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Coordinates: 50°59'11?N 0°36'36?W? / ?50.98638, -0.60996
Petworth is a small town and civil parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It is located at the junction of the A272 east-west road from Heathfield to Winchester and the A283 Milford to Shoreham-by-Sea road. Some 12 miles (21km) to the south west of Petworth along the A285 road lies Chichester and the south-coast. The parish includes the settlements of Byworth and Hampers Green and covers an area of 2689.9 hectares (6644 acres). In 2001 the population of the parish was 2775 persons living in 1200 households of whom 1326 were economically active.
The town is mentioned in Domesday Book. It is best known as the location of the stately home Petworth House, the grounds of which (known as Petworth Park) are the work of Capability Brown. The House and its grounds are now owned and maintained by the National Trust.
Another historic attraction in the town, Petworth Cottage Museum in the High Street, is a museum of domestic life for poor estate workers in the town in about 1910. At that time the cottage was the home of Mrs. Cummings, a seamstress, whose drunken husband had been a farrier in the Royal Irish Hussars and on the Petworth estate.
The railway line between Pulborough and Midhurst once had a station at Petworth, but the line was closed to passenger use in 1955, and finally to freight in 1966, though the station building survives as a bed and breakfast establishment.
The town's amateur dramatics group is known as the Petworth Players, and their past productions have included 'Allo 'Allo, The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, and The Sleeping Beauty.
[edit] Twin Towns
Petworth is twinned with:
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(Source: Wikipedia) |