National Trust - Peckover House and Garden — Attraction in Fenland District

Situated on Wisbech’s North Brink, Peckover House built in 1722 was home to the Peckover family for 150 years.

A fine example of a Georgian merchant townhouse, it has some gorgeous rooms. The Drawing Room has an impressive rococo mirror frame, the Dining Room, and the Victorian Library for Alexander Peckover's growing collection of books. One of the most important pieces is Alexander Peckover’s cabinet of curiosities. It contains items brought back from his travels.

In the basement there are some nice original features such as the sink and cupboards in the Butler’s Pantry.

To the left of the main entrance into the house, is the surviving sections of the Banking Hall. It now contains an exhibition of the history of the Peckover’s banking business.

Situated behind the house is a gorgeous Victorian garden covering approx. 2 acres, roughly the size of a football pitch and boasts an extensive range of horticultural styles. The orangery has 3 stunning orange trees allegedly more than 3 centuries old. There are several herbaceous borders, several lawns, including an area for croquet and three distinctly different summerhouses. There are plenty of outdoor games to keep every member of the family entertained. Entry to the gardens is free all year round.

Hot and cold drinks, along with cakes and light bites are available in the charming 17th century Reed Barn Tea-room, a Grade II listed building.

Next to The Reed Barn is a well-stocked second-hand book shop along with a selection of plants, some grown on the estate, that are available for sale.

It is well worth a visit, there is a lot more to Peckover...

The staff at the door and throughout the house were brilliant, friendly, informative and told us the history of the peckover family in an entertaining way that even held my son's attention! Could not fault them at all, their enthusiasm was infectious! The house itself, while it had some interactive parts (drawers of curios and the kitchen were the best parts) and a hedgehog trail which kept my son amused, we were disappointed at how many parts weren't open in the actual house - several rooms on the second floor and the whole third floor weren't open to the public and a further one was open but has restoration going on meaning everything was covered which is why it didn't get a 5 star review. The interior had been sympathetically designed given NT bought it as an empty house, you could even compare to the original house design using photos and it was a good job well done by NT. There was still enough to see for a 2-3 hour visit despite the closed areas and the gardens were impressive for the space they had and the cafe in the barn and courtyard was clean and offered a lovely place to sit and have a cup of tea part way around the house and gardens. The gardens had a great variety of plants and open spaces with a few games set up, we loved the little thatched summer house and the pond areas too! There was no parking at this site, although it is only a short walk from the site, over the bridge. We are NT members, so didn't pay the admission fee - not sure therefore if it was good value for money as a site, can't really...

Despite having lived in the Peterborough area since 1983 and going to or through Wisbech many times, I've never made the effort to visit Peckover House! We finally decided to go, and we weren't disappointed. The guided tour lasted roughly one hour, and the guide provided a wealth of fascinating detail about the history of the house and the people who lived there. Although quite a large townhouse, it is modest in some senses - at least in comparison with most of the stately homes we have visited. As the guide said, there's a mix of different styles of furniture and accessories, but this is because the furniture was auctioned off at some point in the past. The grounds are surprisingly big, covering 2 acres of land in the heart of Wisbech! There's a cafe (unfortunately closed at the time of our visit) with toilets (and more toilets in the basement level), a large greenhouse and an orangery. The flowerbeds were packed with beautiful flowers and an impressive collection of unusual mature trees towered over the gardens. It's an oasis in the heart of a bustling town and I'd love to go back to...