National Trust - Petworth House and Park Reviews Summary

Art Collection & Exhibits

Pros:

• "The artwork in Petworth House is stunning. Paintings by so many noteworthy artists and absolutely stunning sculptures."
• "Absolutely beautiful house, with amazing paintings by Turner, Van Dyck and a lot more, the rooms are elegantly furnished."
• "What a fantastic treasure trove of fine art. Paintings, sculpture and a globe from the 1500s!"
• "Almost every room and the purpose-made gallery is crammed with world class art."
• "The house is a treasure trove of paintings and sculptures."
• "Petworth is a true museum with a lot of precious art! All collections from one family in a time period of 900 years!"
• "The largest National Trust art collection and it's really impressive it really is worth a visit."

Cons:

• "Very disappointing. It was an art display only."
• "Some of the art collection difficult to see because of lighting and condition."
• "Like a huge art gallery... for such a huge property, there are very few rooms open to the public."
• "Pity that the upstairs bedrooms or art studio of Turner is not open (apparently not allowed by family in residence)."
• "Would be nice though to have a list of each piece, maybe online?"
• "Some beautiful paintings by very well known artists."
• "Further there are a lot of paintings from a lot of famous artists like 'van Dyck, Turner, Flaxman and Blake'."

Grounds & Parkland

Pros:

• "Stunning open expanse for walking and exploring."
• "The park is vast, and you get beautiful views of the house and the meadows."
• "There is so much outdoor space to explore, and the landscape looks stunning."
• "Acres of Beautiful grounds to walk around, with deer roaming through."
• "The grounds and deer park are great for walking in."
• "Beautiful landscaped gardens and deer park."
• "The Capability Brown parkland is also worth of a visit on its own, there's a marked walk which will take 2 hours or a shorter 35min walk around the lake."

Cons:

• "The grounds can provide for hours of walking covering some 700 acres."
• "And the longer walks round the park grounds can get very wet in winter, so you need appropriate footwear."
• "The park is vast...you can walk all day with superb views at times."
• "The ground close to the lake gets very messy with goose muck, so you need to watch where you're walking."
• "Nice parkland walks but a little difficult to follow, no waymarkers."
• "The grass was quite muddy."
• "It's a shame that only the ground floor of the house is opened to visitors."

Cafe & Food Services

Pros:

• "The cafe has a good selection of hot and cold food and drinks. With seating inside and out."
• "Cafe food excellent, packed on a March Monday for lunch!"
• "The cafe has good variety of food and drinks and few tables inside."
• "The cafe is also extremely good value for money and the food is first class."
• "Cafe is clean and full of good snacks and vegan options."
• "The food was very tasty in the cafe too."
• "If you can get a table in the restaurant the food is very good."

Cons:

• "We were a bit disappointed there wasn't much there for children."
• "Cafe on site restricted for Covid disappointed to only have instant de-cafe coffee."
• "The cafe closed at 4pm. It was a disappointing visit."
• "Food in cafe, bland, dry, service slow."
• "However, the cafeteria is frankly a little grim - uninviting and overcrowded, with a very ordinary menu."
• "Service in the cafe was slow, a 20-minute wait."
• "Temporary cafeteria at present. Ridiculous to be expected to eat soup with a small wooden spoon."

Staff & Volunteers

Pros:

• "All the volunteers were friendly and knowledgeable."
• "Staff super helpful and friendly."
• "Staff were excellent and gave service to us, as we had an older member needing assistance."
• "Staff are always very helpful, and knowledgeable volunteers are placed around the house."
• "Staff throughout are so knowledgeable about the history of the property and the families who have lived here."
• "Needless to say super friendly staff and volunteers."
• "All staff were very friendly and I had a good chat to the guide in the dining room."

Cons:

• "One lady by the staircase was particularly miserable."
• "Some of the Stewards seemed disinterested in having visitors."
• "Only 2 staff members said hello in the main house but then didn't engage further and the others ignored me completely."
• "But the people in the main house made me feel like I wasn't wanted."
• "The only minor annoyance was the large queue for coffee, there is more than one coffee shop but they were not clearly signposted."
• "My partner went to stop him, and there was an older gentleman volunteer, who slapped his hand hard enough to be heard by everyone in the room."
• "The restaurant and car park are both too small for the number of visitors they try to attract."