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Top Attractions in Hampton Court Park

Hampton Court Palace

Hampton Court Palace is a royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, Greater London, in the historic county of Surrey, and within the postal town East Molesey, Surrey. It has not been inhabited by the British Royal Family since the 18th century. The palace is 11.7 miles south west of Charing Cross and upstream of central London on the River Thames. Redevelopment began to be carried out in 1515 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, a favourite of King Henry VIII. In 1529, as Wolsey fell from favour, the King seized the palace for himself and later enlarged it. Along with St. Jamess Palace, it is one of only two surviving palaces out of the many owned by King Henry VIII. In the following century, King William IIIs massive rebuilding and expansion project was intended to rival Versailles. Work ceased in 1694, leaving the palace in two distinct contrasting architectural styles, domestic Tudor and Baroque. While the palaces styles are an accident of fate, a unity exists due to the use of pink bricks and a symmetrical, if vague, balancing of successive low wings. Today, the palace is open to the public and is a major tourist attraction, easily reached by train from Waterloo Station in central London and served by Hampton Court railway station in East Molesey, in Transport for Londons Zone 6. In addition, London Buses routes 111, 216, 411 and R68 stop outside the palace gates. The structure and grounds are cared for by an independent charity, Historic Royal Palaces, which receives no funding from the Government or the Crown. Apart from the Palace itself and its gardens, other points of interest for visitors include the celebrated maze, the historic real tennis court, and the huge grape vine, the largest in the world as of 2005. The palaces Home Park is the site of the annual Hampton Court Palace Festival and Hampton Court Palace Flower Show.

Hampton Court Maze

Hampton Court Maze is a hedge maze planted some time between 1689 and 1695 by George London and Henry Wise for William III of Orange at Hampton Court Palace. The maze covers a third of an acre and contains half a mile of paths. It is possible that the current design replaced an earlier maze planted for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. It was originally planted with hornbeam, although it has been repaired using many different types of hedge. The maze is in 60 acres of riverside gardens. It has been described by many authors, including Defoe, and the humorist Jerome K. Jerome, who wrote in Three Men in a Boat: "Well just go in here, so that you can say youve been, but its very simple. Its absurd to call it a maze. You keep on taking the first turning to the right. Well just walk round for ten minutes, and then go and get some lunch." ...Harris kept on turning to the right, but it seemed a long way, and his cousin said he supposed it was a very big maze. "Oh, one of the largest in Europe", said Harris. "Yes, it must be", replied the cousin, "because weve walked a good two miles already!" Harris began to think it rather strange himself, but he held on until, at last, they passed the half of a penny bun on the ground that Harriss cousin swore he had noticed there seven minutes ago. Jerome exaggerates the hazards of the maze. The maze has relatively few places at which the path forks and at all but one fork the wrong choice led to a dead end at the end of a short corridor. There are many larger and more elaborate mazes nowadays. Recently, three new forking places have introduced more possibilities of walking closed loops within the maze. The maze can still, as Harris stated, be threaded from entrance to centre and back by the method of always remaining in contact with the wall on ones right. This method guides the traveller into some dead ends and is thus not the shortest path. Topologically, this is a depth first search algorithm. In 2006, arts group Greyworld were commissioned to create a permanent artwork for the maze. Their installation, a sound work triggered by hidden sensors embedded in the maze walls, is titled Trace. The maze has also been mentioned in Carol Shields Larrys Party.

Royal Tennis Court, Hampton Court

The Royal Tennis Court, Hampton Court Palace is a real tennis court which was built for Henry VIII of England, who played there from 1528, and is still home to an active tennis club. During the 17th century various improvements were made to the court. One of the first acts of Charles II after his restoration in 1660 was to order the extensive refitting of the Tudor tennis court. This included the laying of a new tile floor, the remodelling of the galleries and repairs to the roof. At the same time, new nets, curtains and velvet cushions for the spectators seats were provided. The interlaced initials above the net on the wall opposite the corridors are, however, not those of Charles but of William and Mary . Since the end of the 17th century the court has undergone little alteration. However, progress is not incompatible with history: in 1975 sodium halide lighting was installed.
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