Penshurst Place facts for kids

Private entrance to Penshurst Place

Penshurst Place is a historic building near Tonbridge, Kent, 32 miles (51 km) south east of London, England. It is the ancestral home of the Sidney family, and was the birthplace of the great Elizabethan poet, courtier and soldier, Sir Philip Sidney. The original medieval house is one of the most complete surviving examples of 14th-century domestic architecture in England. Part of the house and its gardens are open for public viewing. Many TV shows and movies have been filmed at Penshurst.

Main features of the house

Flag Garden at Penshurst Place

It is possible to see in the house the evidence of occupation over its 670-year history:

• The State Rooms, filled with a collection acquired by generations of the Sidney family.
• The West Solar, or State Dining Room, part of the medieval building, contains a collection of family portraits, furniture and porcelain.
• The Queen Elizabeth Room, named after Queen Elizabeth I, with its display of early upholstered furniture.
• The Tapestry Room
• The Long Gallery, full of royal and family portraits
• The Nether Gallery: with an array of arms and armour
• Toy Museum - features toys from several generations of the Sidney family, includes dolls, doll houses, teddies, toy soldiers, mechanical toys and general play items
• Queen Victoria's stool: in one of the smallest rooms of the house, there is a green stool on display. Queen Victoria sat on this stool when she was pronounced Empress of India in 1876.

Images for kids

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  The Great Hall at Penshurst Place, circa 1915