The house, with church to left, from an 1829 engraving from "Neale's Views of Seats." This view shows the house in its original 18th century form, before the 19th century rebuilding.
The house from a circa 1908 postcard
House & Family History: Prestwold is noted for its for its fine Italian plasterwork and its entrance hall, which features polychrome marbled walls and a coffered ceiling painted in imitation of Raphael's Vatican grotesques, but with miniature landscapes showing the house before and after its 19th century rebuilding. Sir Peyton Skipwith, 7th Bt., whose family was seated at Prestwold in the 17th century, built Prestwould Plantation, near Clarksville, Virginia, in 1795. The house, which survives, is the most intact and best-documented surviving plantation in Southside Virginia.
Garden & Outbuildings: As of 2015 the Prestwold Estate encompassed 2,500 acres. Prestwold was the site of the 2012 Convoy for Heroes Land Rover event.
Chapel & Church: The Grade II*-listed St. Andrew's Church is located on the estate. The Medieval church (its earliest elements are 14th century) was remodeled and restored in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Architect: William Burn
Date: 1842-44John Bernard (J.B.) Burke, published under the title of A Visitation of the Seats and Arms of the Noblemen and Gentlemen of Great Britain and Ireland, among other titles: Vol. I, p. 23, 1852.
John Preston (J.P.) Neale, published under the title of Views of the Seats of Noblemen and Gentlemen in England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, among other titles: Vol. II, 1819.
Country Life: CXXV, 828, 890 plan, 948, 1959.
Title: Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600-1840, A - HARDBACK
Author: Colvin, Howard
Year Published: 2008
Reference: pgs. 192, 1122
Publisher: New Haven: Yale University Press
ISBN: 9780300125085
Book Type: Hardback
House Listed: Grade I
Park Listed: Grade II
Current Seat / Home of: Edward J. Packe-Drury-Lowe; Packe family here since 1649.
Past Seat / Home of: Sir Henry Skipwith, 1st Bt., until 1649. Sir Christopher Packe, 1649-82; Clifton Packe, 1682-1707; Charles Packe, 1707-35; Charles James Packe, 1735-1816; Lt. Col. Charles James Packe, 1816-37; Charles William Packe, 1837-67; George Hussey Packe, 1867-74; Hussey Packe, 1874-1908; Sir Edward Hussey Packe, 1908-46; Major John Drury Boteler Packe-Drury-Lowe, 1946-60; Simon Jasper Packe-Drury-Low, 1960-2015.
Current Ownership Type: Individual / Family Trust
Primary Current Ownership Use: Private Home
Ownership Details: Available for weddings, private parties, and corporate events.
House Open to Public: By Appointment
Phone: 01509-880-236
Fax: 01509-889-060
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://www.prestwold-hall.com/
Historic Houses Member: No