Photo: Tom Parnell from Dunfermline, Scotland / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
About this place
Eltham Palace in the Royal Borough of Greenwich comprises two distinct buildings: a medieval great hall that once formed part of a royal residence, and an Art Deco house built in the 1930s.
The great hall features a hammerbeam roof ranked as the third largest of its kind in England.
The adjoining house, designed for Stephen and Virginia Courtauld, contains interiors among the finest Art Deco examples in Britain.
English Heritage manages the site, allowing visitors to move from a fifteenth-century hall into a 1930s drawing room within moments.
Read more on WikipediaHistory
The site was a royal residence through the medieval and Tudor periods. Henry VIII spent part of his childhood here. By the early twentieth century the palace had fallen into disrepair until Stephen and Virginia Courtauld took a lease in 1933 and built their striking Art Deco house alongside the surviving great hall. The Crown Estate owns the property. English Heritage took over care of the great hall in 1984 before taking on the rest of the site in 1995.
Architecture
The great hall is a rare survival of late medieval royal architecture, built with a hammerbeam roof ranked third largest of its type in England. The adjoining 1930s house was designed for the Courtaulds in the Art Deco style, with interiors that combine walnut veneer, inset lighting and bold geometric detailing throughout.
Worth knowing
Stephen and Virginia Courtauld kept a pet ring-tailed lemur named Mah-Jongg at the house during the 1930s.
Gardens & grounds
The grounds include formal gardens laid out around the moat, with yew hedging and rose beds that trace the line of the medieval walls.
Facilities
Plan your visit
Nearest station: Mottingham Rail Station (0.5 miles)
Open seasonally; check official website for current dates and times.
Nearby properties
Ranger's House
View Ranger's House on heritage mapRed House
View Red House on heritage mapEastbury Manor House
View Eastbury Manor House on heritage mapFirst Flying bomb on London fell here (blue plaque), Tower Hamlets
View First Flying bomb on London fell here (blue plaque), Tower Hamlets on heritage mapFacts
A medieval royal great hall standing beside one of Britain's finest Art Deco interiors.
- Type
- historic building
- Location
- Greater London, England
- Visit duration
- Allow up to two hours
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