Front matter (continued 7)

In 1838, whilst removing one of the old towers built by Wolsey, the workmen came upon a number of glass bottles, which lay among the foundation; they were of curious shape, and it has been suggested that they were buried there to denote the date of the building.

On December 14, 1882, the palace had a narrow escape from destruction. A suite of eight or nine rooms, in the occupation of a lady, and overlooking the gardens and the Fountain Court, caught fire at half-past seven in the morning, it is supposed by the upsetting of a benzoline lamp in one of the servants' rooms. That the authorities should permit the use of such lamps in the building seems strange, especially in rooms situate as those were, over the tapestry-room, which adjoins the Picture Gallery, and contains splendid specimens of Gobelin and other ancient needlework. The flames spread rapidly through the rooms, and three of them were entirely burnt out before the firemen, assisted by men of the 4th Hussars, then stationed at the palace, could check the outbreak. All the other rooms were greatly damaged by fire and water. But the saddest part of the occurrence was that one of the servants, the cook, whilst rushing to the assistance of her fellow-servants, fell senseless on the floor, overcome by the smoke, and her charred and lifeless body was only got out when the fire had been subdued. It is to be hoped that a cause which might involve a great national loss has now been removed by prohibition.

In 1839 those parts of the palace which are not occupied by private residents, and the gardens, were thrown open to the public, and during the summer months are visited by thousands, who arrive there by rail, river, van, or, latterly, on the wheel-horse—vulgo bike. The permanent residents bitterly complain of these invasions, and not without reason, seeing how many 'Arrys and 'Arriets come down in holiday time; but as the palace and gardens are maintained at an expense of about £11,000 per annum out of the people's money, the right of visiting them can scarcely be denied to the public. Nor can the amount spent on the place be found fault with; it is a mere trifle in the domestic house-keeping bill of the nation, and a larger sum is annually wasted in useless firing off of cannon. The palace and gardens—

'The pleasant place of all festivity,

The revel of the earth, the masque of'—

Albion, are to us what Venice is to Italy:

'... a boast, a marvel, and a show.'

'But unto us'

Hampton Court

'Hath a spell beyond

A name in story, and a long array

Of mighty shadows.'

To us Hampton Court is a type of the progress of the nation from slavery to freedom, from darkness to light. Founded to gratify the pride and self-indulgence of an arrogant and scheming priest, for more than three centuries Hampton Court was the symbol of oppression on the one side, and of subjection on the other. But Time, which works such strange metamorphoses, has, since the last sixty years, transformed what was once the exclusive appanage of kings into the playground of the plebs, and what this change implies may well form a subject of study for inquiring and philosophical minds. But such study must be based on a knowledge of facts, an axiom we have kept in view in the compilation of our topographical and historical notes on the origin, progress, and final realization of the architectural, political, and social idea embodied in the monumental pile we have so concisely attempted to describe, so as to endow the contemplation thereof, in all its phases, with an intelligent appreciation of the physical and ideal beauties, together with their importance as an index of national advancement, which invest with an undying charm the palace and gardens of Hampton Court.[#]

[#] In Herefordshire, not far from Leominster, there is another Hampton Court, a spacious mansion of monastic and castellated architecture, having a fine chapel with open timber roof. It was built by Sir Rowland Lenthall, Yeoman of the Robes to Henry IV., who distinguished himself at the Battle of Agincourt.

THE END.

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