Plum Gifts Petworth - Christmas Lights

Plum is a gift shop in the High Street in Petworth.

They stock a wide range of interesting gifty items. Their Christmas window was very tasteful in 2008, and they also showed some enterprise in getting a display of  some of their lines in the window of a currently empty shop window by the newsagents - thus doubling their window shopping display area at a stroke!

The photo doesn't really do them justice - my hand was shaking as I took it.  For a better idea have a look at their website. http://www.plumgifts.co.uk/

Switching on the Christmas Lights

The big event in Petworth this week was the switching on of the Christmas lights in the Market Square. There had been lots of rumours going around the town about who the celebrity was who was going to switch the lights on. It had at one point going to be local resident John Sargent - who had agreed to do it long before he became a household name and national treasure. Some people had said it was going to be Michel Pierre White, others thought that some elves had been approached from the Pantomime in Chichester. On the day itself Ricky Gervais was spotted in town and word went round that he was the mystery celebrity. (He has mentioned Petworth in his blog, see Week 40, but doesn't confirm this story.) In the event, nobody could have predicted the actual surprise in store for the people of Petworth, none other than Julie Stardust wife of the actual Alvin Stardust. To get Scrooge from the pantomime at the same time was yet another coup. Speculation on who will be next year's celebrity will probably start as soon as the lights come down again in January. See the lights being put up in Petworth here.

Horse Guards Hotel Tillington

The Horse Guards is without doubt one of the best pubs in the Petworth area. It is just outside the town, along the A272 exactly the other side of Petworth Park.

The food is excellent, but unlike a lot of pubs with good food it is still basically a pub with a bar you can stand at and have a drink.

Find out more at their website.

Horses and Carts in Petworth Park June 2008

I came across this short clip of some horses and carts I saw one Sunday afternoon in June in Petworth Park.

I don't know what the event was or anything about it. Please let me know if you do!

Riverbank Petworth

One of the many antique shops in Petworth, Riverbank specialises in boats but also usually has some other interesting stuff like telescopes and barometers. Always worth a look in the window.

The Past and Present Shop Petworth

Petworth has a wealth of interesting and unusual shops, and the High Street is one of the best places to find them. I suppose at a push you would have to describe the Past and Present shop as an antique shop, but it has more of the atmosphere of a scene from a novel by Dickens.

Tiffins Petworth

Tiffins is a tea shop down the High Street in Petworth. It has recently been taken over by a new person, who I think you can see looking out the front door in the picture. I haven't been in since the changeover but I have noticed that there are more customers in there when I go by so I imagine that the change has been for the better. It was quite okay before anyway. It is quite a small place so it doesn't take many people to fill it up.

(I have just walked by on a wet Saturday afternoon and it was full to the brim with happy looking customers. I will try and get in there to give it a proper review soon.)

Tiffins has a much fuller menu and more tables, but the Coco Café Sugar Lounge is another place you can get a cup of tea in Petworth.

St Marys Church Petworth

You can't really miss St Marys on a visit to Petworth as it is on high ground and the tower is visible from many points around the town.  It is particularly nice to approach it up Lombard Street from the Market Square.
Petworth doesn't really have any picturesque churches.  St Marys is arguably the most gruesome of the three, though the catholic church gives it some competition.  An incongruous 1950s tower on a much older building gives a discordant blend of brick and stone.  It probably looked a lot better with the old tower.  I will see if I can discover the reason for the change.
The interior is much more interesting with lots of plaques commemorating local worthies.  The one I find most intriguing is the one to a Victorian organist called George Frederick Handel Turner.  I suppose having been christened with a name like that you really have to become a musician.
Although visually unappealing the sound of the bells is very nice both on Sundays and during the regular practices during the week. 
The other great redeeming feature is that it is a great community centre and facility for local people.  It regularly hosts concerts and events and is one of the main venues for the Petworth Music Festival.

Lord Egremont Memorial Junction of East Street and Church Street Petworth

This amazing wrought iron memorial was designed by Sir Charles Barry, the architect of the House of Commons. It was erected by the town to thank Lord Egremont for laying on gas lighting for the town.

The rather striking Georgian building to the right in the picture is today an antique shop but was at one time the studio of the artist Turner.  It was also a library at one stage.

The memorial is decorated for Xmas as part of the general Petworth lighting. For some reason this has been turned on before the rest of them so here is an entertaining video of them in action for people who can't get to see them in person. (Best played with the sound down.)

Putting Up the Christmas Lights in Petworth November 2008

The Christmas lights in Petworth are put up by volunteers from the town.

Here are the lights being put up in New Street between the Red Lion and Artful Teasing on November 2nd 2008.

This job is done on Sunday mornings in November in time for the fair held in the Market Square in November. The lights are officially turned on by a celebrity on the evening of the first Saturday in December. There are stalls in the square and most of the shops stay open late and put on special displays. All in all it is a very enjoyable day.

Old Photos of Petworth

Photographer Francis Frith has a website with 47 old photos of Petworth on it.

The set starts here

Francis Frith Old Photos of Petworth

They are all for sale at fairly reasonable prices.

Biggest Problem in Petworth - Lorries and their SatNav

There isn't really any reason for big lorries to come through Petworth. It is just as quick to avoid the town whether the destination is Chichester or further west. The trouble is that the Satnav that the lorries use doesn't seem to take account of the narrow streets in Petworth. As a result there are regular instances of lorries getting stuck or even demolishing ancient buildings. This Tesco lorry got stuck in between Artful Teasing and the Cannon Gallery (Now Giovanna Ticciati). I don't know what the answer is, but I hope someone comes up with a solution soon, or Petworth will become a tourist attraction for people who like seeing lorry crashes.

Catholic Church Petworth

The catholic church in Petworth is built in a very old fashioned style but was actually constructed in the thirties.  Even now it still looks a bit odd as a result, though no doubt another century on and it will look very traditional.

It is located in an out of the way part of the town and its churchyard is separated from it.

I wouldn't describe it as a building of any architectural interest but the flower beds are well kept and very nice to look at.

Meghdoots

 

Meghdoot's is an Indian restaurant, but it isn't like your average Indian restaurant. If you are looking for some spicy sauce to follow a night of serious drinking you will probably do better going somewhere else. I'm not knocking conventional curry houses here - I like something nice and spicy and easy to digest after I've had a few beers as much as anyone. The only trouble is that it might put you off going to an Indian restaurant simply to enjoy some good food.  But please don't be put off of Meghdoots.

Meghdoot's has its own distinctive style of cooking. For a start, before you even pick up your knife and fork you can see that they use good ingredients. The chicken looks like chicken, and you can tell which bit of the bird you are eating for instance. Fried onions have the appearance of having been cut and fried just before being served.  The menu is very helpful giving not only the names of the dishes - which didn't help me very much - but also a description of the dish so you can order with some idea of what you are going to get even if you don't really know much about the cuisine.

On our last visit we had some kebabed chicken with ginger and some lamb in an orange sauce - not a combination I would have thought of but one which worked really well. The flavours are subtle and very enjoyable. We had some very well cooked rice with it. It was very light and not remotely sticky. The prices are a bit higher than a typical curry house, but don't really reflect how much above average the food is.

The wine list seemed okay - I don't really have any idea about wine but picking a mid priced one gave a very reasonable tasting one.  I am not really very interested in wine so a wine buff might have a different view. 

All in all, highly recommended - but don't go after a night's drinking.

Meghdoots

The Market Square

Petworth's current layout is a fairly new one, having to live with the demands of the modern road network. The A272 runs through the middle of town including through the historic market square. The name is an old one but easy enough to understand. The square is still the home of regular markets and is also used for many local events.

One of the regular fairs held in it is the Charter Fair. This is a fair held by a royal charter, the charter in this case going back to the reign of Edward IV many centuries ago. There are also much more modern Farmers' Markets and the French Market. The French Market, frankly, isn't all that special even if you are a francophile. (In fact especially if you are a francophile.) The Farmers' Market on the other hand is well worth a visit. There are plenty of stalls selling local produce.

The centre piece of the square is the Leconfield Hall, which seems to be pretty old (note to self - do some research). The bust of William III is interesting, but the building doesn't look quite as old as his reign. It is used today as the cultural centre of the town, a handy venue for social evenings and for more serious public meetings as well. It has its own website, http://www.leconfieldhall.org.uk which has a distinctive design and which lists what is going on there. I find it quite endearing that the website gives no details whatever about the history of the building or any background on its architectural significance, but does give a rundown of the state of the curtains inside. This is obviously a working building and not just an historical relic.

Shimmings Valley

The Shimmings Valley is directly to the East of Petworth. You can reach it from Bartons Lane which is just opposite St Marys Church.

The traces of medieval field systems are still visible. These the slight ridges you can see in the grass and a remnant of the terraces that at one time would have made it possible to grow food on the slopes.

It is a feeding area for the rare barbastelle bat from Ebernoe Common, one of Britain's rarest mammmals.   In summer at dusk you often see these bats flying along the length of the valley. On the wing they don't really look different to any other kind of bat but they do fly much straighter giving an appearance of single-mindedness.

More information on the barbastelle bat.

And here is proof that I am not the only person who loves the Shimmings Valley.

The Angel Inn Petworth

The Angel in doesn't look anywhere near as old as it must be. It seems to date back to at the least the seventeenth century and possibly much older.

It has a unique place in history being one of the main places that Winston Churchill planned the Normandy invasions.

Until a couple of years ago it had fallen into disuse and has now been re-opened as an up-market hotel and restaurant. It has an olde worlde feel to it which is very pleasant. But there is no doubting that it is currently being run more as a hotel and restaurant than a pub. You want to go there to eat rather than for a drink. It doesn't really cater for passing trade. It is a bit out of the middle of town so it might not actually get much passing trade if it did cater for it.

The food gets mixed reviews. I have never enjoyed anything I have eaten there, but I have heard people speak very highly of it. And the rooms are apparently very sumptuous.

On the plus side you are about 100 yards from the superb Shimmings valley.

So it is not really a local's pub or somewhere that you can drop into. But a nice location with great views nearby and plenty of history. There is more detail of the actual accomodation on the Angel Petworth website.

Fresh produce being delivered to the Angel, early on a Saturday morning.

Petworth Festival 2008 - a triumph?

The organiser declares this year's Petworth Festival a triumph. Well maybe. The one I went to was very enjoyable. It really is rather amazing that a town the size of Petworth has a festival at all let alone one that attracts world class performers like June Tabor. Judging by how hard it was to park outside my house most nights it was certainly well attended. I can't help thinking though that the last minute decision to cancel the big public spectacle in Market Square was a huge mistake that coloured the whole atmosphere of the festival. The reason given was health and safety concerns. But many events take place in Market Square without any problems. (The clue is in the name.) One particular event, the Charter Fair, has been going on since the Middle Ages. I really really hope that this hasn't set a precedent. One of the great joys of living in Petworth is that the town gets used as a proper town with things going on in its centre, despite it being bang on an A road. The Christmas celebrations there are particularly magical. If the Music Festival makes it difficult for future events in the Square, that will be very bad news indeed.

Cobbett in Petworth

Although not that well known today, in his own day William Cobbett was a power in the land. He was a radical journalist originally from Farnham who came to prominence railing against the government in the economic dislocation following the end of the Napoleonic wars. His greatest work was his collection of Rural Rides. He would set out on horse from his home in Kensington and keep a journal of his observations. In the days before the railways Petworth was a fairly major communication centre and he passed through it several times. He was most interested in the condition of the rural poor and to Cobbett's eyes Petworth probably seemed like a fairly major urban area. He didn't spend much time describing it. He was however very favourably disposed to Lord Leconfield, commenting that he was a landlord who looked after his tenants. To Cobbett the legitimate aristocracy were much to be preferred over new money - the people he referred to as speculators and stock jobbers. He was also impressed by the solidity of the town which he attributed to the skillful use of the local stone. It is a shame he didn't write more about Petworth as the William Cobbett society is now based in Tillington just 2 miles up the road from it. http://www.williamcobbett.org.uk/

June Tabor at St Marys Petworth 16th June 2008

They say that people forget nearly everything but they never forget how you make them feel. This must be true. Back in the Seventies as a teenager I heard a song on the radio by June Tabor. I don't remember the tune or the name of the song, but I do remember it made the hairs on the back of my head stand up. Since then I have heard a bit more of her music, though not much. And I have heard her spoken about with great respect by people who know about this sort of thing. So when I saw she was appearing at the Petworth Music Festival, literally at the end of my road, I knew I had to go. June Tabor is a folk singer, but in the sense that Bob Dylan is a folk singer, or Stubbs is a horse painter. She is really just June Tabor. Sometimes she sings folk songs. Tonight she was with a group called Quercus that comprised an excellent pianist and a saxophonist and of course June herself. She is a short woman who sort of sneaks onto stage without any fanfare. She opened by going straight into Brigg Fair unintroduced and unaccompanied and instantly filled the church. Her voice is pure but characterful and easily fits into any style. She could easily have taken up any number of musical options but I am glad that she has chosen to concentrate on traditional songs. They really work well the way she sings them. But she happily threw in Mad About the Boy by Noel Coward. But for me the highlight of the night was an arrangement of one Housman's Shropshire Lad cycle arranged by George Butterworth. This sad song describes the missing faces from a Shropshire fair due to losses in a far off war. As the song ended and before the accompaniament had finished she pointed out that Butterworth himself was killed at the age of 31 on the Somme. Even nearly a hundred years after the event it still brings a tear to the eye. The two musicians with her had some time to play on their own which was pleasant. The big surprise was just how jazzy the evening was. A night to remember.

Welcome to Petworth

Petworth is an historic market town on the A272 in West Sussex. In fact historic doesn't really do justice to it: it packs an amazing amount of history into its small size. It is near to Horsham, Chichester and Guildford and before the development of railways and the motor car was an important settlement. It is mainly famous for the large stately home, Petworth House, which is situated bang in the middle of town. It is also known all around the world for its antique shops. You can't throw a stick in Petworth without hitting one.

But it is also well provided with other interesting shops. There are upmarket clothes shops, an independent off-license and a chocolate shop selling Belgian chocolates as well as some less well known but just as delicious English ones. It benefits from being big enough to support a reasonable sized retail area but is too small to attract the big high street chains. It is also the base of Renotherm, one of the country's premier loft insulation providers. The posh people's personal care brand, Artful Teasing, also operates from the town and has a small shop there. If that weren't enough, the Sofa Workshop started in Petworth - though it has now outgrown it and has moved elsewhere. All in all a lot packed into what is quite a small locality.

It is also still a lived in town with local traditions and real people doing real jobs. It isn't a dormitory town for London or a pickled facade of old buildings with no life in them. It has a town band, and on Remembrance Sunday you see a parade of old soldiers with their medals.

But the overwhelming appeal of Petworth for the tourist is the interesting and diverse architecture and views. This blog aims to show as much as it can of this intriguing and characterful town.