Richmond - Ham House

Ham House, a National Trust property set in a large park near Richmond, is now an annex of the Victoria and Albert Museum displaying 17th C furniture and furnishings. The original Ham House was a modest country house built by Sir Thomas Vavasour in 1610. In the middle of the 17th C Elizabeth, Countess of Dysart, inherited it, and she, after her marriage to the Duke of Lauderdale, Charles II's favorite and minister, rebuilt and enlarged it in the lavish Baroque style of the period (1673-75). German, Dutch and Italian artists were employed in the decoration and embellishment of the interior, and Ham House soon came to be compared with a princely mansion. The house re-opened in 1994 after extensive renovation, and, with its beautiful grounds