Henry VIII’s kitchens

A food production line

Ordering, preparing and cooking food on this scale required an efficient system, with raw food arriving at one end and finished dishes ready to be served at the other.

Henry VIII expanded and added to the kitchens at Hampton Court Palace, but they weren’t for him. The King had his own private kitchen.

Boiling House

One of the many smaller kitchens used exclusively to prepare and cook meat in the great boiling pot.

The meat then went into pies or was roasted, the boiling being used to reduce the time needed on the spit.

The pie cases were brought over to the boiling house from the pastry department.

Fish court

Fish Court was a clever fridge system.

The courtyard is narrow, running north to south which means the area stays cooler, as the sun does not shine directly in.

The space is open to the air to keep the stone stores cool.

Great Kitchens

Originally this kitchen was used for roasting meat, mainly joints of beef, in front of six huge fires.

In later centuries, a range of charcoal stoves were added along with a bread oven.

From kitchen to table

The kitchens produced a large amount of food and each room had a specific function. Food would be taken from larders and prepared in separate bake-houses. Meat was roasted in front of the big fires in the Great Kitchen.

Fresh water for drinking and cooking was piped into the palace from springs three miles away.

Dinner is served

The Clerk of the Kitchens, standing at the Serving Place, would allocate dishes to various diners according to their rank

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