Photo source: Smallbones, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Penns in the Rocks is a Grade II* listed historic house in East Sussex, and a member of Historic Houses. Read about its history, architecture and gardens, plus how to visit and what's nearby.
About Penns in the Rocks
Penns in the Rocks is an early 18th-century redbrick house near Groombridge, built for the family of William Penn of Pennsylvania.
The property stands opposite a dramatic natural outcrop of sandstone rock.
In the 20th century it became the home of poet Dorothy Wellesley, who maintained a close correspondence with W.B.
Yeats and is believed to have received visits from him.
Wellesley created a temple in the garden dedicated to 'the poets who loved Penns'.
After her death in 1956, the house passed to the Gibson family, who undertook significant interior remodelling and garden redesign with landscape architect Lanning Roper.
The house remains privately owned and is supported by Historic Houses, with the garden opening to the public on National Garden Scheme days.
History of Penns in the Rocks
Dorothy Wellesley died in 1956, after which Penns in the Rocks passed to the Gibson family, who continue to live there. Lord Gibson held senior roles in both the Arts Council and the National Trust. Working with his wife and the landscape designer Lanning Roper, he remodelled the house's interior and reworked the garden that Wellesley had originally created.
Architecture of Penns in the Rocks
The house is built in red brick in the early 18th-century style, set directly opposite a dramatic outcrop of sandstone boulders that gives the property its name.
Worth knowing
Dorothy Wellesley's circle at Penns drew in literary figures of the 1930s, most notably W.B. Yeats. She corresponded closely with Yeats, who is recorded as having visited the house.
Gardens & grounds at Penns in the Rocks
The garden, which incorporates the sandstone outcrop and Wellesley's temple to 'the poets who loved Penns', opens to visitors on National Garden Scheme days.
Plan your visit to Penns in the Rocks
Nearest station: Eridge Rail Station (1.4 miles)
Places to visit near Penns in the Rocks
Historic places nearby
Within 10 miles of Penns in the Rocks there are 9 historic properties, including 4 historic houses and 3 historic buildings, across Historic Houses, National Trust and Churches Conservation Trust sites.
Within 20 miles of Penns in the Rocks there are 43 historic properties, including 15 historic buildings, 14 historic houses and 5 gardens, across Historic Houses, National Trust and English Heritage sites.
Facts
A poet's house where a temple to 'the poets who loved Penns' still faces a garden of giant sandstone rocks.
- Type
- historic house
- Location
- East Sussex, England
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