The Burrell Baronets of Knepp

Born into an ancient Kentish family whose origins went back to the reign of Edward I (1239-1307), Peter inherited considerable property in Kent as well as Sussex.

During the Civil War he sided with the Parliamentarians and secured his family’s financial survival in the Interregnum years by acquiring land from distressed Royalists.

He purchased land from the Campions, whose estates had been compounded after the Royalist Sir William Campion was killed during the siege of Colchester (1648), and in 1650 acquired land from one of the leading royalist generals, Lord George Goring (1608‒1657). This estate of Danny Great Park, near Hurstpierpoint in Sussex, included a magnificent Elizabethan mansion and one of the finest stately houses in Sussex. It was to be the home of Peter's portrait, as well as many generations of Campions, for over three hundred years. The house and its contents were passed down to Barbara Campion, née Courthope (1676‒1755), and thereafter by descent.