General view (reconstruction)

Audley End was the most ambitious house of its period in England. In form and scale it was a royal palace in all but name, intended to accommodate royal visitors on their progresses around the country (James I visited twice in 1614). It had symmetrically arranged state apartments for the king and queen occupying the first floor of the inner court and linked by a long gallery. It is a characteristic example of the Jacobean architecture.

The impressive house that can be seen today is only about a third the size of the vast mansion created in about 1605–14 by Thomas Howard, the other parts were demolished in the 18th century. The picture shows a reconstruction by Peter Urmston of how Audley End might have looked in about 1614.