Inspired by the 16th century painting the Field of the Cloth of Gold, (currently displayed in the palace’s famous Haunted Gallery), artist in residence Sofie Layton, from Stoke Newington, worked with three schools local to Hampton Court Palace to produce an eight metre dragon similar to that depicted within the Tudor picture.

Sofie worked with two Year Five groups from Fern Hill Primary School, Kingston, Year Nine pupils from Teddington Secondary, and six ‘A’ level students from Shene School, East Sheen.
 
Work on the project began in November 2006, and Sofie made her initial designs using the theatrical premise of a firework display, an explosion of colour fragmented but eventually encapsulating the dragon’s body.  A steel frame, painted to resemble copper was specially crafted, which formed the basis of the dragon’s body, and the dragon’s scales were made of silk, created in conjunction with textile artist Nicola Griffiths, and copper sheeting.

Students drew inspiration for the designs of the dragon’s scales from patterns found within tapestries, fabrics, wallpapers and woodcarvings throughout Hampton Court Palace.  Their designs were then creatively developed before being embossed into copper sheeting and printed onto bright silks.  The copper and silk scales were finally sewn into sections of the dragon’s vast body and wings to create the fabulous creature, now displayed in the new Welcome Gallery of the Clore Learning centre.

‘As an artist to be invited to respond and work with a new exhibition space is a great opportunity, especially as I was able to draw on the diverse historic and visual qualities offered by Hampton Court Palace,’ commented artist Sofie Layton, adding, ‘'It has been an enormous privilege working with local students to create the dragon installation in a space that will help educate, delight and develop new learners over future years.'

The Clore Learning Centre at Hampton Court Palace 

The Clore Learning Centre, made possible by a generous £1 million donation from the Clore Duffield Foundation, provides dedicated education spaces for the first time at Hampton Court Palace. Previously education groups remained outside or were accommodated in a variety of poorly equipped rooms disparately located throughout the vast palace complex, which created confusion for teachers and students alike.

The new facilities will enable Historic Royal Palaces’ Access & Learning team to diversify education programmes offered, reaching new learning audiences from toddlers to life-long learners and encompassing a broader range of subjects more relevant to secondary, tertiary and adult education audiences. The centre will also improve the on-site learning experience for the 55,000 primary school pupils studying the Tudor period who already visit King Henry VIII’s famous palace annually, Historic Royal Palaces, the charity responsible for Hampton Court Palace, hopes that the new dedicated spaces and facilities will increase the annual number of education visits accommodated annually at the palace by 50% to over 100,000 by 2010.

This is the sixteenth major Clore Education Centre funded by the Clore Duffield Foundation and the first outside of a museum or gallery. The Foundation has also funded 40 small learning spaces across the UK.

The new £2.4 million Clore Learning Centre has also received generous private donations and grants from various sources including The Garfield Weston Foundation, The Bradbury Foundation, The Coleman Charitable Trust, The Arnold Burton 1998 Charitable Trust and The Chapman Charitable Trust. Historic Royal Palaces has contributed £900,000 to the project.

The Clore Learning Centre will be officially opened in March 2007.

Field of the Cloth of Gold 
The Field of the Cloth of Gold was the site of a spectacular meeting that took place from June 7 to June 24, 1520, between King Henry VIII of England and King Francis I of France. The meeting was arranged to increase the bond of friendship between the two kings following the Anglo-French treaty of 1518.

Very little is known about the dragon depicted in the top left of the painting. Some believe it may have been a kite or firework, others, that it links Henry VIII with Wales and the Welsh dragon, as before Henry ascended to the throne he was Prince of Wales. The French believe it to be the heraldic French symbol of the Salamander.