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.
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