I’m happy to introduce a new contributor to PoP, hipchickindc.
A few days ago someone mentioned the original Petworth in a comment. I thought it might be fun to take a little virtual tour of Ye Olde Petworth, the one that exists, and has existed for a really long time, back in West Sussex, England. Before I go on, I apologize for the quality of the pics. These are vintage 80’s, mostly taken in the rain, with a film camera that I didn’t know how to use so well.
I actually came across the English Petworth before I ever knew about the DC Petworth, so when I first discovered DC Petworth, it was somewhat of a novelty. My parents have family friends that live in Petworth, England, and I went to visit them when I was traveling in 1986.
Petworth is both the name of a grand manor house (think Merchant and Ivory films), as well the small village that surrounds it. The original manor house and town were built in the 13th century. As one who particularly appreciates the history and hundred year old architecture of DC, the concept of buildings so many times older is staggering.
Story continues after the jump.
The current manor house, known as Petworth House, was built in the late 17th century. A chapel and undercroft are all that remain of the 13th century buildings that were part of the estate. Petworth House is best known for having provided inspiration to the painter, J.M.W. Turner, and for having been landscaped by Capability Brown.
The 700 acre park is managed by the National Trust and is home to a large herd of deer and other wildlife. The following are drawings I made of the park.
I hope you’ve enjoyed our brief virtual visit. If you’d like to see more, there are quite a few good shots of Petworth and Petworth House to be found on flickr.com.
If anybody wants to read the story of how I got to Petworth (England not DC), it’s here: http://open.salon.com/content.
Best wishes, hipchickindc
Nice! Thank you.
So now we have a self-appointed Prince and a self-proclaimed hip girl person.. it getting better every day!
Nice post, hipchickindc!
I loved the story! Thank you for the lunchtime break, and we’ll see if I can be a little risky at work later this afternoon!
A buncha Turners are here in DC at the fancypants museums, maybe some depict Petworth House…
this is very interesting–thanks for sharing. any more photos out there??
How very Masterpiece! “It was at Petworth House that Anne first met Mr. Willoughby. She found his manner altogether charming. The same, however, could not be said of Anne’s father, Sir Thomas…”
Enjoyed your entry about the real Petworth. It caught my eye because in 1986 I was living in Petworth – might have bumped into you! Especially liked your photo of North St – very moody and also the drawing (assumed this was the lake in the park, well done). I miss the place I remember as a boy but since those days, Petworth (although looking largely the same on the outside) has lost something of its soul as a ‘real’ market town and become an antique centre for the few that can now afford to live there. hell even the pubs were changed into antique shops. The magic of that historical town certainly made an impression on me growing up there (which is why I keep a google alert on it and how i found your artical – thanks again.
Thanks for the nice comments! (Hi Mr T!)
GforGood, I might also possibly answer to ‘Princess of Bloomingdale’, although, honestly, I’m not much the Princess type.
A. Non, it was a very short visit but if you grew up in Petworth, given the size of the town you no doubt know my hosts.
This drawing: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hipchickindc/2776067271/ was also supposed to accompany (looks like the first drawing got accidentally uploaded twice).
Here is a nice (not mine) photo of Petworth House from flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10888895@N08/2279958878/
If you open that page and put “Petworth England” in the search bar, there will be lots more pics to look at.
Mr. W. is so affable.