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Ham House |
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Ham House tel: 020 8940 1950 Area: Surrey |
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| Visitor Information | www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hamhouse | ||||||||||||
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| Ham House Surrey All details updated* as of: 19/02/2008 |
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| Opening Days and Hours | |||||||||||||
Garden: All year, 11-6, Sat - Wed |
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| Parties
/ Coaches: Yes During normal opening hours - 15+ people. |
Groups
/ Coaches need Appointment: Yes |
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House
Open for Viewing: Yes |
National
Garden Scheme days: Yes 5th July |
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| Best
Times of Year to Visit: Any time during season. |
To
see: 17th century formal gardens. |
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| Admission Prices | |||||||||||||
| £9, child £5, family £23. Groups £8.50, child £5, Group visits outside normal hours (£14). Garden only: £3, child £2, family £8. Admission to gardens includes outhouses and introductory film | |||||||||||||
| Onsite Facilities | |||||||||||||
| Parking:
Yes Lavatories: Yes Disabled Access: Yes |
Shop:
Yes Plants for Sale: Yes Lunches: Yes |
Teas:
Yes Light Refreshment: Yes Picnics: Yes |
Dogs
Allowed: No On Lead only: No Special Events: Yes |
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| Other
Facilities: Council-owned free car park 400 m. Not suitable for coaches. Coaches may park on Avenue by main gate by prior arrangment. Car park for disabled available at property. Good access facilities for disabled. 3 spare wheelchairs available on site. Events include Open-Air Theatre, garden & ghost tours, family events, Herb Week. Winter recitals and special Christmas Openings. |
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| Garden Features | |||||||||||||
| House features lavish interiors, fine furniture, textiles and paintings. | English Heritage Garden Grade: II* | ||||||||||||
| National Collection: | |||||||||||||
| Description of Garden | Designer:
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| The garden is significant as one of the few formal gardens to survive the English Landscape Movement in the 18th century, which was first started in the area. The strongly architectural nature of the Wilderness, gravel paths and parterres of lavender, together with copies of the 17th century furniture and summerhouses, add to the charm and interest of this all-year-round riverside garden. The borders are planted in 17th century style based on contemporary inventories in repeated structural patterns. The Wilderness is a rare and important survival and its recent restoration and replanting was based on a plan atributed to John Slezer and Jan Wick dating from 1671-2. The original document is displayed in the House (Library Closet). The garden restoration, begun in 1973, has influenced recent restorations of some of the great gardens in Europe. |
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| History of Garden | |||||||||||||
| "After dinner I walked to Ham to see the House and Garden of the Duke of Lauderdale, which is indeed inferior to few of the best Villas in Italy itself; the House furnished like a great Prince's; the Parterres, Flower Gardens, Orangeries, Groves, Avenues, Courts, Statues, Perspectives, Fountains, Aviaries and all this at the banks of the Sweetest River in the World, must needs be surprising". John Evelyn's description, written in 1678, evokes the splendour of the gardens at Ham at the end of a decade of prodigious expenditure by the Duke and Duchess of Lauderdale. The restoration of the east and south compartments of the garden in 1975 began the process of re-establishing this layout. Work remains to be done to return more of the elaborate features admired by Evelyn, as they appeared in their heyday. The house is unique in Europe as the most complete survival of 17th century fashion and power. One of a series of palaces and grand houses along the banks of the river Thames, Ham was built in 1610 and greatly enlarged in the 1670s when it was at the heart of Restoration court life and intrigue. it was then occupied by the same family until 1948 when it was bequeathed to the National Trust. Surviving outbuildings include an Orangery, Ice house, still house and dairy. |
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| Nearby Surrey Hotels, Facilities & Amenities | |||||||||||||
| Hotels
& Accommodation: Many in Richmond and Petersham |
Restaurants: as above |
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| Inns & Pubs: Large selection in Richmond Town Centre and by the Thames |
Villages / Towns
/ Sightseeing: Richmond-upon-Thames |
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  - Surrey |
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*Information
Updates
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0034_hamhouse.jpg - Ham House (Surrey)
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