Much like the Tower of London, I had previously been to Hampton Court Palace. Let me tell you: it was good to be back at my old stomping grounds. I once again got to give “the Merritt tour”, aka lead everyone around as we listened to audio guides and randomly chipping in with fun facts.
We started in the kitchens. The part that really struck me about the kitchen was the wall above the fireplace that they always keep burning. There was so much smoke damage on the walls and ceiling from years of smoke. There are six fire places in this specific part of the kitchen that weren’t like this, but I wonder if this is due to restoration. Also, the Tudors ate like CRAZY! Something said they might eat 5,000 – 9,000 calories in one day. HUH? Liters on liters of beer, wine, and ale. There was a portion in the kitchens that cleared up that the Tudors did in fact drink water, which is good obviously, but it was definitely not enough. Not to get gross…but I know their pee was an insane color.
After the kitchens, we went into the palace. OHHH YEAHHHHHHH. First room we went into was the Grand Hall, which is indeed very grand. My favorite part of the room is how you can see some surviving H + A monograms that survived after Henry VIII had them knocked down after Anne Boleyn’s execution. The Grand Hall connects to another room which has a name I can’t remember, but it’s where the courtiers would wait to catch a glimpse of the king. This room is attached to what would’ve been Henry VIII’s and the Queen’s apartments, which for some reason you can’t see. BOO!
My favorite portion of the castle lays just beyond this room…THE HAUNTED GALLERY!!!!!!!!!! It gets this name because it’s said that after poor miss Katherine Howard was imprisoned in her apartments due to accusations of adultery, she briefly escaped and tried to run to the chapel (where she thought Henry would be) to beg for her life. She was caught while in this gallery and dragged back to her rooms, kicking and screaming. They say that you can hear her screams echoing through the gallery to this day…I’m not going to lie to you guys, Anna and I heard screaming. Make of that what you will.
Anyhow, after haunted gallery we saw the many other rooms in Hampton Court, including the Georgian side I hadn’t gone through before. It was very pretty and interesting, but I’m a Tudor girl through and through. Once again, thanks Mom!
Theatre in London U of A 