The out-of-hours tour of the Painted Hall

Why it is on the list

Thornhill designed the Painted Hall and painted it between 1707 and 1726: more than 3,700 square metres of Baroque walls and ceilings carrying some 200 figures, from kings and queens to allegories of Britain's naval and commercial power.¹ Nelson lay in state here in 1806.¹ The hall reopened in 2019 after a two-year conservation of the Lower Hall.¹² The college buildings are Grade I listed and stand at the centre of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site.² By day the hall is open from 10am to 5pm, with talks every half hour.³ The out-of-hours booking gives you the room in the hour before it opens or after it closes, with a guide of your own.⁴

It is the wrong choice for anyone who wants an evening with drinks among a private collection; the candlelit tour at Sir John Soane's Museum is that. It is also the wrong choice on a day the hall is closed for an event; the college publishes those dates in advance.³

How to get it

Write to the groups team at groups@ornc.org and ask for the Painted Hall out of hours, or book it online through the college's ticket page.⁵⁴ It costs £625 for up to 10 people, then £45 a head, and includes a private guided tour; the slots are 9am to 10am and 5pm to 6pm.⁴ Book at least six weeks ahead to be sure of a guide at the time you want.⁴ Confirmed numbers and payment are due three weeks before the visit.⁵

Guides can speak many languages; name yours when you book.⁵ A larger party is split into groups of 10 to 25 per guide.⁶ The college can shape a private tour around an interest: art, architecture, naval history or film.⁶

Discretion

The slots fall outside the hall's public hours of 10am to 5pm, so the room holds only your party and its guide.³⁴ A guide can use whispering-guide sets so everyone hears without raising voices.⁵ There is no parking on site except for blue badge holders; the nearest public car park is on Park Row, opposite the East Gate, and Cutty Sark DLR is a few minutes' walk.⁷