A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX 



From that day he never saw her again. The 

 accounts of Henry's sojourns at Hampton Court 

 read like the shifting scenes of one long pageant of 

 joy and revelry, yet in the background are the 

 meetings of the Council, the dispatches daily sub- 

 mitted to the king, the discussions of foreign policy, 

 and the masterly manipulation of one of the greatest 

 revolutions England has ever seen, the detachment 

 of the National Church from the Church of 

 Rome.'" 



Hampton Court was, however, chiefly the scene 

 of the king's pleasures. At the time of the Dissolu- 

 tion of the Monasteries he created the ' Honour 

 and Chase of Hampton Court to improve his 

 hunting.' " 8 The king was also fond of fishing, 

 and in his privy purse expenses are several entries 

 for his rods to be brought to the palace, and for 

 payments to the fishermen who attended him." 9 



A large ' Tilt Yard ' was made on the north 

 side of the palace, about 9 acres in area," with five 

 towers in which the spectators might sit," 1 and 

 there numerous jousts and tournaments took place, 

 in which Henry often distinguished himself ' in 

 supernatural feats, changing his horses and making 

 them fly rather than leap, to the delight and ecstasy 

 of everybody.'"* Giustinian gives an account of 

 one of these tournaments held at Hampton Court, 

 and says that when the king himself appeared a 

 grand procession was formed, headed by the mar- 

 shal of the jousts on horseback, dressed in cloth of 

 gold, surrounded by thirty footmen in liveries of 

 blue and yellow. Then followed the drummers 

 and trumpeters, all dressed in white damask ; next 

 forty knights and lords in pairs, all in superb attire, 

 and many in cloth of gold ; then ' some twenty 

 young knights, on very fine horses, all dressed in 

 white, with doublets of silver and white velvet, 

 and chains of unsual size, and their horses barded 

 with silver chain-work, and a number of pendent 

 bells.' Next came their pages, on horseback, their 

 trappings, half of gold embroidery and half of 

 purple velvet, embroidered with stars ; and then 

 the jousters, armed, with their squires and foot- 

 men. Last of all came his Majesty, armed cap-H- 

 p'te, with a surcoat of silver bawdakin, surrounded 

 by some thirty gentlemen on foot, dressed in velvet 

 and white satin, and in this order they went twice 

 round the lists.' "* 



Another favourite pastime of the period was 

 archery, in which Henry also excelled, and amused 

 himself by teaching Anne Boleyn, and perhaps 

 other ladies of the Court, to shoot. Lord Roch- 



ford, Anne Boleyn's brother, won large sums from 

 the king at this sport." 4 The butt stood in what 

 was called ' The Great Orchard,' to the north of 

 the palace." 5 



The tennis-court, or 'close tennis play,' at 

 Hampton Court must also be mentioned, as it is 

 the oldest court of the kind in England, and 

 Henry was a skilful and graceful player." 6 There 

 seems to have been also an ' open tenys play,' no 

 doubt a forerunner of lawn tennis, and an open 

 and two close bowling alleys. One of these alleys 

 existed until about a hundred years ago, and was 

 270 ft. long, with windows on both sides. It 

 stood apparently behind the tennis court, and 

 there was another near the river." 7 Henry was 

 an inveterate gambler, his losses at dice, back- 

 gammon, shovel-board, &c., in one year amounted 

 to ^30,000."* At the same time, his great 

 versatility must be acknowledged, for, besides his 

 encouragement of artists," 9 and numerous entries of 

 payments to the king's minstrels for playing before 

 him at Hampton Court,* 30 he seems to have been 

 a musician himself (some of the songs he composed 

 are still extant)* 31 and all witnesses speak of his 

 skill in singing. He had also some taste for 

 literature, and spoke several languages. The king's 

 ' libarye ' at Hampton Court is often mentioned 

 in the Chapter House Accounts, and he filled it 

 with books from York Place.* 3 ' 



BADGE OF QUEEN ANNE BOLEYN 



"' L. and P. Hen. V1U, iv-xxi. 



818 See under ' Honour.' 



819 Nicolas, Privy Purse Expenses of 

 Hen. VIII, 65, 83. 



320 Now a nursery garden, rented 

 from the Crown by J. Naylor. 



*" The old wall still remain*, and 

 one of the towers ; vide Law, op. cit. 

 i, 135 et seq. 



' ea Giustinian, Dispatches, ii, 102. 



M * Ibid, ii, 101. 



* L. and P. Hen. fill, v, 755 ; 

 Nicolas, Privy Purie Expenses of Hen. 

 f-'flt, 145, 'Item, the same day 

 (8 July 53i) paied to my Lorde 



de Rocheforde for shooting with the 

 King's Grace at Hampton Corte, 

 58.' 



* Chap. Ho. Accts. C. $, fo1 - 

 481, &c. 



m See p. 290 for description of tennis 

 court. Giustinian gives a flattering 

 account of his appearance : ' It is the 

 prettiest thing in the world to ee him 

 play, his fair skin glowing through a 

 shirt of the finest texture ; ' Despatches, 

 i, 27. He also had other clothes made 

 on purpose for playing, including 

 ' tenys cotes ' of blue or black velvet to 

 put on when he rested ; Strutt, Manners 



334 



and Customs, iii, 87; cit. Law, op. cit. i, 

 139. 



**7 Law, op. cit. i, 140. 



328 Nicolas, Privy Purse Expenses of 

 Hen. VHl. 



See Chap. Ho. AccU. 



380 Nicolas, op. cit. ; L. and P. Hen. 

 yill, v, 307. 



231 MS. in possession of Mrs. Lamb, 

 cit. Arch, rli, 371 (by W. Chappell, 

 F.S.A.). 



283 Nicolas, op. cit. 89 ; Item, 

 paied to Joly Jak for bringing the king's 

 books from York Place to Hampton 

 Courte 51., Nov. 26, 1530.' 



