LT 23 July 1997. Annual valuation of historic houses open to the public - Castle Drogo in Devon and Petworth House in West Sussex. In 1994 a valuation tribunal reduced Castle Drogo`s rateable value to nil. The VO appealed. In 1990 the National Trust (NT) made a proposal to reduce the rateable value of Petworth House to £1. A valuation tribunal confirmed the original assessment of £8,500 and the NT appealed. The NT was found to be the hypothetical tenant of the premises and the only body to take tenancies of the appeal hereditaments. The NT surveyor relied on the traditional profits based valuation which produced a rateable value of nil for both places, whereas the VO used the percentage of gross receipts method, which the LT preferred. Held, VO`s appeal in respect of Castle Drogo allowed. The NT`s appeal in respect of Petworth, allowed to a limited extent and the assessment reduced to £6,100 rv from 1 April 1990.