The Fiat S76 or "Beast of Turin" is a Goodwood favourite and can usually be heard before it is seen at #FOS
Sir Stirling Moss was one of the founding patrons of the Festival of Speed, and a regular competitor at the Revival.
King Edward VII (who came almost every year) famously dubbed Glorious Goodwood “a garden party with racing tacked on”.
King Edward VII (who came almost every year) famously dubbed Glorious Goodwood “a garden party with racing tacked on”.
The iconic spitfire covered almost 43,000 kilometres and visited over 20 countries on its epic journey and currently resides at our Aerodrome.
The oldest existing rules for the game were drawn up for a match between the 2nd Duke and a neighbour
According to Head Butler at Goodwood House David Edney "Class, sophistication and discretion".
As the private clubhouse for all of the Estate’s sporting and social members, it offers personal service and a relaxed atmosphere
The first thing ever dropped at Goodwood was a cuddly elephant which landed in 1932 just as the 9th Duke of Richmonds passion for flying was taking off.
The stunning fish which adorn the walls of the main corridor are hand crafted and represent the fishing documents from Gordon Castle of 1864-1898.
Easy boy! The charismatic Farnham Flyer loved to celebrate every win with a pint of beer. His Boxer dog, Grogger, did too and had a tendancy to steal sips straight from the glass.
FOS Favourite Mad Mike Whiddett can be caught melting tyres in his incredible collection of cars (and trucks) up the hillclimb
Legend of Goodwood's golden racing era and Le Mans winner Roy Salvadori once famously said "give me Goodwood on a summer's day and you can forget the rest".
Sir Stirling Moss was one of the founding patrons of the Festival of Speed, and a regular competitor at the Revival.
Future Lab is Goodwood's innovation pavilion, inspiring industry enthusiasts and future scientists with dynamic tech
Our gin uses wild-grown botanicals sourced from the estate, and is distilled with mineral water naturally chalk-filtered through the South Downs.
Spectate from the chicane at the Revival to see plenty of classic cars going sideways as they exit this infamous point of our Motor Circuit.
Sir Stirling Moss was one of the founding patrons of the Festival of Speed, and a regular competitor at the Revival.
King Edward VII (who came almost every year) famously dubbed Glorious Goodwood “a garden party with racing tacked on”.
Leading women of business, sport, fashion and media, take part in one of the most exciting horseracing events in the world.
King Edward VII (who came almost every year) famously dubbed Glorious Goodwood “a garden party with racing tacked on”.
King Edward VII (who came almost every year) famously dubbed Glorious Goodwood “a garden party with racing tacked on”.
The first ever horsebox was used from Goodwood to Doncaster for the 1836 St. Leger. Elis arrived fresh and easily won his owner a £12k bet.
The red & yellow of the Racecourse can be traced back hundreds of years, even captured in our stunning Stubbs paintings in the Goodwood Collection
King Edward VII (who came almost every year) famously dubbed Glorious Goodwood “a garden party with racing tacked on”.
The famous fighter ace, who flew his last sortie from Goodwood Aerodrome, formerly RAF Westhampnett has a statue in his honor within the airfield.
One of the greatest golfers of all time, James Braid designed Goodwood’s iconic Downland course, opened in 1914.
The first thing ever dropped at Goodwood was a cuddly elephant which landed in 1932 just as the 9th Duke of Richmonds passion for flying was taking off.
Estate milk was once transformed into ice-creams, bombes, and syllabubs, and the Georgian ice house still stands in the grounds in front of Goodwood House.
Flying training began at Goodwood in 1940 when pilots were taught operational flying techniques in Hurricanes and Spitfires.
One of the greatest golfers of all time, James Braid designed Goodwood’s iconic Downland course, opened in 1914.
The iconic spitfire covered almost 43,000 kilometres and visited over 20 countries on its epic journey and currently resides at our Aerodrome.
Ray Hanna famously flew straight down Goodwood’s pit straight below the height of the grandstands at the first Revival in 1998
We have been host to many incredible film crews using Goodwood as a backdrop for shows like Downton Abbey, Hollywood Blockbusters like Venom: let there be Carnage and the Man from U.N.C.L.E.
David Edney, head Butler dons a morning suit "and a smile" every day and has been woking at Goodwood for over 25 years!
Ensure you take a little time out together to pause and take in the celebration of all the hard work you put in will be a treasured memory.
Ensure you take a little time out together to pause and take in the celebration of all the hard work you put in will be a treasured memory.
The first public race meeting took place in 1802 and, through the nineteenth century, ‘Glorious Goodwood,’ as the press named it, became a highlight of the summer season
Flying training began at Goodwood in 1940 when pilots were taught operational flying techniques in Hurricanes and Spitfires.
Built in 1787 by celebrated architect James Wyatt to house the third Duke of Richmond’s prized fox hounds, The Kennels was known as one of the most luxurious dog houses in the world!
Testament to the 19th-century fascination with ancient Egypt and decorative opulence. The room is richly detailed with gilded cartouches, sphinxes, birds and crocodiles.
"En la rose je fleurie" or "Like the rose, I flourish" is part of the Richmond coat of Arms and motto
The oldest existing rules for the game were drawn up for a match between the 2nd Duke and a neighbour
Inspired by the legendary racer, Masten Gregory, who famously leapt from the cockpit of his car before impact when approaching Woodcote Corner in 1959.
The oldest existing rules for the game were drawn up for a match between the 2nd Duke and a neighbour
A 20m woodland rue, from Halnaker to Lavant, was planted by our forestry teams & volunteers, featuring native species like oak, beech, & hornbeam
Flying training began at Goodwood in 1940 when pilots were taught operational flying techniques in Hurricanes and Spitfires.
In March 1941 the German battle-cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisnau were taking refuge in the French port of Brest. They were joined by the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen which had recently left the battle-cruiser Bismarck to its fate at the hands of a British Navy who were determined to avenge the sinking of HMS Hood.
Flying
Responsible for heavy losses of allied shipping in the North Atlantic, these ships were subject to constant surveillance and regular air raids from the other side of the Channel. The British ensured they remained bottled-up on France's Atlantic coast, which was one of the reasons the Scharnhorst and Gneisnau had been unable to assist the Bismarck.
Adolf Hitler needed his ships for the defence of German occupied Norway and for intercepting supply convoys bound for the Soviet Union, so he ordered their return to Germany. A plan was developed to get the ships out and make for Germany via the English Channel, through the Straits of Dover. Some thirty escort ships accompanied the cruisers.
On 11th February 1942 under cover of darkness, the cruisers slipped undetected into the English Channel and made for the Straits of Dover at speed. Operation Cerberus got underway, this was later to become known by the Allies as the Channel Dash
129 (Mysore) Squadron were based at RAF Westhampnett from 29th August 1941. Little did they know they were to be involved in a very costly operation that was to see significant losses as the allies tried to stop the German Pocket battleships.
129 (Mysore) Squadron with cannon armed Spitfire Vbs were scrambled from RAF Westhampnett initially to escort cannon armed Hurricanes from RAF Manston. They arrived on the scene in the afternoon of the 12th February in poor visibility and were thrown into the thick of the action. The Luftwaffe always had at least 16 fighters over the flotilla day and night and the sky would also have been full of RAF fighters and bombers. In total the RAF put up 398 fighters over the period of the dash and over 300 bombers. Sergeant Drew of 129 was almost immediately shot down and another Sergeant Pilot Mick Wilson lost a third of his wing to flak from the enemy ships. Using a Spitfires cannon to try and stop these ships would have been like throwing a tennis ball against a brick wall.
Ray Sherk, one of the veterans of the operation who is still alive and flying in Canada remembered this day vividly “We were called to readiness at noon (without dinner) and took off at 1:15 p.m. to escort some cannon armed Hurricanes of No 1 Squadron to shoot up some shipping off Calais that turned out to be the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau with some destroyers. Several aircraft missing, Dixie Davis was shot down and killed in action, McPhie got a bullet in his shoe which grazed his heel and had several bullet holes in his aircraft. Sergeant Mick Wilson bailed out over Ipswich after losing part of his starboard wing. Bowman got two Bf 109s damaged. It was a pretty shaky I do recall avoiding ship masts. I was involved in the melee but was not hit although a shell from a destroyer just missed me! Upon our return, the intelligence officer Flying Officer Chapman was very interested in our individual recollections and we were interviewed extensively. It was much later on that we learned the full extent of the operation”.
41 Squadron who were also operating at Goodwood alongside 129 similarly took part in the operation as recalled by Wing Commander Bob Middlemiss DFC:-
“February the 12th 1942, 41 Squadron escorted Hurricane Bombers carrying 250 lb bombs against the German Battleships Scharnhorst, Prinz Eugen and Gneisenau that travelled from Brest up through the English Channel to German ports in Wilhelmshaven. The squadron on this operation was led by S/L Hugo who destroyed one and damaged another enemy aircraft. Pilot Officer Roy Frank Cambridge destroyed a Bf 109 and Flight Sergeant Ronald Edward Green destroyed one of the enemy aircraft. Sergeant Bruce Paul Dunstan was listed as missing on this operation”.
It was also during this air battle that the Royal Navy put up their Swordfish torpedo bombers in a last ditch attempt to stop the ships, Lieutenant Commander Eugene Esmonde RN lead the raid and was killed in action along with the loss of his entire detachment of torpedo bombers. He was awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously. Only five of his crewmembers survived out of eighteen.
All in all not a very successful operation, but yet another important chapter in the history of the airfield. Both Bob Middlemiss and Ray Sherk returned to Goodwood for the Revival in 2009 to share their memories of flying from this historic wartime base, sadly Bob passed away in 2014.
Flying