Penshurst Place

The statue of a young Hercules in the centre of the oval pond in the Italian Garden is originally from Leicester House in London. Leicester House was built by the Sidney family in the 17th Century, named after the Earldom that was passed down through the Sidney family.

Building for Leicester House began in 1631 but the grand home, which was larger than Penshurst Place at the time, was pulled down by 1790. The site is now occupied by London’s Leicester Square, with the Empire cinema sitting upon the area where Leicester House once stood.

The Magnolia Garden was planted in memory of Viscount De L’Isle MBE’s Mother, Jacqueline Viscountess De L’Isle.
The statue depicts a Nyad that is a copy of a bronze statue that overlooks Lake Burnley Griffin from the grounds of Government House, Canberra, where Viscountess De L’Isle sadly died whilst her husband, 1st Viscount De L’Isle was Governor General.

The Porcupine Statue found in the Flag Garden was commissioned to celebrate the millennium and created by Robert Rattray, grandson of 1st Viscount De L’Isle.

The Porcupine is a prominent feature in many objects and artifacts across the Gardens, Grounds and House at Penshurst Place, paying homage to the Porcupine of the Sidney family crest. It rests upon a plinth featuring the Pheon which appears in the Sidney family coat of arms.

The Archer sits at the end of the Demi Lune between the Topiary Bear and Porcupine which were shaped by famous topiarist, Charlotte Molesworth. Commissioned in 2009 to celebrate the centenary of the birth of 1st Viscount De L’Isle, the statue was created by his grandson, Robert Rattray.

Below the archer sits a plaque engraved with a poem written by another of 1st Viscount De L’Isle’s grandson’s and heir to Penshurst Place, Philip Sidney.