CENTRAL LONDON
APSLEY HOUSE, Piccadilly W1
A grade I listed building, designed and built by neoclassical-architect Robert Adam during the 1770s. The original red brick exterior was dressed in Bath stone and latterly the impressive Corinthian portico was added by the Duke of Wellington when he made it his home. The entire building is an architectural statement proclaiming the Duke of Wellington’s success at the Battle of Waterloo.
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/apsley-house 2 minutes Hyde Park Corner tube
BANQUETING HOUSE, Whitehall SW1
On this site once stood the Palace of Westminster, only the Banqueting House survives the rest having been destroyed by fire in 1698. The building is on three floors, the lower areas being store rooms, above is the double height banqueting hall with a secondary floor above. The architecture has successfully created an aura of splendour and importance, on arrival the visitor will be awed by the paintings of Peter Paul Rubens on the ceiling inside the main hall -.Charles 1st executed here
https://www.hrp.org.uk/banqueting-house/ 5 minutes Charing Cross tube
BUCKINGHAM PALACE, Westminster SW1
Early in the 1700s the Duke of Buckingham, John Sheffield, asked the architect William Winde to build Buckingham House. This was only the beginning, King George IV acquired the building changing it into a more extensive structure. The neoclassical architect John Nash greatly enlarged the building for George IV and eventually when the Palace became the home of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert the structure became what we see today, a mixture of classical, baroque and rococo styles.
https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/visit/the-state-rooms-buckingham-palace
10 minutes Hyde Park Corner and Victoria tubes
The BUILDING CENTRE, Fitzrovia WC1
The premises are dedicated to architecture and building design. Here is an endless display of products and services that an architect could ever need. There is an information centre were anyone with a building project can put their ideas before a consultant to obtain advice. Most compelling of all is a three-dimensional model of London which is constantly upgraded to show all the new projects being erected in the city.
https://www.buildingcentre.co.uk 2 minutes Goodge Street tube
CHISWICK HOUSE, W4
Chiswick House exemplifies English Palladian Architecture and is one of the few remaining example of Neo-Palladian architecture. The house was designed by Lord Burlington, and built between 1727 and 1729. With close observation the influence of antique Roman architecture can be seen everywhere. What is of unusual architectural fascination are the classical follies, the Doric column, the Ionic temple and Obelisk, the classical bridge, and most splendidly the Inigo Jones gateway http://chiswickhouseandgardens.org.uk
15 minutes Chiswick Station
EAST LONDON
19 PRINCELET STREET, Spitalfields E1
Number 19 Princelet Street, now a Grade II listed building, is the Museum of Immigration and Diversity. The house was built in 1719, as a home for a Huguenot silk merchant, Peter Abraham Ogier, and remains unrestored. The architecture changed drastically in 1869, when the rear garden was used to build the East End’s first purpose built synagogue created for the then growing Jewish population. https://www.19princeletstreet.org.uk
10 minutes Liverpool Street tube or Shoreditch High Street Overground
DENNIS SERVERS HOUSE, Spitalfields E1
A grade II listed Georgian terraced house in the East End of London. The building was originally the home of silk weavers who lived in and around Spitalfields. The style of architecture is typical of the era, 1720s, and would been occupied as a working factory premises. The visitor will experience what it was like to live in such a house which has be left in its unimproved condition to evoke the atmosphere of the past. https://www.dennissevershouse.co.uk 5 minutes Shoreditch High Street Overground
EASTBURY MANOR, Barking
Eastbury Manor House was built by Clement Sysley in the reign of Elizabeth I. The Manor is a brick building, not usual at that time, with glass windows and tall chimneys. These features indicate the architect had a generous budget. The interior of the building consisting of two completed floors with a large attic above. Of particular note is the timber-beamed ceiling on the top floor, and the original fireplace on the ground floor. https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/eastbury-manor-house 2 minutes Upney tube
NORTH LONDON
2 WILLOW ROAD, Hampstead NW3
This is is one of three houses in Willow Road, designed by architect Ernő Goldfinger. These houses were early examples of Modernist buildings and the influences of architects Ove Arup along with Adolf Loos are evident. The building is mainly of concrete framing with a brick facing, part of the concrete frame is exposed on the front of the building.
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/2-willow-road 5 minutes Hampstead Heath Overground
FENTON HOUSE, Hampstead NW3
Fenton House is a 17th-century merchant’s house built by William Eades, the house is brick built, with 1693 inscribed on the chimney’s breast. Architecturally the building is a William and Mary domestic house in style, and features a walled garden with a sunken garden, an orchard and kitchen garden.
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/fenton-house-and-garden 15 minutes Hampstead tube
KENWOOD HOUSE, Highgate NW3
One of the most beautiful buildings in London with famous garden panorama view from the back of the house. As an example of grand architecture Kenwood House has the great advantage of being in an open setting with seventy-four acres of surrounding parkland. Architecturally the structure is largely the work of Robert Adam, exemplified by the pedimented portico on the north front and the library, which is in its original state.Many fine paintings .Perfect setting for Summer concerts. Quality tea room and terrace cafe
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/kenwood 25 minutes Hampstead and Highgate tubesSOUTH EAST LONDON
SOUTH EAST
BRUNEL MUSEUM AND ENGINE HOUSE, Rotherhithe SE16
Both Marc Brunel and Isambard Kingdom Brunel contributed to the building of a tunnel under the Thames. A brilliant example of Victorian engineering years ahead of its time and it can be seen as the birthplace of all the underground networks. A small museum but well worth a visit to see the architectural and engineering there. This structure was amongst the very first of its kind in the world.
http://www.brunel-museum.org.uk 3 minutes Rotherhithe Overground, Canada Water tube
CHARLTON HOUSE, Charlton SE7
A step into the history of architecture. Built in the reign of James I, Charlton House is the best preserved Jacobean house in London. Charlton House was built in 1607–12 of red brick with stone dressing with an interior great hall, chapel, state dining room and gallery. With almost all of the original features intact the house is an architectural treasure. Changing exhibitions
https://www.greenwichheritage.org/visit/charlton-house
10 minutes Charlton Station (Thameslink, NR South Eastern )
CROSSNESS PUMPING STATION, Thamesmead SE2 This Victorian pumping house can only be described as spectacular. A temple to Victorian ornamental cast-iron frivolity. Polished brass, ornate cast iron columns, spiral staircases and endless creative detail. Situated a little way outside London but the effort to visit this building will be well rewarded, you will spend for evermore boasting to your architectural colleagues of what you have seen.
http://www.crossness.org.uk 10 minutes Abbey Wood station NR
ELTHAM PALACE, Eltham SE9 5QE
Something of an architectural curiosity as it is in part the remains of a mediaeval moated manor house and latterly a home with an exquisite art deco interior. The conversion was by the Courtauld family who commissioned architects and designers to create a modern home that retained as much as possible of Eltham’s medieval origins. Worth visiting to see how the architects rose to the challenge of blending ancient architecture with modern design.
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/eltham-palace-and-gardens
15 minutes Eltham station (NR South eastern)
LAMBETH PALACE, SE1
Lambeth Palace on the south bank of the River Thames has been a residence of the Archbishops of Canterbury since the 13th century. It is one of the few medieval buildings left in London. The Tudor brick gatehouse dates from 1495 and is one of the oldest surviving parts of Lambeth Palace. The entrance to the palace is through this gatehouse under Morton’s Tower and inside one can explore one of London’s most historic buildings. Visitors should note Lambeth palace is only open one day every month.
https://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/lambeth-palace 10 minutes Lambeth North tube
SOUTH WEST
HAM HOUSE, Richmond-upon-Thames
Ham House was built in 1610 and during the 1670 several extensions were added. The building is one of the several grand houses erected along the Thames and is unusual as it survives in its original architectural form. Besides the house the garden is one of the few formal gardens to survive the English Landscape movement. There are out buildings, an Orangery, brick ice house, dairy and still house. It is a rare survival of 17th-century Stuart house.
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ham-house-and-garden Richmond tube, Overground and NR ( SW)
HAMPTON COURT, East Molesey KT8 9AU
This world famous royal palace that was begun in 1515 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. The building was acquired by Henry VIII in 1529 and subsequently enlarged. King William III rebuilt and expanded much of the Palace, demolishing much of the Tudor palace leaving the two contrasting styles we see today, Tudor and Baroque.( NB ghost tours for the kids!)
https://www.hrp.org.uk/hampton-court-palace Hampton Court Station NR (SW)
KEW PALACE, Richmond TW9 3AE Kew Palace dates 1631 when it was built as a mansion for a London silk merchant. Later it became a Royal Palace and was amongst a large group of buildings which have been successively demolished. Kew Palace was built on top the undercroft of an earlier building and this tiny Palace is the main survivor becoming known as the personal residence of the Georgian kings.
http://www.hrp.org.uk/KewPalace Kew Bridge Station NR
WEST LONDON
BOSTON MANOR ,Brentford TW8 9JX
The manor house was built in 1622-3 and is an English Jacobean manor house built for Dame Mary Reade. On the east side is the drawing room, this is the room that Boston Manor House is so famous for. The drawing room has a Jacobean ceiling designed by the 17th-century Dutch artist Marcus Gheeraerts, with high relief mouldings that are acknowledged to be excellent examples of the Jacobean period.
https://www.hounslow.gov.uk/info/20174/heritage_and_arts/1855/historic_houses Boston Manor tube
KENSINGTON PALACE and GARDENS, W8
Kensington Palace was originally a two-story Jacobean mansion built by Sir George Coppin in 1605. In the summer of 1689, William and Mary bought the mansion from Secretary of State Daniel Finch, they then instructed Sir Christopher Wren, Surveyor of the King’s Works, to begin an immediate expansion of the house. Of particular interest is the work of architects Sir Christopher Wren and Nicholas Hawksmoor whose task it was to design an orangery which became far more than a greenhouse as it was the ‘party room’ for successive royals.
https://www.hrp.org.uk/kensington-palace 5 minutes High Street Kensington tube