Bookable
An Apollonaut travel guide
A palace in a park.
An introduction to Kensington Gardens, the royal park that surrounds Kensington Palace.
On this page
Read the gardens
Queen Caroline had Charles Bridgeman redesign Kensington Gardens in the eighteenth century, and the Round Pond and the Broad Walk in front of the palace survive from that plan.
A guide can give context without turning a place into a backdrop. Notice how the palace faces the park, and how its brick ranges were added around courtyards by successive monarchs.
Brick outside, paint within
Outside, Wren’s additions are plain red brick. Inside, William Kent’s painted ceilings and staircase of the 1720s show the court’s taste for show.
Begin with a detail and ask how it was made, repaired and kept. A photograph alone cannot tell you who painted a ceiling or the conditions in which they worked.
A royal chapter
Kensington Palace shows how a country house on the edge of London became a royal home, and then a palace that visitors can explore.
Look at the meeting of the two: a working royal residence and state rooms opened to the public in 1899.
Make room for context
Pair this reading with the palace’s history and the Journal. This is an introduction for visitors, not a claim that our team manages these places, commissions their restoration or represents the people who care for them.
Read at the source
Sources & further reading
Links lead to the original publishers.
