The Petworth Book of Country House Cooking

Petworth House has been the home of the Leconfield family since it was granted to them by Queen Adeliza, the second wife of Henry 1, in 1150. And it is now lived in by Lord Egremont, a family member, who grew up in the house in the 1950s, just after it was gifted to the National Trust in 1947. As a boy, he recalls a full complement of household staff where each meal was attended to by the services of the butler and footman.

In addition to period recipes used by the chefs in the glory days, the book includes information about the history and running of the house especially the kitchens and the chefs who worked there; the dining rooms, servants quarters, scullery, steam plants and other food-related features including the dairy that operated from 1784 until the 1920s and, behind it, the massive underground icehouse which stored 2500 cubic feet of ice gathered each winter from the lake in the park.