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Goodwood Golf Course
On the evening of
July 15th, 1892 six Sussex gentlemen came together to propose
that a golf club should be formed for Chichester and the surrounding
area. Despite the meeting’s low turnout,
by the end of the evening, the new club had acquired 22 members
- including three vicars and two unattached ladies! The nine
hole course was formed at Peckham’s Copse, North Mundham
and the entrance fee and annual subscription came to one guinea
apiece.
Around 1895, the sixth Duke of Richmond’s
family, especially his daughter Lady Helen, began to take an
interest in golf so, when financial problems struck the infant
course, probably due to its shortage of members, the Duke’s
offer for the club to relocate to its present home in the former
kennels on the Goodwood Estate, must have come as a welcome
relief.
These kennels had been built in 1787 for the hounds belonging
to the third Duke of Richmond. Designed by the architect, James
Wyatt, the building is described as the finest example of Sussex
flintwork throughout the country. The interior today has seen
modifications to accommodate the growing club, but the building’s
exterior remains intact.
Over the years, the club has seen many famous golfers and
society faces including the Prince of Wales (later King Edward
VIII), the Duke of York (later King George VI), and, particularly
during Goodwood’s famous Festival Glorious Goodwood,
many well-known jockeys and racehorse owners. |
