Hampton Court Castle, also known as Hampton Court, is a

castellated A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals t ...

country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...

in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

county of

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

. The house is in the parish of

Hope under Dinmore Hope under Dinmore is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England. The village is on the A49 road, south of Leominster and north of Hereford, and on the Welsh Marches railway line. The railway passes under Dinmore Hill through the ...

south of

Leominster Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England; it is located at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of almos ...

and is a Grade I listed building, which is the highest category of architecture in the statutory protection scheme. The castle and grounds can be visited by the public and are also available as a venue for weddings and other events.

History

Hampton Court dates back from 1427. Sir Rowland Lenthall had built the original house on an estate which had been granted to him some years previously on his marriage to the king's cousin Margaret Fitzalan, a daughter of

Richard FitzAlan, 4th Earl of Arundel Richard Fitzalan, 4th Earl of Arundel, 9th Earl of Surrey (1346 – 21 September 1397) was an English medieval nobleman and military commander. Lineage Born in 1346, he was the son of Richard Fitzalan, 3rd Earl of Arundel and Eleanor of Lancast ...

. Sir Rowland's house was a

quadrangular Quadrangle or The Quadrangle may refer to: Architecture *Quadrangle (architecture), a courtyard surrounded by a building or several buildings, often at a college Various specific quadrangles, often called "the quad" or "the quadrangle": North A ...

courtyard house A courtyard house is a type of house—often a large house—where the main part of the building is disposed around a central courtyard. Many houses that have courtyards are not courtyard houses of the type covered by this article. For example, ...

and has retained this basic form. In other ways, the house has been significantly altered. The house was painted at least twice by

J.M.W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbu ...

Successive owners

It was owned by the noble

Coningsby Coningsby is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Lindsey Non-metropolitan district, district in Lincolnshire, England, it is situated on the A153 road, adjoining Tattershall on its western side, north west of Bost ...

family from 1510 until 1781, when it was inherited by George Capel, Viscount Malden, son of the 4th Earl of Essex. The 4th Earl's first wife was Frances Hanbury Williams, the daughter of

Charles Hanbury Williams Sir Charles Hanbury Williams, Order of the Bath, KB (8 December 1708 – 2 November 1759) was a British politician, diplomat and writer. He was a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament from 1734 until his death. Early life ...

of Coldbroke and granddaughter of

Thomas Coningsby, 1st Earl Coningsby Thomas Coningsby, 1st Earl Coningsby Privy Council of England, PC (2 November 1656 – 1 May 1729) of Hampton Court Castle, Herefordshire, was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons of England, House of Commons at various times fr ...

. The 5th Earl changed his name to Capel-Coningsby and remodelled the building to the designs of the architect

James Wyatt James Wyatt (3 August 1746 – 4 September 1813) was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the Neoclassicism, neoclassical and neo-Gothic styles. He was elected to the Royal Academy of Arts in 1785 and was its president from 1805 to ...

. Historic England reports that the castle was "altered early C18 by

Colen Campbell Colen Campbell (15 June 1676 – 13 September 1729) was a pioneering Scottish architect and architectural writer who played an important part in the development of the Georgian style. For most of his career, he resided in Italy and England. As ...

for Lord Coningsby and remodelled and restored in the early C19 by

Sir Jeffrey Wyatville Sir Jeffry Wyatville (3 August 1766 – 18 February 1840) was an English architect and garden designer. Born Jeffry Wyatt into an established dynasty of architects, in 1824 he was allowed by King George IV to change his surname to Wyatville ...

for Richard Arkwright". In 1810 the estate was purchased by John Arkwright, the grandson of the inventor and industrialist

Richard Arkwright Sir Richard Arkwright (23 December 1732 – 3 August 1792) was an English inventor and a leading entrepreneur during the early Industrial Revolution. He is credited as the driving force behind the development of the spinning frame, known as ...

. Some of the original oak

panelling Panelling (or paneling in the United States) is a millwork wall covering constructed from rigid or semi-rigid components. These are traditionally interlocking wood, but could be plastic or other materials. Panelling was developed in antiquity ...

was taken probably during the 17th century to Wickton Court, a grand house near

and remains a feature of its living room. The house was remodelled in the 1830s and 1840s to restore a castle-like layout, exterior and decoration, reversing earlier attempts to make it appear more regular and domestic. It was sold by

John Stanhope Arkwright Sir John Stanhope Arkwright (10 July 1872 – 19 September 1954) was a British Conservative Party politician. Family life Born in London, he was the great-great-grandson of the cotton-spinning industrialist Sir Richard Arkwright and the son ...

in 1910 followed by a gradual succession of conveyances. Between 1924 and 1972 it was the seat of

Viscount Hereford Viscount Hereford is the oldest extant viscountcy in the Peerage of England, making the holder the Premier Viscount of England. The title was created in 1550 for Walter Devereux, 10th Baron Ferrers of Chartley. History The Devereux () fam ...

and was bought by American businessman

Robert Van Kampen Robert D. Van Kampen (December 16, 1938 – October 29, 1999) was an American businessman, who served as a member of various organizational boards in the business world and Christian ministry. Van Kampen's business career took him into the invest ...

in 1994. He died in 1999. The formal gardens were opened with a celebration by the family in the year 2000, where the

Indiana Wesleyan University Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) is a private evangelical Christian university headquartered in Marion, Indiana, and affiliated with the Wesleyan Church. It is the largest private university in Indiana. The university system includes IWU—M ...

Chorale was featured as a sacred choir and some members as a small madrigal choir. Hampton Court Castle and grounds were sold by the Van Kampen family in 2006. In January 2016, the house was for sale at the price of £12M, having been advertised for sale for more than a year at prices of up to £16M. It was described as part of a property with 26 bedrooms and 25 bathrooms. It also includes a conservatory designed by

Joseph Paxton Sir Joseph Paxton (3 August 1803 – 8 June 1865) was an English gardener, architect, engineer and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Member of Parliament. He is best known for designing the Crystal Palace, which was built in Hyde Park, London, Hyde ...

. As of 2024, whilst the castle is in use as a wedding venue, it is also still open to the public on selected days. The gardens are still open to the public every day throughout the season.

Gardens

Sunken garden at Hampton Court - geograph

The gardens are a particular feature, and include an organically managed

kitchen garden The traditional kitchen garden, vegetable garden, also known as a potager (from the French ) or in Scotland a kailyaird, is a space separate from the rest of the residential garden – the ornamental plants and lawn areas. It is used for grow ...

, as well as a

maze A maze is a path or collection of paths, typically from an entrance to a goal. The word is used to refer both to branching tour puzzles through which the solver must find a route, and to simpler non-branching ("unicursal") patterns that lead ...

, a secret tunnel,

Dutch garden Dutch garden refers firstly to gardens in the Netherlands, but also, mainly in the English-speaking countries, to various types of gardens traditionally considered to be in a Dutch style, a presumption that has been much disputed by garden historia ...

, island pavilions and a 150-year-old

wisteria ''Wisteria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae (Leguminosae). The genus includes four species of woody twining vines that are native to China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, southern Canada, the Eastern United States, and nor ...

arch. Hampton Court has a garden which was largely created by the Van Kampens and is open to the public throughout the summer months, and now offers special events such as outdoor theatre productions, small concerts and family days out. The house (empty) and grounds featured extensively in the first season of the 1970s BBC television series ''

Survivors Survivor(s) may refer to: * one who survives Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Survivors, characters in the 1997 KKnD series#Armies, ''KKnD'' video-game series * ''The Survivors'', or the ''New Survivors Foundation'', a fictional ...

'', filmed in the spring and summer of 1975.

References

External links

*{{commons category-inline, Hampton Court, Herefordshire
Official sitePhotos of Hampton Court and surrounding area on geograph.org.uk
Country houses in Herefordshire Gardens in Herefordshire Tourist attractions in Herefordshire Historic house museums in Herefordshire Grade I listed buildings in Herefordshire