Baron and Baroness Pfetten welcome you to explore the last surviving Jacobean Royal Residence. Gardens and State Rooms are routinely opened to the public for summer guided tours managed by English Heritage.
Apethorpe holds a particularly important place in English history because of its ownership by, and role in entertaining, Tudor and Stuart Monarchs. Elizabeth I once owned the palace, which she inherited from Henry VIII. For a period Apethorpe was lived in regularly by James I and Charles I. James I so loved Apethorpe that he personally contributed to its extension to make it more suitable for his 'princely recreation' and 'commodious entertainment', particularly for hunting in the nearby royal forest of Rockingham.
A series of Court Masques written by Ben Johnson for James I were performed in the Long Gallery while the King was in residence.
