Sir Harry Fetherstonhaugh inherited Uppark Park from his father Sir Matthew on the latter's death in 1774. Sir Matthew has bought the house from the Earl of Tankerville and remodeled it using the services of the architect James Paine. This set of dinner plates, and the service which it on doubt once form a part, was an early purchase following Sir Harry's accession to the family estates. He was a profligate spender, in later life no doubt encouraged by the tastes of his close friend Prince George, later the Prince Regent. For many years a bachelor Sir Harry married his 20-year-old dairy-maid Mary Ann Bullock when he was 71. She became his heir and in turn the house and estate was left to her sister, Frances, who took the Fetherstonhugh. She lived at Uppark with a companion until her death in 1895.

Under the terms of Mary Ann's will the house passed to Mary Ann's friend Lieutenant Colonel Keith Turnour, who took the additional name of Fetherstonhaugh. On his death it similarly passed to Admiral Sir Herbert Meade, third son of the Earl of Clanwilliam. He and his son Richard gave the house to the National Trust in 1954 whilst retaining a lease on the private rooms on the second floor. A fire during building works devastated the house in 1989, however the majority of the contents were saved and the National Trust undertook a meticulous and historical restoration of public rooms. The house reopened in 1995.