Hello Steemians

Hampton court, started construction in 1515, by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey,
who started to fall out of favour, and decided to gift it to King Henry VIII.
Pictured below is the great gatehouse.
The red brick used was new, just coming into style at that time.
It is a wonderful way to spend a day.
Located just 35 min from London's Waterloo station, you can......

use an oyster card or purchase a ticket from a very easy to use
self serve machine, for around 12GBP, return ticket.
Admission tickets can be purchased online, and printed at home
for 19GBP, / adult, a small saving as well as time saving, not
having to wait in line at the palace to purchase them.
The great hall is one of the most stunning parts of ......

the palace.
Looking closely you can see a number of faces, looking down in to the hall.

A reminder for the members of court, there are always ears listening nearby.
This is where the term "eavesdropper" came from.
Also in the great hall are tapestries, a number of them, in their day they......

would have been bright, like neon. Due to being made of gold, silver and silk.
They were a status symbol, and could cost as much as a battleship.

The astronomical clock is a piece of engineering brilliance for it's day, it is....

15' in diameter, and will tell the hour, month, day of the month, position of the sun
in the ecliptic, the 12 signs of the zodiac, number of days elapsed since the beginning
of the year, phases of the moon, and the hour when the moon crosses the meridian
and thus high water at London Bridge, which was essential, since court would
travel to London on barges, on the Thames.
It was recently refurbished and works today.
Later in the late 17th century another palace was to be constructed to replace
Hampton Court, based on the palace in France in Versaille.
The two palaces merge together, and while walking inside I didn't ......

notice leaving the older and entering the newer palace.
There are a number of gardens, and even a maze you can wonder through.

Plan for an entire day here, so much history, architecture, gardens

A number of books would have to be written to really do it justice.