Queen's House, Greenwich


Queen's House (GPS: 51.4811, -0.0037) is one of the most important buildings in British architectural history. It is the first consciously classical building to be erected in Britain. Its style is generally called Palladian, though its specific precedent is Giuliano da Sangallo's Villa Medici at Poggio a Caiano. It was designed by architect Inigo Jones, and built in 1616-17 for Queen Anne of Denmark, the consort to King James I of England.

The Queen's House is located in Greenwich, London, England. It was an adjunct to the older Palace of Greenwich, previously known in Tudor times as the Palace of Placentia, a rambling, mainly red-brick building in a more vernacular style. The Queen's House was only used for seven years, before the English Civil War of 1642 swept away the court culture from which it sprang.

Although the House survived as an official building, the main palace was progressively demolished from the 1660s to 1690s and replaced by the Greenwich Hospital for Seamen, built 1696-1752 to the master-plan of Sir Christopher Wren. This is now called the Old Royal Naval College, after its later use from 1873 to 1998.

Queen Mary ordered that the view from Queen's House to the River Thames be retained. This could only be done through the demolition of the older Palace, requiring the Greenwich Hospital to be designed as two matching pairs separated by a grand space exactly the width of Queen's House, so the view is not blocked.

The architectural ensemble of Greenwich stretching from the Thames to Greenwich Park and is one of the principal features of Maritime Greenwich, inscribed by UNESCO in 1997 as a World Heritage Site.

Queen's House Greenwich is on the Map of Historic Buildings of London

List of Historic Buildings of London

Want to share your London travel experiences or get tips from fellow travellers?

Join the London Travel Tips Facebook Group

More information for visiting London

Here are some related articles to help you get to know London better.

 Latest Pages & Updates

Buy Me A Coffee

If you enjoy the information I provide and want to support the work I do, please buy me a coffee! I appreciate it immensely, thank you so much!
Support me here

 Backtrack | HOME | Latest Updates | London Streets & Sights