The Old Court House pea shingle path which is flanked by lawn. This path then leads to a pond and fountain that was built by Wren and which was listed before The Old Court House itself. Wren’s tool house is now a charming garden room from which to enjoy the garden in the summer. King Henry VIII took the newly built Hampton Court Palace from Cardinal Wolsey in 1526. All the property around Hampton Court then belonged to the Monarch. (See "Hampton Court: The Story of a Village" by Gerald Heath.) In 1669, Wren (1632-1723) was appointed as the Royal Surveyor by King Charles
Thomas Wolsey Wolsey to the post of Almoner, a position that gave him a seat on the Privy Council and gave him an opportunity for greater prominence and for establishing a personal rapport with the King. A factor in Wolsey's rise was the young Henry VIII's relative lack of interest in the details of government during his early years. The primary counsellors whom King Henry VIII inherited from his father were Richard Foxe ( 1448–1528, Bishop of Winchester 1501–1528) and William Warham ( 1450–1532, Archbishop of Canterbury 1503–1532). These were cautious and conservative, advising the King to act as a careful administrator