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.