The Fiat S76 or "Beast of Turin" is a Goodwood favourite and can usually be heard before it is seen at #FOS
Spectate from the chicane at the Revival to see plenty of classic cars going sideways as they exit this infamous point of our Motor Circuit.
One Summer, King Edward VII turned his back on the traditional morning suit, and donned a linen suit and Panama hat. Thus the Glorious Goodwood trend was born.
King Edward VII (who came almost every year) famously dubbed Glorious Goodwood “a garden party with racing tacked on”.
Built in 1787 by celebrated architect James Wyatt to house the third Duke of Richmond’s prized fox hounds, The Kennels was known as one of the most luxurious dog houses in the world!
The origins of the collection lay in the possessions of Louise de Keroualle, Duchess of Portsmouth, and Duchess of Aubigny in France, to whom some of the paintings originally belonged.
Built in 1787 by celebrated architect James Wyatt to house the third Duke of Richmond’s prized fox hounds, The Kennels was known as one of the most luxurious dog houses in the world!
Nick Heidfelds 1999 (41.6s) hillclimb record was beaten after Max Chilton in his McMurtry Spéirling fan car tore it to shreds at 39.08s in 2022!
The stunning fish which adorn the walls of the main corridor are hand crafted and represent the fishing documents from Gordon Castle of 1864-1898.
Whoa Simon! A horse so determined and headstrong, he not only won the 1883 Goodwood Cup by 20 lengths, but couldn't be stopped and carried on running over the top of Trundle hill
The Fiat S76 or "Beast of Turin" is a Goodwood favourite and can usually be heard before it is seen at #FOS
Legend of Goodwood's golden racing era and Le Mans winner Roy Salvadori once famously said "give me Goodwood on a summer's day and you can forget the rest".
The first thing ever dropped at Goodwood was a cuddly elephant which landed in 1932 just as the 9th Duke of Richmonds passion for flying was taking off.
FOS Favourite Mad Mike Whiddett can be caught melting tyres in his incredible collection of cars (and trucks) up the hillclimb
Flying jetpacks doesn't have to just be a spectator sport at FOS, you can have a go at our very own Aerodrome!
King Edward VII (who came almost every year) famously dubbed Glorious Goodwood “a garden party with racing tacked on”.
The first public race meeting took place in 1802 and, through the nineteenth century, ‘Glorious Goodwood,’ as the press named it, became a highlight of the summer season
Leading women of business, sport, fashion and media, take part in one of the most exciting horseracing events in the world.
One Summer, King Edward VII turned his back on the traditional morning suit, and donned a linen suit and Panama hat. Thus the Glorious Goodwood trend was born.
Leading women of business, sport, fashion and media, take part in one of the most exciting horseracing events in the world.
Festival of Speed is our longest-standing Motorsport event, starting in 1993 when it opened to 25,00 people. We were expecting 2000!
The Motor Circuit was known as RAF Westhampnett, active from 1940 to 1946 as a Battle of Britain station.
One of the greatest golfers of all time, James Braid designed Goodwood’s iconic Downland course, opened in 1914.
A 20m woodland rue, from Halnaker to Lavant, was planted by our forestry teams & volunteers, featuring native species like oak, beech, & hornbeam
We have been host to many incredible film crews using Goodwood as a backdrop for shows like Downton Abbey, Hollywood Blockbusters like Venom: let there be Carnage and the Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Goodwood Motor Circuit was officially opened in September 1948 when Freddie March, the 9th Duke and renowned amateur racer, tore around the track in a Bristol 400
The first ever round of golf played at Goodwood was in 1914 when the 6th Duke of Richmond opened the course on the Downs above Goodwood House.
The first ever round of golf played at Goodwood was in 1914 when the 6th Duke of Richmond opened the course on the Downs above Goodwood House.
One of the greatest golfers of all time, James Braid designed Goodwood’s iconic Downland course, opened in 1914.
The iconic spitfire covered almost 43,000 kilometres and visited over 20 countries on its epic journey and currently resides at our Aerodrome.
The first thing ever dropped at Goodwood was a cuddly elephant which landed in 1932 just as the 9th Duke of Richmonds passion for flying was taking off.
According to Head Butler at Goodwood House David Edney "Class, sophistication and discretion".
Built in 1787 by celebrated architect James Wyatt to house the third Duke of Richmond’s prized fox hounds, The Kennels was known as one of the most luxurious dog houses in the world!
Ensure you take a little time out together to pause and take in the celebration of all the hard work you put in will be a treasured memory.
Leading women of business, sport, fashion and media, take part in one of the most exciting horseracing events in the world.
The first ever round of golf played at Goodwood was in 1914 when the 6th Duke of Richmond opened the course on the Downs above Goodwood House.
Ray Hanna famously flew straight down Goodwood’s pit straight below the height of the grandstands at the first Revival in 1998
As the private clubhouse for all of the Estate’s sporting and social members, it offers personal service and a relaxed atmosphere
Our gin uses wild-grown botanicals sourced from the estate, and is distilled with mineral water naturally chalk-filtered through the South Downs.
We have been host to many incredible film crews using Goodwood as a backdrop for shows like Downton Abbey, Hollywood Blockbusters like Venom: let there be Carnage and the Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Flying training began at Goodwood in 1940 when pilots were taught operational flying techniques in Hurricanes and Spitfires.
Testament to the 19th-century fascination with ancient Egypt and decorative opulence. The room is richly detailed with gilded cartouches, sphinxes, birds and crocodiles.
Our gin uses wild-grown botanicals sourced from the estate, and is distilled with mineral water naturally chalk-filtered through the South Downs.
We have been host to many incredible film crews using Goodwood as a backdrop for shows like Downton Abbey, Hollywood Blockbusters like Venom: let there be Carnage and the Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Testament to the 19th-century fascination with ancient Egypt and decorative opulence. The room is richly detailed with gilded cartouches, sphinxes, birds and crocodiles.
Built in 1787 by celebrated architect James Wyatt to house the third Duke of Richmond’s prized fox hounds, The Kennels was known as one of the most luxurious dog houses in the world!
From Hackney hipsters to royalty, keeping chickens has never been cooler – but what does your pick of poultry say about you?
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Words by James Collard
Photos by Joshua Kittle
Keeping hens for their eggs has long been part of country life – a genteel pastime, as in Pride and Prejudice, where Charlotte Lucas, while married to dismal Mr Collins, nonetheless found pleasure in “her home and her housekeeping, her parish and her poultry”. And in the right hands, a well-run chicken coop can be positively chic. Witness Debo, Duchess of Devonshire’s chickens, which not only laid eggs, but once figured as rather unusual table decorations. For when the fashion designer Oscar de la Renta came to Chatsworth, a Buff Cochin cockerel “of steady temperament, especially washed for the occasion” adorned the dining room in place of flowers, though the scene-stealers proved to be some freshly hatched chicks, snuggled into hay-filled china baskets. “They were only a day old, which was very handy,” Debo recalled, “as they knew no different and thought it was all perfectly normal.”
Yet hen-keeping isn’t just a rural pursuit. It was The Good Life’s Barbara and Tom who shocked their neighbours, Margo and Jerry, by introducing chickens to leafy, suburban Surbiton back in 1975, and today chickens can be urban creatures – edgy even. Think of Hackney City Farm’s flock of Light Sussex hens, producing a steady 45 eggs a day to be bought and consumed by local hipsters. And arguably in 2020 – this strangest of all years – keeping hens has become part of the zeitgeist. Society bible Tatler just declared hen-keeping as U in a piece about post-Covid U and Non-U mores. According to Country Life’s Kate Green, “People are re-thinking their lives. And if there’s no need to commute, or to catch a train for a half-hour meeting that you can easily do on Zoom, then keeping hens is suddenly a much easier, desirable option.”
“I think a lot of people got hens during lockdown,” agrees writer and literary salon host Damian Barr, who has kept hens for 10 years now, describing them as more than pets, “almost family members... When I go down to see my local chicken lady, she says she can’t get them fast enough. There was massive anxiety and panic buying and you couldn’t get eggs, and it’s a comforting thought to have your own supply.”
But if keeping hens is fashionable, might some hens be more fashionable than others? Not too long ago, Tatler ran a column headlined “What your pet hen says about you”, arguing that “the kind of hen you own reveals more about you than you might initially think.” If you have Lincolnshire Buff hens, Tatler declared, “you’re a stickler for manners. If people don’t write thank-you letters, they’re out.” Buff Orpingtons? You’re ex-Army, no-nonsense and like your “hens to be efficient layers... sturdy and reliable – like a tank.” And people who keep Sussex hens? “You want an easy run of things. No fuss... Drink gin as and when the mood takes you.” The piece was playful, obviously – owners of Dorking hens can’t really all be “into past-life regression and pottery”. But the fact remains that as breeds of hens have particular qualities, characteristics – even characters – so they appeal to different poultry keepers. Some hens make “wonderful mothers”, even foster mothers (if you’re breeding from your hens); some forage well when they’re free-range – others are too lazy, but make nice pets; some lay exquisitely coloured eggs, and bantams can flourish in tiny gardens (foxes permitting), while other hens are (whisper these words when you’re around hens) “dual-purpose”... in other words, just what is it you’re looking for in a hen – eggs, love, meat – or all of the above?
But feathery fashions change. As a keeper of hens (“from the age of five”), regular show judge and editor of Fancy Fowl Magazine, the Poultry Club’s Jed Dwight has seen new breeds such as the Serama become fashionable among early-adopting hen-fanciers in recent years. And then there is the Silkie – a comedic, fluffy-looking thing, which small children adore and which tolerates small children well. But Silkies lay small eggs in very small numbers – and they’re not remotely hardy. Their fluffy, fur-like plumage gives no protection from wet English weather and there are few sights so sad as a Silkie that’s been left out in the rain. They might do as cosseted pets, but can any self-respecting countryman or countrywoman really tolerate such a namby-pamby creature in preference to a hardy native breed?
Royal connections can lend a hen a certain cachet, as Dwight explains. “The Queen Mother kept Orpingtons, which were then taken on by Prince Charles” – who is the Poultry Club’s Patron – while as long ago as the 15th century, we’re told Richard III’s penchant for Rosecombs made them toney among the Lincolnshire gentry. More recently, as elsewhere in the farmyard, there is a growing interest in rare breeds – what we might call recherché chickens – as championed by the Rare Poultry Society, such as the charmingly named Marsh Daisy, the oddly named Rumpless Game and the ever-more highly prized Indian Game, which some advocates insist could be the British answer to France’s Bresse chicken, coveted for its excellent meat. (Just don’t refer to it by its old name, Cornish Game. “It’s a faux pas to call it that now,” explains Green.)
But what writer and hen-lover India Knight calls her “bog standard brown hybrids” also have their fans – hybrids being great layers, although the initially sluggish native breeds often lay for longer. But Knight also has “six very friendly Buff Orpingtons – they look like Victorian ladies. I love their portliness and decorum.” Keeping hens, she explains, is “very addictive”. Asked to describe the appeal, she declares, “I love everything about hens, from the way they look to their delicious eggs. They are so characterful and comical. I often go and sit with them and watch them, sometimes for an hour at a time, or sometimes I take my laptop out and go and write close to them. They’re very soothing, so clucky and contented. They just potter.”
This article is taken from the Goodwood Magazine, Autumn/Winter 2020 issue.
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