Ham House sits on the banks of the River Thames in Richmond. It was built in 1610 for Sir Thomas Vavasour; altered in 1637-9 by William Murray, Earl of Dysart; and extended and remodelled in the 1670s by Murray’s daughter, Elizabeth and her second husband John Maitland, Duke of Lauderdale. Their architect was William Samwell. The Lauderdales transformed Ham into one of the grandest Stuart houses in England. The interiors are richly decorated with baroque ceiling murals by Antonio Verrio, Caroline plasterwork and rare ‘paned’ damask hangings. There is a handsome grained and gilded staircase with a carved and pierced balustrade containing trophies of arms. The library dates from the 1670s and is one of the earliest purpose-built country house libraries. There is an 18-acre garden designed by the Lauderdales which is one of the oldest surviving garden layouts in Britain.