The Queen's House

James I's queen, Anne of Denmark, had commissioned Inigo Jones to design this superb building in 1616. Inspired by the Italian palaces and villas of the Palladio, it was the first building in this style to be built in the British Isles and revolutionised English Jacobean architecture. Construction started in 1616 but the Queen died in 1619 and work was stopped until ten years later, when King Charles I gave it to his new queen, Henrietta Maria. Inigo Jones was recalled and the exterior work was completed some six years later. The Queen stayed there only briefly, however, due to the onset of the 1642 the Civil War. Parliamentarians seized the House and sold the paintings, a large part of Charles I's collection. After the Restoration Charles II had the House enlarged to provide a residence while the new palace of Placentia was being built (now the site of the Royal Naval College) and the Queen Mother, Henrietta resided there.

In the 1690s, the Greenwich Naval Hospital was designed by Sir Christopher Wren, and the Queen's House was made its centrepiece. In 1690 it became the official residence of the Ranger of Greenwich Park. When first built, the House straddled the main Deptford to Woolwich road, and it was possible to pass from the Palace gardens into the Royal Park without being seen crossing the road.

In 1699 the then Ranger, Lord Romney, moved the road to its present position, effectively separating the Naval Hospital, the predecessor of the College, from the Park. In 1806 the Naval Asylum School moved into the House it was linked along the line of the old road to extensions on either side by colonnades in 1816. The school moved out in 1933, and the buildings were opened in 1937 as the National Maritime Museum.

The House was partially restored in 1934-5, and again in the 1980s, re-opening in 1990. It is fitted out in the style of the 1660s as much as possible, and contains a mixture of original and replica furnishings. It now houses a valuable collection of swords, trophies, carvings, paintings, sculptures, and other works of art. The interior includes the first spiral staircase in England and the Great Hall, a perfect 40 foot Cube.

Opening Times

Daily: 10:00 - 17:00 (10am - 5pm).

Please note that the Queens House isclosed from until 1st December 1999 when a new exhibition on time will open.

24 hour info line: +44 (0)208 312 6565

Tel: +44 (0)20 8856 5000 - Fax: +44 (0)20 8856 1117
Email: info@greenwich-letting.com © The Letting Company (Greenwich) Ltd. 1999 - 2006.