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Hampton Court Palace
Hampton Court Palace is a former royal palace in south west London on the River Thames. It is the site of the annual Hampton Court Palace Flower Show and is the site of the world-famous Hampton Court Palace Hedge Maze.
in 1514 Thomas Wolsey took out a lease on Hampton Court and rebuilt the 14th-century manor house to form the nucleus of the present palace. The few remaining Tudor sections of Hampton Court which were later overhauled and rebuilt by Henry VIII, suggest that Wolsey intended it as an ideal Renaissance cardinal's palace in the style of Italian architects such as il Filarete.
In 1528 Wolsey gave Hampton Court Palace to Henry VIII in a vain attempt to appease the king who was incensed that Wolsey could not negotiate his divorce from Katherine of Aragon. Henry seized the house greedily, and had Wolsey imprisoned in the Tower of London. Henry added the Great Hall - which was the last medieval Great Hall built for the English monarchy - and the Royal Tennis Court, which was built and is still in use for the game of real tennis, not the present-day version of the game.
During the reign of William and Mary, parts of Henry's additions were demolished, a new wing was added and the state apartments came into regular use. Half the Tudor palace was replaced in a campaign that lasted from 1689-1694. After the Queen died, William lost interest in the renovations, but it was at Hampton Court in 1702 that he fell from his horse, later dying from his injuries at Kensington Palace. In later reigns the state rooms were neglected, but under George II further refurbishment took place.
From the reign of George III in 1760 monarchs tended to favor other London homes, and Hampton Court ceased to be a royal residence. In 1796, restoration work began in the Great Hall, and In 1838 Queen Victoria completed the restoration and opened the palace to the public. A major fire in the King's Apartments in 1986 led to a new program of restoration work that was completed in 1995.
There have been many reported sightings of ghosts at Hampton court palace including the notorious King Henry VIII himself and even speculation that a ghost was caught on a closed-circuit security camera in 2003. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hampton_Court_Palace)
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