Petworth House

Medieval manor house The manor of Petworth first came into the possession of the Percy family as a royal gift from Adeliza of Louvain, the widow of King Henry I (1100–1135), to her brother Joscelin of Louvain. He later married the Percy heiress and adopted the surname Percy. His descendants became the earls of Northumberland, the most powerful family in northern England. The Percy family, whose primary seat was at Alnwick Castle in Northumberland, bordering Scotland, intended Petworth to be for their occasional residence only. The site was previously occupied by a fortified manor house built by Henry de Percy, 1st Baron Percy (1273–1314), in 1308–09, the chapel and undercroft of which still survive as part of the current house. A part of this era manor house, a 'Lost' North wing, was discovered during archaeological excavations in 2012–15 under the lawn at the front of the house having been demolished in 1692. It was very much inspired by the Palace of Versailles and aimed to establish Petworth as a rival to these European palaces. after the death of the 6th Duke, King George II granted the 7th Duke four extra titles in the peerage, including Baron Cockermouth and Earl of Egremont, with the latter two created with special remainder to Sir Charles Wyndham, and was responsible for commissioning Lancelot 'Capability' Brown to landscape the parkland during the 1750s and 1760s. He was patron to many contemporary artists including J. M. W. Turner and John Constable who were frequent guests to the house and painted the house and its parkland frequently - this has more recently helped inform restorations to the house and parkland. In its 2018/2019 Annual Report, the Trust reported that Petworth House received 178,760 visitors. In its 2022 Annual Report, the Trust reported that Petworth House received 147,079 visitors in 2021–22, having had a dip in numbers to 88,600 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020–21. Today's building houses an important collection of paintings and sculptures, including 20 oil paintings by J. M. W. Turner, who was a regular visitor to Petworth, paintings by Anthony van Dyck and Joshua Reynolds, carvings by Grinling Gibbons and Ben Harms, classical and neoclassical sculptures (including ones by John Flaxman and John Edward Carew), and wall and ceiling paintings by Louis Laguerre. There is also a terrestrial globe by Emery Molyneux, believed to be the only one in the world in its original 1592 state. ==Petworth Park==

The 283-hectare (700-acre) landscaped park, known as Petworth Park, contains a large herd of fallow deer. It is one of the more famous in England, largely on account of a number of pictures of it which were painted by Turner. There is also a woodland garden, known as the Pleasure Ground and some unusual ha-has. The landscaped park and pleasure grounds of Petworth are Grade I listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. Petworth House is home to the Petworth House Real Tennis Club (many such private estates held real tennis courts). Petworth Park is also a cricket venue, for the refounded Petworth Park Cricket Club. ==Surrounding area==

As was usual for a mediaeval manor house, it was built in its original form next to the parish church (to provide the lord of the manor with enhanced spiritual benefits), around which developed a village, now grown to a sizeable town. Such position is unusual for a country mansion of its size and date, which were frequently later re-built on new more private sites away from the original manor house, or the church and village were on occasion demolished to provide the desired privacy. Petworth House and Park are thus today situated immediately adjacent to the town of Petworth, with its shops and restaurants. As an insight into the lives of past estate workers the Petworth Cottage Museum has been established in High Street, Petworth, furnished as it would have been in about 1910. ==Visitor facilities==

Since being opened to the public, the house has attracted a significant number of visitors each year to see the art collections, explore the parkland and pleasure grounds. As such, the National Trust opened and run a number of facilities for visitors at the site. The trust run two car parks for visitors, a main car park ideally placed for the house and pleasure gardens and a more northern car park for the wider deer park. With the exception of a visitor reception near to the main car park and a food and beverage kiosk in the old fire station, the visitor amenities are all located within the old service block for the house. This service wing contains the site shop, a second-hand bookshop, a cafe in the old Audit Room (which opened originally as a sculpture gallery before being used as a hall for large gatherings of the estate staff and servants), toilets and a seasonal art gallery. The service wing also contains a few of the historic kitchen rooms preserved for the public to view. In addition to publishing a general visitor guidebook, the trust also publishes an in-depth guide to the different art pieces within the house and detailing in more detail the family history associated with the collection. They also have a virtual guide for visitors in addition to the volunteer room stewards present around the house. They also announced in 2021 the opening of a second shop within the house selling books related to the art works in the house and art supplies. ==Filming location==

'' by Thomas Phillips, 1817. Petworth House has been used extensively as a location for film and TV productions. Included in the credits are Barry Lyndon (1975), Silver Bears (1977), Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), Maleficent (2014), Mr Turner (2014), Rebecca (2020), and Bridgerton (2022). Napoleon, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby filmed at Petworth in March 2022. ==Notes==