Hampton Court (Richmond upon Thames, London, England)
The name of the Water Gallery survives from that of the building which
at one time stood here, the "dépendance" which Queen Mary occupied
while the Palace was being rebuilt, and which was demolished when the
alterations were completed. East from this point runs the Long Walk,
parallel with, but well above, the towing path, and affording a good
view along the river on one hand and glimpses of the park on the
other. This walk led to the old Bowling Green and Pavilions. Some
distance along it a gate gives on to the towing path leading to
Kingston Bridge.
South of the Palace--shut off from the eastern gardens by a
climber-covered wall--is the smaller but very beautiful Privy Garden,
with its turf-banked terraces on either side, its sunken centre filled
with a wonderful variety of shrubs and trees. From the terrace walk on
the left we may look over the wall to the eastern gardens and park;
along the right-hand terrace is formed Queen Mary's Bower, an
intertwisted avenue of trimmed and cut wych-elms, some of the
distorted trunks of which might have inspired more than one of Doré's
Dante illustrations. This shady bower is in summer particularly
delightful, and from the farther end of it is to be had, through and
above the evergreens of this Privy Garden, a beautiful view of the
south front of the Palace. At the farther end of the Privy Garden,
fencing it from the towing path, are some magnificent iron gates and
screens.
Along the gravel walk, immediately against the south front of the
Palace, are ranged in summer great tubs with orange trees, believed to
be those originally planted here by Queen Mary--though it is not easy
to realize that they are over three hundred years old! And close to
this wall of the Palace stand two heroic Statues, Hercules with his
club, and another; it might be thought, half of the quartette of
figures that, as old views of the Palace show, at one time stood on
the low columns which rise above the balustrading of the roof, only
that quartette is said to have consisted of goddesses, since removed
to Windsor. In an old engraving, dated 1815, two figures are still to
be seen on the skyline.
Beyond the steps up to Queen Mary's Bower, a gateway leads us to the
farther Privy Gardens. On the right may be observed where Wren's
additions end abruptly against the windows of Queen Elizabeth's
Chambers, and her monogram is to be seen carved boldly above the
first-floor window in a decorative ribbon pattern, while above the
second-floor window are her initials beside a crowned Tudor rose, each
carving having the date 1568.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account