Castle Goring
Encyclopedia
Castle Goring is a grade one listed country house in Worthing
, in Sussex
, England
.
The building to some extent defies categorisation, being neither fully a castle, nor is it fully in Goring. The word is often used for English country houses constructed after the castle-building era (c.1500) and not intended for a military function. One of Worthing's two Grade I listed buildings (deemed by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport to be of exceptional interest), this is without doubt Worthing's most important building in terms of its architecture. It has been described by Ian Nairn
as reflecting "the equivocal taste of the 1790s as well as anywhere in the country."
from Worthing to Chichester
, to the north-west of Worthing. It also lies within the South Downs National Park
next to ancient woodland
at Titnore Wood
.
and is thought to resemble Arundel Castle
8 km (5 mi) to the west, while the south side has a Greco-Palladian front, said to be a copy of a villa near Rome
.
Architecture experts Ian Nairn
and Nikolaus Pevsner
, in their book "The Buildings Of England: Sussex" (1965), wrote:
English Heritage have described Castle Goring as
Surprisingly little is known about the interior of this once magnificent country house. There is known to be a glass dome in the centre of the building above a one-magnificent spiral staircase. The building's owners do not welcome visitors and only relatively few photographs of this impressive building exist in the public domain.
around the fashionable resort town of Worthing. Sir Bysshe Shelley's son, Sir Timothy Shelley
, preferred to live at Field Place near Horsham
. It was intended that his son, Percy Bysshe Shelley
, would live at Castle Goring; however, the poet drowned in Italy aged just 29, so he never took possession of Castle Goring.
In 1825, Sir Timothy Shelley let the building to Captain (later Vice Admiral
) Sir George Brooke-Pechel, 4th Baronet of Paglesham
, lord of the manor of Angmering
, who was Liberal MP for Brighton
from 1835-1860. In 1845, Mary Shelley
, who inherited the building as widow of the poet, sold it to Brooke-Pechel. Brooke-Pechel's daughter, Adelaide, married Sir Alfred FC Somerset, who was Deputy Lieutenant
for Middlesex
and Justice of the Peace
for Middlesex. Their daughter Gwendoline married her cousin
, Arthur W Fitzroy Somerset
, who held the same offices for Sussex. Aside from a period in the 1870s and 1880s when the property was let to the Burrell family, the property has remained with the Somerset family to this day.
Surveyors working on behalf of Worthing Borough Council have tried to gain access to the building several times. A full survey of Castle Goring was finally carried out in July 2003, using the council's powers to gain entry. The report was completed in January 2004 and it sets out details of the repairs considered necessary to "retain the architectural and historic importance of the building and sets out a timescale over which the repairs should be carried out".
It is known that an evaluation study was carried out for a golf resort within the castle estate. However it is not clear whether the building itself would have been renovated under the scheme.
In 2010 Castle Goring and its estate was included in the South Downs National Park.
Worthing
Worthing is a large seaside town with borough status in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, forming part of the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation. It is situated at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester...
, in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
The building to some extent defies categorisation, being neither fully a castle, nor is it fully in Goring. The word is often used for English country houses constructed after the castle-building era (c.1500) and not intended for a military function. One of Worthing's two Grade I listed buildings (deemed by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport to be of exceptional interest), this is without doubt Worthing's most important building in terms of its architecture. It has been described by Ian Nairn
Ian Nairn
Ian Nairn was a British architectural critic and topographer.He had no formal architecture qualifications; he was a mathematics graduate and a Royal Air Force pilot...
as reflecting "the equivocal taste of the 1790s as well as anywhere in the country."
Location
When it was built in the 1790s, Castle Goring was in the far north of the parish. Since Goring became part of the borough of Worthing in 1929, development has extended to the borders of the Castle Goring estate, and the estate now borders on the West Durrington area of the town, several km from the centre of Goring. Castle Goring lies adjacent to the A27 roadA27 road
The A27 is a major road in England. It runs from its junction with the A36 at Whiteparish in the county of Wiltshire. It closely parallels the south coast, where it passes through West Sussex and terminates at Pevensey in East Sussex.Between Portsmouth and Lewes, it is one of the busiest trunk...
from Worthing to Chichester
Chichester
Chichester is a cathedral city in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, South-East England. It has a long history as a settlement; its Roman past and its subsequent importance in Anglo-Saxon times are only its beginnings...
, to the north-west of Worthing. It also lies within the South Downs National Park
South Downs National Park
The South Downs National Park is England's newest National Park, having become fully operational on 1 April 2011. The park, covering an area of in southern England, stretches for from Winchester in the west to Eastbourne in the east through the counties of Hampshire, West Sussex and East Sussex...
next to ancient woodland
Ancient woodland
Ancient woodland is a term used in the United Kingdom to refer specifically to woodland that has existed continuously since 1600 or before in England and Wales . Before those dates, planting of new woodland was uncommon, so a wood present in 1600 was likely to have developed naturally...
at Titnore Wood
Titnore Wood
Titnore Wood is an area of ancient woodland to the north-west of Worthing in West Sussex. With neighbouring Goring Wood it forms one of the last remaining blocks of ancient woodland on the West Sussex coastal plain....
.
Architecture
The building has a front and rear of entirely different styles. The north side of Castle Goring is GothicGothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
and is thought to resemble Arundel Castle
Arundel Castle
Arundel Castle in Arundel, West Sussex, England is a restored medieval castle. It was founded by Roger de Montgomery on Christmas Day 1067. Roger became the first to hold the earldom of Arundel by the graces of William the Conqueror...
8 km (5 mi) to the west, while the south side has a Greco-Palladian front, said to be a copy of a villa near Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
.
Architecture experts Ian Nairn
Ian Nairn
Ian Nairn was a British architectural critic and topographer.He had no formal architecture qualifications; he was a mathematics graduate and a Royal Air Force pilot...
and Nikolaus Pevsner
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...
, in their book "The Buildings Of England: Sussex" (1965), wrote:
"By the deepest standard, all this was fiddling while Blake's Albion was beginning to burn but what a splendidly sophisticated and self-aware end to an age!"
English Heritage have described Castle Goring as
"the most complete example of the 'carnival-style' of the era", adding: "A fragile gem of a country house, the Grade I listed building now urgently requires major repairs."
Surprisingly little is known about the interior of this once magnificent country house. There is known to be a glass dome in the centre of the building above a one-magnificent spiral staircase. The building's owners do not welcome visitors and only relatively few photographs of this impressive building exist in the public domain.
History
Castle Goring was designed by John Rebecca for Sir Bysshe Shelley, 1st Baronet. The building proved to be the first of several buildings that Rebecca would design in the Georgian eraGeorgian era
The Georgian era is a period of British history which takes its name from, and is normally defined as spanning the reigns of, the first four Hanoverian kings of Great Britain : George I, George II, George III and George IV...
around the fashionable resort town of Worthing. Sir Bysshe Shelley's son, Sir Timothy Shelley
Timothy Shelley
Sir Timothy Shelley, 2nd Baronet of Castle Goring MA was the son of Sir Bysshe Shelley, 1st Baronet of Castle Goring and the father of Romantic poet and dramatist Percy Bysshe Shelley.-Early life and education:...
, preferred to live at Field Place near Horsham
Horsham
Horsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester...
. It was intended that his son, Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major English Romantic poets and is critically regarded as among the finest lyric poets in the English language. Shelley was famous for his association with John Keats and Lord Byron...
, would live at Castle Goring; however, the poet drowned in Italy aged just 29, so he never took possession of Castle Goring.
In 1825, Sir Timothy Shelley let the building to Captain (later Vice Admiral
Vice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...
) Sir George Brooke-Pechel, 4th Baronet of Paglesham
Paglesham
Paglesham is situated in the north east of the Rochford Rural District, Essex. The Parish of Paglesham includes two hamlets of East End and Church End, which are situated near the River Crouch and Paglesham Creek. It is part of the Roach Valley Conservation Zone.At the East End is The Plough and...
, lord of the manor of Angmering
Angmering
Angmering is a large village and civil parish between Littlehampton and Worthing in West Sussex, England. It is located approximately two miles north of the English Channel; Worthing and Littlehampton are about four miles to the east and west respectively.Angmering railway station is miles away...
, who was Liberal MP for Brighton
Brighton (UK Parliament constituency)
Brighton was a parliamentary constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 until it was divided into single-member seats from the United Kingdom general election, 1950...
from 1835-1860. In 1845, Mary Shelley
Mary Shelley
Mary Shelley was a British novelist, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer, and travel writer, best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus . She also edited and promoted the works of her husband, the Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley...
, who inherited the building as widow of the poet, sold it to Brooke-Pechel. Brooke-Pechel's daughter, Adelaide, married Sir Alfred FC Somerset, who was Deputy Lieutenant
Deputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
for Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
and Justice of the Peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
for Middlesex. Their daughter Gwendoline married her cousin
Cousin marriage
Cousin marriage is marriage between two cousins. In various jurisdictions and cultures, such marriages range from being considered ideal and actively encouraged, to being uncommon but still legal, to being seen as incest and legally prohibited....
, Arthur W Fitzroy Somerset
Arthur Somerset (cricketer)
Arthur William FitzRoy Somerset was an English first class cricketer. Though hailing from Chatham, Kent, Somerset moved to Castle Goring, a country house now in the town of Worthing in Sussex, and former home of Sir Bysshe Shelley, grandfather of the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.Somerset played 48...
, who held the same offices for Sussex. Aside from a period in the 1870s and 1880s when the property was let to the Burrell family, the property has remained with the Somerset family to this day.
The future
The future of this once magnificent building currently looks bleak. Castle Goring has been left to decay to the point that it is on English Heritage’s list of neglected buildings who describe its situation as "very grave". English Heritage describes Castle Goring as being of priority category A, its highest priority. Priority category A is defined as "immediate risk of further rapid deterioration or loss of fabric; no solution agreed."Surveyors working on behalf of Worthing Borough Council have tried to gain access to the building several times. A full survey of Castle Goring was finally carried out in July 2003, using the council's powers to gain entry. The report was completed in January 2004 and it sets out details of the repairs considered necessary to "retain the architectural and historic importance of the building and sets out a timescale over which the repairs should be carried out".
It is known that an evaluation study was carried out for a golf resort within the castle estate. However it is not clear whether the building itself would have been renovated under the scheme.
In 2010 Castle Goring and its estate was included in the South Downs National Park.