Festival of Speed is our longest-standing Motorsport event, starting in 1993 when it opened to 25,00 people. We were expecting 2000!
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.
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 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
Our gin uses wild-grown botanicals sourced from the estate, and is distilled with mineral water naturally chalk-filtered through the South Downs.
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!
David Edney, head Butler dons a morning suit "and a smile" every day and has been woking at Goodwood for over 25 years!
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!
A 20m woodland rue, from Halnaker to Lavant, was planted by our forestry teams & volunteers, featuring native species like oak, beech, & hornbeam
Mattresses and eiderdowns are stuffed with wool from the Goodwood Estate.
Easy boy! The charismatic Farnham Flyer loved to celebrate every win with a pint of beer. His Boxer dog, Grogger, did too and had a tendancy to steal sips straight from the glass.
Flying jetpacks doesn't have to just be a spectator sport at FOS, you can have a go at our very own Aerodrome!
Sir Stirling Moss was one of the founding patrons of the Festival of Speed, and a regular competitor at the Revival.
For the last two years, 5,800 bales have been recylced into the biomass energy centre to be used for energy generation
Festival of Speed is our longest-standing Motorsport event, starting in 1993 when it opened to 25,00 people. We were expecting 2000!
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!
Sir Stirling Moss was one of the founding patrons of the Festival of Speed, and a regular competitor at the Revival.
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
The red & yellow of the Racecourse can be traced back hundreds of years, even captured in our stunning Stubbs paintings in the Goodwood Collection
King Edward VII (who came almost every year) famously dubbed Glorious Goodwood “a garden party with racing tacked on”.
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 first ever horsebox was used from Goodwood to Doncaster for the 1836 St. Leger. Elis arrived fresh and easily won his owner a £12k bet.
The first ever horsebox was used from Goodwood to Doncaster for the 1836 St. Leger. Elis arrived fresh and easily won his owner a £12k bet.
The Motor Circuit was known as RAF Westhampnett, active from 1940 to 1946 as a Battle of Britain station.
Flying training began at Goodwood in 1940 when pilots were taught operational flying techniques in Hurricanes and Spitfires.
One of the greatest golfers of all time, James Braid designed Goodwood’s iconic Downland course, opened in 1914.
A temple-folly guarded by two sphinxes, the beautiful shell house was built in 1748 with collected shells and the floor made from horse teeth.
The Motor Circuit was known as RAF Westhampnett, active from 1940 to 1946 as a Battle of Britain station.
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.
Flying training began at Goodwood in 1940 when pilots were taught operational flying techniques in Hurricanes and Spitfires.
The famous fighter ace, who flew his last sortie from Goodwood Aerodrome, formerly RAF Westhampnett has a statue in his honor within the airfield.
The famous fighter ace, who flew his last sortie from Goodwood Aerodrome, formerly RAF Westhampnett has a statue in his honor within the airfield.
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.
Head Butler David Edney has worked at Buckingham Palace taking part in Dinner Parties for the then Duke of Richmond and the Queen.
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.
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.
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 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
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 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.
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 iconic spitfire covered almost 43,000 kilometres and visited over 20 countries on its epic journey and currently resides at our Aerodrome.
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.
Easy boy! The charismatic Farnham Flyer loved to celebrate every win with a pint of beer. His Boxer dog, Grogger, did too and had a tendancy to steal sips straight from the glass.
Our gin uses wild-grown botanicals sourced from the estate, and is distilled with mineral water naturally chalk-filtered through the South Downs.
Flying training began at Goodwood in 1940 when pilots were taught operational flying techniques in Hurricanes and Spitfires.
The famous fighter ace, who flew his last sortie from Goodwood Aerodrome, formerly RAF Westhampnett has a statue in his honor within the airfield.
Testament to the 19th-century fascination with ancient Egypt and decorative opulence. The room is richly detailed with gilded cartouches, sphinxes, birds and crocodiles.
Dismissed by Enzo Ferrari as mere “garagistes”, the Cooper Car Company nevertheless had a lasting influence on motorsport and racing-car design. We trace the rise and fall of the Surbiton-based business born out of a passion for hillclimbing.
Words by Peter Hall
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A “make do and mend” mentality was one of the few resources freely available in post-war Britain, so in June 1946, when motorsport enthusiasts John Cooper and Eric Brandon decided to get into hillclimbing – that is, racing cars up hills – they used whatever they could find. With John’s father Charles, owner of Cooper’s garage in Hollyfield Road, Surbiton, they set about building a lightweight machine using the front suspension assemblies from two scrap Fiat Topolinos bolted to each end of a simple ladder chassis and a 500cc JAP motorcycle engine mounted behind the driver, allowing chain drive to the rear axle. Five weeks later, John drove the car at Prescott Hillclimb, little realising that he was kick-starting a motorsport revolution.
Despite numerous teething troubles – the engine mountings had to be reinforced with agricultural plough handles – the miniature racer showed promise. The mid-engined layout was purely pragmatic, but concentrating the weight between the front and rear wheels also gave the car excellent balance. So many enthusiasts wanted one that in 1947 the Cooper Car Company was founded. It would soon become the world's largest specialist builder of racing cars. The founders hired engineer Owen “The Beard” Maddock, coincidentally the son of the architect who designed the Surbiton factory, whose lateral thinking and draughtsmanship were increasingly valued as technical drawings replaced sketches on the walls.
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Cooper supplied cars for the likes of Stirling Moss, Peter Collins, Ken Tyrrell and Bernie Ecclestone, and dominated the new 500cc F3 category. One even qualified for the 1950 Monaco Grand Prix. For 1952, it produced a front-engined F2 car that gave Mike Hawthorn two wins and a second place at Goodwood’s Easter Monday meeting and fourth at the Belgian GP, but the advantages of putting the engine behind the driver were fully realised in 1955 with the Coventry Climax-powered “Bobtail” sports car. Like the 500, it offered superior handling, so a single-seater version was built for F2. A few eyebrows were raised when Cooper works driver Jack Brabham took this T43 to sixth place at the 1957 Monaco GP (pushing it over the line after running out of fuel) but when Moss and Maurice Trintignant used similar cars to win the 1958 Argentine and Monaco GPs, the racing world sat up and took notice.
In 1959, Cooper asked Climax to supply a 2.5-litre engine for F1 and Moss drove the resulting T51 to its first victory in the Glover Trophy at Goodwood. Brabham went on to win the F1 World Championship (despite again having to push his car over the line at Sebring) and repeated the feat in 1960. As midengined machines were clearly lighter, nimbler and more aerodynamic, Cooper’s revolution was unstoppable; Enzo Ferrari disparaged them as mere “garagistes” but teams such as Lotus and BRM refined Cooper’s approach and established a British technical dominance in F1 that persists to this day.
As the competition intensified, Cooper’s fortunes declined and there were further setbacks when John was badly injured in 1963 and when Charles died in 1964. The F1 team was sold in 1965, struggling on until 1969, while the factory was leased to the Metropolitan Police in 1968 (it is now a Porsche dealership).
However, there was another legacy. Following the 1959 launch of the Alec Issigonis-designed Mini, John Cooper had conceived a competition version with a bigger engine and disc brakes, and persuaded not only BMC but his friend Issigonis to develop it. The Mini Cooper and Cooper S appeared in 1961 and 1964 respectively and enjoyed decades of success in motorsport, also carving a cultural niche for themselves in the 1969 film The Italian Job . Today, 60 years since they distinguished the works F1 cars from all the other British Racing Green machines on the grid, Cooper’s twin bonnet stripes are still a common sight – in Surbiton and beyond – on BMW’s re-imagined MINI.
This article was taken from the Autumn 2019 edition of the Goodwood Magazine.
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