Museums

We've included every museum in London. Use the filters to find something for you.

Tell us what we can do better, or what you’re trying to discover.

Kew Palace

The smallest of the royal palaces, a merchant's red-brick house of 1631 inside Kew Gardens, where George III was kept during his madness.

Photo by xlibber, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Also in Royal London.

Kew Palace is the Dutch House, built in 1631 for Samuel Fortrey, a London merchant of Flemish family, with the curved gables of Amsterdam and brickwork of a kind England had hardly seen; it stands on the cellars of a Tudor house where Elizabeth I was entertained. The royal family took it around 1728 as an overflow for the children, and it became the retreat of George III and Queen Charlotte, who preferred it to any grander house. It was here that the King was confined during his illness in 1801 and 1804, treated by doctors whose methods were closer to restraint than cure, and here that the Queen died in 1818, in a chair that is still in the room. The family left and the house stood shut for most of two centuries; Historic Royal Palaces restored it in 2006 and left the upper floors as they were found, plain and unpainted, which is what makes it moving. The royal kitchens beside it, untouched since 1818, and Queen Charlotte's thatched cottage in the gardens come with it. It opens from spring to autumn, and a Kew Gardens ticket is needed to reach it.

Where
Ferry Lane, Kew, TW8 0DX
Nearest station
Kew Bridge · 10 min walk

Step-free access

Opening hours, as recorded in OpenStreetMap: Apr 03-Sep 24 11:00-18:00

NearbyMuseums

NearbyOther Categories

See more nearby listings

Submit a correction for this listing.

Data is compiled from public sources including OpenStreetMap, under the ODbL. Hours change often, so check before making a journey.

Which area are you in?