Royal court place. One of the criteria of Norbert Elias' concept of a court society is that it existed in space.. The German word "Hof", meaning an enclosed courtyard, can also apply to a rural farmstead with outbuildings and walls forming the perimeter. It has also been used for the palatial seat where the court was held. Thus "Hof" or "court" can become transferred to the building itself. For example, the grand residence Hampton Court Palace on the River Thames above London was where Thomas Wolsey held court as Catholic cardinal (built after the Italian ideal for a cardinal's palace) until his
Hampton Court astronomical clock Hampton Court astronomical clock Hampton Court astronomical clock is a sixteenth-century astronomical clock in Hampton Court Palace. The clock was installed in 1540 on the gatehouse to the inner court at Hampton Court Palace. It was designed by Nicholas Crazter and made by Nicholas Oursian. This pre-Copernican and pre-Galilean astronomical clock is still functioning. The clock is in diameter with three separate copper dials revolving at different speeds and displays the following information: The latter information was of great importance to those visiting this Thames-side palace from London, as the preferred method of transport at the time was by barge,