Hampton Court is the finest and most
magnificent royal edifice to be found in England, or for that matter in other countries, and comprises
without the park (which has a wall round of one and a half miles in length, is
full of game and has a lodge in its midst from which the queen can watch the
chase) ten different large courts, and the same number of separate royal or
princely dwellings, all adjoining one another however. And the entire
construction is built of brick.
The first large forecourt is covered with lawn. In the second court is a beautiful clock, cleverly devised from which one can tell the time by the
sun, and also observe the movements of the moon.The third court contains a fine large fountain of great height, artistically wrought of white marble,
with an excellent water work with which one may easily spray any ladies or
others standing round, and wet them well. And since the queen recently progressed from Hampton Court to Nonsuch with some three hundred carts of bag and baggage
as is her custom, the tapestries and all the other ornaments still hung in the apartments, for the latter, as
will be noted shortly, contain such elegant tapestry of good gold, silver and pure
silk that the like is nowhere to be found in such quantity in one
place.
First we were shown through the aforesaid courts into a large and very long
gallery hung all round with old woven tapestries. This led us to the
dining or banqueting hall, from where we entered the church or chapel containing
a most excellent fine organ on which I played a while, then we
inspected the gallery or loft, from which the queen listens to the sermon.
There all over the ceiling were painted these three signs: a portcullis just as
is stamped on the half-pennies, a lily (fleur de lis), and a rose, always
encircled with these two mottoes: Dieu et mon droit, 'God and my right'; and
Dominus mihi adiutor: Being, 'The Lord is my help and succour'.
On descent and exit from the church the gardener presented himself, and after we
had offered a gratuity to our first guide, the gardener conducted us into the
royal pleasaunce.
By the entrance I noticed numerous patches where square cavities had been
scooped, as for paving stones; some of these were filled with red brick-dust,
some with white sand, and some with green lawn, very much resembling a
chess-board. The hedges and surrounds were of hawthorn, bush firs, ivy, roses,
juniper, holly, English or common elm, box and other shrubs, very gay and
attractive.
There were all manner of shapes, men and women, half men and half horse, sirens,
serving-maids with baskets, French lilies and delicate crenellations all round
made from the dry twigs bound together and the aforesaid evergreen quick-set
shrubs, or entirely of rosemary, all true to the life, and so cleverly and
amusingly interwoven, mingled and grown together, trimmed and arranged
picture-wise that their equal would be difficult to find.
And just as there is a park on the one hand, so opposite this in the middle of
the other side there is a maze, similarly decorated with plants and flowering
trees, and two marble fountains, so that time shall not drag in such a place;
for should one miss one's way, not only are taste, vision and smell delighted,
but the gladsome birdsongs and plashing fountains please the ear,
indeed it is like an earthly paradise.
After leaving this extensive and pleasant garden, and presenting our gratuity to
the gardener, the governor of the royal palace, one of the nobility, to whom we
had previously sent in our letter of introduction, received us, and after he had
returned our letter he presented us to his wife and daughters, who were to take
us over all the inner royal apartments and cabinets, and show us all the
treasures then in the place, and whatever the woman and daughters pointed out
was all told us in French by an interpreter who was with us. The first room they
showed us into contained the lively
and lifelike portrait of the wild man and woman
captured by Martin Frobisher, the
English captain, on his voyage to the
new world, and brought back to
England alive. The man’s face was
much waled, and both looked like savages, wore skins, and the woman carried
a child in Indian dress in a linen cloth
upon her shoulder. Above the woman were the words: "Ginoct Nutioc."
Then we saw a picture of love, in the guise of a woman. Across her brow was
written: 'Procul et prope', that is 'far and near', and over her heart I
read: 'Mors et vita', that is 'Death and life'; by her feet, 'Hyems et
aestas', that is 'Winter and Summer', and underneath, 'Veri amoris
repraesentatio', that is 'The image of true love'.
Close to it they showed us the whole
evangelical scripture, very artfully cut or carved on numerous square plaques of mother of pearl, a very exquisite work,
and the plaques are for the most part attached to a large table.
We then entered a room containing
many fine royal beds, also numerous canopies and royal chairs all very lavish and ornate;
and the walls everywhere were
hung with extremely costly tapestries worked in
gold, silver and silk, so life-like that one might take the people and
plants for real.
We soon came to the king's quarters and saw the royal bed, of red satin set and embroidered with gold, which he had with
him at the siege of Boulogne, is
likewise very luxurious.
In another room we were shown a bed where the queen's
brother was born, against her will. And on the wall tapestries the history of Pompey was embroidered after the life.Another chamber showed the history of Tobias worked and
embossed in gold relief on the tapestry.
Thence to the queen's quarters, which stood
apart, and the floor was strewn with rushes, into a long gallery (gallerien) very poorly tapestried; there I beheld a very handsome inlaid table. Likewise a picture of the burial of
Tobias.
In the next room the gold embroidered
tapestry on the walls told the history of the
murder of Julius Caesar, the first
emperor. By the door stood three of the emperor's electors (electores) in customary
dress painted in life-like fashion.
The history of Lot on a golden tapestry was in
another room. As also Abraham's history, both of these thought to
be the finest and most artistic in England, indeed the representations are immense in size.
In another apartment we were shown a
very costly bed which the queen's mother and her ladies worked
themselves.
Thence through another chamber hung with ancient tapestries,
into a small apartment ornamented with
silk hangings worked in Turkish knot, said to be
a gift to the queen from the Earl of
Leicester (Lest).
This room led to the paradise
chamber, where the ceiling is adorned with very beautiful paintings and an extremely costly canopy or royal throne, from which amongst other precious
stones, pearls, large diamonds, rubies, sapphires and the rest shine forth, like
the sun amongst the stars. Beneath this the queen is accustomed to sit in her magnificence, upon a very stately chair covered with cushions.
The royal
arms are on the wall on a very fine tapestry with an extremely large square
diamond worth many thousands of crowns.
The tapestry
covering the table, red and inset with precious stones and pearls, is valued
at over 50,000 crowns. Nor do I ever remember seeing larger or finer pearls
before.On this same table there stood a very
fine chess-board, with ivory
chessmen, very artfully fashioned.
On the table lay also a handsome game of backgammon, in which the draughtsmen were finely shaped and perfumed and ornamented with
crests,and the dice were of pure silver with other smaller ones inside
them.
We were next shown a number of
white ivory pipes with which all kinds of animal
sounds may be imitated.On the tapestries around the crested canopy was a garter with the
accompanying French motto as above.In another room I saw the portrait of Ferdinand, the Spanish prince at the age of eight.Again in another room a
small virginal all made of glass, beautifully
perfumed (parfumiert) with the following inscription on the lid in gilt
letters: Cantabis moneo quisquis cantare rogans, Vivat in aethernos
Elisabetha dies, which is in English 'Whomsoever one bids sing, let
him not refuse', and 'May Elizabeth
live in eternity'.
We saw in addition many more costly virginals,instruments,positive
organs, and organs of which Her Royal Majesty is a great lover and
connoisseur. And amongst others we were shown an instrument or
virginal whose strings were of pure gold and silver, and they said the
queen often played this very charmingly. In another room we were shown a large chestfull of nothing but costly cushions on which the queen sits and reclines.
"We then had to show the introdutoryintroductoryletter given us by the Admiral
once again, and after they had read it, they led us into the queen's library where we were shown many old foreign books, I remember an old Latin manuscript Bible in particular,
and numerous other manuscripts.
We were also shown many handsome little striking clocks.Henry
VIII's hunting-cap, and his silver gilt posthorn, with several silk leashes for the
hounds. Likewise many more bugles,horns and pipes.
One chest
contained a lovely
glass salver,dishes,plates,candlesticks and the like. Further they showed us the circular horn of a unicorn, seven of my spans in length, had been filed
down to heal the sick, resembled ivory, although the black veins where it
had been turned were still visible. It was hollow inside so that a nerve could run through it. Having taken a stand-up morning
drink with the aforementioned overseer and made a gift to his ladies, we left
Hampton Court and arrived at the
village of Windsor for lunch, some 6 or 8
English miles from Hampton Court, I
believe.