Discover more at Polesden Lacey
Find out when Polesden Lacey is open, how to get here, the things to see and do and more.
Things to see in Polesden Lacey house
From 1 March both the ground floor and upstairs of the house will be open every day 11am - 3.30pm. From 4 November the house will be closed for three weeks while we prepare for our Christmas offer.
Discover a house to impress
Polesden Lacey was a stunningly renovated weekend retreat famous for the many lavish parties that took place here and famous guests who attended, by invitation of the Honourable Mrs. Margaret Greville.
The house the Grevilles bought in the early 1900's was practically a new building. They employed Mewès and Davis, the architects of the Ritz hotel, to help transform the interiors of their new weekend retreat. One thing's for sure – Mrs Greville wanted her house to impress.
'I want a room I can entertain Maharajas in.'
– Margaret Greville
Polesden Lacey was gifted to the National Trust on Mrs. Greville’s death in 1942, at a time when only celebrated “show rooms” were considered worthy of visitor attention. Apart from the kitchen, which is now a conservation store, most of the downstairs is as it was in Mrs. Greville’s day, with sumptuous interiors from the stunning décor in the gold Saloon to the inviting library and intimate tea room. Margaret Greville's extensive collection of books, ceramics, objets d’art and paintings are beautifully displayed throughout.
Upstairs, the servants’ quarters were converted into apartments, and later into offices. Most guest rooms were also lost, though some have since been made available as part of bookable tours, and others turned into exhibition spaces, which the team use for innovative and engaging exhibitions to tell the stories behind Mrs. Greville’s remarkable collection.
Visiting the house
Our popular “Unseen Spaces” tours reveal upstairs rooms that are not always open to the public, including Mrs Greville’s apartment and the suite used by the likes of King Edward VII and George VI. These 20-minute tours are volunteer-led and bookable at the front of the house when you arrive, subject to availability.
Due to the nature of the historic interiors of the house, we ask that buggies are not brought inside. We have hippie carriers for infants and baby carriers for newborns available, so please do ask for these as you enter the house lobby. We'll show you somewhere safe to leave buggies while you enjoy your visit.
Similarly, we may not be able to accommodate large wheelchairs (a small one is available to use in the house). An accessibility shuttle bus is available to bring those with restricted mobility from Visitor Reception to the house, though may not run every day.
See the Polesden Lacey homepage for details about opening times.
Rooms you can visit in Polesden Lacey house
We open as many rooms as possible, but it does vary depending on conservation work taking place and volunteer availability. During your visit you will usually be able to see the following on the ground floor:
- Lobby
- Central Hall
- Dining Room
- Picture Corridors
- Saloon
- Tea Room
- Library
- Billiard Room
- Smoking Room
- Gun Room
The fantastic volunteers at Polesden Lacey are on hand in the rooms to share more detail about the history of the house and its collections.
Upstairs, you can enjoy one of Mrs. Greville’s guest rooms with exquisite en-suite bathroom. Six rooms have also been converted into exhibition spaces, which we use to display elements of Mrs. Greville’s collection in innovative and immersive ways. We also offer small-group tours of some of the unseen spaces that present particular access challenges.
Collections at Polesden Lacey
Discover the collection of the lavish country retreat of Margaret Greville, a popular and powerful socialite in the early 1900s.
See some of the most significant treasures in Mrs Greville’s collection and explore how she amassed masterpieces by some of the world’s greatest and best-known artists, as well as exquisite objects by Cartier and Fabergé.
Online picture guide
Fancy learning more about the collections at Polesden Lacey? Or perhaps you'd like to plan your upcoming visit in more detail? We now have a brand new online picture guide available here.