Ham House

A 17th century house resplendent with Stuart interiors and formal gardens.

Ham House remains a lavish testimony to the drive and flair of Elizabeth, Duchess of Lauderdale, who transformed her family home into a palace fit for any European royal household. Built in 1610 on the banks of the Thames, the red-brick house surrounded by formal gardens exudes a natural air of majesty, but it is the extravagant interior which really shows the unstinting hand of the Duchess.

Rare ivory cabinets, Van Dyck paintings, fragile textiles and an ornate Great Staircase reflect Ham House's position in the 1670s at the heart of Restoration court life. Outside, statues of Venus, Marina and Mercury adorn the 17th-century gardens which remarkably survived the enveloping tide of the English Landscape movement. Elizabeth's own cherry garden is formal with pungent beds of lavender, in marked contrast to the maze-like wilderness blooming with spring flowers.

Outbuildings include the orangery, icehouse and England's oldest free-standing still house which was originally the domain of the Duchess. Educated and considered highly intelligent, the Duchess of Lauderdale was interested in herbalism and spent many hours here distilling potions and medicines. Her spirit is thought by some to haunt the house and grounds in which she spent most of her long life.

We offer:

• Garden
• Historic building