Spencer House, London

From its conception, Spencer House was recognized as one of the most ambitious aristocratic private palaces ever built in London and is today the city’s only great eighteenth-century private palace to survive intact. The house was built in (1756-66) for John, 1st Earl Spencer an ancestor of Diana, princess of Wales (1971-97). Designed by John Vardy and James ‘Athenian’ Stuart, the house is one of the pioneer examples of neo-classical architecture and marks a turning point in English architectural history from Palladianism to neo-classical. Spencer House has regained the full splendor of its late-eighteenth century appearance, after a painstaking ten-year restoration undertaken by RIT Capital Partners Plc. Eight state rooms are open to the public for viewing on Sundays, and are available for private and corporate entertaining during the rest of the week. These Magnificently restored rooms were amongst the first neo-classical interiors in Europe. Vardy’s Palm Room, with its spectacular screen of gilded palm trees and arched fronds, is a unique Palladian set piece, while the elegant mural decorations of Stuart’s Painted Room reflect the eighteenth-century passion for classical Greece and Rome.
Every Sunday (expect during August)

10:30am to 5:45pm (last tour 4.45pm).
Adults: £12.00. Concessions: £10.00

Open for Private group tours throughout the rest of the week
Telephone: 02075141958
Email: tours@spencerhouse.co.uk