Goodwood House, West Sussex, England-2Oct2011

Goodwood House is a

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

and estate covering in

Westhampnett Westhampnett (or West Hampnett) is a village and civil parish in the district of Chichester in West Sussex, England, located northeast of Chichester on the former A27 road, now by-passed. The village is pre-Norman and is home to many listed bui ...

Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ci ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...

, England and is the seat of the

Duke of Richmond Duke of Richmond is a title in the Peerage of England that has been created four times in British history. It has been held by members of the royal Tudor dynasty, Tudor and House of Stuart, Stuart families. The current dukedom of Richmond was ...

. The house was built in about 1600 and is a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Description

The house and its grounds are the site of the annual

Goodwood Festival of Speed The Goodwood Festival of Speed is an annual motorsports festival featuring modern and historic motor racing vehicles taking part in a hillclimbing, hill climb and other events, held in the grounds of Goodwood House, West Sussex, England, in l ...

, whilst elsewhere on the estate the Goodwood Circuit motorsport track at

Chichester/Goodwood Airport Chichester/Goodwood Airport , normally referred to as Goodwood Airfield or Goodwood Aerodrome is located north northeast of Chichester, West Sussex, England. Chichester (Goodwood) Aerodrome has a CAA Ordinary Licence (Number P781) that allow ...

hosts the annual

Goodwood Revival The Goodwood Revival is a three-day festival held each September at Goodwood Circuit since 1998 for the types of racing cars and motorcycles that would have competed during the circuit's original period—1948–1966. History The first Revival t ...

, and the airfield has a Flying School.

Goodwood Racecourse Goodwood Racecourse is a horse-racing track five miles north of Chichester, West Sussex, in England controlled by the family of the Duke of Richmond, whose seat is nearby Goodwood House. It hosts the annual Glorious Goodwood meeting in lat ...

hosts "Glorious Goodwood" and a number of other (horse) race meetings. The estate includes two golf courses and a cricket pitch, home to

Goodwood Cricket Club Goodwood Cricket Club is a Sunday cricket team that play in the grounds of Goodwood Park, near Chichester. The ground overlooks Goodwood House and is owned by the Duke of Richmond and Gordon. It is thought to be one of the oldest cricket clu ...

, a hotel and a organic farm. The estate employs over 550 people and attracts 800,000 visitors a year. The headquarters of

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited is a British luxury automobile maker which has operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of BMW AG since 2003 – as the exclusive manufacturer of ''Rolls-Royce''-branded motor cars. The company's administrative ...

is on the Estate. The

Monarch's Way The Monarch's Way is a long-distance footpath in England that approximates the escape route taken by King Charles II in 1651 after being defeated in the Battle of Worcester. It runs from Worcester via Bristol and Yeovil to Shoreham, West Sus ...

long-distance footpath crosses the downs from west to east, passing immediately south of the racecourse. The landscaped park and woodlands of Goodwood are Grade I listed on the

Register of Historic Parks and Gardens The Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England provides a listing and classification system for historic parks and gardens similar to that used for listed buildings. The register is managed by Historic England ...

History

Goodwood House was built

circa Circa is a word of Latin origin meaning 'approximately'. Circa or CIRCA may also refer to: * CIRCA (art platform), art platform based in London * Circa (band), a progressive rock supergroup * Circa (company), an American skateboard footwear com ...

1600 and was acquired by

Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond, 1st Duke of Lennox, (29 July 167227 May 1723), of Goodwood House near Chichester in Sussex, was the youngest of the seven illegitimate sons of King Charles II, and was that king's only son by his French-b ...

in 1697. A South wing was added by Matthew Brettingham and a North wing by

James Wyatt James Wyatt (3 August 1746 – 4 September 1813) was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the neoclassical and neo-Gothic styles. He was elected to the Royal Academy in 1785 and was its president from 1805 to 1806. Early life W ...

. It may be that there was an intention to build the house in a unique octagonal layout, but only three of the eight sides were built and that intention has never been proven.

Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond Field Marshal Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond, 3rd Duke of Lennox, 3rd Duke of Aubigny, (22 February 1735 – 29 December 1806), styled Earl of March until 1750, of Goodwood House in Sussex and of Richmond House in London, was a British ...

commissioned

Sir William Chambers __NOTOC__ Sir William Chambers (23 February 1723 – 10 March 1796) was a Swedish-Scottish architect, based in London. Among his best-known works are Somerset House, and the pagoda at Kew. Chambers was a founder member of the Royal Academy. Biog ...

to design the stable block in 1757 and James Wyatt to design the Kennels, originally for use by the Duke's hunting hounds but now used as a golf club house, in 1787. He also commissioned Goodwood Racecourse, which was established in 1802. The Goodwood Golf Course was laid out in 1901. Chichester/Goodwood Airport was built during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Goodwood Circuit was laid out around the perimeter of the airfield by

Frederick Gordon-Lennox, 9th Duke of Richmond Frederick Charles Gordon Lennox, 9th Duke of Richmond, 9th Duke of Lennox, 9th Duke of Aubigny, 4th Duke of Gordon (5 February 1904 – 2 November 1989) was a British peer, engineer, racing driver, and motor racing promoter. Biography Freddi ...

in 1948. In 1982, the Goodwood estate played host to the World Road Cycling Championships. A large collection of documents from the Goodwood Estate Archives (1418–1984) is held by West Sussex Record Office.

References

External links

*
Goodwood House entry from The DiCamillo Companion to British & Irish Country HousesBrochure with a few pictures of the house
{{Coord, 50.870904, -0.741405, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Buildings and structures in Chichester Goodwood estate Country houses in West Sussex Historic house museums in West Sussex Art museums and galleries in West Sussex Grade I listed buildings in West Sussex Grade I listed houses Grade I listed parks and gardens in West Sussex Defunct real tennis venues