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
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