The Tudor Palace at Somerset House

Duncan Wilson looks at the history of the Strand site.

The refurbishment and reopening of the Courtyard and River Terrace at Somerset House, together with the Gilbert Collection and Hermitage Rooms in the South Building, represent one of the great public successes of the year 2000. The public can now visit some of Sir William Chambers’ best neoclassical interiors, such as the Nelson and Stamp Office staircases. However, many of the over one million visitors since May of that year may have been unaware that in crossing the Courtyard they were so close to one of the most important of London’s former royal palaces. This is being marked on September 28th by a conference at Somerset House, organised in association with the Society of Court Studies.

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