Petworth Midhurst Petworth House & Park Cowdray Ruins & Estate South Downs Sussex UK

Midhurst & the Cowdray Estate

The historic town of Midhurst north of Chichester is one of the most popular visitor locations in the South Downs. Midhurst town centre is idyllic with the main high street lined with local produce shops, timber framed historic buildings and character friendly pubs. Midhurst Tourist Information Centre, a main source of information for the South Downs and the many local attractions, sits at the town's entrance alongside the Cowdray Ruins and a large car park.

Visitors have easy access from Midhurst into the Downs and onto the South Downs Way National Trail situated just a few miles to the south. Rural attractions in the area are numerous including alongside the town the stunning Cowdray Estate and to the south of the town the Weald & Downland Museum at Singleton and Goodwood Racecourse, Motorsport and House. Petersfield and Uppark House, Haslemere, Chichester and Petworth are all within easy reach.

Midhurst's main attraction is the stunning Cowdray Estate set within breathtaking Sussex countryside. The Cowdray Ruins within Cowdray Park are a Tudor courtier's palace dating from 1520. A fire severely damaged the property in 1793. The palace had some prestigious visitors in its heyday including Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. A visit involves a tour of the Tudor kitchens, the spectacular gatehouse and a visitor centre explaining the history and a shop is on-site. The huge Cowdray Estate is also home to a Polo Club, a Golf Course and Club and various leisure pursuits including fishing, clay pigeon shooting, falconry days and archery. For more details see the Cowdray Ruins and Estate webguides.

Cowdray Estate Office, Cowdray Park, Midhurst, West Sussex GU29 0AQ. Tel.01730 812423. Open 9am to 5.30 pm, Monday to Friday. (Closes for lunch 1 to 2pm).

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Petworth & Petworth House & Park

The cobbled narrow streets of historic market town Petworth are charming, famously lined with antique shops, stylish boutiques, cosy tearooms and character inns and restaurants. Petworth is one of the prettiest towns in the South Downs boasting particularly some spectacular Georgian architecture.

Petworth is home to one of the South's most famous stately homes, the National Trust's treasure Petworth House and Park. A showpiece for some of the National Trust's finest art including work by Turner and set within the magnificent landscaped deer park designed by 'Capability' Brown, Petworth House & Park is a special place. Beginning with the park, parts of which you will inevitably walk through en-route to the central house, covers a mammoth 700 acres and is one of the great English Landscaper Lancelot Brown's most stunning creations. The deers within the park are the oldest herd of fallow deer in England! Capability Brown was at work on Petworth Park from 1751 to 1764 and you'll note his distinctive feature - the Serpentine lake within. The park blends seemlessly with the Downs beyond - a deliberate intention by Brown. On the lake the prominent sculpture of 'The Dog of Alcibiades' was commissioned by the 3rd Earl of Egremont as a memorial to his favourite hound who drowned in the lake. Note too the 17th century stone urns scatted about the park and you will certainly spot the graceful deer who still occasionally come right upto the house.

The centrepiece 17th century mansion house which was painted by JMW Turner contains stunning National Trust owned art including work by Turner, Reynolds, Blake and Van Dyck. Numerous neo-classical sculptures are also inside alongside exquisite furniture and carvings by Grinling Gibbons. Also on view in a tour of the house are the Servants Quarters. The architectural style of the house is distinctly French. The current house, which was rebuilt, dates from 1682 and is thought to have been designed by Daniel Marot a French Huguenot once employed by William III. Read a full history of the house and gardens via the National Trust's website.

Petworth House & Park, Petworth, West Sussex GU28 0AE Telephone.01798 343929 (Infoline). Open from mid-March to early November. A shop and restaurant are on-site. See the National Trust's webguide for specific opening days.

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