Hampton Court; Kings, Cardinals and Queens plus the occasional ghost!

Hampton Court; Kings, Cardinals and Queens plus the occasional ghost!

Hampton Court Palace is the most awesome Tudor palace that you will be able to see (many of Henry’s palaces have been partly or totally destroyed). The preservation of the building is remarkable. Unlike many well known places, Hampton Court Palace is not a romantic ruin! It has been described as history in colour. The Great Hall and Chapel Royal will take your breath away. There are many things stand out and are simply stunning. Hampton Court is the centre of a fantastic period of history with fascinating characters like Thomas Wolsey, Anne Boleyn and of course Henry VIII. Most people know a few things about Henry and his six wives and here is the place where a lot of it took place.There are so many badges, emblems and physical references to Henry VIII’s life story that it would take a day to search them all out!

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Ightham Mote; a 700 year old magnificent, medieval moated manor house set in the beautiful Kent Countryside.

Ightham Mote; a 700 year old magnificent, medieval moated manor house set in the beautiful Kent Countryside.

A visit to the beautiful Ightham Mote will take you on a journey back to the 14th century. Various rooms and details result in you being taken along a timeline of discovery and evoking a deep sense of history. It was built by medieval knights, taken on by tudor courtiers desperate to gain favour with Henry VIII and on through high society Victorians before ending up in the hands of a very generous American benefactor who passed it on to the National Trust. It has many rooms to marvel at, from the medieval “Great Hall” and Crypt”, to Catherine of Aragon’s pomegranite emblem on the chapel ceiling and ending up in the impressive Victorian billiard room.

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