Positioned within approximately nine acres of private gardens and rolling paddocks lies the Grade II-listed Gorehill House. Set upon south-facing slopes that sit above the coveted town of Petworth in West Sussex, the house is oriented among mature trees to frame spectacular views across the South Downs. It was built in 1872 by the celebrated architect R Norman Shaw in a style faithful to the Sussex Weald vernacular. The house approaches 8,000 sq ft internally, with a fluid arrangement of nine bedrooms and a further 3,200 sq ft of ancillary buildings among its wonderful warrens of walled gardens and open lawns.

Setting the Scene

Between 1753 and 1765, Charles Wyndham, the 2nd Earl of Egremont, tasked Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown with redesigning the gardens at Petworth House and, at great cost, re-landscaping the southern slopes to improve the views from his magnificent palace, Petworth House.

In 1872, when the Petworth estate manager Henry Upton was building a house for himself nearby, he recognised a magnificent prospect and placed Gorehill House on those same south-facing slopes, achieving a majestic panorama of the South Downs. To create a house worthy of the view, Upton brought in the big-name architect of the day, R Norman Shaw. Despite being Scottish by birth, Shaw was heavily influenced by the vernacular architecture of the Sussex Weald and that influence shows in every detail of Gorehill House. For more information, please see the History section below.

The Grand Tour

The house is approached along a private driveway lined with mature rhododendrons and a rich array of established shrubs and mature trees, culminating in a gravel area with space for several cars. Double gates ahead provide a route to the southerly gardens, while to the left is a paved courtyard linking the kitchen and coach house.

The southern façade provides perhaps the most comprehensive view of the house in the context of its surroundings. The influence of the local vernacular is most evident here, offering a balanced asymmetric composition with towering brick chimneys, a large timber-framed gable to one side and a canted bay with a conical roof on the other. Despite its more traditional elements, Shaw’s design also incorporated massive mullioned windows; floor-to-ceiling in the main ground floor rooms.

The main entrance guides through a pointed Gothic arch, where an intimate porch serves to enhance the dramatic volume of the stair hall. Huge stained-glass windows with pale green chequers and motifs of heraldic birds pour coloured light into the space and onto the original tiled floor.

Three principal rooms – the drawing-room, sitting room and library – span the wonderfully bright south-facing aspect, each with working open fireplaces, simple cornicing and soaring ceilings; two rooms have French windows to the paved terrace. The dining room is positioned to the west, with views of the garden framed through an enormous aspect of stone-framed windows.

The service wing to the north remains delightfully unmodernised; home to a flower room with its original sink, a utility with huge storage cupboards, a boot room, cellars with a wine store, and a walk-in larder with mesh-covered windows to allow for the circulation of air. At the rear is a large country-style kitchen with granite worktops, a gas Aga and Lacanche cooker, and a window onto the courtyard where barbecues and alfresco dining take place in warmer months.

There are five bedrooms across the first floor and four bathrooms between them; two of these are en suite. The three largest rooms are set on the southerly side of the plan and from their elevated positions, every window is a picture of some of England’s loveliest countryside.

The third floor acts as a large apartment, with four rooms arranged around a central bathroom and kitchenette. The charming bedroom to the south has perhaps the finest views in the house.

In 2010 planning permission was granted for a new extension to the south at ground and basement level. The designs, by Muckenbeck + Partners, included a swimming pool, gym, sauna and steam room, and a dining room all at ground level, and a games room at basement level. The permissions, which can be viewed here, have since lapsed but could be reapplied for.

The Great Outdoors

The grounds of Gorehill House contain all the ingredients of a small country estate. Formal lawns and paddocks surround the house. Behind the kitchen and coach house is a walled garden with a greenhouse and enough growing beds for full self-sufficiency and more.

The grounds immediately surrounding the house are pure late-Victorian. It is likely that many of the now mature specimens were planted by Upton, including a massive wellingtonia and a plethora of exotics such as catalpa and metasequoia, as well as 19th-century favourites including camellia, acers and rhododendrons.

To the east, there is a large flat lawn, which used to host a tennis court; to the north atop the hill is a stable yard with a loose box, three stables, a tack room and the original brick and timber water tower.

Out and About

The house is situated within the South Downs National Park, just five minutes drive from Petworth, or a 20-minute walk along a beautiful tributary of the River Rother. Petworth is a small and highly sought-after market town with cobbled streets and a picturesque mix of medieval through to 18th and 19th century architecture. The town recently featured in The Sunday Times’ Best Places to Live Guide due to its excellent independent shops and restaurants, and great sense of community. The wider area is peppered with highly regarded pubs such as the Lickfold Inn and the Horse Guards Inn in nearby Tillington.

Petworth Park is close for walks and biking, as is the National Trust’s Petworth House which sits in 700 beautiful acres of parkland.

The Goodwood Estate is within easy reach for golf, motor racing and its brilliant central clubhouse The Kennels, which offers fine and informal dining, spas and wellness centres, along with a programme of inspiring cultural events throughout the year. Its farm shop has a great selection of fresh organic meat and dairy produce which in turn is supplied in a number of farm shops in the wider area.

Chichester is a 25-minute drive and the sea at Littlehampton is around 30 minutes.

Pulborough station is a 10-minute drive, from where trains take one hour 20 minutes to London Victoria; or Haslemere station is a 20-minute drive, from where trains take around 50 minutes to London Waterloo. Gatwick is roughly 45 minutes by car, and Heathrow is around an hour.