Within a few hundred yards of the Hampton Court station on the London
and South-Western Railway stands the magnificent palace of Hampton
Court, originally erected by Cardinal Wolsey for his own residence, and
after his sudden downfall appropriated by his ungrateful master Henry
VIII. for his private use and property.

The approach from the station lies through a pair of finely designed
wrought-iron gates to the north frontage of the palace, erected by
Wolsey himself. This front is all in the fine red-brick architecture of
the period, with quaint gables, small mullioned windows, and a
collection of moulded and twisted red-brick chimneys of wonderfully
varied designs. The entrance through the gatehouse, flanked by two
towers, is under a massive Tudor gateway, and leads into an inner
quadrangle and thence into a second court, both of the same picturesque
character. In these inner courts are the suites of rooms given as
residences by royal favour, and on the left-hand side is Wolsey's great
banqueting-hall, with a magnificent open timber roof.

The southern and eastern portions, with the Fountain Court and the
splendid frontage to the gardens, were designed by Sir Christopher Wren,
and form one of the best examples of his work. In this part of the
building are the picture galleries, containing a priceless collection of
works, comprising Sir Peter Lely's Beauties of King Charles II.'s time,
valuable specimens of Holbein, Kneller, West, Jansen, Vandyck, Reynolds,
and other masters, and seven wonderful cartoons by Raphael.

The splendidly kept gardens, about 44 acres in extent, are still very
much as they were in the time of William III. Hampton Court "Maze" is
one of the most intricate in the country.