 [pg 42] 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.

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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 [pg 44] 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 [pg 45] 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 [pg 46] 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 [pg 47] 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 [pg 48] 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.