A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX 



The elevations to the Fountain Court, although 

 following the same lines as those of the fronts, are 

 distinctly more attractive, partly no doubt from 

 the contrast of light and shade which their four- 

 square arrangement produces, but also because the 

 horizontal lines of the cornices over the first-floor 

 windows are here replaced by pediments, and the 

 open arches of the cloisters beneath, with their 

 well-carved keystones, 1 and lunettes filling the heads 

 of the arches, are far more effective, backed as they 

 are by the cloister walks, than the external range 

 of windows of the ground story. The round half- 

 tory windows are here made the most ornamental 



HAMPTON COURT PALACE : 

 FOUNTAIN COURT FROM THE NORTH-WEST CORNER 



features of the elevations, being encircled by 

 wreaths of foliage over which are hung lions' skins, 

 arranged with a care for symmetry which is almost 

 comic, especially in the treatment of the tail of 

 the beast. The west elevation of the court is of 

 two stories only, and consists of the cloister walk 

 with a corridor above the ' Communication 

 Gallery' of the old accounts masking the older 

 buildings on the east of the Clock Court.' 



The internal arrangements have, from the point 



of view of planning, almost as much interest as 

 those of the older buildings, both representing, it 

 must be assumed, the best traditions of their time. 

 The State Apartments occupy the first and 

 principal floor of the buildings on three sides of 

 the Fountain Court, and their disposition shows 

 little advance on those of the Tudor palace. The 

 King's Great Staircase at the south-east corner of 

 the Clock Court leads to the King's Guard 

 Chamber in the projecting block at the west end of 

 the south front, overlooking the privy garden, 

 and from it a series of rooms runs eastward, open- 

 ing one from another, the Presence Chamber, the 

 second Presence Chamber, 

 the Audience Chamber, 

 the King's Drawing-room, 

 and his State Bedroom. 

 These occupy rather more 

 than half of the width of 

 the range, the other part 

 towards the Fountain 

 Court being taken up 

 by the Great Gallery or 

 Council Chamber, which 

 can be entered from either 

 end of the king's suite 

 of rooms, at the south- 

 east from the State Bed- 

 room, and at the west, 

 through an anteroom, 

 from the second Presence 

 Chamber. On the west 

 side of the Fountain Court, 

 and opening to the north 

 side of the anteroom, is 

 the gallery which leads 

 to the Queen's Staircase 

 and State Rooms. These 

 are not so symmetrically 

 arranged as the king's 

 suite, the Guard Cham- 

 ber and Presence Cham- 

 ber, which occupy the 

 north side of the court, 

 opening through a lobby 

 to the Public Dining- 

 room at the east, from 

 the south-east corner of 

 which the rest of the 

 Queen's Apartments are 

 reached, consisting of 

 three rooms, Audience 

 Chamber, Drawing- 

 room, and Bedroom. These face eastward, and 

 occupy the middle of the east front, having the 

 Queen's Gallery to the south of them, while tht 

 west side of this range, facing towards the Foun- 

 tain Court, is divided into a set of small rooms, 

 the private apartments of the king and queen. 

 The three small rooms and a staircase at the angle 

 of the south-west wings are also private apart- 

 ments, but open one from another, completing the 

 passage round the outer side of the two fronts. 



9 The heads on nearly all these key- 

 stones were replaced about five yeari ago 

 by careful copies of the original headi. 



4 One doorway in the Fountain Court 

 has Wren's cipher above it ; this is 



378 



believed to be the only one in the 

 place. See p. 367. 





