Ham House
A time capsule on the Thames. Built for court insider William Murray in 1610 and perfected by the formidable Duchess of Lauderdale, Ham House keeps more 17th-century fabric, furniture and swagger in situ than almost any house in England. You move from power rooms (the Great Stair and Green Closet) to private rituals (closets, bathrooms and below-stairs) with hardly a century intruding. Outside, the Cherry Garden and riverside avenues read like a living plan from the Restoration era. Come for atmosphere and detail: veneers, silver, secretive stair turns—and a house that still feels like its owners just stepped out.
Opening Hours
What's not to miss inside?
Great Stair & Hall
Stage-set entrance for a power coupleProcessional stairs, portraits and polished timber announce status before a word is spoken.
📍 Ground floor, central range
Green Closet
A jewel-box of 1600s connoisseurshipTiny space, huge taste: lacquer, miniatures and cabinet pictures show collecting as a courtly sport.
📍 First floor, private rooms
The Duchess’s Apartments
Rooms shaped by one of the era’s shrewdest operatorsElizabeth, Duchess of Lauderdale, refitted these rooms to receive—and to negotiate.
📍 First floor, river front
Cherry Garden & Wilderness
Restoration geometry outdoorsHedges, sculpture and scented planting restore a 1600s idea of pleasure and control.
📍 South of the house, formal grounds
Ice House & Below Stairs
Luxury runs on logisticsFood, fuel and frozen treats: vaults and service rooms show the hidden engine of grand living.
📍 Gardens and service areas
Inspire your Friends
- Ham House is regarded as “one of the most complete survival[s] of 17th-century power and fashion in Europe,” retaining an unusual amount of original interiors and collections.
- The estate belonged to William Murray—childhood companion of Charles I—who secured Ham in 1626; later, the formidable Duchess of Lauderdale reshaped it into a statement of clout.
- The formal gardens you walk today revive 17th-century layouts—think scented cherries, tight hedges and theatrical axes restored from historic plans.
- Ham’s reputation as “haunted” centres on rooms associated with the Duchess—guides will tell you where the stories cluster.
- The rare survival isn’t luck alone—20th-century transfers placed Ham under guardianship so its 1600s character stayed together rather than being dispersed.
