Top 10 Spots To See Stunning Tudor Architecture in London

You do not need me to tell you that the Tudor period is one of the most dramatic periods in England’s history. From Henry VII’s seizing of the throne in 1485 to Elizabeth I’s death in 1603, it was non-stop. But what did the Tudor period mean for London as a city? What is left to see in terms of Tudor architecture today?

It was a period of great change for the city. London rapidly started to expand as it became an increasingly important commercial centre in Europe. Immigration into the city increased and it became a refuge to Protestants fleeing religious persecution.

As well as this, vast amounts of land and wealth transferred from the Church into the hands of the aristocracy during Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries.

For this blog post I have focused on central London. I have included a map with suggested route if you want to see them all in one go!

I also have a section in my book London: A Guide for Curious Wanderers, looking at architecture through the ages. Find out more here.

10. Staple Inn

Let’s start with a building with the classic half-timbered façade that we all associate with Tudor architecture. Staple Inn on High Holborn started life as a wool market in the 13th century. It was originally called ‘le Stapled Halle’ meaning ‘pillared hall’.

In 1415 it became an Inn of Chancery, which was essentially a place where the lawyers, clerks and students of the Inns of Court nearby could work, meet and learn. Those that worked here were known as the Society of Staple Inn.

Since 1887 it has been the HQ of the Institute of Actuaries. This beautiful façade was constructed in 1586 during the reign of Elizabeth I. The hall behind was originally built in 1580 but had to be completely reconstructed following a run in with a flying V-1 bomb in 1944.

9. Henry VII Chapel

The Henry VII chapel, or Lady Chapel, was built in the reign of, you guessed it, Henry VII. It is part of Westminster Abbey and construction began in 1503.

We take it for granted that the Tudors were a powerful dynasty but for Henry VII this was not so certain. Henry wanted to enhance his power and his legacy by building this beautiful chapel. It would act as a place for his family and heirs to be buried.

If you wanted to guess where an English monarch is buried, your money should be on the Henry VII Chapel. A whopping 15 kings and queens are buried here including all the Tudor monarchs bar Henry VIII. You can find out more about visiting here.

It is thought to be the last great example of late-medieval architecture with its gorgeous pendant fan vaulted ceiling. You can see this in Canaletto’s painting below from the 1750’s.

8. St Andrew Undershaft

There has been a church on this spot since the 12th century but the current incarnation of St Andrew Undershaft in the City of London is from 1532.

The rather unusual name comes from a medieval tradition that took place here. Up until 1517 a Maypole would be put up at the crossroads for May Day festivities. The Maypole used was huge and, in fact, taller than the tower of the Church itself, hence ‘Undershaft’. For the rest of the year the pole was stored on hooks in ‘Shaft Alley’ nearby.

You can see a smaller replica of the Maypole in the entrance way of the Cheesegrater building next door. On May Day in 1517 the apprentices attending the festivities started rioting in response to the number of foreigners in the city and the tradition was sadly stopped.

7. St James’s Palace

St James’s Palace was built by Henry VIII in the 1530s and was a residence of the King’s and Queen’s of England up until the reign of Queen Victoria. Since then it has been used for state visits and royal occasions.

It is a great example of red-brick Tudor architecture and was the setting for many important events. For example, Queen Elizabeth I was staying here whilst the country was under the threat of the Spanish Armada. She set out from here to Tilbury to make her famous speech to the troops assembled there.

6. St John’s Gate

St John’s Gate in Clerkenwell was built in 1504, during the reign of Henry VII, as the South entrance to the Clerkenwell Priory. This was the English headquarters of the Knights of the Order of St John or Knights Hospitaller. The monastery was dissolved by Henry VIII during the dissolution of the monasteries and the lands were doled out to favoured noblemen.

This gate is the only surviving fragment of the monastery and has had a variety of uses since. It was used as a printing house for the pioneering ‘ The Gentleman’s Magazine’ and workplace of Dr Samuel Johnson, who worked there as a writer. It was also the childhood home of artist William Hogarth from 1701-1709. His father opened a coffee house there called ‘Hogarth’s Coffee House’. The building was extensively restored in the Victorian period and, in true Victorian fashion, more medieval style features, such as the crenellations, were added.

5. Shakespeare’s Globe

Ok, so The Globe is not authentically Tudor because it is, of course, a reconstruction and opened in 1997. However, it was built as close as possible to and with the same building methods/materials as the original. The original was built in 1599 by Shakespeare’s theatre company: The Chamberlain’s men. It actually burnt down in 1613 due to an accident involving a stage cannon during a performance of Shakespeare’s Henry VIII. Therefore, the Globe we have today has now actually been there longer than Shakespeare’s original!

As a theatre lover I am a big fan of the shows The Globe puts on- have a look at their website here. They also run a great behind the scenes guided tour that I went on a couple of years ago.

4. Lambeth Palace

Lambeth Palace is the London home of the Archbishop of Canterbury and has been for nearly 800 years. It has been added to over the centuries and there are a couple of notable additions in the Tudor period. The impressive red brick gatehouse above is called Morton’s tower. Built in 1495, it was named for Cardinal John Morton, who was Archbishop at the time. He is known to have held audiences in the large room over the gate you can see in the photo.

The Palace itself is not open to the public but you can sometimes book onto a guided tour. If you do you will also see Thomas Cranmer’s study- another Tudor red-brick tower- and a fig tree that came to the Palace in 1556 when Mary I was on the throne. Their website: here.

3. Inns of Court

The Inns of Court in Holborn and Temple: Lincoln’s Inn, Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray’s Inn began life as guilds of lawyers in the 14th and 15th centuries. Middle Temple and Lincoln’s Inn both have gorgeous Tudor great halls. They can be hired out for events- so keep an eye out!

Lincoln’s Inn Gatehouse that can be seen from Chancery Lane was built between 1517 and 1521 and the story goes that playwright Ben Jonson was a bricklayer on the project. Make sure you also go to see the statue of Elizabeth I on the church of St Dunstan in the West. It dates from 1586, during her reign, making it one of the oldest outdoor statues in London and the only one of Elizabeth I.

2. St Bartholomew’s Gatehouse

I love St Bartholomew’s Gatehouse. I feel like it is so evocative of a past London of half-timbered buildings, medieval arches and narrow alleyways. It was built in 1595 on top of a 13th century medieval arch that originally formed part of the Southern nave of the Church of St Bartholomew the Great behind. The dissolution of the monasteries in 1536 drastically reduced the church in size, freeing up more land and opportunities for residential buildings.

Shockingly, this beautiful facade was covered up in the Georgian period. It was only rediscovered when a bomb from a zeppelin raid in 1917 exposed the Tudor delight underneath. If you visit, make sure you have a look out for the statue of Henry VIII over one of the entrances to St Bart’s hospital- the only outdoor statue of Henry VIII in the city.

1. Tower of London

The Tower of London is jam packed with Tudor history. During the Tudor period it was primarily used a place for imprisonment and execution. The two most notable Tudor buildings that you can still see today are the Queen’s House and the chapel of St Peter ad Vincula (built 1519-1520).

The Queen’s House is not, despite popular misconception, where Anne Boleyn was imprisoned before her execution in 1536, having been constructed in 1540. It is however where lesser-known, potential queen of England was imprisoned and died. Born in 1575 Lady Arbella Stuart was cousin to James VI of Scotland and a distant cousin of Elizabeth I.  This made her a claimant to the throne and in the final years of Elizabeth’s reign she was named as second in line after James VI of Scotland and I of England.

In 1610 she married William Seymour, himself a claimant to the throne, against the King’s orders. When King James I heard, he arrested them both. Arbella escaped, disguised herself as a man and made her way to France where she was to meet William. She was however re-captured aboard the ship to France and imprisoned in the Queen’s House in the Tower of London. She would never see her husband again, becoming ill and delusional after refusing to eat and dying in 1615. Some believe that she may even have been murdered.  

The chapel of St Peter ad Vincula is where the bodies of those executed in the Tower are buried. Anne Boleyn, Thomas Cromwell and Thomas More are all buried here. You can read more about visiting and supporting the Tower here.