Petworth House and Park

Description

A stately mansion nestled in the South Downs housing the finest art collection in the care of the National Trust.

Petworth has a rich and varied history waiting to be discovered. Stroll through state rooms saturated with internationally important paintings by artists such as Van Dyck, Reynolds, Titian and Blake together with classical and neo-classical sculptures. Follow in the footsteps of JMW Turner who spent long periods at the mansion under the patronage of the 3rd Earl of Egremont, and whose paintings of Petworth park can be seen at Petworth today.

The servants’ quarters by contrast offer a glimpse of life 'below stairs’. Step inside some of these rooms and imagine the hustle and bustle of servant life.

The landscape gives every impression of being totally natural but in reality nothing is further from the truth. The park was transformed in the 1750s and early 1760s by Lancelot 'Capability’ Brown.