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.