Walking up to Hampton Court Palace was not what I expected. I expected to have to walk quite a ways from the train station to get to the palace. I imagined walking through fields and fields before we finally saw a structure in the distance. From everything I know royals liked to live very separate from the common folk and the city. So I was very shocked when it was only a five minute walk from the train station and there we are standing at the gates. I can imagine that when the palace was inhabited by royals the town of Hampton Court was significantly more rural and farther away from the palace. But across our entire trip I have been taken aback by the modern world cohabitating with the deep history of England.
Upon first glance I noticed how big the structure was, but felt it was significantly less opulent than I had expected, until I figured out that the entrance is by the kitchens where the servants and working class citizens would have existed in the palace. It seemed that the route of the tour takes you from the more practical spaces building on the opulence as you move from room to room until finally you end up in the apartments or the massive gardens that seem to go on for miles and miles.
As someone who deeply misses her kitchen and is desperately craving a day to cook for myself when I get home, I spent a lot of time in the kitchens. Personally, I also find the lives of the palace workers far more interesting than the lives of the royals, so I tend to gravitate to the working spaces in places like these. I think what shocked me the most was just how vast the kitchens were and how organized they were. There were separate rooms for specific food preparations. There was a room that was completely dedicated to the fresh herbs and vegetables. A room solely dedicated to the multiple fires that had to be burning to produce the outrageous amount of food that was demanded of them. A room solely for plating and preparing the food to be served to the royals as well as a space for the workers to eat.
I can imagine how grueling the work in these kitchens were. The heat from the fires, the processing of the meats and harvesting of the vegetables and fruits, the timing of the preparation to ensure it was still hot by the time it was served, it’s all so daunting. Especially when you consider the fact that any misstep could cost you your livelihood.
Then when we reached the gardens I couldn’t help but think of the people who were tasked with up-keeping them. The gardens seem to be never ending when you stand under the arch of the courtyard and look out at them. I couldn’t help but wonder how many people shared the responsibility of their maintenance. The trees were immaculately trimmed and grew in the most perfect of ways, like even the trees didn’t dare upset the royals. I could imagine the long hot days grooming row after row after row of flower beds with the utmost precision, all while trying to stay out of the way of the royals as they used the gardens for their afternoon strolls.
Theatre in London U of A 