Ham House

Ham House in Surrey is among the greatest of the 17th-century houses, still containing the lavish decorations and furnishings commissioned for it by the Duke and Duchess of Lauderdale in the 1670s. The Duchess was one of the most notorious figures of her day, a woman "restless in her ambition, profuse in her expense and of a most ravenous covetousness". This guide tells her story and provides a description of the house and its contents.