About the Business
The Park and Manor of Bignor were held from at least the mid-fourteenth century by the Earls of Arundel. Originally used as grounds to fatten deer, Bignor Park was bought in 1584 by Richard Pellatt of Steyning, who built the first house on the site, the only surviving relics of which are two finials at the west end of the walled garden. The property descended through his family until sold in 1712 to Nicholas Turner. Charlotte Turner Smith (1749-1806), prominent poet and novelist, spent her childhood at Bignor Park and it became the inspiration for many of her poems (see separate section).
At the start of the 19th Century the Cornish tin miner John Hawkins bought the estate as an addition to his main property at Trewithen in Cornwall. He built the present house in 1826-9, employing the Belgravia architect Henry Harrison, and laid out the surrounding parkland according to a plan devised by renowned landscape designer and artist William Sawrey Gilpin.
Location & Hours
Bignor Park House
