Hammerwood Park

Om museet

Hammerwood Park is a Greek Revival country house near East Grinstead in East Sussex. It was built between 1792 and about 1795 for John Sperling to designs by Benjamin Henry Latrobe, his first independent commission, and is among the earliest Greek Revival houses in England. Latrobe later moved to America and worked on the US Capitol and the White House. The temple-like pavilions with Doric and Ionic details and Coade stone capitals were advanced for their time.

In the 19th century the house passed to other families, and in 1865 the architect S. S. Teulon remodelled it. It was requisitioned in the Second World War and then stood derelict. In 1973 the rock band Led Zeppelin bought it with the idea of a recording studio, but the plan came to nothing and the house suffered vandalism and rot before it was boarded up in 1976.

David Pinnegar bought Hammerwood in 1982 and restored it with his family; it has been open to the public since April 1983 and passed to Edward Pinnegar in 2024. Visitors see the house on a guided tour led by the family, followed by tea. The Picturesque parkland around a lake is listed in its own right.

Højdepunkter

• Early Greek Revival house of 1792-95 by Benjamin Henry Latrobe
• Doric and Ionic detail with Coade stone capitals
• Family-led guided tour with tea in the Library
• Restored from dereliction after a brief ownership by Led Zeppelin
• Picturesque parkland around a lake

Permanent udstilling

• Guided tour of the Latrobe house – Family-led tour of an early Greek Revival house of the 1790s, with the story of its decline, the Led Zeppelin episode and its restoration since 1982.

Ejer

Pinnegar family

Entrépriser & rabatter

Adult admission is payable in cash; the income goes towards maintaining the house.

Tilgængelighed

• Kørestolsvenlig: ingen oplysninger
• Elevator: ingen oplysninger
• Handicaptoilet: ingen oplysninger
• Handicapparkering: ingen oplysninger
• Servicehunde tilladt: ingen oplysninger
• Taktile tilbud: ingen oplysninger
• Rundvisninger på tegnsprog: ingen oplysninger
• Letlæste tilbud: ingen oplysninger
• Synstolkning: ingen oplysninger

The steps can be slippery, especially after wet weather, so sturdy footwear is advised. The website gives no further accessibility information.

Børn og familie

Children are admitted free.

Transport & parkering

The house is 3.5 miles east of East Grinstead and 10 miles west of Tunbridge Wells on the A264 (Holtye Road). The turning is signposted and the house is reached after the village pond and a cricket pitch.

Service & spisesteder

Tea and biscuits are served in the Library after the tour. Dogs and picnics are welcome before or after the tour; visitors must take their rubbish away.

Arrangementer & udlejning

• Lokaler til leje
• Bryllupper / vielser

Venue hire, weddings and events are listed on the website; no details are published.

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