Visiting » The House Tours - a wonderful example of Tudor design brought to life through the remarkable story of an extraordinary family.

Open everyday for pre-booked Private Tours and Group visits

Visitors to the manor today can sit in the Tudor Great Hall surrounded by history - this is one of the original elements of the manor and was the heart of the house that Lawrence Washington built and lived in with his wife and eleven children. It appears today much as it would have done when it was completed in the mid sixteenth century and Tudor furnishings fill the room. 

Tudor Great Hall

Find out how a typical Tudor family would have lived and hear the story of the Washington family, which takes you through Tudor England, the Reformation, the English Civil War and explorations to the New World. Discover how financial ruin, shipwreck and a pretty lady led to the Washingtons settling in Virginia, paving the way for their direct descendant, George Washington, to become the first President of the United States. 

You can then explore the oak parlour before moving onto the kitchen, fully equipped with a remarkable eighteenth century kitchen set, along with foodstuffs eaten by the rich and poor, and the spit, where the poorest or weakest boy in the manor may have found himself sat for hours on end.

Upstairs, over the Great Hall is the Great Chamber, with its open-timbered roof and oak bed. This room was used both for sleeping in and as a room where the lord of the manor and his wife would receive guests and carry out their business. 

The manor gardens, designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield, and the Buttery cafe will also be open to explore after or before your tour, along with our exhibition on the life of George Washington.