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 and Dittons Regatta The regatta was from the start under the royal patronage of Princess Frederica of Hanover who was then residing at Hampton Court Palace. The start point, then as now, was from the Hampton Court Palace Water Gallery, but finished then at the lower end of Boyle Farm Island. The regatta has remained a traditional boat event, being a competition for skiffing and punting and is run from Dittons Skiff and Punting Club at Thames Ditton in July. Skiffing is run under the rules of the Skiff Racing Association and the course goes downstream from Hampton Court Palace Water Gallery to