Creepy Happenings at King Henry VIII’s Haunted Palace (Hampton Court)

The Palace of Hampton Court, located in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is undoubtedly the most famous residence associated with King Henry VIII. Over the last five centuries, the palace has acquired an enormous amount of history, and not all of it is particularly pleasant to learn about. History is not the only thing it has acquired; a large number of ghost stories have also attached themselves to the palace.

Many people, ranging from regular visitors to academic professionals, consider Hampton Court to have been inundated with ghosts within the last 500 years. But is King Henry’s Palace really haunted? Let us take a moment to meet the ghosts of the historic figures who are reported to live within its walls.

On a warm, bright day in the middle of the summer season, Hampton Court Palace appears to be a calm and enchanting building of endless historic interest. Not only does this 16th-century residence ooze elegance, luxury, and grandeur, but it also possesses a general air of comfort, safety, strength, and security.

However, if one cares to visit at a different time of year, the ambiance can easily and swiftly change from welcoming to foreboding. To put it another way, the atmosphere at Hampton Court can alter significantly with just the darkening of the sky or the changing of the wind. As an example, we may imagine the view of Hampton Court on a dark and gloomy day in the middle of October. Suddenly, the picture turns from pleasant to ominous.

In either situation, which of us could honestly say that we’d be perfectly happy to spend a night there alone? Surely, no historian who’d studied the palace’s ghostly history in any depth would be willing to take the risk? There are many strange stories associated with Hampton Court Palace.

Yes, some of the stories are more believable than others, but when it comes to a 500-year-old royal residence with 280 rooms to hide in, which of us would be truly happy to take the chance?

In this article, we will retell just a few of the spine-chilling, hair-raising tales associated with Hampton Court. From the mystery of Sibell Penn and her spinning wheel to the legend of the Lady in White; from the tale of Catherine Howard and the Haunted Gallery to the myth regarding the ancient clock that supposedly stops each time a death occurs within the palace walls.

Are these stories well-recorded, reliable, and historically accurate? Or have they been exaggerated and fabricated by the palace officials as a clever marketing scheme?

Is King Henry VIII’s most famous residence infested with the ghosts of his past? Or is it as peaceful and welcoming as it initially appears on a sunny afternoon at the height of tourist season?

It is now time for us to step into the Palace of Hampton Court with one question in mind — is it or isn’t it haunted?

Before we dive straight into the weird and wonderful history of Hampton Court Palace, we must first rediscover a few of the basic facts regarding this striking, 16th-century residence. Where exactly is it located? Why was it built originally? What lay on the grounds before it was commissioned? Who are its most notable residents?

Hampton Court Palace is now a Grade I-listed royal palace. In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of architectural and historic interest that deserves special protection and preservation. It is illegal to demolish, extend, or alter a listed building in any way without planning permission from the government.

Hampton Court is located in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, twelve miles southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. Now a major tourist attraction, Hampton Court is managed by an organization known as Historic Royal Palaces. Historic Royal Palaces is a charity set up to preserve unoccupied royal properties. This particular property is now visited by around 600,000 history enthusiasts each year.

It was Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, then simply Archbishop of York, who came up with the idea of turning Hampton Court into a residence to be envied. He began to transform a simple home into a palace fit for Royalty. So obsessed was Wolsey with the particular details that he moved into the nearby Esher Palace to oversee Hampton Court’s renovations. He spent lavishly, throwing 200,000 crowns at the project, and he was richly rewarded when the end result turned out to be the finest house in all of England.

Around 15 years later, in either September or October of 1529, Cardinal Wolsey made the dramatic decision to hand over his most precious possession—Hampton Court Palace—to King Henry VIII. It was Wolsey’s hope that this unspeakably generous and extravagant present would compensate for his failure to secure a divorce for King Henry from Catherine of Aragon.

King Henry VIII and his second wife and Queen, Anne Boleyn, became the first royal couple to reside at Hampton Court. The royal families of England remained in love with the residence for around 230 years. The last King of England to call Hampton Court home was King George II (1683-1760).

Despite the common misconceptions, Hampton Court’s history did not begin with Wolsey. For 500 years previously, the grounds of Hampton Court, and the small Manor House which stood there originally, had been known as Hammtonne. Hammtonne is an Anglo-Saxon word meaning “place on the bend of the river.” 

However, the history of the land itself stretches back even further. There have been settlements in the area since the Bronze Age (c.2500-200 BCE), and aristocratic estates during the British Roman Era (43-410 CE). That’s certainly a brilliant amount of time for both the grounds and the palace to have gathered an enormous collection of stories, whether ghostly or otherwise!

Some of the most exciting features of Hampton Court, all of which are still available to visit, include the palace itself, the Hampton Court maze (originally planted for King William III), the formal gardens, the parklands, and the 16th-century tennis courts.

One of the most famous ghost stories connected to the Palace of Hampton Court revolves around the supposed spirit of Jane Seymour. Jane Seymour, the third and favorite wife of King Henry VIII, died on the 24th of October in the year of 1537. Her tragic and premature death occurred just twelve days after giving birth to her husband’s only legitimate son, the future King Edward VI. It is thought that the cause was what was then known as “childbed fever.”

Now, nearly 500 years later, it is believed by some that the ghost of Jane Seymour remains at Hampton Court, having never truly left. Over the last few centuries, residents and guests alike have claimed to have seen a vision of a pale woman who resembles Jane Seymour. These sightings always take place at the same time, and always under the same circumstances.

Jane Seymour’s presence has not quite been authenticated, and she is not traditionally presented as a particularly intimidating character. Nonetheless, the idea of meeting with the ghost of Jane Seymour while visiting Hampton Court is equally as frightening as the idea of a meeting with any other.

The ghost in question is said to resemble Jane Seymour because she is blonde, pale, and slim. She is always clothed entirely in white. She carries a lighted candle to guide her way in the darkness of Hampton Court. She usually emerges from the queen’s apartments, proceeds onto the silver-stick gallery, descends the silver-stick staircase, and then immediately vanishes.

On very few occasions, the ghost of Jane Seymour has been sighted wandering the clock-court, as if she does not know where she is. Her appearance is not usually described as frightening, but rather as beautiful, luminous, and genuinely upsetting.

Some historians claim that in life, Jane Seymour felt an overwhelming sense of guilt about taking the place of the former queen, Anne Boleyn. They maintain that Jane Seymour could not rest peacefully in the knowledge that she had played a part in Anne Boleyn’s untimely death.

Legend says that the spirit of Jane Seymour will remain at Hampton Court Palace until she obtains the forgiveness of Anne Boleyn.

It was the winter of 1541. Catherine Howard, the fifth wife and queen of King Henry VIII, had been accused of adultery, unchastity, and treason. While awaiting her transfer to the Tower of London, just months before her inevitable execution, she was living in constant fear and misery.

During her time of seclusion, Catherine Howard was restricted to the queen’s apartments. She was permitted neither freedom nor any company of her own choosing.

Catherine Howard must have been terrified. Of course, she would have been aware of the extremes that King Henry was willing to consider. Her cousin, Anne Boleyn, had already endured both trial and execution. Catherine Howard probably spent much of this time in prayer that she would not be next.

In November of 1541, on a gloomy Sunday morning, King Henry was attending Church in his Private Chapel. Somehow, Catherine Howard had caught wind of her husband’s whereabouts. In a bid to reach him and plead for mercy, she managed to break free from her guards and exit the queen’s apartments unaccompanied.

Now, she must have known, was her last chance to save her life.

Assuming that King Henry was at prayer, Catherine Howard traveled, at commendable speed, through corridors, down the gallery, and headed directly for the royal chapel. As she ran, she cried out King Henry’s name and appealed for his mercy.

Whether or not King Henry actually laid eyes on Catherine does not seem to have been recorded, but we can be certain that he would have heard an almighty commotion going on outside the chapel doors.

Unfortunately for Catherine Howard, her piteous pleas were ignored. Instead of receiving the mercy she’d longed for, she was secured by her guards and dragged back to where she had come from. To the queen’s apartments, she was taken, kicking and screaming all the while, in full view of the rest of the court.

Despite this final act of desperation, Catherine Howard was executed three months later, on the 13th of February of the following year.

These days, back in the 21st century, it is very often said by visitors that they experience a strange shift while viewing the scene of the incident. Even members of the public who have no knowledge of its history describe a sudden feeling of discomfort and unease while in the area.

So common are reports of this phenomenon that the corridor that was formerly known as the Processional Route has since become known as the Haunted Gallery. 

Some visitors even go a step further by claiming to have seen or heard apparitions of Catherine Howard herself. These reports describe the sound of a girl’s scream which fades away abruptly after only a few seconds, coming and going as quickly as if someone had run past them down the gallery.

Even back during the Victorian Era, certain residents of the nearby Grace and Favor apartments claimed to have heard screaming from the Haunted Gallery during the middle of the night.

According to officials at Hampton Court Palace, of all of the rooms within the grounds, the Haunted Gallery is statistically the most likely place for a tourist to fall ill. More faintings have occurred in the Haunted Gallery than in any other area of the residence, and it is also the most common place for doctors to be called for to provide medical assistance.

Sibell Penn is not a name one usually hears when discussing Tudor history. Both her life and legacy are often overlooked, even by the most passionate of history lovers. Although she is not very well remembered, it is known that she was an important woman in the royal court of England, particularly during the reigns of King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I.

Sibell Penn should be primarily famous for the essential role she played in the raising of royal children. She spent much of her working life presiding over the noble children in the nursery at Hampton Court. We know that Sibell Penn must have handled her position exceptionally well, for she was handpicked by Thomas Cromwell himself to care for the small boy who would one day become King Edward VI.

Sibell Penn cared loyally for the prince and quickly became one of his most important female attendants, particularly after the death of his mother in the year 1537. However, the child she was undoubtedly devoted to above all others was Prince Edward’s elder half-sister, Princess Elizabeth.

Despite Princess Elizabeth’s brief time out of her father’s favor, Sibell always remembered and cared for her without reservation. So loyal to Princess Elizabeth was Sibell Penn that she remained permanently in her service, even when she inherited the throne in the year of 1558.

Sibell Penn’s situation took a turn for the worse, suddenly and dramatically, in the year 1562. After Queen Elizabeth I had been on the throne for around four years, disaster struck. Queen Elizabeth contracted smallpox and her household fell into panic. During Queen Elizabeth’s time of sickness, despite the enormous risk to her own health, the faithful Sibell Penn remained with her for company and support. With the help of Sibell Penn and her royal physicians, Queen Elizabeth made a full recovery.

Unfortunately, Sibell Penn was not quite so lucky. She herself also caught the disease but died shortly after taking to her bed. After her death, Sibell Penn was buried in the church at Hampton Court Palace, and on the orders of Queen Elizabeth, a life-size marble effigy was raised over her tomb.

The spooky element of this story begins around 300 years later, in the year 1829. It was in this particular year that the church Sibell Penn had been buried in was demolished. According to reports, her tomb was “irreverently disturbed,” and her remains were scattered.

Within a few weeks of the church’s destruction, a growing number of unusual noises were heard through a wall in the southwest wing of the palace. At first, only a few residents thought it necessary to complain. The majority, as you might expect, thought nothing of it.

However, during the months that followed, the unusual noises grew louder and more undeniable. This caused a significant amount of disturbance among the residents. It has been recorded that the official complaints of abnormal noise began pouring in, one after the other. The sound was described in each of the reports in a very particular way; it was like the sound of somebody spinning thread.

This persistent thread-spinning was accompanied by a female voice from an unexplained source. Both the spinning and the voice always originated from the same part of the palace.

Due to the growing volume of complaints by the occupants and employees of the Palace, it was decided that the issue should be explored. A wall was broken down so that the area from which the noises came could be investigated. To the complete horror of all those who were present, the broken wall revealed a room that was previously unknown to them.

And what should be standing in the midst of the room? A spinning wheel.

Beside the spinning wheel itself was a stool. Apparently, the oak boards of the floor were worn away where the treadle had repeatedly struck.

Immediately after the room was uncovered, complaints of any noise came to a halt.

The accepted explanation at the time was that, because of the demolishing of her final resting place, Sibell Penn had returned to the bedroom she had occupied in life, and had continued with her work.

A sighting of Sibell Penn’s actual form was first recorded by a sentry in the year 1890. Since then, there have been so many other sightings of her that many historians claim her to be the best-authenticated ghost in British history.

Anne of Denmark was born on the 12th of December in 1574 and died on the second of March in 1619. She is best remembered for being the wife of King James I, and also Queen of England, from 1603 until her death.

Throughout their marriage, King James and Queen Anne shared an unusual and unsettled relationship. Although they appear to have loved each other at times, and although they produced and parented seven children together, their marriage probably endured much strain. The main issues with their romance seem to have been caused by the extra-marital affairs King James enjoyed with the other gentlemen at Court.

Thankfully, King James and Queen Anne had quite a few things in common, one being that they both loved to partake in a hunt. It was Ben Johnson (1572-1637), the famous, 17th-century dramatist, who first referred to Queen Anne as England’s Huntress Queen. This nickname became popular in Britain.

It suited Queen Anne very well. Above all things, she adored hunting the deer in Richmond Park, behind the Palace of Hampton Court. This may seem a rare pursuit in the 21st century, but it was actually a very popular sport for aristocracy at the time.

King and Queen would rarely go into the forest alone. Each time they went hunting, they were accompanied by a large retinue, including a party of their favorite courtiers, many horses, and a pack of hunting hounds.

Most importantly of all, a dog named Jewel would join them on each hunt. Jewel was the favorite pet of King James. So important was Jewel to King James that he was even allowed to sleep on the royal bed each night.

One fateful day, when King James and Queen Anne were out hunting with their companions, disaster struck. Queen Anne was briefly separated from James while following a moving target. With intentions of taking down a deer, she aimed carefully and made her shot.

Horribly, she missed her target. Instead of shooting the stag, she shot and killed another creature. Unfortunately, it was the faithful, beloved little Jewel who had taken the arrow.

When James heard that Jewel had been killed, he flew into a temper, jumped down from his horse, and stormed about in a great rage. However, thankfully for Queen Anne, this unfortunate incident had taken place toward the beginning of their marriage, when King James was more apt to forgive her quickly.

Apparently, the moment he was informed that it was his wife who had made the mistake, King James knew immediately that she would be filled with guilt, fear, and remorse. He calmed relatively quickly, and although he was heartbroken over the loss of his pet, he declared that the accident would not change his love for her.

The next day, King James even sent a diamond worth over 2,000 pounds to Anne’s apartments, claiming it to be a legacy from his dead dog.

Legend has it that Jewel still wanders Richmond Park, searching for his master and hoping to rejoin the hunting party. It has also been claimed that Jewel’s howl can be heard from the palace on the anniversary of his death.

In February during the year of 1619, Anne of Denmark was taken ill with dropsy. She had been suffering from ill health for many months, but it was assumed by her friends, family, and doctors that this bout of sickness would be her last. Her husband and children were informed that she had a very short time left to live.

During her final weeks, King James visited his queen as dutifully as was expected of a husband. However, it was their son, the 18-year-old boy who would one day become King Charles I, who cared for his mother devotedly. He cared for his mother to such an extent that he moved into a bedroom adjoining her apartments so that he might rush to her side whenever his attention was required. Records tell us that the young Charles was present at his mother’s bedside when, during her last hour, she lost her sight.

When Anne of Denmark died on the 2nd of March, something strange occurred at Hampton Court. As if to mark the very moment of her death, the bell in the Campanile Tower rang out. Immediately following this, the astronomical clock at the front of the building stopped.

The whole mechanism was silent. The ticking ceased; the hourly ringing ceased. Before beginning again, the clock had to be reset.

Legend persists that, whenever one of the residents of Hampton Court dies, the bell strikes at the moment of death and then stops ticking altogether.

Interestingly, both the astronomical clock and the accompanying bell are two of the oldest artifacts housed at Hampton Court Palace. Both are still located in the Italian Bell Tower in the entrance to the residence.

It is partly thanks to the Victorians that Hampton Court Palace has become renowned as one of the most haunted locations in England. The employees of Historic Royal Palaces agree: on their website, Hampton Court Palace officials claim that “we all love a good ghost story, but nobody knew better than the Victorians that terror sells tickets.”

Many of the stories told in this article were originally recorded in publications of the Victorian Era. Just a few examples of these books are The History of Hampton Court by Earnest Law (1885), and Hampton Court by William Holden Hutton (1897).

People of these eras became obsessed with the idea of paranormal activity at Hampton Court. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, it was recorded that the best-selling postcards sold in the Hampton Court gift shop featured supposed spectres as they wandered the palace. Most of the photographs used on these postcards were known to be fakes.

During certain months of the year, even to this day, Hampton Court Palace offers the opportunity for guests to join a ghost tour, or a salacious gossip tour, alongside their traditional, historic information tours.

Hampton Court Palace: Is It Haunted?

Judging whether or not Hampton Court is genuinely inhabited by supernatural beings would be an extremely tricky challenge. Any historian may come to their own conclusion based on their own experiences at the palace, their personal or religious beliefs, their own research, or even their own will to believe or disbelieve.

Hampton Court’s reputation as a haunted palace has certainly done Historic Royal Palaces no financial harm. Therefore, it is perfectly reasonable to conclude that such ghostly tales have been fabricated, exaggerated, or even concocted as a clever marketing scheme. However, to look at the scenario another way, one may argue that the origins of these stories lie longer ago than a time when financial success would have been an issue.

Many guests and employees of the palace would be willing to swear that they had endured an unexplainable experience, or suffered an unusual phenomena, at some point during their visit.

Generally speaking, when presented with the question of whether or not any given building is haunted, the majority of people would tut, laugh, or simply brush it off. But who knows? Maybe after a winter’s evening spent exploring the dark depths of a Tudor palace, the idea might not be quite so easy to dismiss?

There is one thing we know for certain… No visitor wishes to hear the howl of Jewel the dog, nor the sound Sibell Penn’s spinning wheel. No guest longs for an experience with the screaming ghost of Catherine Howard, nor to witness the weeping and wandering of the Lady in White. It would be fair to state that an encounter with any of these would be impossible to ignore or forget.