FOS Favourite Mad Mike Whiddett can be caught melting tyres in his incredible collection of cars (and trucks) up the hillclimb
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 ever horsebox was used from Goodwood to Doncaster for the 1836 St. Leger. Elis arrived fresh and easily won his owner a £12k bet.
Leading women of business, sport, fashion and media, take part in one of the most exciting horseracing events in the world.
Goodwood’s pigs are a mix of two rare breeds (Gloucester Old Spots and Saddlebacks) plus the Large White Boar.
"En la rose je fleurie" or "Like the rose, I flourish" is part of the Richmond coat of Arms and motto
The exquisite mirror in the Ballroom of Goodwood House it so big they had to raise the ceiling to get it inside!
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!
Mattresses and eiderdowns are stuffed with wool from the Goodwood Estate.
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!
Our replica of the famous motor show showcases the "cars of the future" in true Revival style
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.
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".
Our replica of the famous motor show showcases the "cars of the future" in true Revival style
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".
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
King Edward VII (who came almost every year) famously dubbed Glorious Goodwood “a garden party with racing tacked on”.
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 ever horsebox was used from Goodwood to Doncaster for the 1836 St. Leger. Elis arrived fresh and easily won his owner a £12k bet.
Festival of Speed is our longest-standing Motorsport event, starting in 1993 when it opened to 25,00 people. We were expecting 2000!
Testament to the 19th-century fascination with ancient Egypt and decorative opulence. The room is richly detailed with gilded cartouches, sphinxes, birds and crocodiles.
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.
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 famous fighter ace, who flew his last sortie from Goodwood Aerodrome, formerly RAF Westhampnett has a statue in his honor within the airfield.
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.
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.
Estate milk was once transformed into ice-creams, bombes, and syllabubs, and the Georgian ice house still stands in the grounds in front of Goodwood House.
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
The Motor Circuit was known as RAF Westhampnett, active from 1940 to 1946 as a Battle of Britain station.
The Motor Circuit was known as RAF Westhampnett, active from 1940 to 1946 as a Battle of Britain station.
The Motor Circuit was known as RAF Westhampnett, active from 1940 to 1946 as a Battle of Britain station.
Testament to the 19th-century fascination with ancient Egypt and decorative opulence. The room is richly detailed with gilded cartouches, sphinxes, birds and crocodiles.
The Motor Circuit was known as RAF Westhampnett, active from 1940 to 1946 as a Battle of Britain station.
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).
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.
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!
Fifty years ago this September, the first Ford Escort arrived in the UK, destined for vast sales, rally triumphs and a starring role in The Professionals. Small wonder it became the car of choice for boy racers everywhere.
Words by Alex Moore
Magazine
Cars
The 1971 Escort Mexico, complete with go-faster stripes. The owner could expect to be whisked from
0 to 60mph in 22 seconds
Picture the boy next door proudly hosing soap-suds off his car bonnet on a sunny Saturday morning in 1983 and your mind will almost certainly conjure up an image of the Ford Escort. The second-highest-selling car in UK automotive history, Ford sold 4,105,192 units over the model’s 34-year lifespan – which first began 50 years ago – an achievement trumped only by its little sister, the Fiesta.
Hark all the way back to September 1968 and the birth of the Escort, and you might recall the original TV advert featuring Ronnie Corbett haring around the streets in a Mark 1 Sport claiming to be “King of the road”. The ultra-modern replacement for the Ford Anglia was brilliantly designed and surprisingly quick for the era (it had a top speed of 78mph, creeping from 0-60mph in 22.3 seconds). Ford gave it the catchy tagline: “the fun car”.
The second-highest-selling car in UK automotive history, Ford sold 4,105,192 units over the model’s 34-year lifespan
And fun it was, not least because of its unexpected success as a rally car. The MK1, and even more so the MK2 (built in conjunction with Ford of Germany from 1975 onwards), were the most prolific rally cars of their generations, making household names of Hannu Mikkola and Roger Clark, among others. This racing success also saw Raymond Doyle, one half of the nation’s favourite crime-busting duo The Professionals, adopt the Escort as his motor of choice. He drove an MK2 RS2000 during episodes filmed in 1978 and ’79, coincidentally around the same time the term “boy racer” was coined.
Within a few years, the MK3 (1980) and MK4 (1986) had become the boy racer’s go-to mode of transport. Young men around the country had a bit more disposable income and were keen to spend it on making their cars fast and noisy. From 1983 until ’95, the Escort was Britain’s most popular car – helped, perhaps, by its appearance on two notable driveways. David Beckham’s first car was famously an Escort MK5 – bought for £6,000 from his teammate Ryan Giggs – as was Alan Shearer’s.
David Beckham’s first car was famously an Escort MK5 – bought for £6,000 from his teammate Ryan Giggs – as was Alan Shearer’s.
Sadly, by 1997 the car’s reputation was beginning to wane, not helped, perhaps, by a Leeds University study that identified a “boy-racer corridor” from Essex (Escorts were built in Dagenham) via north London to Milton Keynes.
A year later, our automotive hero made a cameo appearance in Guy Ritchie’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels – but by now the writing was on the wall. Ford unveiled the Focus, and the Escort’s unceremonious demise was quick to follow. In 2002, much to the dismay of Escort fans around the country, Ford ceased production of its erstwhile stalwart.
But the story doesn’t end there. Mint condition Escorts have since gained cult status, selling for exceptionally large sums at auction. In 2017, for example, a 1996 RS2000 went for over £91,000, while a 1980 Escort MK2 made just under £100,000 (£97,875). Even more impressively, an Escort MK1 once loaned to the Alan Mann Racing Team in 1968 was auctioned by Bonhams at the Goodwood Members’ Meeting sale last year and went under the hammer for a record-breaking £203,100. The Ford Escort may be gone, but it’s clearly not forgotten.
This article is taken from the Goodwood magazine, Spring 2018 issue
Magazine
Cars
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