Sussex and Hampshire

WEST SUSSEX

• CHICHESTER CATHEDRAL – standing at the heart of the city and dating from 1075, the Cathedral’s architecture is typically English with fine Norman and Gothic features. The Cathedral houses important treasures spanning many centuries, including a Roman mosaic pavement, medieval stone carvings, the tomb of composer Gustav Holst and the famous ‘Arundel Tomb’, as well as a beautiful stained glass window by Marc Chagall and vibrant tapestries by John Piper.
• PALLANT HOUSE ART GALLERY (Chichester) – this charming intimate gallery housed in a striking Grade I listed Queen Anne townhouse offers a contemporary gallery, displaying an impressive array of 20th century modern British art, including works by Peter Blake, Patrick Caulfield, Lucian Freud, Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore, Paul Nash, John Piper, Walter Sickert and Graham Sutherland.
• ARUNDEL CASTLE – a great Norman castle whose contents reflect the changes of almost a thousand years, including a wealth of fine furniture and paintings. Amongst its treasures are personal possessions of Mary, Queen of Scots, and a selection of historical, religious, and heraldic items from the Duke of Norfolk’s private collection.
• PARHAM HOUSE (Pulborough) – the house dates from Elizabethan times, but during the Middle Ages the manor house which stood on this site belonged to Westminster Abbey. Henry VIII gave the house to the Palmer family in 1540 and the property has changed little since this time.  It now belongs to the Parham Park Trust and has been carefully restored to its former glory.  The gabled house has an E-shaped formation and highlights include the Great Hall, Great Chamber, and the Long Gallery.  These panelled rooms contain an impressive collection of fine furniture and needlework.
• GOODWOOD HOUSE – a splendid Regency mansion and the ancestral home of the Dukes of Richmond and Gordon, direct descendants of King Charles II. It is currently the home of the Earl of March and his family. The opulent neo-classical interior houses an astonishing array of fine art, with special focus on 17th and 18th century English works, including paintings by Stubbs and Canaletto’s views of London. Each room is richly decorated, displaying fine tapestries alongside Sèvres porcelain and exquisite English Regency and French furniture.
• PETWORTH HOUSE and PARK – constructed in the late 17th century, it houses an important collection of art and sculpture including works by Turner and van Dyck.
• FISHBOURNE ROMAN PALACE – an important archaeological museum, and the largest domestic Roman building discovered to date in Britain, thought to date from the 1st century. Of particular interest are the fine floor mosaics, Roman baths, courtyards, and an underground heating system.
• STANDEN HOUSE and GARDEN (East Grinstead) – designed by architect Philip Webb between 1891 and 1894, the house is one of the finest examples of Arts and Crafts workmanship, decorated with Morris carpets, fabrics and wallpapers, and set within a 12-acre hillside garden.
• NYMANS (Haywards Heath) – a quintessential English garden which was developed in the late 19th century by the Messel family. The property was purchased by Ludwig Messel who set about creating an Arts and Crafts inspired garden, but the gardens earned their renown under his son, Leonard Messel, who regularly opened them to the public.  On his death in 1953, the house and gardens were bequeathed to the National Trust.
• ST MARY’S HOUSE AND GARDENS (Bramber) – a picturesque Grade I listed timber-framed house built in 1470 by William Waynflete, Bishop of Winchester and founder of Magdalen College, Oxford. Originally used as an inn for pilgrims travelling to visit the tomb of St Thomas of Canterbury, there are fine-panelled rooms, including the unique trompe d’oeil ‘Painted Room’ decorated for the visit of Elizabeth I, a charming Music Room, English furniture, beautiful ceramics and manuscripts.
• WEALD and DOWNLAND LIVING MUSEUM (near Chichester) – more than 50 historic buildings including workers’ cottages, shops, farmhouses, barns, a watermill and a church, in addition to six period gardens dating from the late 16th century to the late 19th century.

EAST SUSSEX

• CHARLESTON HOUSE (Lewes) – the home and country meeting place for the writers, painters and intellectuals known as the Bloomsbury Group. It was the home of Vanessa Bell and fellow artist Duncan Grant, and over the years the artists decorated the walls, furniture, and ceramics with their own designs to form a unique example of their decorative style.
• RATHFINNY WINE ESTATE (Alfriston) – founded in 2010, Rathfinney produces predominantly sparkling wine due to its perfect aspect, soil, and climate, and is one of the UK’s largest vineyards. The main grape varieties include Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier.
• GREAT DIXTER HOUSE and GARDENS (Rye) – the family home of gardening author Christopher Lloyd who spent most of his lifetime creating one of the most experimental, exciting, and constantly changing gardens of our time. The manor house dates to medieval times and is thought to be the largest surviving timber framed hall in the country.  The beautiful gardens lie all around the house and feature topiary, pools, wild meadow areas and the Long Border and Exotic Garden.
• FIRLE PLACE (Lewes) – a mansion house of Tudor origin which has been the home of the Gage family since the early 16th century. Much of the original structure remains but the house was transformed in the 18th century by the 1st Viscount and the exterior is faced with Caen Stone, which belies its Tudor origins.
• FARLEY FARM HOUSE (Chiddingly) – formerly home to the Surrealist artists Lee Miller and Roland Penrose, the house has been visited by many figures in the world of Modern Art, including Pablo Picasso, Max Ernst and Richard Hamilton, and today houses a regularly changing selection of modern artworks.
• BATEMAN’S (National Trust) – the house was built in 1634 by a local ironmaster and was the home of Rudyard Kipling from 1902 to 1936. The rooms remain very much as they were during Rudyard’s time and the property also offers delightful gardens.