Celebrating Midhurst
20 April 2022 by Simon Drayson
In celebration of Midhurst, where we have chosen to set up the George and James design studio and our new home, we thought it might be nice to give you a few of our highlights from this wonderful area.
The change from central London living to rural life has been huge, but to be honest we thought we’d miss so much more than we do, although the ease of an Uber and access to any world cuisine is still very much missed. Midhurst and the South Downs are a wonderful place to live, we don’t have to write about that as plenty others have already beaten us to that and have done that for us!
Architecture of Midhurst
If you haven’t been to Midhurst itself is a wonderful place to visit, the town is set around a traditional market square surrounded by an array of fine examples of architecture from Tudor, Victorian and Edwardian times, in fact there are an impressive 106 listed buildings in the town. It is very easy to spend a good few hours strolling around the town, soaking up the history and browsing the many independent shops. We can recommend The Country Brocante lifestyle store on West Street for their collection of all thing’s ‘home’ located in the stunning, beautifully wonky historical building. Or if you enjoy a bit more of a rummage to find unique and unusual items then Marmadukes Antiques on Rumbolds Hill, is a wonderful emporium with over 25 independent stall holders under the one roof. All the walking can make thirsty work, if you head down Wool Street, you will find the Bricklayers Arms, a traditional pub set within a stunning Grade II, 17th century timber framed building.
Cowdray Estate
The Cowdray Estate is located just on the edge of Midhurst, this private estate is not open to the public but as there are plenty of walks across the estate to make is possible to enjoy aspects of the stunning parkland, which we are looking forward to exploring more with Archi now he has had all of his jabs. The ruins of the old house are a spectacular site, said to be one of the most important early Tudor houses with famous guests including King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I, for those interested they do arrange guided tours throughout the year.
Area around Midhurst
There is a plethora of historically important places to visit in the area in and around Midhurst, it defiantly seems worth getting a National Trust membership. From the baroque country mansion of Petworth House (amazingly the design of the house was inspired by the Palace of Versailles, with landscaping by Capability Brown, you can’t get more grand than that!); to the modern gardens at Woolbeding Garden’s created under the care of Simon Sailsbury and Stewart Grimshaw, in collaboration with Lanning Roper.
Weald & Downland Museum
A little further away is the Weald and Downland Living Museum, an open air museum set across 40 acres with over 50 historically important buildings, not only an amazing place to get up close to history but also the location for the BBC Repair Shop! The collection of buildings includes homes, working buildings and public buildings, all in the beautiful south downs setting. For architecture lovers like us there is really something from every era, including the ultra modern wooden gridshell café and workshop, we love the bold juxtaposition of this modern addition to the museum.