Portraits of the Past: Hampton Court Palace

Hampton Court Palace is a significant historical site associated with the coming forth of the King James Version of the Bible, the 400th anniversary of which is being celebrated this year.

It was at the Hampton Court Conference of 1604 that King James I of England approved the proposition of Puritan John Reynolds that the Bible be translated anew. The conference was originally planned for November 1603 but was postponed until the following January because of an outbreak of the plague.

The best account of the conference is credited to William Barlow, who would later serve as one of the translators of the KJB. The palace is located on the River Thames at the London Borough of Richmond. Half of the complex today has survived from the days of King Henry VIII. The rest was rebuilt by King William III.