Explore Royal Holloway, University of London

Royal Holloway, University of London, welcomes you to explore our spectacular Grade I listed Founder's Building, Picture Gallery, Chapel and extensive grounds as part of the national Heritage Open Days. Join us for a day of free talks and tours including fun activities for children.

The University is open to guests from 9.30am until 4pm with tours and talks on the hour throughout the day. All talks and tours are free, but tours of the Founder's Building and Archives are ticketed on the day due to limited capacity (pre-booking is not available).

• Founder's tours

The Founder's Building at Royal Holloway was home to one of the first higher education colleges for women and was opened by Queen Victoria in 1886. Modelled on the Château de Chambord, it is one of the most impressive university buildings in the world. Join current students for a tour of this remarkable building and walk in the footsteps of some of the first women in England to attend University.

• Picture Gallery

Explore the working lives of the inhabitants of our Picture Gallery paintings with our curatorial team. From shipyards to railway stations, fishermen to bankers, come and learn what it was like to live and work hundreds of years ago.

Younger guests can while away some time, demonstrating their own artistic talent with colouring in, or following our Picture Gallery trails – can you find all the clues in the paintings?

• Chapel

Royal Holloway's Chapel is surely one of the most spectacular College chapels in the world, featuring Italian sculpture and sumptuous Victorian decoration. Join one of our University Chaplains for an inside view of this very special space.

• Archives

Our ever-popular archives tour returns. Join the archivist to take a trip down into the University archives. See some of the documents and pictures from the earliest days of the University and find out what other amazing collections we hold. These tours are strictly limited.

• Expert talks

Experts from the University and invited guests will give short talks on the history of the University. Hear a documentary maker tell the story of a baker's son and shipwright's daughter who defied convention to create new educational opportunities for women in Victorian Britain, find out what everyday life was like for these women at Royal Holloway and Bedford College and and learn how our team look after our monumental Grade 1 listed building.

• Children's Trail

Our children's trail is back in 2026! Follow the map around our campus grounds to hunt for clues as you learn all about Royal Holloway.