Royal Tennis Court, Hampton Court Royal Tennis Court, Hampton Court The Royal Tennis Court, Hampton Court Palace is a court for playing the sport of real tennis. It was built for Cardinal Wolsey between 1526 and 1529. Henry VIII of England played there from 1528. This court is still home to an active tennis club. In 2015 it was closed to visitors for major restoration works. During the 17th century various improvements were made to the court. One of the first acts of Charles II after his restoration in 1660 was to order the extensive refitting of the Tudor tennis court. This included the laying
Hampton Court Palace largest in the world . The palace's Home Park is the site of the annual Hampton Court Palace Festival and Hampton Court Palace Flower Show. Thomas Wolsey, Archbishop of York, chief minister to and favourite of Henry VIII, took over the site of Hampton Court Palace in 1514. It had previously been a property of the Order of St John of Jerusalem. Over the following seven years, Wolsey spent lavishly (200,000 Crowns) to build the finest palace in England at Hampton Court. Today, little of Wolsey's building work remains unchanged. The first courtyard, the Base Court, ("B on plan"), was