Petworth House and Park

Important notice -

House & Pleasure Garden are open for pre-booked visitors; you will be turned away without a booking. North Car Park for deer park is open & does not require pre-booking. Face coverings will be required to enter the House & toilets from 8th Aug

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

Please book ahead before visiting Check availability

More about this place

Family walking in the woodland at Box Hill, Surrey

Which places are open and what you need to know before you visit 

We’ve opened more than 135 gardens and parks in England, Wales and Northern Ireland through advanced booking. Tickets are released on Friday for the following week. More than 200 coast and countryside car parks are open across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Read this article to find out what's open and what to expect from your visit.

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Petworth House and Park

What's on 

Petworth   West Sussex

Please book ahead before visiting

Petworth House, the Pleasure gardens, and toilets have now reopened. You’ll need to book your tickets by 3.00pm the day before your visit. Members can book for free, while non-members will need to pay when booking. We'll be releasing tickets every Friday. Please note we’ll be turning people away who arrive and haven't booked. We're looking forward to welcoming you back. The Deer Park can be accessed using the North Car Park or on foot without needing to book,

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Upcoming events

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Timed entry to Petworth (10 August - 16 August)

Wed 12 Aug 2020
10:00-10:30
Book your timed entry to visit Petworth.
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Petworth House and Park

Things to see and do

The Marble Hall at Petworth House and Park

Our house reopening pilot 

The house at Petworth is part of a pilot, looking at how we can reopen our houses and buildings safely, whilst continuing to look after the many treasures they hold.Things might feel a little different, as we've put new measures in place to keep everybody safe. Those who have booked visits may be able to access the house from 13 July, and should look out for more information when they arrive.

Enjoy breathtaking views towards the South Downs

Petworth Deer Park 

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

White butterflies in pleasure ground at Petworth House and Park, West Sussex

The Petworth Pleasure Ground 

The formal gardens of Petworth were stripped away by Capability Brown in the 18th century. In their place he constructed the Deer Park and a seperate Pleasure Ground - a wooded walk with open spaces designed to inspire a range of emotions.

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Petworth House and Park

Eating

Woman holding takeaway hot drink

Feeling peckish? 

Our takeaway food kiosk will open on 13 July and will initially be serving a limited range of takeaway hot and cold drinks and some light snacks. We’ve introduced new safety measures including closure of our seating areas, screens at our till and collection points, and waymarked routes. We’ll also only be accepting card payment. We look forward to welcoming you back and know that you’ll support us to make this a safe experience for everyone. ​

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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.

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Petworth House and Park

Join or give

The West front of Petworth House
Petworth   West Sussex

Dedicate a donation to Petworth House

You can continue to support Petworth House & Park by dedicating a donation to someone special and adding your precious memories to our interactive map. A perfect way to celebrate a special occasion, such as a birthday or anniversary, your donation will help us continue to care for Petworth House & Park.

Dedicate a donation
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Petworth House and Park

Art and collections

Painting of cornfields by Edward Wilkins Waite

The Petworth Park Antiques and Fine Art Fair  

The Petworth Park Antiques & Fine Art Fair now hopes to open from 11 to 13 September. Please continue to check this site though, as the situation may change, depending on Government advice. Find out more here, including details on exhibitors, parking and tickets.

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 recently redisplayed some important 18th-century European porcelain dining services on loan from The Egremont Collection. While Petworth House is closed, and at a time when many more of us are dining at home, we have created this online version of the tableware displays for you to enjoy.

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.

The Molyneux Globe in the North Gallery at Petwoth House

The Molyneux Globe at Petworth House 

Made in 1592, this world-class object on view in the North Gallery 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.

2019 #Askacurator day

You asked - our curators answered 

On September 18th, we took part in 2019's #AskACurator day, a social media event brought to life to encourage dialogue between the public and museum curators all over the world. We received some fantastic questions, which Tatjana LeBoff, Assistant Curator at Petworth and Richard Ashbourne, Assistant Curator for London and South East, have answered for you.

Our collections

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

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