Ham House is a 17th-century mansion on the south bank of the River Thames in Richmond, built in 1610 and transformed in the 1670s by Elizabeth Murray, Duchess of Lauderdale, and her husband into one of the grandest Stuart houses in England. Now a National Trust property with formal gardens and one of the most complete surviving 17th-century interiors, it costs £19.80 for an adult with Gift Aid, is free to National Trust members, and opens its garden from 10am and its house from 11.30am on the day we checked. The nearest station is Richmond, about a mile and a half away by footpath.

History of Ham House

Sir Thomas Vavasour and the Building of Ham House, 1610

Ham House takes its name from Ham, a place-name derived from the Old English hamm, meaning land in a bend of a river; the village was first recorded around 1150, according to Hidden London. According to the National Trust, the house was first built in 1610 on land leased from the Crown, for Sir Thomas Vavasour (1560 to 1620), a courtier to James I. On Vavasour’s death in 1620 it passed to another royal favourite, John Ramsay, 1st Earl of Holderness, and when Ramsay died in 1626 the lease reverted to the new king, Charles I. The Thames-side site allowed a courtier to move between the royal palaces at Richmond, Hampton Court, London and Windsor.

William Murray and the Gift from Charles I, 1626

William Murray (about 1600 to 1655) was educated as a boy alongside the young Prince Charles, and in 1626 the new King Charles I gave him the lease of Ham House. Around 1637 to 1639 William and his wife Catherine, née Bruce, made lavish decorative changes, installing the carved Great Stairs, the state rooms and the Green Closet, which the National Trust describes as the only surviving complete 17th-century closet in the country. It was designed as an intimate space for private conversation and the display of precious artworks.

The Civil Wars and Elizabeth Murray’s Secret Loyalty

Elizabeth Murray (1626 to 1698), the Murrays’ daughter and heir, protected Ham through the British Civil Wars. William supported the royalist cause, joined the King at Oxford in 1643 and later remained in exile, and Catherine died in 1649, leaving Elizabeth and her husband Sir Lionel Tollemache to protect the house from confiscation by Parliament. According to the National Trust, Elizabeth kept good relations with Oliver Cromwell and held on to Ham during the Interregnum while secretly supporting the return of the Stuarts, carrying coded letters to and from the continent and sharing recipes for invisible ink. After the Restoration in 1660, Charles II gave her a pension of £800 a year for life, confirmed her as Countess of Dysart in her own right and granted her and Lionel 75 acres around Ham and Petersham.

The Duke and Duchess of Lauderdale

The Duke and Duchess of Lauderdale were the couple who made Ham what it is today. Sir Lionel Tollemache died in 1669, and in 1672 Elizabeth married John Maitland (1616 to 1682), Earl of Lauderdale, a key member of Charles II’s inner circle and Secretary of State for Scotland. Charles II made the couple Duke and Duchess of Lauderdale after their marriage, and the National Trust calls them the power couple of the Restoration. Hidden London adds that Ham was the meeting place of the Cabal, Charles II’s leading advisers, between 1667 and 1673.

The Restoration Makeover of the 1670s

Ham stood on the Thames between Hampton Court Palace and Windsor Castle upriver and Richmond Palace and Whitehall downriver, which made it ideal for politicking, and the Lauderdales rebuilt it to match their status. In the early 1670s the house was extended to the south, doubling its size, with a suite of rooms for Catherine of Braganza, Charles II’s queen. Elizabeth installed one of the earliest internal bathrooms in the country and a Still House where she made treatments for the household. The couple commissioned portraits by Sir Peter Lely and floral marquetry by the cabinet maker Gerrit Jensen, acquired Chinese and Japanese lacquer from London traders, and developed formal gardens with a private garden for Elizabeth, a walled kitchen garden and one of the earliest orangeries in the country.

Trade, Empire and Ham House’s Collection

The Duke of Lauderdale’s influence reached beyond Britain. In 1663 he was named as a grantee on the charter of the Royal English Merchant Adventurers Company Trading to Africa, later the Royal African Company, and from 1675 he was one of the first Lords of Trades and Plantations, who advised the Privy Council on the growing number of English colonies. The National Trust acknowledges that Britain’s part in the transatlantic slave trade is visible in Ham’s collection, including a portrait of about 1651 by Sir Peter Lely of Elizabeth with a Black servant, and two torchères in the form of young Black men in positions of servitude.

The Tollemaches, from 1698 to the 20th Century

Elizabeth died at Ham in 1698 and is buried in nearby St Peter’s Church, Petersham. Her descendants by her marriage to Lionel Tollemache lived at Ham for the next 250 years. Her great-grandson Lionel, the 4th Earl (1708 to 1770), paid for important repairs and added to the collection, and later owners patronised artists such as Sir Joshua Reynolds and John Constable, whose portraits still hang in the Great Hall. According to the National Trust, the 9th Earl, who died in 1935, brought the house into the 20th century by installing electricity and plumbing, including an early jet bath in the Duchess’s Bathroom.

Gift to the National Trust, 1948

Sir Lyonel Tollemache, 4th Baronet, gave Ham House to the National Trust in 1948. It came without an endowment, so the house and garden were leased to the government and run by the Ministry of Works, while the contents were bought by the government and entrusted to the Victoria and Albert Museum, which cared for the house and collection from 1948 until the early 1990s. The V&A restored several rooms to a more 17th-century appearance using historic inventories, and the National Trust completed further restoration, including work on the Great Stairs and the Green Closet, when it regained administration in the 1990s.

Ham House on Screen: Bridgerton

Ham House and Garden was a new filming location for series four of Bridgerton, according to the National Trust, which says the production used it to double as several residences, including Bridgerton House, Penwood House and Benedict Bridgerton’s home, My Cottage. The production built a flower-laden pergola on Ham’s South Terrace for the romantic encounter between Sophie Baek and Benedict Bridgerton during the opening ball, and filmed in the house’s 17th-century kitchen for the scenes below stairs at My Cottage. Ham is a popular location for other period productions too.

Ghost Stories at Ham House

Ham House has a long reputation for being haunted, but the stories are folklore, not verified history. Time Out describes tales of the Duchess of Lauderdale’s tapping stick, wafts of rose perfume and a pet spaniel sensed along deserted corridors, and the house has hosted ghost tours.

Why Ham House Matters

Ham House matters because, in the National Trust’s words, it has hardly changed in 300 years, preserving a rare example of 17th-century life, treasures and architecture, from the Great Stairs to the Green Closet. A photogrammetry project has created a digital model of the Green Closet so that visitors can study it in fine detail. The house also sits within a wider cluster of Thames-side historic houses, including Hampton Court Palace and Chiswick House.

Visiting Ham House: Practical Information

Opening hours: Times vary by day and season, so check the National Trust’s online calendar before you travel. On 29 September 2026 the garden was open 10am to 5pm, the house 11.30am to 3.30pm, the coffee shop 10am to 4.30pm, the shop 10.30am to 4.30pm and the second-hand bookshop 10am to 4.30pm. Last entry is 30 minutes before closing, and last orders are 10 minutes before the coffee shop closes. Older listings show different times, so rely on the National Trust’s own page.

Ticket prices: House and garden, with Gift Aid (without Gift Aid in brackets): adult (18 and over) £19.80 (£18.00); child (5 to 17) £9.90 (£9.00); family of two adults and up to three children £49.50 (£45.00); one adult and up to three children £29.70 (£27.00). Under-5s and National Trust members enter free, and the National Trust also accepts RHS main cardholders and Art Fund membership cards. There is no pre-booking system: go to Visitor Reception at the main, river-facing gates and show a membership card or buy a ticket. See the National Trust page for current details.

What’s on: Cabinets Unlocked runs from 17 October to 1 November 2026 during house opening hours, 11.30am to 3.30pm. Christmas at Ham House, The Robin’s Tale, runs from 28 November 2026 to 3 January 2027.

Address: Ham Street, Ham, Richmond, TW10 7RS. The National Trust’s listing gives the county as Surrey, but Ham House is in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.

Getting there: Richmond station (District line and rail) is 1.5 miles away by footpath and 2 miles by road; from Richmond, the 371 bus to Kingston stops at Ham Street, leaving a half-mile walk, and the 65 stops at Sudbrook Lane, leaving a three-quarter-mile walk. The Thames Path runs close to the entrance, 1.5 miles from Richmond and 3 miles from Kingston, and Hammerton’s Ferry, a seasonal foot and bike ferry, crosses from the Twickenham towpath near Marble Hill House for a small charge. Bike racks are inside the main gates.

Parking: Free parking is available 400 yards away in the council-run Ham Street Car Park, next to the river at the end of Ham Street, and nearby streets also offer free parking. Sat nav directs you to the stables on Ham Street; carry straight on past them to the car park. Blue Badge parking on site is extremely limited and must be reserved by emailing hamhouse@nationaltrust.org.uk.

How long to allow: The National Trust does not publish a suggested visit length. Our estimate is a half-day for the house, the several separate gardens and the coffee shop.

Accessibility: The garden is level but uneven, with gravel and cobbled paths. The main route into the ground floor of the house is by ramp, and portable ramps serve ground-floor rooms beyond the Great Hall. There is no lift, and the upper floors and basement are reached by stairs only. Corridors are narrow. An accessible toilet and baby-change facilities are in the toilet block opposite the shop. Manual wheelchairs can be borrowed from Visitor Reception; book ahead by emailing hamhouse@nationaltrust.org.uk. The mobility scooter is currently unavailable. There is an induction loop, and the National Trust points to AccessAble for detailed guides.

Dogs: Assistance dogs are permitted throughout the house and garden. Other dogs are welcome in the garden, shop and coffee shop on a short lead.

Photography: National Trust policy allows amateur photography without flash in historic interiors at the property manager’s discretion, and allows outdoor photography for private use. Some collections carry copyright restrictions, so ask at Visitor Reception before you start.

Eating and shopping: The Orangery Coffee Shop serves a seasonal menu with indoor and outdoor seating. The walled Kitchen Garden is tended on organic principles and provides home-grown produce. There is also a gift shop and a second-hand bookshop.

Managing body: Ham House and Garden is owned and run by the National Trust, a registered charity.

Nearby: Richmond Park is close by, with the Ham Gate exit reachable from the house by road, and the Thames Path leads towards Richmond and Kingston.

Prices last checked: September 2026. Opening hours last checked: September 2026. Prices, hours and access notes checked against nationaltrust.org.uk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Ham House a National Trust property?

Yes. Ham House and Garden is owned and run by the National Trust, which was given the house in 1948. National Trust members enter free, and the National Trust also accepts RHS main cardholders and Art Fund cards.

What are the opening times of Ham House?

Opening times vary by day and season, so check the National Trust’s online calendar. On 29 September 2026 the garden was open 10am to 5pm, the house 11.30am to 3.30pm and the coffee shop 10am to 4.30pm, with last entry 30 minutes before closing.

How much are tickets for Ham House?

Adult tickets are £19.80 with Gift Aid or £18.00 without, and child tickets (5 to 17) are £9.90 or £9.00. There is no pre-booking system, so you buy at Visitor Reception on arrival; National Trust members and under-5s enter free.

Where can you park at Ham House?

Free parking is in the council-run Ham Street Car Park, about 400 yards from the house at the end of Ham Street. Sat nav directs you to the stables on Ham Street, so carry straight on past them; Blue Badge parking on site is extremely limited and must be reserved by email.

Can you take photos inside Ham House?

National Trust policy allows amateur photography without flash in historic interiors at the property manager’s discretion, and outdoor photography for private use is allowed. Ask at Visitor Reception for the current rule in each room, as some collections carry copyright restrictions.

Was Ham House used in Bridgerton?

Yes. According to the National Trust, series four of Bridgerton used Ham House and Garden as Bridgerton House, Penwood House and Benedict Bridgerton’s home, My Cottage, with a flower-laden pergola built on the South Terrace for the opening-ball scene.

Is Ham House haunted?

Ham House is reputed to be haunted, but there is no verified evidence and the stories are folklore. Time Out describes tales of the Duchess of Lauderdale’s tapping stick, rose perfume and pet spaniel, and the house has hosted ghost tours.

Nearby Chronicle Trails Guides

Ham House is close to Richmond Park and shares a stretch of the Thames with Hampton Court Palace, while Chiswick House and Fulham Palace are two more of London’s historic houses. For more Castles & Historic Attractions, visit the England hub. We chronicle the history, then we walk you through it: here, that means a duchess’s coded letters in the 1650s and a Bridgerton ball on the same terrace.