Fulham Palace and Gardens

Fulham Palace is a small palace, the original home of the Bishop of London, one of the most senior members of the Church of England. Located in Fulham, a short bus journey from Hammersmith the palace is worth the trip. Entrance to both the house and gardens is free (though the house requires pre-booking).

The small palace is accessed via the front courtyard and takes you through a series of rooms around the north side of the palace with exhibits about the former bishop occupants but features the wonderful, though modest, great hall.

There is a small museum at the end of the tour that features recent archaeological discoveries. The small souvenir shop housed in the former library is also worth a visit for the room alone. There is also a rather large café at the back of the house.

The museum is not that old so is still being developed with many rooms simply housing exhibits rather than actual artefacts. The charity that operates the site hopes that in future years more artefacts will be returned to the palace to give visitors a better feeling for the palace. They also hope other areas of the palace such as the Victorian chapel will also be opened to the public.

Note that the operators encourage the download and use of an app on your phone but I found this not really all that helpful as there is plenty of information on site and there are also friendly staff who are more than willing to answer questions.

The walled garden to the southeast of the house consists of not only a wonderful set of formal plantings but also vegetable and fruit including apple trees. The excess produce is often for sale.