On April 5th WiTR members braved some inclement weather to visit Hampton Court Palace, courtesy of Ethos Farm, and learn more about the Tudor dynasty and it’s (in)famous king – Henry VIII. The Palace had been transformed from a country house to a magnificent palace by Henry’s Lord Chancellor, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey.
The stunning Ethos Farm premises is just outside the Palace Walls. We met there and enjoyed a convivial glass of bubbly and a light lunch while Josie Barton, co-founder of Ethos Farm along with Sally Alington, regaled us with the history of the Palace, and the story of Henry VIII and his six wives. This was no simple story-telling. Josie is passionate about history, and in particular with Tudor dynasty, and we were blown away by her talk, illustrated with beautiful artwork images from the era. Her ability to entrance us partly explains Ethos Farm’s success in telling brand and customer stories, and we concluded that Josie has a future career presenting documentaries on TV!
Inspired by Josie, we set off for the Palace, visiting the vast kitchens where state banquets were prepared as well as fare for the hundreds of staff who worked at the Palace, followed by the State Apartments before leaving trough the magnificent gardens. We didn’t have time to explore fully the Georgian part of the palace but all felt that we would want to return to explore further – perhaps on a less blustery day!
A huge thank you to our Ethos Farm friends and hosts!
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