Petworth House and Park

Important notice -

Petworth House and Park is open 7 days a week, no booking is required. The Cafe will be serving a reduced menu - please note service may be slower than usual as we are currently short of staff.

Inspired by the Baroque palaces of Europe and nestled in the South Downs, Petworth House displays one of the finest art collections in the care of the National Trust.

More about this place

View of Petworth, West Sussex, seen over the lake, part of the Capability Brown landscaped parkland.

Visiting Petworth House and Park: What you need to know  

We look forward to welcoming you to Petworth House and Park - open seven days a week, no booking is required. The House, Pleasure Garden, Deer Park, Audit Room Café, shop and second-hand bookshop are open. Here's some helpful information about what to expect, and what is on offer when you visit.

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Petworth House and Park

What's on

Upcoming events

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Build a Bat Box

Tue 26 Oct 2021
11:00-15:00
Get crafty during October half-term at Petworth and make a bat box.

Deer Rut Guided Walk - Sold Out

Wed 27 Oct 2021
10:30-12:30
Discover more about the annual deer rut in the Park on this 2 hour guided walk.

Petworth 'GPS Trees' exhibition by Richard Geraint Evans

Sun 31 Oct 2021
10:30-16:30
Petworth’s ancient trees are a must-see and their natural beauty has been brought indoors for a new exhibition featuring nine incredibly detailed drawings of trees at Petworth, each including GPS coordinates so you can discover the tree for yourself.

Sustainable Christmas Workshop

Sat 27 Nov 2021
10:30-13:30
Join this festive workshop by Aspire Sussex to create gift wrap, cards and tags to take home.

Percy the Park Keeper's winter wander trail at Petworth

Sat 04 Dec 2021
10:00-15:30
This winter, treat your little ones to a world of adventures at Petworth on the Percy the Park Keeper's winter wander trail.

Wreath Making Workshop - Sold Out

Sat 04 Dec 2021
10:30-13:30
Add Christmas cheer and a seasonal welcome to your front door at this festive workshop by Aspire Sussex.
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Petworth House and Park

Things to see and do

Little girl looking at autumn leaves in the grounds of Petworth House and Park, West Sussex, in October.

Family activities at Petworth 

Have fun with the family at Petworth this autumn. From walks across crunchy leaves to spot the pumpkin and creating a wild art installation, here’s a list of enjoyable things to try and our upcoming events.

A person's hand adds the final touches to a pen and graphite drawing of a tree in winter

Petworth 'GPS Trees' exhibition by Richard Geraint Evans 

Petworth’s ancient trees are a must-see, and their natural beauty has been brought indoors for a new exhibition featuring nine incredibly detailed drawings of different specimens from Petworth, each including GPS coordinates so you can discover the tree for yourself. The exhibition runs from Mon 11 Oct to Sun 5 Dec.

A fallow deer stag walks across grassland in Petworth Park as the sun shines through a tree in the distance

What’s on at Petworth  

Take a look at the events happening at Petworth this autumn, including deer rut guided walks, an art exhibition and autumn colour displays. Some events are free while others require a booked ticket. Please read each event's information for details.

A lady looks at the decoration on a sgabelli chair positioned on a plinth

Treasures in the collection at Petworth 

This year the National Trust are celebrating a Year of Treasures with the release of the book 125 Treasures. Discover five of the featured artefacts at Petworth, with many in new displays for up-close viewing along with their fascinating stories from Sat 4 Sep to Fri 26 Nov.

The Marble Hall at Petworth House and Park

An introduction to Petworth House and Park 

Find out what Petworth House and Park has to offer from its extraordinary collection and 900 years of history to its atmospheric Servants' Quarters and the 700 acre Lancelot 'Capability' Brown landscaped Deer Park.

The Somerset Room at Petworth House and Park, West Sussex

The state rooms of Petworth House 

With a history stretching from the 12th century, find out more about the state rooms of Petworth House that are open to visit and the extraordinary collection of art on display.

The rotunda, built in 1766, in autumn

The Pleasure Garden at Petworth 

The garden at Petworth was designed by ‘Capability’ Brown (c.1715-16 - 1783) during the latter half of the 18th century. Brown removed the formal features that previously existed here and introduced serpentine paths as well as informal planting.

Petworth House and Park deer

Petworth Deer Park 

Find out more about what you can do in the 700 acre Petworth Deer Park from the walks you can wander, the wildlife you can see and further information about dog walking, access and safety.

Spaniel at Petworth Park

Walking your dog at Petworth  

We love dogs here at Petworth, in fact Spaniels were the favourite pet of the 3rd Earl of Egremont. We welcome dogs to stretch their legs in Petworth Park and in the garden.

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Petworth House and Park

Eating

Coffee cup

Feeling peckish? 

Our Audit Room Café is open and is serving hot and cold meals and drinks, sandwiches and light snacks. From 19 July, our café will revert to pre-covid seating layout. We will continue to maintain high standards of cleanliness and till and collection points will be screened. Hand sanitiser will be available should visitors wish to use it. Thank you for making this a safe experience for everyone.

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Petworth House and Park

Shopping

A selection of folded throws on a wooden bench

Shopping at Petworth House 

Take inspiration from Petworth's unique art collection and countryside landscape to find the perfect mementos to take home in our gift shop. You’ll find a range of art inspired gifts, stylish homeware, souvenirs, gardening must-haves, books to browse and locally produced products.

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Petworth House and Park

History

View of Petworth, West Sussex, seen over the lake, part of the Capability Brown landscaped parkland.

A snapshot history of Petworth House and Park 

Find out more about the history of Petworth from the family tree to the history of the building and even the story about the transformation of the formal garden to parkland.

A photograph of St Mary's Church in Petworth

The history of Petworth Town 

Find out more about the history of Petworth town and how it has connected to Petworth House and Park for generations. Petworth House is part of the Petworth Heritage Partnership, a celebration of the history of this remarkable town which you can explore through a virtual experience.

Close view of a sculpture bust and picture frames in the North Gallery at Petworth House, West Sussex

Petworth House downloadable house tour 

Discover more about Petworth House with our downloadable house tour. The tour will give you an overview of the history of the house and family as well as pointing out highlights in the collection.

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Petworth House and Park

Art and collections

A Molyneux globe shines in the light of a glass case at Petworth

Molyneux globe at Petworth House 

Made in 1592, this world-class object on view in Petworth's Red Room, is thought to be the earliest English terrestrial globe in existence and at its time would have been the most up to date representation of how the world was understood.

Part of a dessert service, soft-paste porcelain, painted and gilded, made by the Sèvres factory (France), 1773-4. The Egremont Collection.

Dining in style at Petworth House 

Petworth houses some of the finest ceramics in the National Trust. Our curator and collections team previously displayed some important 18th-century European porcelain dining services on loan from The Egremont Collection. To see this collection, take a look at this online version of the tableware displays.

Characters from Spenser's Faery Queen watercolour by William Blake (detail)

William Blake's dreamy rendering of The Faerie Queene 

Epic and intricate, The Faerie Queene dazzled Queen Elizabeth I when it was published. Nearly 250 years later, William Blake painted the poem’s characters in ethereal watercolours. But what do the characters represent, and how does Blake illustrate them?

A photo of an open page of The 'Canterbury Tales' Chaucer manuscript at Petworth

Read a digitised version of Petworth's Chaucer manuscript 

There are incredible literary treasures at Petworth including one of the earliest copies of Chaucer's 'Canterbury Tales'. We've digitised our copy so you can explore every page here.

Our collections

Explore the objects and works of art we care for at Petworth House and Park on the National Trust Collections website

Search the collections
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