Midhurst b and b South Downs, England

Environment

The Grade II listed town house has an amazing history, built in 1795 for a wealthy wool merchant and later it became a renowned girl’s school. When Trina and David took on the house it had been given little attention since the 1970’s. They renovated the building sympathetically and brought it back up to its original standard. The building was the servant’s house and is a smaller mirror image version of what would have been the main house. The house is featured in the book ‘The Midhurst Lad’ written by a man who used to work as a boot boy at the house. The guest dining room is the old Butler’s Pantry with the original Georgian oak floorboards and fireplace.

Trina and David are avid supporters of local food and wine producers. Breakfast at the guest house is made from locally grown organic or free range produce with everything freshly prepared and cooked to order. Trina bakes fresh bread and makes homemade preserves, muffins and pastries. A good majority of the fruit and vegetables are grown outside in the garden, what would have been the original kitchen garden. The soil is very fertile and in the summer months a great deal of soft fruits grows including raspberries! Free range eggs are from a farm up the road and bacon is from Cowdray. The garden has been planted with scented plants and herbs to attract butterflies, bees and birds.

Community

Trina and David play an active role in the local community in Midhurst. The Midhurst Festival ‘Madhurst’ runs on the last two weeks of August every year and is a fantastic event celebrating and encouraging local talent in music, arts and drama. Trina is the events co-coordinator and David the treasurer. This year the Midhurst Christmas Tree Festival is an important event where 40 Christmas trees have been donated by local clubs and groups. The event is to raise money for the church and the Chestnut Tree Children’s Hospice in Arundel. Local people and clubs will be decorated the trees in the church and although entry is free, donations to the charities will be encouraged.

With the guest house located in the centre of Midhurst there is plenty of opportunities for guests to support local businesses. The Swan Inn is just across the road and serves the full range of Harvey’s ales. The Spread Eagle Hotel is just along the road as is The Bricklayers Arms.

Landscape

Midhurst is nestled in the centre of the South Downs National Park and is surrounded by wonderfully diverse countryside; downland, woodland, wetland and heath. As you approach Midhurst from the north you will see the striking silhouette of the Cowdray ruins surrounded by the perfectly manicured polo lawns. Cowdray House is one of the few remaining examples of the English Tudor period and was sensitively restored as part of a major conservation project in 2007. The nearest accessible point on the South Downs Way is from the scarp foot village of Cocking. From this point you can witness stunning views spanning 40 miles in every direction.

There are some fantastic walks from the front door of the guest house, a favourite of Trina and David’s will take you past the Cowdray ruins. From the ruins you can stroll along the banks of the river Rother to St Ann’s Hill, the core around which Midhurst developed. An Iron Age fort, a Norman castle and finally a fortified 12th Century house, the site was abandoned in 1315. A gate at the foot of St. Ann’s Hill leads you into the heart of Midhurst where you can marvel at over 100 listed buildings. The haphazard street plan and narrow lanes visible today are relics of the gradual development of the town. In the middle of the square, opposite the church, is the Old Market House where you can still see the town stocks, last used in 1859, in an alcove beneath the outside steps. You will notice the distinctive yellow paintwork seen on many buildings; this identifies them as belonging to the Cowdray Estate.