Customer Reviews

Hampton Court: A Social and Architectural History

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I have to admit a weakness for coffee-table books about palaces, stately homes etc, but this sumptuous, oversize volume is among the better ones of the genre. It is a detailed history of Hampton Court Palace - its origins, construction, additions, renovations, decoration and gardens, but also it touches on the lives and motivations of its people - builders and architects, kings and princes, bureaucrats and functionaries, tenants and visitors.

Richly illustrated with floor plans, drawings, paintings, prints, portraits, and photographs, this account of Hampton Court brings the story of the famous palace up to the 21st century.

When I last visited Hampton Court a quarter century ago, both house and gardens were looking decidedly shabby and, apparently, it got much worse before it got better. Tourists were passing it up in droves. Scandalous mismanagement, including a 3 million pound contractor fraud, dismantled fire detectors and gateways too narrow for fire engines, led up to a disastrous fire in 1986 and resulted in 2 deaths.

Although this is a serious work, one (unintentionally?) hilarious episode described in the book is the comic-opera visit to view the fire damage by the then Secretary of State for the Environment (& the man ultimately responsible for Hampton Court), Nicolas Ridley. Ridley, a chain smoker, his wife who was claustrophobic and ten other dignitaries were descending in the lift when it jammed between floors; the emergency manual door-opening device failed to function; the elevator maintenance man could not be located. Two hours later the Fire Brigade forced the doors open with a hydraulic jack. Heads rolled afterward - if only metaphorically.

New schemes have since been put in place for restoration and refurbishment, for improved property management and to enhance the attractions of the historic old palace for new generations of visitors.

Britain does not possess a Versailles or a Caserta, but Hampton Court is about the close as it gets. Hampton Court is really two palaces, one built for Cardinal Wolsey, stolen by the gluttonous Henry VIII and finished in magnificent style by Sir Christopher Wren. Its history is really more interesting than the building itself. Hampton Court, though spectacular in many ways, will make nobody forget Fountainbleu or the Lourve. This book has wonderful images and the text is sholarly and enlightening. I highly recommend this book to anyone with any interest in British history, or storied structures.

As a source for factual information in an historiacl context, I highly recommend this book. In researching the Elizabethan era, I found the information most helpful in reaching a greater understanding of Elizabeth Tudor and her times.
The excellent combination of photographs and period illustrations in the book help in drawing/writing a clearer picture of the place where so much vital history took place.

I received my "Hampton Court" today and am very pleased. I've been studying the Palace off and on for about a year, in relation to some genealogy work, and the book was recommended to me by a palace staffer as the best available. For someone looking for a beautiful book on the palace that has wonderful (and sometimes rare) illustrations as well as a great deal of historical information, it's a perfect purchase. Well-written, well-produced, and substantial, this has the excellence that booklovers dream of.