a considerable reserve of other bishops,
deans, and dignitaries, appeared for the Church by
itself Church."

The one great consequence of the Conference was the undertaking of the
Authorized Translation of the Bible; for the rest, the King eloquently
"scouted to the wind" the Puritans, and threatened that if they did
not conform he would hurry them out of the country. Thus early in the
years of the Stuart rule may be said to have begun at Hampton Court
that struggle between conformity and nonconformity which was to have
momentous results later on in the same century.

When Charles the First succeeded his father as King, Hampton Court
continued a favourite royal residence. This monarch appears to have
had something of the same dread of the plague as inspired Henry the
Eighth and Elizabeth, and when it broke out in London he hurriedly
removed the Court to this Palace and issued a proclamation prohibiting
all communication with the capital during the continuance of the
visitation. He and his queen seem to have particularly favoured this
one of their palaces, and not only made frequent stays here but
continually added to the works of art and furnishings of the rooms.

Hampton Court was also to have its part in those later chapters of the
life of the vacillating king which led up to the tragic finish at
Whitehall. On 10 January, 1642, King Charles journeyed from London to
Hampton and arrived here for the last time as a free king. The
inevitable breaking-point had come, and hence he set forth to the
early scenes of civil war. He was not at Hampton Court again until the
August of 1647, and then it was virtually as a prisoner "in the power
of those execrable villains", who had the courage to regard the
welfare of the people before that of their titular ruler. Leaving his
cloak in the gallery by way of diverting suspicion, on 11 November,
1647, the King "passed by the backstairs and vault to the waterside"
and so made good his escape, and fled in a fashion that made any
reconciliation of the opposing parties impossible.

In the beginning of 1649 came the culminating tragedy and two years
later the manor of Hampton Court was sold to one John Phelps. The
Palace itself was presumably not included in the transaction, for
shortly afterwards it was occupied by Oliver Cromwell.

During the troubles between King and Parliament some damage was done
at Hampton Court--damage which may well be deplored, but which will
always b