Petworth: 5 things you didn't know about the town
A fair so old it needed no charter, a house full of Turners, a deer park by Capability Brown and 1,800 emigrants to Canada.
Petworth Fair needed no royal charter because in 1275 the travelling justices of Edward I found it had existed from time immemorial. It was then held for eight days around 20 November, St Edmund's day, per Wikipedia and a Gravel Roots page.
Petworth Fair needed no royal charter, because in 1275 the travelling justices of Edward I found that it had existed from time immemorial. Wikipedia and a Gravel Roots page both give the story, though we have not seen the original record. At that time the fair lasted eight days and was held on 20 November, St Edmund's day. Here are five more stories from Petworth.
What the name means
Wikipedia says Petworth comes from the Old English "pyttaworð" or "peotaworð", meaning Pytta's or Peota's enclosure. That is a single-source explanation, so it is best read as the commonly given meaning. We do not know who Pytta or Peota was, and our sources do not say.
Twenty Turners
Petworth House holds 20 oil paintings by J. M. W. Turner, who was a regular visitor, according to Wikipedia. It is a single-source claim, so check the house's own page before quoting the number.
A park for the deer
Wikipedia says the landscaped park covers 283 hectares, which is 700 acres, and holds a large herd of fallow deer. The park's landscape was commissioned from Capability Brown in the 1750s and 1760s, according to the Petworth House and Petworth pages.
The Proud Duke
The house was built and rebuilt between 1688 and 1702 by Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, who was nicknamed "the Proud Duke". That detail is from Wikipedia alone, and the sources we found do not say how much of the house was new and how much rebuilt, which is why we say built and rebuilt. The dates of 1688 to 1702 show it was a long project.
Emigrating to Canada
The Petworth Emigration Scheme was set up by a committee formed on 1 March 1832. It was sponsored by the Earl of Egremont and promoted by the Rector, Thomas Sockett. Wikipedia and the Sussex People website say about 1,800 people travelled to Upper Canada, mostly between 1832 and 1837, and most came from parishes around Petworth.
What we left out
We left out some stories deliberately. A grim wartime tragedy at a local school is true but we judged it too sad for a list of facts like this. We also did not use a story about a globe because it rested on a single source, or the later gift of the house to the nation.
How to read these claims
Most of these facts come from one or two web pages. The park, house and scheme are the best supported. The name, the Turner paintings and the Proud Duke each rest on Wikipedia alone, and the 1275 fair depends on two pages without the original record. We have worded each one to match.
Visiting
We have not verified current opening times for the house, park or fair, so check the house's own website before you set off.
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