Found on the lawn at FOS is the finest concours d'elegance in the world, where the most beautiful cars are presented
Sir Stirling Moss was one of the founding patrons of the Festival of Speed, and a regular competitor at the Revival.
The red & yellow of the Racecourse can be traced back hundreds of years, even captured in our stunning Stubbs paintings in the Goodwood Collection
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
Just beyond Goodwood House along the Hillclimb, the 2nd Dukes banqueting house was also known as "one of the finest rooms in England" (George Vertue 1747).
Flying training began at Goodwood in 1940 when pilots were taught operational flying techniques in Hurricanes and Spitfires.
The Duke of Richmond holds the title of Duke of Richmond and Gordon. This title reflects the historical association with both the Richmond and Gordon families.
A huge variety of glassware is available for each wine, all labelled by grape type to give the best flavour profile.
Our gin uses wild-grown botanicals sourced from the estate, and is distilled with mineral water naturally chalk-filtered through the South Downs.
Festival of Speed is our longest-standing Motorsport event, starting in 1993 when it opened to 25,00 people. We were expecting 2000!
Sir Stirling Moss was one of the founding patrons of the Festival of Speed, and a regular competitor at the Revival.
The Fiat S76 or "Beast of Turin" is a Goodwood favourite and can usually be heard before it is seen at #FOS
For safety reasons F1 cars can no longer do official timed runs so instead perform stunning demonstrations!
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!
Our replica of the famous motor show showcases the "cars of the future" in true Revival style
The bricks lining the Festival of Speed startline are 100 years old and a gift from the Indianapolis Speedway "Brickyard" in 2011 to mark their centenary event!
The red & yellow of the Racecourse can be traced back hundreds of years, even captured in our stunning Stubbs paintings in the Goodwood Collection
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
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
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 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 Fiat S76 or "Beast of Turin" is a Goodwood favourite and can usually be heard before it is seen at #FOS
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 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.
Inspired by the legendary racer, Masten Gregory, who famously leapt from the cockpit of his car before impact when approaching Woodcote Corner in 1959.
A 20m woodland rue, from Halnaker to Lavant, was planted by our forestry teams & volunteers, featuring native species like oak, beech, & hornbeam
Ray Hanna famously flew straight down Goodwood’s pit straight below the height of the grandstands at the first Revival in 1998
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
Flying training began at Goodwood in 1940 when pilots were taught operational flying techniques in Hurricanes and Spitfires.
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.
The red & yellow of the Racecourse can be traced back hundreds of years, even captured in our stunning Stubbs paintings in the Goodwood Collection
One of the greatest golfers of all time, James Braid designed Goodwood’s iconic Downland course, opened in 1914.
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!
Testament to the 19th-century fascination with ancient Egypt and decorative opulence. The room is richly detailed with gilded cartouches, sphinxes, birds and crocodiles.
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.
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.
Flying training began at Goodwood in 1940 when pilots were taught operational flying techniques in Hurricanes and Spitfires.
A 20m woodland rue, from Halnaker to Lavant, was planted by our forestry teams & volunteers, featuring native species like oak, beech, & hornbeam
Just beyond Goodwood House along the Hillclimb, the 2nd Dukes banqueting house was also known as "one of the finest rooms in England" (George Vertue 1747).
Testament to the 19th-century fascination with ancient Egypt and decorative opulence. The room is richly detailed with gilded cartouches, sphinxes, birds and crocodiles.
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.
Just beyond Goodwood House along the Hillclimb, the 2nd Dukes banqueting house was also known as "one of the finest rooms in England" (George Vertue 1747).
To celebrate the publication of his new book, which delves into the estate's glorious history, we talk to Goodwood House curator James Peill
Words by James Collard
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“As a child I loved going to country houses,” says James Peill. “I was always inspired by the history, the art, and the stories of the families.” And one way or another, such houses and the treasures they contain have been his career – first at Christie’s in London and New York, then at Goodwood, where he became curator of the Goodwood Collection in 2009, and as an author of several books on the subject, the latest being Glorious Goodwood: A Biography of England’s Greatest Sporting Estate.
Peill’s CV reveals a singular focus. The avid young countryhouse visitor who knew before he was 10 that he wanted to work at Christie’s went on and did precisely that, joining as a graduate trainee after completing a History of Art degree. At Christie’s, Peill (pictured, above) trained as a furniture specialist and auctioneer – an experience he likens to doing “a one-man show, only with quite a lot of money at stake”.
A recent acquisition for the Goodwood Collection – a 1787 cartoon depicting the 3rd Duke and his wife (in the box) at the theatre he had built at his London house, where amateur theatricals were performed to great acclaim
With a big house sale, “you’d get the complete picture – furniture, silver, porcelain, maybe books”. And while Peill’s work brought him close to exceptional pieces, such sales can also signal the dispersal of a great collection, amassed in precisely the kind of country house that he has always loved.
So it’s doubtless more of an unalloyed pleasure to be the professional custodian of one of the great surviving collections at Goodwood House – tasked with maintaining and even adding to it. For that, the questions Peill and the current Duke ask themselves are these: “Can we afford it? Does it look good? Does it need a lot of money spent on restoring it? Does it fill a gap in the collection? Is it something that was in the collection that we want to have back?” And, of course, a question perhaps more familiar to the rest of us: “Do we have room for it?”
Glorious Goodwood: A Biography of England’s Greatest Sporting Estate
At Goodwood, there are pieces that proclaim the grandeur of the Dukes’ public lives: tapestries given by Louis XV to the 3rd Duke, ambassador to Paris; Napoleon’s campaign chair, given by Wellington to the 4th Duke, his comrade-in-arms; ancestral portraits aplenty. But others speak to the family’s sporting pursuits, which Peill describes with such infectious enthusiasm in his book: Stubbs’s paintings of the Charlton Hunt; Jane, Duchess of Gordon, fishing; the 7th Duke on the golf course; and shooting parties at Glenfiddich.
Asked to explain this continuity of “sporting passions, which the family act out and share”, from all of the above to Thoroughbred racing and Formula 1, Peill suggests that “it’s partly the place – and it’s a lovely place. And there’s been this very strong desire, passed down through the generations, to share it with others. And there’s a great enjoyment in sharing. And maybe that’s something you only learn by doing it.”
This article was taken from the Summer 2019 edition of the Goodwood Magazine.
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