The special access tour of Spencer House

Why it is on the list

Spencer House was built in 1756-66 for the first Earl Spencer and is Grade I listed.¹ James "Athenian" Stuart took over its interiors in 1758, and it became one of the first neoclassical houses in London.¹ Its Painted Room is one of the earliest complete neoclassical interiors in Europe and still has the armchairs and settees Stuart designed for it.² The house was brought back to its eighteenth-century state in a ten-year restoration from 1985 under Jacob, 4th Lord Rothschild.³ It lets the public in only on Sundays, only on guided tours, and not at all in August.⁴ The special access tour is the way in on another day, arranged around your party.⁵

It is the wrong choice for a party with children under ten, whom the house advises against bringing, or for a date in August, when it is closed.⁴ For an evening among a collection by candlelight, take the Soane instead; for a weekday morning among paintings and armour, the Wallace Collection.

How to get it

Write to the tours team at tours@spencerhouse.co.uk or call 020 7514 1958 and ask for a special access tour, giving the day and the size of your party.⁶ These tours run on weekdays outside the Sunday and Monday morning openings, and only when no event is booked in the State Rooms, so give the house more than one date.⁵⁴ They cost more than the standard ticket, which is £19.50 for an adult and £16.50 for a concession; the house quotes the extra on request.⁴ The tour lasts about an hour; from April to October, weather permitting, a quarter of an hour in the garden follows.⁴ The guides can shape the tour around an interest such as Georgian architecture or the paintings, and a party of more than 20 is split between guides.⁵ The butlers can serve tea and coffee or champagne in the State Rooms before or after the tour; ask when you book.⁵

Large bags, backpacks and umbrellas go to the cloakroom, bags are searched on entry, and no food or drink goes into the State Rooms.⁴ The house takes no cash.⁴

Discretion

There is no sign outside; the entrance is the front door at the end of St James's Place, reached from St James's Street or on foot from Green Park through Queen's Passage.⁷ Photographs for personal use are allowed; flash, tripods and selfie sticks are not.⁴ The tours team also handles press enquiries.⁶