Key facts about the history and uses of the Queen’s House Greenwich, designed by Inigo Jones and the first Classical building in England.
It's inspired by Italy
The famous English architect Inigo Jones designed the Queen’s House, inspired by his travels in Italy. It is widely known as the first Classical building in England.
Inigo Jones used a lot of symmetry and proportion in his design, which is reflected in the perfect cube of the Great Hall.
He also worked on the outfits for many of the masques that took place in the Queen's House.
It's an apology
The Queen’s House was commissioned by James I’s wife Anne of Denmark. She had reportedly been given the manor of Greenwich after he swore in front of her when she accidentally killed his favourite hunting dog.
Anne missed out
Anne of Denmark never got to see her vision for the house fulfilled – she died in 1619, before the ground floor was completed. After her death building work on the house stopped.
Henrietta saw it through
It was under the direction of Charles I’s wife, Henrietta Maria, that the building was finally finished, around 1638.
It's still got its original design
Inigo Jones’s original design features can still be seen in the Great Hall, which is a perfect cube in shape, and the Tulip Stairs, as well as the distinctive marble flooring with its black and white, geometric pattern.
It was sold off (in part)
The English Civil War saw Henrietta Maria flee the country in 1643 and when her husband Charles I was executed in 1649, his estate – including artworks in the Queen’s House – was sold off.
Charles had it extended
Charles II took an interest in Greenwich and the Queen’s House, extending the building, and renovating what became known as the Queen’s Presence Chamber. More about the Queen's Presence Chamber
It's got a good view
Queen Mary asked that the Royal Naval College not block the view from the Queen’s House to the Thames, a request taken into account by Sir Christopher Wren’s design for the building.
It's an art gallery
The Queen’s House is now home to a collection of great artworks, including paintings by William Hodges, George Stubbs, Hans Holbein, William Hogarth and Thomas Gainsborough. There's also a large collection of work by Dutch maritime artists the Van de Veldes, who had a studio here for 20 years, starting in the 1670s. More about our outstanding fine art collection
The house is famously thought to be haunted, after visiting tourists from Canada had their photographs developed and saw what appears to be a ghost (or ghosts) on the Tulip Stairs. More about the Queen's House ghost