Croquet is an absorbing game. With a mix of skill, strategy and sunshine, some describe it as snooker or bridge outdoors. Others just enjoy the game! At our friendly club, learn to play croquet in just 10 minutes, and go on to enjoy playing with friends or build to competition level – we offer excellent tuition to our members.
All kit is available on free loan. Contact us for a warm welcome and introductory session. Find out more at www.rothervalleycroquet.co.uk or contact us at rothervalleycroquet@outlook.com
The Hampers Green Bonfire & Fireworks was first organised in 2011 and is held on the nearest Saturday to the 5th November.
It is another free event but look out for the collection buckets and make good use of them!
It starts early in the evening with a short torchlight parade at 6pm. The torches are used to light the bonfire and the fireworks are generally lit, depending on the weather just before 7pm.
These timings make it an excellent event for young families and there are free sparklers in a supervised area.
The Fete in the Park was started in 2006 in the wonderful Petworth Park and has been held each year since then except for 2016. It was inspired by the painting by William Witherington in Petworth House of a Fete held in 1835.
During the day there is a variety of music and entertainment, a classic car and tractor parade and a variety of charity and commercial stalls and activities. There is a licensed bar and a range of caterers – and of course a tea tent! For the last 7 years or so it has ended with a free family concert.
The fete is generally held on the second Saturday in July and fits snuggly between PetFringe and the Petworth Festival. There is free entry and parking, so the event relies on sponsorship and donations.
The Fete in the Park is the biggest community event in the area and has become a popular part of the Petworth calendar enjoyed by all ages.
Welcome to Newlands House Gallery, one of the UK’s youngest leading art galleries, located in Petworth, a beautiful market town in the heart of the South Downs where you can experience world-class modern and contemporary art. Newlands House Gallery’s exhibitions and enriching parallel events program are inspired by the historic associations of Sussex with great artists, writers, and designers from times past.
With a mission to inspire cultural engagement, a commitment to artistic excellence is at our heart. Since opening in March 2020 with a tribute to Helmut Newton, the Gallery has exhibited the work of some of the world’s greatest artists from the 20th and 21st centuries, including Ron Arad, Joan Miroì, Sean Scully, Liliane Tomasko, Julian Opie, Frank Auerbach, Lee Miller, Picasso, Annie Morris with Idris Khan, Eve Arnold, Nick Brandt, and Leonora Carrington.
Newlands House Gallery occupies a Grade II-listed Georgian townhouse and adjacent coach house in Petworth, in the heart of the South Downs. The Gallery offers an intimate experience set in a house spanning 7,500 square feet; the building was originally built for Dr. Newlands in the 18th century. We have a dedicated Gallery Shop and Café offering the finest of Sussex foods and wines, which is open all year round.
We look forward to welcoming you to Petworth, which boasts one of the country’s largest art collections, housed in the National Trust’s Petworth House and Park. Petworth sits at the centre of Sussex’s burgeoning cultural scene, spanning museums, art centres, festivals, vineyards, nature trails, and stately homes.
‘A WEST SUSSEX ART POWER HOUSE Petworth, in West Sussex, seems to be emerging as a new Bruton”
– Financial Times, ‘How to Spend It’
“The picturesque West Sussex market town of Petworth is already a popular destination for antiques lovers but has landed a dose of serious artwork glamour with this newcomer [Newlands House].”
For anyone interested in animals in art, the Tryon Gallery has become an essential port of call. For fifty years it has been encouraging artists and attracting the attention of enthusiastic collectors. I am very pleased to have this opportunity to pay a tribute to what has become a national institution, and to wish it continued success in the future.
HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Founded in 1959, Rountree Tryon Galleries specialises in maritime, wildlife, sporting and topographical art from the eighteenth century to the present day. Through carefully sourcing the very best examples and representing leading artists for nearly six decades, Rountree Tryon is established as a global specialist in these areas, with a reputation for quality, expertise and professional service.
The gallery is a member of prestigious trade organisations BADA (The British Antique Dealers’ Association) and SLAD (The Society of London Art Dealers) and a regular exhibitor at art fairs both in London and internationally, including The Palm Beach Art and Antique Show and The International Show, New York. We are also used by Arts Council England as a consultant for maritime paintings of National importance.
The gallery has placed works with many institutions and important collections worldwide, including the British Museum, Royal Naval Museum, The Blue Penny Museum Mauritius, National Museum of Singapore, National Museum of Wildlife Art Wyoming and Royalty both in Britain and Europe.
In April 2018, Rountree Tryon Galleries Limited and James Rountree Esq were granted a Royal Warrant of Appointment to The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh as a Specialist Art Dealer. Herewith the link for our page on the Royal Warrant holders website: https://www.royalwarrant.org/company/rountree-tryon-galleries-ltd
A brief history of Rountree Tryon:
1959 – Tryon Gallery founded by The Hon Aylmer Tryon, Dover Street 1972 – Amalgamates with The Moorland Gallery and opens a second shop in Nairobi, Kenya 1981 – Moves to Cork street 1995 – Merges with Oliver Swann Galleries to become: Tryon and Swann Gallery 2000 – Incorporates with Malcolm Innes Gallery and moves to 7 Bury Street, St. James’s. Renamed: Tryon Galleries. 2013 – Merges with Rountree Fine Art and renamed: Rountree Tryon Galleries 2016 – Opens gallery in Petworth, West Sussex 2018 – London presence moves from 7 Bury street to an office in 19 Ryder Street, St. James’s. Appointed a Royal Warrant as Specialist Art Dealers.
Main Walk: 15¼ to 18 km (9.5 to 11.2 miles). Up to four hours 40 minutes walking time. For the whole excursion including trains, buses, sights and meals, allow at least 11 hours.
Circular Walk, omitting Petworth Park: 23½ km (14.6 miles). Six hours 5 minutes walking time.
Long Circular Walk, including Petworth Park: 26½+ km (16.5+ miles). At least six hours 50 minutes walking time.
For a longer outing you can complete a Circular Walk back to Pulborough on a more southerly route between the A283 and the Rother valley, with views of the South Downs along the way. This is a mixed landscape of farmland and wooded commons, with Hesworth Common being particularly attractive. The route passes two fine old churches at Fittleworth and Stopham, and crosses back over the River Arun on the medieval Stopham Bridge. The final 4 km are the same as Extra Walk 39 (Amberley to Pulborough).
If you want to abandon this walk in the afternoon, the route is never far from the A283 and you could catch a bus from Byworth, Fittleworth or Stopham to Pulborough.
Petworth House shaped Petworth town, which crowds against its high walls, and the labour of the townspeople kept the house and estate working for centuries. The legacy of the town’s service is all around. For many centuries virtually everyone in Petwort h depended on the Petworth House estate – known as the Leconfield Estate – for their livelihood. Many lived either in estate cottages in town or in the Servants’ Quarters, where you can see the 19th-century state-of-the-art kitchens at Petworth House. Let Mrs Cownley, Housekeeper at Petworth House for 25 years until 1933, help you discover the connections and contrasts between the great house and the town. She will lead you past the antique shops in cobbled L o m b a rd Street, to visit the Petworth Cottage Museum. You will find some of the finest estate cottages and follow the Round-the-Hills path for some unusual views over the working estate today
In a few weeks, the marquee will be hoisted in the grounds of Petworth House, Petworth, West Sussex and over 50 specialist fine art and antiques dealers will gather for the annual Petworth Park Antiques & Fine Art Fair. For three days, from Friday to Sunday in May, this little area of southern England, known for its antiques shops and art galleries, will be alive with visitors enjoying the market town of Petworth, its famous National Trust mansion and The Antiques Dealers Fair Limited’s annual event.
Petworth Park Petworth House Petworth West Sussex GU28 0QY
A stately mansion nestled in the South Downs housing the finest art collection in the care of the National Trust.
By train
Pulborough 5¼ miles – No. 1 Stagecoach bus service between Worthing and Midhurst passes Pulborough train station.
By bus
No. 1 Stagecoach service between Worthing and Midhurst (passes Pulborough train station), No. 75 Compass service from Horsham to Petworth and No. 99 Compass service from Chichester to Petworth. Alight in Petworth town centre and then follow brown signs to entrance. Please note these bus services do not run on Sundays or bank holidays (There is a limited No. 99a Compass service from Chichester to Petworth on Sundays).
Beautiful landscape immortalised in Turner’s paintings
Stroll around the glassy lake where the artist regularly fished, take in the view revealed in his painting ‘Dewy Morning’ and look out for the flaming yellow and orange foliage of acres, as well as vibrant red oaks and the red purple canopy of island-based liquid amber.
One of the joys of this corner of West Sussex is the relaxed atmosphere, induced by the rolling countryside and open park scapes which surround the town. This makes for ideal walking country with so much accessible land, affording a variety of views and topography around every corner. The interesting architecture and history of town of Petworth itself, as it wraps around the walls of the grand estate of Petworth House and Gardens, also offers some fascinating walking tours.
We’ve highlighted a few of the best walks around Petworth on the web for you to download and print for free here:
The walk gives an opportunity to explore the town, a haven for antique and art collectors, before heading out across the beautiful Shimmings Valley to reach the village of Byworth and returning to Petworth alongside the small meandering river. The views across the Shimmings Valley are stunning throughout the year. To read my full story visit www.west-sussex-weekends.com so I can tell you why I think you will love this walk and what highlights to expect. The West Sussex Weekends website is a great resource where you will also find ideas for places to stay, eat and drink plus plenty more inspirational stories to tempt you to explore more corners of West Sussex.
The walk has several steady but long gradients throughout and there are a couple of steeper short slopes that can be a little slippery after wet weather. There are several kissing gates throughout plus 6 stiles (a couple of the stiles are tall with mesh wire fencing across so dogs may need a lift over). Some of the fields are likely to be holding horses. Approximate time 1.5 to 2 hours.
Petworth town is located at the junction of the A272 (Heathfield to Winchester road) and the A283 (Milford to Shoreham-by-Sea road). The walk starts from the war memorial in front of St Mary’s Church on Church Street in the centre of the village. Parking is available in the town car park or the National Trust Petworth House or Petworth Park car parks, all of which are just a short walk from the village centre. Approximate post code of start point GU28 0AE.
This circular walk in West Sussex is a full day’s excursion. It is mostly a level walk but its length makes it fairly strenuous, although the beauty of the landscape will lighten your feet. There are fine views all the way, to the South Downs on the way out and to Black Down and the Greensand hills on the way back. The walk can be divided into two shorter walks of 10 (or 8) and 9 miles. There was some mud when this walk was researched, but that was after weeks of heavy winter rain. Because of the length, comfortable boots are recommended. There are no nettles and the walk should be fine for an athletic dog too.
A fascinating woodland walk exploring truly ancient trees
Marvel at some of the oldest and largest trees in the country, and see a 1,000 year-old ancient oak that has survived all the major landscape changes since the 12th century. The gnarled and twisted bark of our magnificent ancient specimens make natural and amazing works of art.
The vast late 17th-century mansion Petworth House is set in a beautiful 283-hectare (700-acre) deer park, landscaped by ‘Capability’ Brown and immortalised in Turner’s paintings.
Inside, the house contains the National Trust’s finest collection of pictures, with numerous works by Turner, Constable, Van Dyck, Reynolds and Blake, ancient and Neo-classical sculpture, fine furniture and carvings by Grinling Gibbons.
You can venture behind the scenes and discover secrets from the past at Petworth House. The servants’ quarters contain fascinating kitchens (including a copper batterie de cuisine of more than 1,000 pieces) and other service rooms. On weekdays additional rooms in the house are open by kind permission of Lord and Lady Egremont.
There’s lots of family events on at Petworth House and Park throughout the year. Explore and get closer to nature in the Pleasure Grounds and park; there’s plenty of wildlife to spot and you can enjoy the stunning backdrop of Petworth Park on a lovely family walk. The Park is open from 8am till dusk everyday.
The Leconfield Hall, in the middle of the historic market town of Petworth, is suitable for private and public events, sales, concerts, presentations, parties and a multitude of other uses.
Leconfield Hall is a Cinema, Arts Centre and Venue in the centre of Petworth offering a programme of films, concerts and performances as well as well-equipped spaces to hire for public and private events.
The Petworth Festival is a summer festival of music and the arts set in the historic market town of Petworth. Over two-weeks in July the town comes alive with a high quality programme of classical concerts and recitals, chamber music, song, jazz, cabaret, theatre, comedy, visual arts, talks and walks in and around Petworth.
The main venues of the festival include St Mary’s Church, which seats up to 400 and hosts many of the festival’s headline concerts, Leconfield Hall,Champs Hill auditorium and Bignor Park for outdoor theatre performances. A number of festival events also take place in the Marble Hall and North Gallery of Petworth House. The festival is a huge administrative effort with the entire town and community of Petworth pulling together to make the event a huge success under the Artistic Directorship of Stewart Collins.
Tickets to the festival always in high demand, and you can ensure priority booking, discounts and preview information by becoming a Patron or Friend of the Petworth Festival. The festival also runs occasional events throughout the year including a Literary Weekend in November.
For more details, festival news and programme information visit:
The Farmers Market is a great opportunity to support our local farmers who have grown or produced their food/plants within a 40 miles radius. Our Farmers Market operates from 9.00am – 1.00pm every 4th Saturday of the month and is managed and operated by Food Rocks South. For further information about the Farmers Market please contact Simon at Food Rocks on 07899 753352.
This event is always on the first Saturday in December.
Petworth Town Council Christmas Cracker Committee host this annual event for the community.
The fun starts at 11am and continues through the day with live entertainment in Market Square and an amazing array of stalls and festive food and drink from local providers all day. There is a Santa’s Grotto and lots of children’s activities available inside the Leconfield Hall all day.
Christmas Tree lights will be switched on at 6.00pm by Lord Egremont.
The fun continues into the evening so please come along, join in and make it the best possible start to the Christmas Season here in lovely Petworth!
Distance 4 miles (6.4km) Classification Easy Duration 2 hours Begins Petworth Park car park OS grid reference SU966238
Walk in a nutshell A tour round a Capability Brown landscaped park, which contains one of England’s largest herds of fallow deer. Petworth is especially famous as the subject of many Turner paintings, some of which can be viewed inside the house. The terrain is steep in places and can be muddy. You are welcome to bring dogs but do keep them under close control. In the summer you’ll also need to prevent them from swimming in the ponds, which contain blue-green algae.
Why it’s special This is a wonderful combination for art and nature lovers. The walk starts amid the landscape and woodland that Turner made famous then, about halfway around the circuit, you reach the magnificence of Petworth House, where 20 of Turner’s paintings are on display as part of a dazzling collection that also includes works by Van Dyck and William Blake, carvings by Grinling Gibbons and statuary by John Flaxman and John Edward Carew.
The Pleasure Grounds at Petworth were laid out in the 16th century and re-developed by Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown in the latter half of the 18th century. He suggested sites for the Doric Temple and Ionic otunda to give impressive views both to and from the structures, introduced a ha-ha between the Pleasure Grounds and in the Park designed sinuous paths from the mansion and around the grounds.
An intoxicating mix of cars, stars and motorsport royalty come together over four superb days for the Festival of Speed. The largest event of its kind in the world, the Festival gathers together the planet’s rarest and most glamorous cars.
In the summer of 1936, Freddie March – the 9th Duke of Richmond – hosted a private hillclimb for the Lancia Car Club in the grounds of Goodwood House. In 1993, his grandson, the present Earl of March hosted his own Hillclimb and created the Festival of Speed. The weekend sees an array of Formula 1, supercars, bikes and heritage cars taking on the 1.16 mile Hillclimb, which challenges the world’s greatest drivers and riders, including today’s Formula 1 and Moto GP stars.
Goodwood has played host to the Sport of Kings for over 200 years. From its tentative launch as a flat horseracing course for local officers by the third Duke of Richmond in 1802, to its colourful programme of events, fixtures, weddings and entertaining, Goodwood is one of Britain’s great estates and historic homes. The current Duke of Richmond, who trained as an accountant, and his son, Lord March, ensure that the Goodwood Estate is enjoyed by a wide range of visitors and maximises its fullest potential – while retaining its essentially English charm. The Goodwood racecourse is undoubtedly the jewel in the family’s crown.
The romance and glamour of motor racing as it used to be. The Revival is the only historic race meeting to be staged entirely in period dress and is a return to the halcyon days of Goodwood as the spiritual home of British motor racing.
It’s an unabashed celebration of flat-out wheel-to-wheel racing, around the sweeps and curves of this classic circuit, which remains unchanged since its heyday. The inaugural Revival opened on 18 September 998, when the Earl of March drove around the circuit in the Bristol 400 in which his grandfather, the 9th Duke of Richmond, opened the track 50 years before. It’s now the world’s most celebrated historic motor racing event, with race fans soaking up the unique atmosphere in period costume.
The West Sussex-based Goodwood Motor Circuit originally opened its gates to the public on September 1948 to host Britain’s very first post-war motor race meeting at a permanent venue.
Twelve years earlier, Goodwood’s very first motor sport event was staged when a hill climb meeting was held for a small group of pre-war Lancia enthusiasts, hosted by the 9th Duke of Richmond, Freddie March.
The origins of the Goodwood track derive from an ex-military airfield. RAF Westhampnett, named after the village bordering Goodwood, served as a Battle of Britain base during the War and was the station from which RAF legend Sir Douglas Bader flew his last sortie.
On 18 September 1998, exactly 50 years to the day since the Goodwood circuit first opened, the 9th Duke’s grandson, the present Earl of March, re-enacted the opening of the track at the very first Goodwood Revival meeting in the same Bristol 400 that his grandfather had used half a century earlier on the same track, untouched by the modern world.
Prior to the first Revival meeting in 1998, the circuit was painstakingly restored to look exactly as it did in its heyday, down to the very last detail. Goodwood’s other famous motor sport event, the Goodwood Festival of Speed, was established in 1993 and has gone on to become the world’s largest celebration of motoring culture. Staged in summer in the grounds of Goodwood Park, the Festival attracts the best drivers and vehicles on the planet, including most of the current Formula 1 teams, plus Le Mans winners, racing motorcycles, supercars, and much more besides.
Kevis House Gallery presents a changing programme of art exhibitions, focusing on works on paper: drawings, watercolours, photographs and original prints.
Kevis House Gallery is on the ground floor of the building that housed the studio of Victorian photographer Walter Kevis from 1877 – 1908. It is located in Petworth’s famous cobbled Lombard Street, 2 minutes walk from Petworth House, at the Market Square end of Lombard Street.
Discover another way to visit the South Downs National Park.
Go to www.traveline.co.uk or call 0871 200 22 33 to find public transport information.
For train timetables, visit www.nationalrail.co.uk or call 08457 484950. South Downs National Park The South Downs National Park is Britain’s newest National Park, rich in landscape, culture and wildlife.
Discover ancient woodland and enjoy spectacular views as you explore the open downs and heathlands. Within these landscapes lie bustling market towns and peaceful rural villages, historic houses and the remains of ancient settlements.
Established in 1980, Forest Gallery enjoys an excellent reputation as one of the best galleries in the South-East.
Specialising in original paintings in both traditional and contemporary styles, Forest Gallery aims to find a wide variety of artwork from the UK and abroad. Originally situated in Dorking before establishing itself in Guildford for almost 30 years, the gallery is now located in the picturesque town of Petworth, West Sussex on the famous Lombard Street.
