Hampton Court Palace Hampton Court Palace Hampton Court Palace is a royal palace in the borough of Richmond upon Thames, south west and upstream of central London on the River Thames. Building of the palace began in 1515 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, a favourite of King Henry VIII. In 1529, as Wolsey fell from favour, the cardinal gave the palace to the King to check his disgrace; Henry VIII later enlarged it. Along with St James's Palace, it is one of only two surviving palaces out of the many owned by King Henry VIII. In the following century, King William III's massive rebuilding
Hampton Wick Lower Teddington Road) while waiting for Hampton Court Palace to be built. The parish of Hampton was split in the century after this time to form Hampton Wick. Sir Richard Steele also lived in Hampton Wick, in a house he whimsically called "The Hovel". He dedicated the fourth volume of "Tatler" to Charles, Lord Halifax "from the Hovel at Hampton Wick, April 7, 1711", around the time he became Surveyor of the Royal Stables at Hampton Court Palace, Governor of the King's Comedians, a Justice of the Peace and a knight. The architect Edward Lapidge both designed and donated the