Hampton Court: Henry VIII’s Royal Residence

Larger than life: Art that inspires us through the ages

The western façade of Hampton Court was built in the Tudor style, with its red brick, rows of rectangular windows, set of chimneys, and elaborate rooftops featuring gables. The façade features handmade bricks, tiles, stone, timber, and lead. Vitrified bricks form the large crisscross pattern that decorates the palace courtyard. At the center of the building is Anne Boleyn’s gatehouse, with an elaborate octagonal Tudor wine fountain on the right. Mistervlad/Shutterstock

Famous for being Henry VIII’s residence, Hampton Court Palace is located in Richmond, a borough of London. The palace’s rich history and succession of owners make it a showcase for a unique blend of architectural styles.

Originally, Hampton Court belonged to Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, Henry VIII’s administrator, who bought the property in 1514. In 1529, the king removed the cardinal from Hampton Court, and Henry lived there with his wives. The palace then became an official residence for future royals, and the owners improved Hampton Court according to the tastes and fashions of their time.

On the west side of the palace, Henry VIII’s apartments showcase the Tudor style, best seen in the building’s red brick façade, the vast Great Hall, and the royal chapel’s vaulted ceiling.

To the east side of the palace, William III’s apartments were built in a 17th-century baroque style designed by Sir Christopher Wren. One of the highlights is William III’s baroque entrance, leading to the richly furnished chambers.

A century later, the palace saw its final change under the reign of George II and Queen Caroline, with the addition of the Georgian story, including Georgian apartments and art galleries filled with Renaissance paintings. After George II, no British monarch lived at Hampton Court again. In 1839, young Queen Victoria opened Hampton Court to paying visitors for the first time to finance a restoration.

The complex, with more than 60 acres of formal gardens and a historic maze, is a beautiful setting for a royal residence.

The astronomical clock on Anne Boleyn’s gatehouse is enclosed by a red brickwork façade, small windows, and two turrets. The clock features complex gears and gilded dials representing a medieval world, in which the sun orbits the earth. The outer black ring shows the hours of the day in Roman numbers, while the outer dial rotates annually and shows the date and the position of the sun in the zodiac. The middle dial represents the solar dial, and the inner dial represents the lunar dial. The top of the Tudor building is complemented by a bell in the late-medieval style. Mistervlad/Shutterstock

Fountain Court is located where Henry VIII and his wives had their private apartments. Between 1689 and 1694, most of this area was rebuilt in the baroque style, as shown by the building’s columns, round arches, formal windows, and statues, inspired by some of the Renaissance’s building techniques. Underneath each arch are carved flowers, each topped by a carved head of a classical god or mythical creature. Ion Mess/Shutterstock

The Great Hall is the largest room in the palace at 106 feet long, 40 feet wide, and 60 feet high. Located at the heart of Henry VIII’s Tudor palace and built in the 1530s, it owes much of its current appearance to its 1840 restoration. The walls are lined with tapestries depicting the story of Abraham, chosen by Henry VIII. Above the tapestries are stained glass windows and hunting trophies, as Hampton Court was a famous hunting lodge. The Picture Studio/Shutterstock

The timber ceiling of the Great Hall features an impressive hammerbeam roof designed by James Nedeham, Henry VIII’s master carpenter, and is painted in blue, red, and gold. The unique ceiling is an important element of the Tudor style, inspired by both the English Gothic style (Perpendicular Gothic) and the European Renaissance. The stained glass windows are typical of English Gothic architecture. Ion Mess/Shutterstock

Installed in the chapel in the 1530s by Henry VIII, the vaulted ceiling was painted in blue by Sir James Thornhill for Queen Anne in the early 1700s. The celestial-themed ceiling features a playful scene of gilded cherubs playing musical instruments, adding a baroque element to the Gothic ceiling. In the right corner, in white lettering, is the motto of the British royal family: “Dieu et mon droit” (God and my right). Ion Mess/Shutterstock

A marble staircase connects the floors of William III’s apartments. Here, visitors can admire the colorful illusionistic painting with gilded frames while climbing up the marble staircase to reach the principal floor—all showcasing the baroque style. William III commissioned Italian painter Antonio Verrio to create the illusion of a great Roman hall, depicting a competition between Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar. Gordon Bell/Shutterstock