One man's eccentric passion for Italy is the centrepiece for this beautiful Suffolk estate. We welcome feedback– both positive and negative.
Ickworth - A 'stupendous monument of folly' according to the wife of the 4th Earl of Bristol (the Earl Bishop). Ickworth's impressive Rotunda - a magnificent showcase commissioned by the 4th Earl of Bristol to house his priceless treasures collected on tours around Europe in the 18th-century - is an architectural marvel. For 200 years, the eccentric, and sometimes infamous, Hervey family added to
the treasures inside and out, also creating the earliest Italianate garden in England. The extraordinary Rotunda is the magnificent centrepiece of more than 1800 acres of stunning gardens and parkland in the heart of Suffolk, 4 miles to the south west of Bury St Edmunds. House Rules
We want our page to be a place where people can share how they feel about the National Trust and talk about their experiences in a fun environment. It helps us to learn and grow. These house rules aim to ensure everyone can enjoy themselves while they’re here. We ask you to be nice and polite to one another– you almost always are! - and respect each other’s views and comments. We ask all users to ensure your contributions are civil, polite, tasteful, and suitable for all ages. We won’t tolerate disruptive, offensive or abusive behaviour, unlawful or objectionable content. This includes any material which might be defamatory, offensive, infringing, obscene, lewd, pornographic, violent, abusive, insulting, threatening, harassing, discriminatory, blasphemous, indecent, or otherwise unlawful or objectionable. It also includes any material which is aggressive, argumentative, or likely to be construed as bullying. No spamming or repetition, please, nor off-topic material in subject-specific threads or areas. Moderation policy
In general, we don’t moderate posts – except on the rare occasion that someone has used offensive language or made libellous allegations about named or identifiable individuals on our page. We have a duty to protect our staff and volunteers, so while deleting comments is totally out of character for us, our legal position is that any post containing a libellous accusation, should be removed. If an individual continues to post offensive, threatening, or libellous content then we’ll be forced to block that person from the page. We won’t tolerate postings, content, or links that are racist, sexist or homophobic. We also don’t permit linking to or posting any content which endorses illegal activity, or any activities against the values of the National Trust. If you’re concerned that a posting or user content has broken any of our house rules or you’re worried about any comment or content, then please send us an email to: [email protected] and let us know.
26/06/2026
📣Ickworth Estate will reopen tomorrow, Saturday 27 June but with a reduced offer - please read!📣
👉Kiosk and Welcome Point will be closed so please come to the West Wing for admissions from 10am.
👉West Wing Café will be serving a cold food option only. Porter's Lodge will be closed. Water bottles can be filled up from the tap behind Porter's Lodge.
👉Cycle hire will be closed.
👉There will be no PMV hire or shuttlebus available.
🏛 The Rotunda and Servants' Quarters are open as normal but some areas may close if they get too warm.
🌳The gardens and parkland are open as normal.
If you are planning on visiting Ickworth Estate then please ensure that you are OK to walk from the car park to the West Wing (approx 300m/330yds).
If temperatures in our spaces become too warm for our team to work safely then we may close earlier than advertised. Thank you for your understanding.
24/06/2026
⚠️Due to the ongoing heatwave and weather warnings in place, Ickworth Estate will be closed on Thursday 25 and Friday 26 June.⚠️
Whilst the Rotunda and basement are staying cool, the rest of the property and buildings are experiencing very high temperatures, so for the welfare and safety of our team and visitors, we have taken the decision to close.
Please do not travel to Ickworth Estate.
Please stay safe in the hot weather and we look forward to welcoming back very soon. Thank you for your understanding.
24/06/2026
This weekend you can meet one our local makers, Mark Barr, who is a woodturner. He'll be in the West Wing shop this Sunday the 28th from 11am - 3pm explaining his work and showing his beautiful products, which are sold in the shop. Come by and ask him some questions! 🪵🛒🪚
23/06/2026
22/06/2026
A reminder that tomorrow you can see inside some of our very special books as part of our 'Best of the Books' event. Head to the Rotunda from 11am-3pm to talk to our conservation team about how they care for the books, and take a peak at these usually hidden pages.
We have over 8,000 books to care for here at Ickworth, and each one tells its own story! 📖🧹
22/06/2026
You may have seen us post about James Bullard before, you may have even seen him when we were featured on BBC Two's Hidden Treasures of the National Trust at the end of May! James (also known as James the 1st!) is our longest serving member of staff at Ickworth and works as a Gardener! The photos below were taken by James in 1991 and we wanted to show a comparison to what Ickworth looks like now and how it's changed!
James told us the Phillyrea's were planted just before he started working at Ickworth 35 years ago, look how much they've grown! 🌳🪵🌼
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