Free
Art
#106
Orleans House Gallery
A river-edge arts hub wrapped around James Gibbs’s jewel-box Octagon Room (1720). Only fragments of the once-vast Orleans House survive, but the Octagon’s baroque drama now anchors changing exhibitions, family activities, and woodland walks on a lovely bend of the Thames.
Opening Hours
Sunday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Tuesday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Wednesday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Thursday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Friday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Saturday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
What's not to miss inside?
The Octagon Room
A rare intact James Gibbs interior—architectural theatre in miniature.Eight sides, tall windows and gilded detail turn daylight into a performance.
📍 Main house fragment, signed route from entrance
Stables & Site Story
What you see is just the tip—the mansion was largely demolished in 1926.Plans and photos sketch the lost house and why the Octagon survived.
📍 Stables Gallery and intro displays
River & Woodland Loop
Landscape is half the visit—architecture framed by tide and trees.A short loop ties art-viewing to bird-spotting and boat-watching.
📍 Thames Path and Orleans Gardens
Inspire your Friends
- The Octagon Room was designed by James Gibbs in 1720; most of the mansion was demolished two centuries later, leaving the Octagon and outbuildings.
- The exiled future French king Louis-Philippe, Duke of Orléans, lived here in the early 19th century—hence the site’s name.
- The gallery can host weddings inside the Octagon—baroque geometry meets modern confetti.
