The maze was planted as part of a formal garden layout known as the 'Wilderness'. There were at least two mazes originally planted in the Wilderness garden of which the current maze is the only survivor. It was the first hedge planted maze in Great Britain and now the only part remaining of the original 'Wilderness' area. 

The term 'wilderness' refers to a place to wander, rather than an uncultivated area of garden as the name suggests. William III would have walked through the wilderness at Hampton Court Palace with his devoted wife Mary II. The area would have comprised 18ft-high hornbeam hedges, accompanied by interstices planted with elm.

Did you know?

Hedge mazes flourished in Britain up to the 18th century. It was Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown who introduced natural landscaping and, in order to achieve his sweeping views, destroyed many formal garden features. Ironically, as Royal Gardener for 20 years, he lived next door to the maze at Hampton Court, but was expressly ordered not to interfere with it!

The Wilderness was the English version of a French 'bosquet'. The high hedges, secluded benches and winding paths made it a place where members of the royal court could go for privacy and where gentlemen in particular could entertain ladies in private.

Today, there are over 1 million bulbs planted in the Wilderness alone. In the spring, the whole garden is carpeted as far as the eye can see with daffodils, interspersed with crocuses.

Three Men in a Boat

'We’ll just go in here, so that you can say you’ve been, but it’s very simple. It’s absurd to call it a maze. You keep on taking the first turning to the right. We’ll just walk around for ten minutes, and then go and get some lunch.'

The passage above is taken from Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat (1889). The character, Harris, leads the tourists into the maze and they subsequently get lost for hours.