Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace and Hampton Court are familiar to most visitors to London. But what if I told you that other, more under-the-radar manor houses are London landmarks in their own right?
Step inside my favourite London stately homes for a peek at how Londoners used to live. I’ve visited all of these places, some more than once, and each offers something different, whether in its architecture or through the stories of the remarkable men and women who once walked its halls.
My Top Tips for Visiting London Stately Homes
1. Apsley House
My first choice couldn’t be more centrally located – on Hyde Park Corner – yet is bafflingly under-visited. Apsley House is a glimpse into Regency splendour and military glory.
Once known as Number One, London, it was home to Arthur Wellesley, the 1st Duke of Wellington. He purchased the property in 1817 after his famous victory over Napoleon at Waterloo.
Originally designed by Robert Adam in the 1770s, Wellington transformed it into a palatial residence befitting his status as Britain’s greatest military hero. Today it houses the Wellington Collection, which includes masterpieces by Velázquez, Goya and Rubens that were gifted to the Iron Duke by grateful European monarchs.
It is also home to the famed Canova statue of Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker, completed in 1806.
2. Spencer House
This magnificent Palladian villa overlooking Green Park is where the Spencer family once entertained royalty, politicians and artists in rooms that still shimmer with grandeur. It is widely regarded as London’s finest surviving 18th-century aristocratic townhouse.
Spencer House was built between 1756 and 1766 for John, 1st Earl Spencer, and was designed by John Vardy and James ‘Athenian’ Stuart. It was home to the ancestors of Diana, Princess of Wales, who officially reopened it in 1990 following an extraordinary restoration led by Lord Rothschild.
Inside Spencer House, there are eight state rooms with gilded furniture, painted ceilings and opulent decoration that would have dazzled Georgian London society. The highlights are the Palm Room, with its soaring palm tree columns, and the magnificent Great Room.
3. Strawberry Hill House
If I had to pick a favourite London stately home, it would be Strawberry Hill House. It tells the story of how one eccentric genius changed the course of British architecture and literature.
Horace Walpole’s ‘little Gothic castle’ in Twickenham is where Gothic Revival architecture was born in the 18th century and where he wrote the first Gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto, in 1764 (reportedly, it came to him in a dream).
The son of Britain’s first Prime Minister, Walpole bought a modest cottage in 1747 and spent 40 years transforming it into a white confection of turrets, battlements and pointed arches that shocked fashionable Georgian society. Working with his ‘Committee of Taste’, he based fireplaces on tombs at Westminster Abbey, ceilings on Henry VII’s Chapel and created the spectacular Gallery with glittering gold fan vaulting and mirrors.
4. Osterley House
Despite its proximity to one of the world’s busiest airports, Osterley House feels like a country estate lost in time.
Described by Horace Walpole as the ‘palace of palaces’, Osterley is Robert Adam’s neoclassical masterpiece, created between 1760 and 1778 for the Child banking family. Set in 140 acres of parkland near Heathrow, this extraordinary mansion was designed to impress the Child family’s clients and friends with its classical grandeur.
The interiors are among Adam’s finest surviving works, from the dazzling Etruscan Room, inspired by ancient vases, to the craftsmanship of the magnificent Drawing Room. The Long Gallery stretches the entire width of the house and glows in soft greens and golds on sunny afternoons.
I love the gardens, which have been restored to their 18th-century glory, complete with a walled kitchen garden and Adam’s elegant Garden House.
5. Marble Hill House
This perfect Palladian villa beside the Thames captures the essence of Georgian elegance and the remarkable story of a woman who carved out her own space in 18th-century society with intelligence, taste and determination.
Marble Hill House was built between 1724 and 1729 for Henrietta Howard, mistress of George II when he was Prince of Wales. But she was far more than just a royal mistress. A noted wit and society hostess, she gathered around her the finest minds of the age, including her neighbour, Alexander Pope, who helped design both the house and the gardens.
Built by architect Roger Morris with advice from Henrietta’s coterie of fashionable friends, the house became a textbook example of English Palladian architecture and influenced plantation houses in colonial America. The compact but carefully planned interior focuses on the Great Room, where Henrietta held court, now restored with gilded decoration and Panini paintings.
6. Ham House
Across the river from Marble Hill House, Ham House is one of Europe’s most complete surviving 17th-century houses. It’s wonderfully atmospheric, pulling you deep into the Restoration period and telling the tale of survival through the English Civil War.
Built in 1610, it was transformed by Elizabeth Murray, Countess of Dysart, and her second husband, John Maitland, Duke of Lauderdale, into one of the grandest Stuart houses in England.
The interiors are a baroque feast of gilded ceilings, damask hangings, cabinets and furniture, specifically designed for each room. Unlike many of London’s historic houses, much of its original collection survives, from the rare Chinese teapot, said to have belonged to the Duchess, to exotic ivory cabinets that epitomise the 17th-century taste for global treasures.
The formal gardens surrounding the house include a restored 17th-century ‘wilderness’ with its geometric hedged paths and summerhouses, plus the Cherry Garden, which was the Duchess’s private retreat.
Cherry Garden
7. Syon House
For over 400 years, Syon House has been the London residence of the Dukes of Northumberland, the Percy family, one of England’s most powerful noble dynasties. The house remains the London home of the current Duke.
Built on the site of the medieval Syon Abbey dissolved by Henry VIII, the house witnessed Lady Jane Grey accepting the crown in 1553 before her brief, tragic reign as the Nine Days’ Queen. In the 1760s, Robert Adam transformed the interiors into one of his most spectacular creations, designing a suite of rooms that moves from the cool Roman grandeur of the Great Hall to the richly gilded Ante Room with its scagliola columns and gold statuary.
The 200-acre park was landscaped by Capability Brown and includes the magnificent Great Conservatory, a popular filming location.
(Sorry: no pictures for this one. Syon House doesn’t allow photography for blogs without prior permission)
8. Fulham Palace
For over 1,300 years, Fulham Palace served as the country residence of the Bishops of London, making it one of the capital’s most historically significant but least known sites. Set beside the Thames with 13 acres of botanical gardens, the palace complex spans buildings from the Tudor, Georgian and Victorian periods.
Bishop Henry Compton created one of the most important botanical gardens in England here in the late 17th century, importing exotic plants from the American colonies and beyond. The Tudor courtyard, Georgian rooms and Victorian chapel tell the story of the powerful prelates who lived here, from those who signed Magna Carta to Bishop Juxon, who attended Charles I at his execution.
And it has a wonderful café!
9. Kenwood House
Perched on the edge of Hampstead Heath with sweeping views across London, Kenwood House is home to one of the finest art collections gifted to the British nation.
In the 1760s, William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, commissioned Robert Adam to transform a 17th-century villa into a masterpiece of neoclassical design with delicate plasterwork and gilded decoration. In 1927, Edward Cecil Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh, bequeathed Kenwood to the nation, along with 63 outstanding paintings. These include Rembrandt’s haunting late Self Portrait, Vermeer’s Guitar Player and works by Gainsborough, Reynolds and Turner.
The terms of the Iveagh Bequest ensure the house remains free to visit and is preserved as an 18th-century gentleman’s home. The landscaped grounds designed by Humphry Repton sweep down to an ornamental lake, whilst the house has featured in films from Notting Hill to Belle.
Again, there’s a lovely café set within a walled garden.
10. Eltham Palace
Where else in London can you find a medieval great hall with a spectacular hammer beam roof from the 1470s attached to a sleek Art Deco mansion from the 1930s? Eltham Palace is architectural time travel at its most dramatic.
Once a favourite residence of medieval kings, including Henry VIII, who spent his childhood here, the palace fell into ruin before millionaire socialites Stephen and Virginia Courtauld leased it in 1933. They restored the Great Hall whilst building an adjacent modern home, designed by Seely & Paget. This was complete with cutting-edge Swedish interiors, underfloor heating, centralised vacuum cleaning and a luxury bomb shelter.
The circular entrance hall with its glazed dome and black bean veneer walls is one of Britain’s finest Art Deco interiors. Virginia’s gold-plated bathroom and the map room where they planned their globe-trotting adventures epitomise 1930s glamour. Their pet lemur, Mah-Jongg, even had his own heated room.
Which London Historic House Will You Visit?
And that’s a wrap! Whichever London mansion you choose to visit, I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.
Happy travels!
About Bridget
Bridget Coleman has been a passionate traveller for more than 30 years. She has visited 70+ countries, most as a solo traveller.
Articles on this site reflect her first-hand experiences.
To get in touch, email her at hello@theflashpacker.net or follow her on social media.