Tudor House & Garden — Attraction in Southampton

I recently visited Tudor House in Southampton for the first time, and I really enjoyed the experience. I was pleasantly surprised to receive a student discount, which brought the entry fee down to just £8—a reasonable price for a historic site like this. You can also use the ticket for an entire year which I think is great in this economy!

The house itself is full of character. It’s very old and creaky, which added a slightly eerie atmosphere while walking through, but it also felt authentic and charming. The interior is well maintained, and the garden, in particular, is beautifully kept and adds a peaceful touch to the visit.

One thing I did find a bit challenging was navigating the house. It can be quite confusing at times, and I think having staff inside to guide visitors or offer a bit more direction would improve the experience. You can easily explore the whole site in about 15–20 minutes, so it's a great stop if you're short on time but want to enjoy some local history. One of my favorite parts was the collection of paintings—especially the oil paintings. The detail and intricacy were absolutely stunning and made the visit even more memorable.

I also want to highlight how friendly and welcoming the staff were. They really helped set a positive tone from the moment I arrived.

Bonus tip: St Michael’s Church is right across from Tudor House, and it’s definitely worth a visit too. It adds nicely to the historical atmosphere...

I bought my ticket for Tudor House online the day before to save 10% but even on the day prices are very reasonable for 12 months of access.

I arrived around 1pm on a Tuesday in the summer holidays and had no wait as I was escorted by a lovely friendly lady to the banqueting hall for the introductory presentation from the ghosts of Tudor House.

I would highly recommend getting the link to the free audio guide from their website (it’s hosted on Soundcloud) as it added so much more to my visit but I was a bit confused that there’s no mention of it when you enter. Consider this a top tip from me!

There are info boards in each location (pictured) that give you the information for each period of the house which I thought was particularly well done as well as circular info plaques (pictured) next to key features of the house eg painted beams or carvings in the wall. Plus, there are plenty of displays of art, artefacts and curiosities.

Take a copy of the free guide leaflet that’s offered at the entrance as I found the map super easy to follow.

The gift shop has some great items in and is perfect for general Southampton souvenirs as well as Tudor House specific mementos.

The site is so well looked after, the cafe looked lovely and the history is phenomenal. A true must visit for locals and...

We took my mum to Tudor House on 30th April 2013, her 92nd birthday. As a child in the 1960s I had been taken there by my parents on many occasions. I particularly loved the attic laid out as a nursery with all the dollies. On this return visit so many years later, we all (me, my husband and my mum) enjoyed it. However, it had lost something. The staff were very helpful, the cafe very welcome and the garden much as I remembered it. However, there was too much audio-visual in evidence and some of the rooms were much too bare. The biggest disappointment of course was that there was no access to the attic (and I am told there is nothing up there anymore anyway). I understand the lack of access is due to health & safety reasons but it would be lovely to see that nursery re-created in one of the other spaces that ARE accessible, especially as some of them are so empty. The one place that DID benefit from a soundtrack was the cellar. The sound of bombs falling all around was very effective and gave me a little understanding of what it had been like for my mum, who of course was in the 1941 blitz of Southampton. It was probably just as well that a 92-year old could not get down to the cellar, as it might have been a little...