Fulham Palace
/ About
Fulham Palace was the country house of the Bishops of London from AD 704, when Bishop Waldhere acquired the manor, until 1973, when Bishop Stopford became the last to live here. The Tudor courtyard and great hall went up around 1495; dendrochronology dates the timbers in the courtyard gate and the hall roof to trees felled between 1493 and 1495. Each later bishop left something behind. Bishop Sherlock added a rococo dining room in the 1750s, Bishop Terrick remodelled the house in Gothic Revival in the 1760s and laid out the walled garden, Bishop Howley rebuilt it in the Georgian style from 1813, and William Butterfield designed the chapel for Bishop Tait in 1867. Between the Conquest and 1485 the estate sat inside a moat enclosing thirty-six acres, the longest domestic moat in England. Bishop Winnington-Ingram had it drained in 1921, to an outcry that was raised in Parliament.
A charitable trust has run the site since 2011, and the Palace reopened in June 2019 after a restoration that brought the historic rooms back into use and added a museum. Eight spaces are let for private hire. The Tudor courtyard, walled in diamond-pattern red brick around its fountain, takes 400 for a reception. The great hall is the oldest and grandest room in the house, oak-panelled beneath a high ceiling. Bishop Sherlock's room keeps its rococo plasterwork, its portraits and a Steinway. The Bishop Terrick rooms, once the Bishop's library, look across the garden to the chapel, and Bishop Tait's chapel itself still holds its Butterfield fittings and stained glass.
Outside, the walled garden was restored in 2012 and holds 500 among the orchard, the knot garden and the glasshouses. The Chaplain's marquee carries a summer party through dinner and into the evening, and the thirteen acres as a whole will take a garden party of a thousand. All catering is by Bovingdons, who staff the events team. What the Palace really sells is the acreage: thirteen acres of walled and planted ground ten minutes' walk from Putney Bridge, which is not a thing many London venues can offer at all.
/ Rooms Available
The estate
Exclusive HireThe whole thirteen acres, taken exclusively: the Tudor courtyard, the historic rooms, the lawns and the walled garden under one booking. The venue's own events site puts a summer garden party across the grounds at up to a thousand guests.
The walled garden
PrivateTwo acres of enclosed garden restored in 2012, with an orchard, a knot garden, long herbaceous borders and the range of glasshouses along the north wall. Laid out by Bishop Terrick in the 1760s and still growing fruit, herbs and vegetables for the kitchen.
Tudor courtyard
Exclusive HireThe open-air heart of the Palace, enclosed on all four sides by diamond-pattern red brick of about 1495, with a fountain at its centre and the bell tower above the gate. The clock was added in 1770 and still rings the hour.
Chaplain's marquee
PrivateA light, high-sided marquee in the grounds, taken for larger summer parties. The venue describes a flexible layout for dining, dancing and entertainment, with events running straight through from an outdoor reception into the evening.
The great hall
PrivateThe oldest and grandest room in the house, built with the Tudor courtyard around 1495. Oak panelling, a carved overmantel, a historic fireplace and the bishops' portraits under a high ceiling. Queen Elizabeth I dined here in 1600.
Bishop Terrick rooms
PrivateTwo connecting Georgian rooms, once the Bishop's library, with ornate detailing, high ceilings, fitted bookcases and views across the garden to the chapel. The venue lets them together or apart, quoting up to 50 in Terrick's drawing room and up to 30 in Terrick's dining room.
Bishop Tait's chapel
PrivateA private chapel designed by William Butterfield for Bishop Tait in 1867, with stained glass, a decorated reredos and an organ. Let for blessings, services and recitals rather than receptions.
Bishop Sherlock's room
PrivateThe dining room Bishop Sherlock built in the 1750s, in the rococo style, with plasterwork, a marble chimneypiece, portraits of the bishops including Sherlock himself above the fireplace, a Steinway piano and garden views.
The Stable Block
PrivateThe restored Victorian stables, now the education centre, holding two rooms the Palace lets by name: the classroom and the carriage room. Painted brick, high ceilings and full-height barn doors that open straight onto the garden. Available Monday to Friday through the community hire channel, or through the events team for evenings and weekends.
Palace lawn
PrivateThe open lawn below the Georgian range, used for large-scale gatherings with room for several food stations, bars and entertainment. The Palace publishes no separate capacity for it; numbers are taken across the grounds as a whole.
/ Perfect For
/ Features
Catering
- – In-House Luxury Dining
- – Bespoke Menus
- – Canape Service
Venue Specs
- – Dedicated Events Team
- – Wheelchair Accessible
/ Getting Here
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