Home Park, Hampton Court Palace, North Boundary Wall

In September 2008, Oxford Archaeology carried out building recording and watching brief works within the Home Park North Boundary Wall at Hampton Court Palace.
The work was commissioned by Historic Royal Palaces in advance of some alterations to the historic structure. The proposed alterations involved the removal of part of the
wall, both above and below the ground, in order to open a new gateway to provide an easier access to this part of Home Park and preserving an older gateway to the west.
The foundation of the wall was exposed using a mechanical digger and the recording and archaeological investigation produced a record of the wall including the
foundations, comprising of elevations, section, description and photographic archive.
The land forming Home Park was originally enclosed by Cardinal Wolsey, probably using timber palings, to form parkland for the new palace. Documentary evidence
tells us how Henry VIII used the area surveyed as part of a course for hunting hares. Later bricks walls replaced the timber palings and the wall surveyed was constructed
in the mid 18th century, probably as part of ongoing works enclosing and maintaining the Royal Stud. Later small structures were built onto the wall forming paddocks for
the Royal stud complex. These have since been removed, however the adjacent wall south face has scars and holes showing their location. Hampton Court Palace is clearly among the most significant historical sites in the
country and the current project has provided an opportunity to carry out recording of one of the lesser known parts of the estate.
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