Penshurst Place

Penshurst Place is a large, sprawling building constructed over various periods, primarily using sandstone in different colors, along with some brickwork and a little Kentish ragstone. The elevations are mostly battlemented, with some steeply-pitched tiled roofs visible. The oldest section is a hall house built by John de Pulteney, which received a license to crenellate in 1341. This hall features a very large space with a fine timber roof supported by figure corbels and a carved screen from the late 16th century. The solar end has been significantly altered and includes a stone external curved stair dating from the mid-15th century. Below the hall, the undercroft has piers that extend into arches without capitals.

A further license to crenellate was granted in 1392, resulting in the construction of an enclosing outer wall with square side and angle towers. The only complete surviving feature from this period is the south central gate tower, along with a western stretch of the wall. In the mid-15th century, the Buckingham building was added to the west of the old house, which underwent significant alterations in the 1850s. To the south of this is the Elizabethan wing, which includes a long gallery on the first floor, featuring a rich plaster ceiling and Jacobean woodwork highlighted by fluted pilasters. This section has been sensitively restored and connects to the altered south-west tower. Additional Elizabethan ranges link the altered north-west tower with the north central tower, which connects back to the original house. The central tower, known as the King's tower, was also remodeled during this time. There was considerable renewal of these parts and the construction of a long north-east section in 1818 by J B Rebecca in Tudor-Gothic style.

Penshurst Place, along with the South Central Tower and wall, the Southern Wall, the Inner Garden Wall, and the Garden Wall, forms a cohesive group.