Palaces · London
Queen's House
In or near City of London.
Queen's House — historic house museum in London, UK.
Wikimedia Commons contributors — see linked file page for photographer and licence licence
Plan your visit
- Typical visit
- 2 h–3 h
- Nearest railway station
- Cutty Sark for Maritime Greenwich · 0.5 km
- Free entry
- Family-friendly
- Wheelchair accessible
Getting there & planning your visit
To visit Queen's House in Greenwich, you can take the train to Cutty Sark for Maritime Greenwich station, which is 0.5 km away. Entry is free, and the site is accessible for wheelchair users. The postcode for sat-nav is SE10 9NF.
About
Queen's House is a palace in the United Kingdom — a residence built or used by royalty, the aristocracy, or a bishop. Records date its origin to 1616. Designed by Inigo Jones. Heritage designation: scheduled monument. Owned by Royal Museums Greenwich. Part of Royal Museums Greenwich. Address: SE10 9NF. Wikidata describes it as: "historic house museum in London, UK". Coordinates: 51.4812°, -0.0038°.
Photo gallery
See it from the streetimagery from 2026
Imagery © Mapillary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0
Heritage listing
Queen's House is a former royal residence in the London borough of Greenwich, which presently serves as a public art gallery. It was built between 1616 and 1635 on the grounds of the now demolished Greenwich Palace, a few miles downriver from the City of London. In its current setting, it forms a central focus of the Old Royal Naval College with a grand vista leading to the River Thames, a World Heritage Site called, Maritime Greenwich. The Queen's House architect, Inigo Jones, was commissioned by Queen Anne of Denmark and her successor as queen consort, Queen Henrietta Maria.
From the Historic England List Entry under OGL v3.
Summary from the official site
The Queen's House is a historic building in London known for its stunning architecture and art collections. Visitors can explore its galleries and enjoy free access to a variety of extraordinary artworks.
Read more on the official property page.
From the Wikipedia article
Queen's House is a former royal residence in the London borough of Greenwich, which presently serves as a public art gallery. It was built between 1616 and 1635 on the grounds of the now demolished Greenwich Palace, a few miles downriver from the City of London. In its current setting, it forms a central focus of the Old Royal Naval College with a grand vista leading to the River Thames, a World Heritage Site called, Maritime Greenwich. The Queen's House architect, Inigo Jones, was commissioned by Queen Anne of Denmark and her successor as queen consort, Queen Henrietta Maria. The House was a royal retreat and place to display and enjoy the artworks the queens had commissioned; this included the ceiling in the Great Hall that featured a work by Orazio Gentileschi titled Allegory of Peace and the Arts. Queen's House is one of the most important buildings in British architectural history, due to it being the first consciously classical building to have been constructed in the country. It was Jones's first major commission after returning from his 1613–1615 grand tour of Roman, Renaissance, and Palladian architecture in Italy. Some earlier English buildings, such as Longleat and Burghley House, had made borrowings from the classical style, but the structure of these buildings was not informed by an understanding of classical precedents. Queen's House would have appeared revolutionary during this period. Although it diverges from the mathematical constraints of Palladio, Jones is often credited with the introduction of Palladianism with the construction of the Queen's House. Jones' unique architecture of the Queen's House also includes features like the Tulip Stairs, an intricate wrought iron staircase that holds itself up, and the Great Hall, a perfect cube. After its brief use as a home for royalty, the Queen's House was incorporated into use for the complex of the expanding Royal Hospital for Seamen, and maintaining its clear axial view down to the river was largely…
Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.
Background
History
Queen's House is located in Greenwich, London. It was built as an adjunct to the Tudor Palace of Greenwich and was previously known, before its redevelopment by Henry VII, as the Palace of Placentia, which was a rambling, red-brick, building in a vernacular style. This would have presented a dramatic contrast of appearance to the newer, white-painted house. The original building was intended as a pavilion with a bridge over the London-Dover road, running between high walls through the park of the palace. Construction of the house began in 1616, but work on it stopped in April 1618 when Anne became ill and died the following year. Work restarted when the house was given to the queen consort,…
Architecture
Built by Inigo Jones in the seventeenth century, the Queen's House is England's first classical building. Inigo Jones was commissioned by Anne of Denmark in 1616 to build the unique house. At her death in 1619, the house was unfinished. Jones completed the house for Henrietta Maria in 1635. The Queen's House is unique in style and characteristics compared to other English buildings of the time. Jones created a first-floor central bridge that joined the two halves of the building. Inigo Jones was heavily influenced by Italian Renaissance architecture and the Palladian style, created by Andrea Palladio. Jones applied the characteristics of harmony, detail, and proportion to the commission.…
Visiting
The house is now primarily used to display the museum's substantial collection of marine paintings and portraits of the seventeenth to twentieth centuries, and for other public and private events. It is normally open to the public daily, free of charge, as well as other museum galleries and the seventeenth-century Royal Observatory, Greenwich, which is also part of the National Maritime Museum. In Autumn 2022, a 1768 painting by the artist Tilly Kettle went on permanent display. The painting depicts Sir Samuel Cornish, 1st Baronet, Richard Kempenfelt and Thomas Parry on HMS Norfolk and was purchased by the National Maritime Museum, with assistance from the Society for Nautical Research.
Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates
- 51.4812, -0.0038
- District
- Greenwich
- Parish
- Greenwich, unparished area
- Postcode
- SE10 9NF
- Parliamentary constituency
- Greenwich and Woolwich
- Established
- 1616
- Nearest railway station
- Cutty Sark for Maritime Greenwich — 0.5 km
- Official site
- www.nmm.ac.uk
Sources
- wikidata: Q564981 (CC0)
- wikipedia: Queen's House (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- commons: Greenwich London.jpg (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Frequently asked questions
- Where is Queen's House?
- Queen's House is in London, United Kingdom (postcode SE10 9NF), in the parish of Greenwich, unparished area.
- What is Queen's House?
- Queen's House — historic house museum in London, UK.
- How do I get to Queen's House?
- The nearest railway station is Cutty Sark for Maritime Greenwich, about 0.5 km away. Drivers can use postcode SE10 9NF.
- When was Queen's House built?
- Built or established in 1616. Designed by Inigo Jones.
- Who owns Queen's House?
- Queen's House is owned by Royal Museums Greenwich.
- Is Queen's House a listed building?
- Queen's House is officially recognised as scheduled monument listed.
- Is Queen's House free to visit?
- Yes, Queen's House is free to enter.
- How do I get to Queen's House?
- The nearest railway station is Cutty Sark for Maritime Greenwich, about 0.5 km away. Drivers can navigate to postcode SE10 9NF.