Hampton Court Palace
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
long a royal residence, and now partially occupied by persons of good family in reduced circumstances, standing about a mile from the village of Hampton, England, in the midst of grounds that extend to the Thames. The original palace was erected by Cardinal Wolsey, and by him presented (1526) to Henry VIII., who enlarged it and formed around it a royal deer leer park. Here Edward VI. was born, his mother, Queen Jane Seymour, died, and Charles I. underwent a portion held thehiaminampton Court Conference of his confinement. Here, too, was The court continued to be a royal resi dence down to the time of George II. A considerable portion of it was rebuilt by William III., from designs by Wren, and he also laid out the park and gardens in yle. The picture galthe formal Dutch style. lery contains several Italian works, Lely's Beauties of the Court of Charles II., and valuable specimens of Holbein, Kneller, West, etc. The gardens have among other attractions a "maze" or Vol. IV-Cyc-DD labyrinth. Damage, estimated_at $100,- 000, was caused by fire in November, 1886. an American HAMPTON, WADE, military officer; born in South Carolina in 1754; fought in the Revolutionary War under Sumter and Marion; was a member of Congress, 1795-1797 and 1803-1805. He was commissioned Colonel in the United States army in 1808; promoted Brigadier-General in 1809, and Major-General in 1813; served in the majo Wa War of 1812; and resigned his commission in April, 1814. He died in Columbia, S. C., Feb. 4, 1835. an American
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Collier's noted in 1921 that the palace was "partially occupied by persons of good family in reduced circumstances" — the grace-and-favour apartments granted by the Crown to widows and pensioners of royal or military service. Those tenancies were wound down over the twentieth century, and since 1989 the palace has been run as a visitor attraction by the independent charity Historic Royal Palaces rather than as a residence. It survived a far worse fire than the one Collier's dated to November 1886: on 31 March 1986 a blaze in the Wren-built King's Apartments killed a grace-and-favour resident and gutted rooms that took until 1992 to restore. Wolsey's buildings, the picture collection, the Tudor courts and the famous maze are all still there, now seen by several hundred thousand ticket-holders a year.
Written for this edition, 2026.