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Visit Petworth and the surrounding villages and stay in bed & breakfast accommodation:
Petworth, Sussex, has been described as the town which stands at the gates of Petworth House, the great mansion built by the Duke of Somerset towards the end of the 17th century. The house, which has a west front of 320 ft. stands in a magnificent park of some 2,000 acres, surrounded by a wall 13 miles long.
The estate came into the possession of the Percy family, the Earls of Northumberland, in Norman times, and has remained in the possession of their descendants ever since. Parts of an earlier manor house were incorporated by Somerset (who married the Percy heiress) and there were reconstructions carried out in the 19th century. The house, together with about 750 acres of parkland, came into the keeping of the National Trust in1947.
Outstanding is the Carved Room with its rich carvings by Grinling Gibbons, and said to be his finest work. The State Rooms contain a fine gallery of paintings with such masters as Van Dyck, Holbein, Rembrandt and Reynolds (who stayed some time at Petworth House). There is a magnificent Grand Staircase, with some fine frescoes.
The town has a number of very old houses, some timber-framed and many of them in a knot of narrow streets around the little market square, which dates from early Tudor to Georgian times. A typical l6th-century residence is Tudor House. Somerset Lodge, a mid-llth-century stone house with mullioned windows and oak staircase, is worthy of note, as is New Grove House, built early in the same century. Gibbons is said to have stayed there when working at Petworth House. The town hall in the market square is an unpretentious arcaded building of the late 18th century considerably restored.
The parish church was built in the 14th century but almost completely rebuilt in 1827; a little of the ancient masonry remains, also some excellent glass, a l4th-century font and a number of impressive tombs and memorials to the owners of Petworth House.
Nearby cities: Chichester
Nearby towns: Billingshurst, Haslemere, Midhurst, Pulborough
Nearby villages: Bignor, Coldwaltham, Duneton, Fittleworth, Graffham, Hardham, Heyshott, Kirdford, Lodsworth, Lurgashall, Northchapel, Selham, Stopham, Wisborough Green
Have you decided to visit Petworth or the surrounding villages? Please look above for somewhere to stay in:
- a Petworth bed and breakfast (a Petworth B&B or Petworth b and b)
- a Petworth guesthouse
- a Petworth hotel (or motel)
- a Petworth self-catering establishment, or
- other Petworth accommodation
Accommodation in Petworth:
Find availability in a Petworth bed and breakfast, also known as B&B or b and b, guesthouse, small hotel, self-catering or other accommodation.