Clandon Park

About the museum

Clandon Park was built in the 1730s for the Onslow family to the designs of the Italian architect Giacomo Leoni, in the strict Palladian style, and was decorated by leading European sculptors. It was meant to impress and to host guests, and it stayed in the Onslow family for generations.

In April 2015 a major fire destroyed most of the interior and left the brick and stone shell open to the sky. The fire revealed how the house had been designed and built, and a few important parts survived, among them the dining room known as the Speakers’ Parlour. The National Trust has chosen not to rebuild the lost rooms but to conserve the surviving building and to present its construction and the many craftspeople who made it. Planning permission for this project was granted in March 2025, with new windows, a new roof with public terraces and a series of walkways and rooms for displays and events.

In the garden stands the site of Hinemihi, a Maori meeting house brought to England in 1892 by the 4th Earl of Onslow. A separate project proposes an exchange of carvings with Maori communities and a new life for the building. The seven-acre garden also has a Dutch garden with a lily pond, a 19th-century grotto and a wooden playground, while the wider parkland is privately owned.

Highlights

• Palladian mansion by Giacomo Leoni (1730s), seen in its post-fire state
• Speakers’ Parlour, a surviving room of the original interiors
• Site of the Maori meeting house Hinemihi
• Dutch garden with lily pond, historic grotto and wooden playground

Permanent exhibition

• Garden and Hinemihi site – A small garden with a Dutch garden and lily pond, a 19th-century grotto and the place where the Maori meeting house Hinemihi stands.

Operated by

National Trust

Admission & discounts

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: no information
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The narrow pavement on the walk from the station may be too narrow for pushchairs or wheelchairs.

Kids & families

• Playground / play area

The garden has a wooden playground and space for informal picnics.

Getting there & parking

The walk from Clandon station takes 15 to 20 minutes along the A247; the pavement is very narrow in places. Approach by car only via the A247. The nearest national cycle routes, 22 and 223, run through Guildford, about 4 miles away.

Amenities & dining

The garden is suited to picnics. A car park is provided.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit