Day 16

This morning, we ate breakfast together in the refectory at 8 am, and then left to meet Professors Wolfe and Parkhouse at 8:25 am. We took the Tube to the Waterloo Station where we boarded a train to Hampton Court. We arrived at the Hampton Court Station after the 40 minute train ride, and walked over a small bridge toward the Hampton Court Palace. We browsed the gift shops while Professor Wolfe purchased entrance tickets. After receiving our tickets, pamphlets, and maps, Professor Wolfe showed us the Tiltyard Cafe where we would eat our lunches, and provided us with a lunch allowance.

After the cafe, we walked to the Hampton Court Palace Maze which is the oldest surviving hedge maze, having been built for King William III and Mary II in 1690. The maze was designed by royal gardeners George London and Henry Wise and covers an area of 0.5 acres. On our way to the maze, Professor Wolfe told us that we would be racing each other through the maze for a prize of a souvenir book of Hampton Court Palace. We were all excited about the competition and were anxious to begin the race. At Professor Wolfe's signal, we all sprinted into the maze tripping over each other and fighting for the front position.
As the maze veered off in various directions, we split into different groups, and eventually, everyone was on their own to find their way. I (Emily) somehow made my way back to the entrance the fastest, and won the souvenir book, closely followed by Cheryl and Sam. A few minutes later, after the others emerged, we headed to the entrance of the Palace, where we were stopped momentarily as a hearse approached the gates of the Palace. We learned that today, a funeral procession and service for Lady Joan Moore was taking place in the Palace Chapel. Lady Moore (1925-2011) had been a Hampton Court Palace resident since 1986, when she came to live with her late husband, Lord Moore of Wolvercote. According to the palace guards, they were well known and liked and were often seen walking in the gardens with their green Amazon parrot "Jones." Lady Moore was one of the last few residents of Hampton Court Palace, and from what we could see from a distance, the services held for her were lovely.

After entering the Palace, we split up into groups and began exploring the different areas of the palace including Henry VIII's Apartments, his life story, and his kitchens, Mantegna's Triumphs of Caesar, William III's, Mary II's, and the Georgian Private Apartments, and the Palace Gardens. All of the groups took a few minutes out of their exploration of the palace to have lunch at the Tilityard Cafe.

The gardens were one of the most spectacular features of the palace and were very elaborate and well kept. There were numerous gardens surrounding the palace including the Rose Garden, The Hedge Maze, The Lower Orangery Garden, The Pond Gardens, The Privy Garden, and The Great Fountain Garden, and all were different and spectacular in their own ways.

One section of the garden featured The Great Vine, which holds the Guinness World Record for the largest vine in the world with a circumference of 3.8 metres (12 feet 5 inches), and the largest branch measuring 75 metres (246 feet) long as of January 2005. At our leisure, we finished exploring the palace and headed back to Regents College in our groups for dinner.