Hampton Court Green

Hampton Court Green consists of open land bounded to the road by wooden rails/posts, with perimeter trees and path. A belt of trees screens Hampton Court House Grounds (q.v.) and it abuts Bushy Park (q.v.). The hamlet at Hampton Court had expanded due to great influx of workers and artisans to build the Palace for Cardinal Wolsey and later Henry VIII's extension. The Green's river frontage was enclosed for development associated with the Palace. In 1757 the then Ranger of Bushy Park, the Earl of Halifax, took part of the Green for the site of Hampton Court House and its gardens. In 1812 all claims on the Green by the Manor Court were foregone on condition that the King gave up his rights for commonland in Hampton, at which time it was agreed that no part of the Green could be built on and that no fences should be over 4 ft high. In early days the Green had been part of a long arable field running parallel to the river from Hampton Court to Hampton. By 1534 it was referred to as The Green; as houses were built here it was used by occupants for grazing their cattle and horses, and it remained as pasture until the late C19th.

From c.1529 until c.1810 Hampton Gate was in place to prevent grazing animals from wandering, with a shed for the gatekeeper. In the late C17th, when the Palace was being rebuilt by William and Mary, the Green was dug for gravel for road surfacing and walks in the gardens, and one part of the former area of the Green remains a sunken area with lake now within Hampton Court House grounds.

Apart from grazing, the Green was also used for archery and for military purposes, for example as a camp in the reigns of George I and George II, for grazing army horses during the Crimean War, and recruitment meetings in WWI with barracks erected on the Green until 1932. By 1869 cavalry barracks had been built at the far western end of the Green although these were later demolished by 1949, now the site provides a car park for the Palace.

Until 1949 the Green was criss-crossed with footpaths but only one remains, crossing the Green from east to west. A row of horse chestnuts was planted along Hampton Court Road and Hampton Court Way c.1900. The Green is also famous as a place of recreation, with fairs and festivals as well as cricket matches and other sporting events, which by the late C19th attracted thousands of people and continues today.