Hampton Court Maze is a hedge maze at Hampton Court Palace and the oldest surviving hedge maze in Britain.[2]
Commissioned by King William III, the maze, which is about one-third of an acre, is planted in a trapezoid shape and was designed by George London and Henry Wise.[2] It was located in the "wilderness" part of the gardens of the palace, of which it is now the only surviving part.[3][4] Planted between 1689 and 1695, the maze is not particularly difficult,[3] taking about 20 minutes for a person to make their way to the middle.[2] It was originally planted in hornbeam, later replaced by yew.[2]
Psychologist Edmund Sanford took inspiration from the Hampton Court Maze in his idea to create mazes for laboratory rats to study learning.[5][6] The maze is referenced in some works of literature, including humorist Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat (1889) and Carol Shields' Larry's Party (1997),[3] and is referenced in the Only Fools and Horses episode "Three Men, a Woman and a Baby".[7] It also serves as the inspiration for the maze at Mayer's Nest in Ian Martin's "Nightmare Nest" broadcast for the CBS Radio Mystery Theater in 1975.