Heritage and Inheritance: Two Words to New Worlds

It was so nice to finally find my tribe! I had traveled thousands of miles to find my kind of people, and here we all were in one place. I was able to meet some of my classmates before school started. Our diverse cohort included students from China, France, Malaysia, Australia, Poland, Germany, Ireland, England, and the U.S.​

We were all thrilled to go to our first Master class at Hampton Court Palace (HCP). I had never been there, so I was especially excited to see it. We took an hour’s train ride from Waterloo Station before pulling into the platform at Hampton Court Palace. From the palace gates I could see the unmistakable brick turrets, arched entryway, and grassy moat. As I walked on the road from the gates to the palace doors, I imagined various princes and princesses of the realms arriving in carriages led by blaring trumpets announcing their arrival. I could not believe that I was now traversing on the same road that had welcomed them.

The original Tudor-inspired palace was Cardinal Wolsey’s creation. He was Henry VIII’s chief minister and closer. Wolsey began to transform this simple country house into a palace in the early 16th century. He invested a great deal of money into creating a home fine enough to host the King and other European monarchs. Unfortunately, he fell out of favor with Henry because he could not secure a divorce from his current wife, Catherine of Aragon, by the Pope, which he needed to marry Anne Boleyn. To appease the King, Wolsey gave Hampton Court to Henry in 1529. However, Wolsey was charged with treason and died the following year before he could go to trial. It was probably for the best. No doubt it would have ended badly for him.

Hampton Court Palace acts as its own Secretary. It takes minutes and records the passage of time and personal fancies on its outer walls and intimate interiors. Generation after generation it keeps its secrets, which are proudly paraded, but sorely missed on its entryways and ceilings. From one step to the next, you could traverse hundreds of years and end up in a new era at the turn of a corner.

One minute you are in a Tudor apartment and the next you are in a Baroque palace designed by Christopher Wren for William III and Mary II. They had wanted to tear the Tudor palace down but reconsidered because it would have been too costly. Thank goodness William and Mary were reasonable or else I could have missed seeing so many treasures. Although I doubt that they would have torn down the Great Hall, which is where one of my favorite love mementos lives to this day.

In preparation for his upcoming wedding to Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII had restyled the palace to include symbols of their union. Henry’s craftsmen had carved an intricate H with an interwoven A into the palace’s plaster archways and wooden panels. After he beheaded Anne, he ordered that these symbols be stripped from the palace. However, workers missed one in the Great Hall. There, in a quiet corner, is the semblance of Henry’s passionate love, however fleeting. Thankfully, we can see it today due to an oversight!

Fortunately, that would not be the last treasure my eyes would feast upon. I had the good fortune to have had a Curating practicum at HCP. We learned so many valuable lessons about handling objects, assessing artifacts, and general care and maintenance. During the practicum, our team was able to go to the onsite lab to observe how bugs and pests damaged the wood and textiles. We were shown slides of various insects and saw evidence of the damage they caused. We studied various methods of containment and took readings from light and humidity readers located throughout the palace.

One cold winter’s day, we were asked to climb to the highest rooms of the palace for a lesson on proper cleaning techniques. Prior to this, I kept asking HCP staff if I could get a closer look at one of the carvings by Grinling Gibbons but to no avail. Gibbons was an expert wood carver, who is best known for his Baroque garlands and realistic still life carvings used for mirror frames and wall decor. He was so talented that he created symmetry without using repeating patterns.

Our instructor showed us how to use a vacuum cleaner and brushes to take the dust off each artifact. She then told us that we could choose an object on which to practice. Then I saw it! There in a bright yellow box laid the charred remains of a Gibbons. “Stand back everyone,” I announced, “The Gibbons is mine!” I walked through the small room as if I were Moses parting the Red Sea and happily collected my burnt prize! Not only did I get to see a Gibbons, I got to hold it and admire it first-hand. I cannot remember a time then or since when I could honestly say I was blissfully happy to dust!

I had learned about Grinling Gibbons from a BBC documentary series entitled, Carved With Love: The Genius of British Woodwork. One episode, “The Glorious Grinling Gibbons,” focused on his life and showcased some of his woodwork that was at Hampton Court Palace. I was fully taken in by his ability to create a realistic still life using only limewood. The piece I got to clean had been damaged by a fire at Hampton Court Palace in 1986. Had there not been a fire, I doubt I would have been able to hold it in my hands!

I could have stayed dusting all night long had they allowed me. I would have braved the cold again and again to admire the work of so many people who devoted their talents and gifts to the making of the beautiful things that I was able to see up close. It is hard to believe that a cache of precious moments was waiting for me to experience in such a faraway land. It was if I was living out my own fairy tale set in various palaces, surrounded by Kings and Queens and their precious possessions.

I would have missed it had I not heard the two words that were calling me to this place. Heritage and inheritance were my two words. What are YOUR words? What is calling YOU to have an adventure? And for what are you waiting?

Submitted by Anna Emerald