Hampton

Hampton, a village in Middlesex, on the Thames, 15 miles S.W. of London. At about a mile's distance is Hampton Court Palace, originally built by Cardinal Wolsey, who presented it to Henry VIII. in 1525. Considerable additions and alterations were made in the reign of William III. under the direction of Sir Christopher Wren, and the Dutch gardens, with their formal terraces and arcades, and the well-known labyrinths, belong to the same period. There is some good tapestry, and the works in the picture-gallery include Lely's Beauties of the Court of Charles II. and a portrait by Holbein. It ceased to be a royal palace in the reign of George II., and is now occupied chiefly by persons of rank or good position in straitened circumstances. The buildings were much injured by fire in November, 1886.