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

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 The house fits them into other days of the week, outside the Sunday and Monday morning openings, around the events it holds, so give 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