Magnificent Tudor castles and stately homes to visit this year
The return of 'Wolf Hall' has sparked an uptick in visits to Britain's Tudor palaces

As the final part of Hilary Mantel's "Wolf Hall" trilogy hits our TV screens, "I predict a sudden revival of the Tudor aesthetic", said historian Suzannah Lipscomb in The Telegraph.
The impressive architecture and interiors on show in the BBC's adaptation of "The Mirror and the Light" will no doubt "drip its way into our collective subconscious", and soon many of us will be "longing" to explore one of Britain's "gorgeous" Tudor mansions.
Indeed, the locations where the TV action was filmed have already seen a steep uptick in website traffic. "The Tudors, it seems, are still box-office gold," said Kevin Rushby in The Guardian.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Earlier this year, English Heritage revealed that there has been a "post-pandemic resurgence" in visits to historic sites, reported The Times — this renewed interest in the past no doubt spurred on by popular history podcasts like Radio 4's "You're Dead To Me" and Goalhanger's "The Rest is History". And it's the Tudors who are reliably among the "biggest draws": four of the nine properties that recorded their best-ever visitor numbers "boast of a connection to Henry VIII".
Eltham Palace in London, Henry VIII's boyhood home, saw its highest footfall in 2023, while there was a 19% rise in visitors to Gainsborough Old Hall in Lincolnshire, the beautifully preserved former home of Henry's sixth wife, Catherine Parr.
Thornbury Castle, just outside Bristol, is the "only Tudor castle in England where you can stay the night" and is well worth visiting , said Lipscomb in The Telegraph. Guests may even get a chance to stay in the "very bedchamber" where Henry VIII and his second wife Anne Boleyn slept during their royal tour in 1535. The architecture is "magnificent": expect crossbow loopholes, gun ports and "the best original Tudor chimney stacks in the country".
Another "must for Tudor acolytes" is Hever Castle, Anne Boleyn's childhood home. Located in the Kent countryside around an hour-and-a-half drive from London, it has landscaped grounds and a walled rose garden to explore, and a "wonderful collection of Tudor portraits" to marvel at in the wood-panelled Great Hall.
For Peter Kosminsky, series director of the "Wolf Hall" trilogy, Haddon Hall is the "perfect" place for a day out, said Rushby in The Guardian. Situated on the river Wye near Bakewell, Derbyshire, the meticulously preserved 11th-century stately home remains "relatively unchanged since Henry visited, bringing a tapestry that still hangs in the banqueting hall".
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Irenie Forshaw is a features writer at The Week, covering arts, culture and travel. She began her career in journalism at Leeds University, where she wrote for the student newspaper, The Gryphon, before working at The Guardian and The New Statesman Group. Irenie then became a senior writer at Elite Traveler, where she oversaw The Experts column.
-
Trump tariffs place trucking industry in the crosshairs
IN THE SPOTLIGHT As the White House barrels ahead with its massive tariff project, American truckers are feeling the heat from a global trade war
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Trump stands by Hegseth amid ouster reports
Speed Read The president dismissed reports that he was on the verge of firing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over a second national security breach
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Today's political cartoons - April 22, 2025
Cartoons Tuesday's cartoons - Earth Day, pollen season, and more
By The Week US
-
7 tranquil hotels worth the (sometimes extreme) trek
The Week Recommends Find serenity off the beaten path
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US
-
6 trackers to help you find everything from your keys to your kids
The Week Recommends These devices offer accuracy and ease
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US
-
6 stellar noctourism adventures
The Week Recommends After the sun sets, the fun begins
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US
-
7 nightlife destinations that are positively electric
The Week Recommends Accra, Seoul, Berlin: These are a few of the cities that come alive after dark
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US
-
The perfect picnic is a grass patch away with this collection of 8 essential portables
The Week Recommends Celebrate warmer weather by dining alfresco
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US
-
Unlocking the wonders of Bhutan
The Week Recommends Exploring this Himalayan nation has never been easier
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US
-
6 hotels with amenities that blow the usual gifts out of the water
The Week Recommends You can have a butler walk your dog and a guitar sent to your room. But you cannot have your guitar walked.
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US
-
TV to watch in April, including 'The Last of Us' and 'The Rehearsal'
the week recommends The zombie virus persists, Nathan Fielder investigates plane crashes and a cancer patient craves sexual discovery
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US