Lady’s 9 Stately Homes in London You Should Visit

When most people think of visiting stately homes, they think of going to the countryside. But there are a lot in London if you know where to look. They’re hidden around the city, from the heart of the capital to the outskirts, and they’re worth discovering. If you want to see them, today I bring you A Lady in London’s guide to my favorite stately homes in London.

Stately Homes in London

If you’re not familiar with the concept of a stately home, it’s a historic mansion. Many have been destroyed or converted over the years, but London still has a number that are worth a special trip.

You can visit all the houses on my list, but make sure to check opening hours before you go. Some are closed seasonally or for events, and others are only open on certain days of the week.

Whenever you go, I hope you enjoy them as much as I have.

1. Strawberry Hill House

Out in Twickenham, Strawberry Hill House is my top pick for whimsical stately homes in London. This Gothic Revival beauty was built by Horace Walpole, son of British Prime Minister Robert Walpole, in the 18th century.

The exterior of Strawberry Hill House is like a giant white wedding cake with fanciful turrets and frosted crenelations.

The interior is equally lavish. Visitors are greeted by a dramatic staircase at the entrance, and the views from the upper floors show off the gardens and grounds from stained-glass windows.

Rooms like The Gallery have gilded fan vaulted ceilings and walls so dramatic they prompted Walpole to declare “I begin to be ashamed of my own magnificence”.

2. Apsley House

Right on Hyde Park Corner at the end of Piccadilly, 18th-century Apsley House is often overlooked despite its central location and historic address of “Number One, London”.

Tucked away behind a grand yet unassuming facade, this stately home in London is one of the only houses of its kind to have made it through the 20th century, when many others were sold and redeveloped.

Designed by famous architect Robert Adam and home to the Dukes of Wellington, Apsley House is known for its impressive collection of art.

The Waterloo Gallery has paintings from the Spanish royal collection, including works by Ribera, Goya, and Velazquez. The oldest surviving English grand piano calls Apsley House its home, too.

3. Osterley House

Out west near Heathrow, Osterley House is set in an expansive park full of cows, ponies, streams, and other countryside features that make it feel a million miles from the city.

Like Aspley House, this most imposing of stately homes in London is an 18th-century Robert Adam creation.

Osterley House’s exterior has Neo-Classical features, and its interiors contain intricate plasterwork ceilings and Georgian furnishings.

Outside, it’s worth taking a stroll through the gardens. The Tudor Garden is full of sweet peas, sunflowers, calendulas, zinnias, and other flowers during the warmer months, and the summer house is beautiful.

4. Chiswick House

Chiswick House is another of the best London stately homes. The former residence of the third Earl of Burlington, this 18th-century Neo-Palladian house in Chiswick has stunning symmetry inside and out.

This place is one of the most beautiful English Heritage sites in London. The rooms feature sumptuous jewel-tone wall coverings, historic paintings, and views over the gardens below.

And speaking of the gardens, they were the birthplace of the English Landscape Movement and inspired New York’s Central Park.

The paths are great to wander along, not least because they lead to surprises like water features along the way.

5. Mansion House

The official residence of the Lord Mayor of London, the 18th-century Mansion House was designed in the Palladian style by George Dance the Elder.

Situated in the heart of the City of London, its striking Corinthian columns support a pediment with a tympanum sculpture by Sir Robert Taylor. It features a symbolic figure of the City of London trampling on her enemies.

Mansion House has served numerous purposes throughout its life, including a court with holding cells for famous prisoners like suffragette Sylvia Pankhurst. It’s also home to an impressive 17th-century Dutch and Flemish art collection.

6. Ham House

Out in Richmond, Ham House is my favorite National Trust property in London.

This London stately home is located right on the Thames. Europe’s most complete surviving 17th-century mansion, Ham House is full of lavish interiors and original art by Van Dyck and other masters.

The gardens are equally impressive. From flowers in the kitchen garden to summer houses in the Wilderness Garden and hedges in the Cherry Garden, there’s a lot to discover.

7. Kenwood House

Up north in Hampstead Heath, the striking white facade of Kenwood House stands out among the trees and hills around it.

Built in the 17th century and used as a residence for the Earls of Mansfield through the 18th and 19th centuries, it’s now open to the public as a museum.

This finest of stately homes in London is known for being a filming location for the movie Notting Hill.

The Robert Adam-designed interiors are graced by paintings by Rembrandt, Turner, Gainsborough, and other famous artists. Outside, the cafe at Kenwood House is one of my favorite places to have cream tea on a summer afternoon.

8. Spencer House

Spencer House is one of London’s finest surviving 18th-century private stately homes in London. Located just off Green Park in St James’s, it was built for John, first Earl Spencer, an ancestor of Princess Diana.

The exterior is all Georgian aristocratic splendor, and the State Rooms are among the first Neo-Classical interiors in Europe.

Designed by John Vardy and James ‘Athenian’ Stuart, the eight rooms on display to the public are furnished with period furniture, paintings by Reynolds, and other objects of art.

9. Eastbury Manor House

Out east in Barking, Eastbury Manor House lies in a green square in the middle of a residential area. Its Tudor splendor and orange brick facade are best admired from the lavender-lined walkway leading to the entrance.

The 16th-century interior of this stately home in London still features original Elizabethan doors and a wooden staircase made of solid oak. There’s not a lot of furniture inside, but guides and displays bring it to life.

Outside, a pretty kitchen garden sits to one side of the house and the aforementioned lavender path is striking in the summer.

Best Stately Homes in London

I hope you’ve enjoyed this virtual tour of the finest stately homes in London. There are lots of other historic houses worth visiting in the UK capital, too.

Hampstead’s Fenton House, Hackney‘s Sutton House, and Bexleyheath’s Red House are all great examples of period architecture.

And that’s to say nothing of London’s royal palaces, which offer more sumptuous interiors to explore. I hope you enjoy discovering them all.

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