The Big Picture Window: London: Hampton Court Part 3: Dining in Style

June 13, 2013: It is amazing to walk through this place, that is so incredibly old, and so well preserved, with so much history clinging to the walls, and every corner.

These stairs are a perfect example. Look how the stone is so worn. So many of the steps and stairs we walk on through this place are like this. They are slick and slanted, and always feel a little dangerous. How many steps have made these the way they are? Who walked these so much? Henry VIII? Anne Boleyn? Elizabeth I? Undoubtedly all of them at some point.

But I think that visiting these places has a different effect on me than it does on so many of the other tourists. They seem to walk and look, and snap a picture here and there. Some stop to read a plaque or two. There is so much to soak in at these sites. But I see the smallest details for some reason. I notice the panes and glass in the windows. I want to look out of the windows and see the view of the outside from in. I "feel" the history here. It isn't like I see ghosts or feel presences or anything, but I feel the years, and it is amazing. I get a little lost in the time. I love that Joseph does in a way too. He wants to take the time to read everything, and sometimes he notices things that I don't, which I love.

We went out to the main courtyard, called Clock Court, because it held the clock, and the whole thing was spectacular! But especially the unusual clock.

The face of the clock up high on the tallest tower in the courtyard. (I have a good lens :-) )

As we stood looking at the grandeur of it all, and watching some school children on a field trip (I tell you what, those British kids get THE coolest field trips!) I looked over and noticed someone entering the courtyard...

WHAT????!!!!

King Henry VIII stood and spoke to us for several minutes, let us ask questions, and was quite dismayed when he heard we were from the Colonies. He mentioned the Spanish King, (who was his uncomfortable "enemy" sort of), and ex-relation due to Catherine of Aragon. He told us he was extremely ugly, and we should look the portrait of him that Henry had hanging in the Palace. He told us where to look for it, we thanked him and excused ourselves. He was a very imposing person, and, truth be told, we felt a little uncomfortable. Crazy!

Being the clothing/costume historian I am at heart, I loved their shoes!

Detail of the fountain in the courtyard.

Just a fire hydrant in the ground. Not sure how that would work. Interesting.

After our brief encounter with (fake, dead) royalty, we moved on to, what they call, Anne Boleyn's Gateway.

The stunning ceiling.

It was a small corridor that led to the great dining hall.

I loved the light fixtures that hung here and there.

On one side of the corridor, was a room dedicated to Catherine of Aragon. The decorations held her symbols and "crest" so to speak. It seems that each of his wives, had their own symbol and motif.

Catherine of Aragon was the youngest daughter of King Ferdinand, and Queen Isabella of Spain. Yep, the same king and queen who funded that crazy sailor Columbus to sail the ocean blue, in 1492. (For some reason, historians spell her name with a C, but it shows up at the time as starting with a K. I will have to do some research and figure out why).


Here is her motif carved on the arch into the side room.

The Great Hall.

Instructions for those working the Great Hall.

This place was magnificent, with stained glass windows, a spectacular ceiling, tapestries on the walls, long banquet tables and a fire pit in the middle of the floor.

When you enter the spectacular dining hall, if you turn around immediately after entering, you see this gorgeous wood paneled wall. It is paneled incredibly high up, and with beautifully intricate designs. Originally the rosettes had Henry and Anne's initials carved into the design. When Henry believed Anne had betrayed him, he was so angry, he ordered all the initials to be carved out and scraped away. The craftsmen worked all through the night. Apparently though, one of them missed one. Luckily, Henry never noticed, and if you look closely up in the right hand corner, you can still see it!

You have to look closely, because I haven't lightened the photo yet. But you can see an A sitting inside a wide H within the rosette. What a lucky mistake for us.

The following photos are from the banquet tables. It was very clever how they disseminated information here. There were so many fun facts and anecdotes written at all the places. Each table had its own theme. This is just a sampling.