It was built in 1688 by Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, and altered in the 1870s to the design of the architect Anthony Salvin.

Petworth is famous for its extensive art collection made by the Northumberland and Seymour/Somerset families and George Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont (1751–1837), containing many works by his friend J. M. W. Turner.

The Percy family, whose primary seat was at Alnwick Castle in Northumberland, bordering Scotland, intended Petworth to be for their occasional residence only.

His younger brother, Henry Percy, 8th Earl of Northumberland, would regain his title from the Queen after begging her mercy and was granted his freedom on the condition that the family be confined to Petworth where they could be observed by the court.

The house at Petworth was therefore transformed and expanded to become the permanent home of the family with grand stables erected and a pleasure garden laid out at this time.

In 1682, at the age of 16 and already twice widowed, she married the 20-year-old Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset (1662–1748), whose family seat was Marlborough Castle in Wiltshire.

Following the 7th Duke's death in 1750, his lands and titles were split between his daughter, Lady Elizabeth Seymour and her husband Sir Hugh Smithson, 4th Baronet (d.1786), and Charles Wyndham through the 7th Duke's deceased brother-in-law Sir William Wyndham.

[3] The works involved the demolition of the formal gardens that preceded it, the landscaping of the wider parkland to raise the profile of the lawn in front of the house, infill quarries, smooth over the terraced walks and digging out buildings in the parkland down to foundation level.

He attempted to make up for the loss of Petworth by building his own stately home in Devon called Silverton Park, which was demolished in 1902.

Such position is unusual for a country mansion of its size and date, which were frequently later re-built on new more private sites away from the original manor house, or the church[b] and village were on occasion demolished to provide the desired privacy.

Since being opened to the public, the house has attracted a significant number of visitors each year to see the art collections, explore the parkland and pleasure grounds.

This service wing contains the site shop, a second-hand bookshop,[19] a cafe in the old Audit Room (which opened originally as a sculpture gallery before being used as a hall for large gatherings of the estate staff and servants),[20] toilets and a seasonal art gallery.

Included in the credits are Barry Lyndon (1975), Silver Bears (1977), Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), Maleficent (2014), Mr Turner (2014), Rebecca (2020),[23] and Bridgerton (2022).

[citation needed] Napoleon, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby filmed at Petworth in March 2022.