insideSUSSEX Magazine Issue 19 - September 2016 | Page 77

TOWNSPOTLIGHT

S P OT L I G H T

O N

PETWORTH

BY LISAMARIE LAMB

Petworth could well be the most perfectly placed town in West Sussex – it’s just 30 minutes
from the beautiful coast, and only an hour from London. For commuters it’s ideal, offering an
easy route into the city as well as lots of open space in which to make the most of precious
downtime. For those who are just visiting there is plenty to do, from impressive stately homes
and museums to nature reserves and more. The pretty town is also close to many other famous
and fun attractions such as Arundel Castle, Chichester Cathedral and Amberley Working
Museum, so it’s ideally situated for an entire weekend of sightseeing.

History in Brief
Although Petworth is indeed mentioned in
the infamous Domesday Book, it wasn’t until
the Second World War when anything much
happened there to make it stand out from
the crowd. During this time, the town was
heavily bombed, and although the bombs
were aimed at Petworth House itself, they all
missed. Tragically, one of the bombs landed on
Petworth Boys’ School, killing 28 pupils

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as well as the headmaster and an assistant
teacher. Until then, the peaceful market town
of Petworth was really left to its own devices.
In fact, the market square in the town was
created in around 1541 (today Leconfield Hall
stands over the site of this original square),
although it is suggested that for at least 300
years before that a market was taking place in
the historic town.