Penshurst Place is a historic building near Penshurst, Kent, 32 miles (51 km) south east of  London. It has been the ancestral home of the Sidney family since 1552, and was the birthplace of the great Elizabethan poets and courtiers, siblings Mary Sidney and Philip Sidney.

Penshurst was originally used by Henry VIII as a hunting lodge and then given to Anne of Cleves as part of her divorce settlement from him. It was then briefly in the hands of Sir Ralph Fane and was finally gifted by Henry VIII’s son, Edward VI, to his loyal steward and tutor, Sir William Sidney.

• Link to fascinating timeline on the Penshurst Place website
• Mention of ties with Percy Bysshe Shelley

The original medieval house is one of the most complete surviving examples of 14th-century domestic architecture in England. Part of the house and its gardens are open for public viewing. Penshurst has been the site a number of films, other productions and events, including a festival and two filmed productions by the ‘Shakespeare and his Sisters’ team as well as a conference!