Firle Place

Firle Place is an outstanding privately owned country house in Sussex, dating from the time of Henry VIII, but substantially remodelled during the Georgian period. Firle Place is very much a family home which provides the perfect setting to house an exemplary collection of works of art, fine furniture and porcelain of national significance.

The home of the Gage family for over 500 years, the house lies in a cleft in the South Downs, near Lewes. Surrounded by an extensive park, it is built of pale stone brought from Caen in Normandy and has the appearance of an eighteenth century French chateau. The mansion we see today conceals portions of a much older building, perhaps Medieval, which was extended in the 1530s and 40s by Sir John Gage, the trusted counsellor of Henry VIII.

Amongst the collections housed at Firle today are two Beauvais tapestries, the Melbourne Cabinets by Thomas Chippendale and Firle’s greatest treasure, the monumental group portrait of Count John of Nassau-Siegen and his family by Sir Anthony van Dyck.

Incorporating several villages and farms spread over rolling hills, the Firle Estate, in the heart of the magnificent South Downs National Park, is just 60 miles from London. Firle illustrates a rare cultural continuity with an unusually intact estate and a thriving rural community. As well as magnificent walks, bike rides and country pursuits, the Estate has many places to stay, eat and drink. Firle Place itself has a tea room with a charming terrace overlooking the fountain and parkland.