Life at Hampton Court Palace 1750-1950

Hampton Court Palace is a royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, Greater London, in the historic county of Middlesex, and within the postal town East Molesey; it has not been inhabited by the British Royal Family since the 18th century. The palace is 11.7 miles (18.8 kilometres) south west of Charing Cross and upstream of central London on the River Thames. It was originally built for Cardinal Thomas Wolsely, a favourite of King Henry VIII, circa 1514; in 1529, as Wolsey fell from favour, the palace was passed to the King, who enlarged it.

The following century, King William III's massive rebuilding and expansion project intended to rival Versailles was begun. Work halted in 1694, leaving the palace in two distinct contrasting architectural styles, domestic Tudor and Baroque. While the palace's 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.

The royal family may have left Hampton Court in 1737, but the palace and its apartments soon found another purpose. After George III (1760-1820) decided not to live there, there was debate as to the future of the palace's thousands of rooms. From the 1760's onwards, the palace was divided up for grace-and-favour residents who were granted rent-free accommodation because they had given great service to the Crown or country. They lived, often with their own small households of servants above, underneath and around the state apartments. 

Wotton-under-Edge Civic Centre

Friday 19th December 2014 at 7.30pm

Visitors welcome. Non-members £5 on the door