Wikipedia:Today's featured article/February 28, 2022

Ham House is a 17th-century house set in formal gardens on the bank of the River Thames in Ham, London. The original house was completed by 1610 by Thomas Vavasour, an Elizabethan courtier. Built of red brick, it had a traditional Elizabethan era H-plan. The house was later home to Elizabeth Maitland and her husband John, Duke of Lauderdale, when they held important roles at the court of Charles II. They had the house doubled in size and equipped with princely private apartments and accommodation suites for visitors. It was furnished to the highest standards and lavishly decorated. The gardens and grounds were carefully designed. After Elizabeth's death, the property passed down within her family until it was donated to the National Trust in 1948. The house and gardens were later opened to the public. Ham retains many original Jacobean and Caroline features and furnishings, in unusually fine condition. The house is a Grade I listed building and its park and gardens are Grade II* listed.