It was probably a little optimistic to visit Penshurst Place, a stately home famous for its historic gardens, in August 2026 at the end of the hottest, driest summer in memory. England and Wales had just recorded their driest July on record, and Kent was one of the areas the Environment Agency had already flagged for drought. The garden hadn’t stood a chance.
And it was rather sad, wandering the grounds and finding dried grass, withered plants and fallen petals where you’d expect a Grade I listed garden to be showing off. But there were signs of recovery too.
Shiny apples in the orchard, blooming lilies on the ornate pond, and autumn crocus pushing up through sun-baked earth like it hadn’t got the memo about the drought. The gardens of Penshurst Place are surviving, much as the house itself has done for the best part of 700 years.
A house that’s changed hands more dramatically than most
Penshurst has form when it comes to surviving things. It was built in 1341 for Sir John de Pulteney, a London merchant who fancied a country pile within striking distance of the City, and since then, it’s passed through a genuinely startling cast list.
A son of Henry IV lived there. So did Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, right up until Henry VIII had him executed for treason in 1521, at which point the Crown helped itself to the place. Henry then used it as a hunting lodge while he was busy courting Anne Boleyn at nearby Hever Castle, before eventually handing Penshurst over to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, as part of her divorce settlement.
It briefly belonged to Sir Ralph Fane, who was also executed for treason (Penshurst does not appear to have been a lucky address for its Tudor owners), before Edward VI finally granted it to Sir William Sidney in 1552. The Sidney family, now the Viscounts De L’Isle, have lived there ever since. Philip Sidney, the Elizabethan poet, was born in the house in 1554.
The family still lives there now, which is presumably why only around a third of the building is open to visitors. What is open, though, is soaked in history rather than just decorated with it.
The Baron’s Hall has weathered the years. The original benches are polished smooth, not by centuries of careful restoration, but by the bums of lords and ladies who sat there serving their feudal leader. There’s something quite levelling about that.
Its vaulted chestnut wood roof with carvings is worth getting a crick in the neck for. No one is quite sure who the carvings represent, but it’s thought they could be the medieval peasants, servants, and local workers of the manor.
Then there’s the solar, an elegant room where kings and queens were once royally entertained and which the family, remarkably, still uses for their own formal parties. It’s rare to stand in a room and know it’s doing more or less the same job it did five hundred years ago.
Down in the crypt, the mysterious 17th-century double portrait of two teenage boys which has sparked a national identity quest, was absent. In its place are copies of the X-ray and imaging scans currently being carried out on it as part of the ongoing investigation into who the boys in the portrait actually are. It’s a strange thing, standing in front of a five hundred-year-old mystery being solved in real time, in scientific images rather than brushstrokes. Somehow more interesting than the original painting might have been.
We lingered longest, though, in the kitchen. No grand hall required for that one, just a wall of gleaming copperware and the housekeeper’s own recipe books and notes, sitting there as if she’d just stepped out.
With all this history, it is no surprise to learn that Penshurst Place has starred in many films and TV shows including Merlin, The Princess Bride, and Wolf Hall, plus the estate was used for a secret film shoot in autumn 2025. Staff are keeping mum, but some locals reckoned it might be Guy Ritchie’s Wife & Dog, though nobody’s confirmed it.
There is a Toy Museum, which reopened in July 2025 after a £100,000 National Lottery Heritage Fund renovation, with new display cases, four themed zones and a lift installed for wheelchair access. It’s a genuinely interesting collection, and it took us straight back to our own childhoods and teenage years. Rosemary was particularly delighted to discover Animal Crossing has recently made it into a display case as a bona fide historic artefact. But strip away the nostalgia and the museum is, at the end of the day, old toys in glass cases.
Penshurst doesn’t have the lovely lived-in feeling we got at Haddon Hall. It isn’t bursting at the seams with royal memorabilia and stories the way Hever Castle is. And it doesn’t offer the same fascinating window into ordinary lives that a stroll through Little Woodham does. What it has instead is a quieter sort of impressiveness. Grounds that, in a kinder year weather-wise, would look genuinely stunning and a house that’s been standing since 1341 and clearly isn’t going anywhere.
The Porcupine Pantry café just outside the entrance more than earns its place on the day out. Good coffee, a lovely slice of vegan cake, and a gorgeously gooey brownie. Small mercies after a day of dried-out lawns.
If you’re going:
House, Gardens & Grounds: adult £17, child (5 to 15) £9.50, family tickets from £40
Gardens & Grounds only: adult £15, child £9
House hours: 11.30am to 4pm (last entry 3.30pm)
Gardens hours: 10am to 5pm
Open daily until 1 November 2026; café and gift shop stay open year round
Penshurst Place, Penshurst, Tonbridge, Kent TN11 8DG.
We’ll go back, though probably not in a drought. The roses and the famous 100-metre peony border peak from late May into June, and that, rather than a parched August, feels like the fairer test of a garden that’s been blooming since 1346.
If you’ve enjoyed browsing our website, learned something new, or just had a smile because of what we do – we’d love your support to keep the good stuff brewing!
Travelling soon? Things to do and attractions not to miss with Get Your Guide …