Lombard Street, Petworth

A beautifully restored historic townhouse set on one of the prettiest streets in Petworth, with an atmospheric setting, private garden, and private off-street parking.

Why We Love Bamboroughs - A beautifully restored historic townhouse set on one of the prettiest streets in Petworth, with an atmospheric setting, private garden, and private off-street parking.

Perhaps the showpiece of this house is an attached tardis-like former barn which has been converted by the current owners into a fantastic open-plan entertainment space.
Bamboroughs is idyllically located on Lombard Street, a medieval cobbled lane lined with equally handsome and pretty period buildings, and moments from the centre of town, yet remarkably peaceful and quiet. The house itself is a beautiful Grade II-listed four-bed property dating from the early 19th century. Presented in excellent order, it has been sensitively redecorated and restored to a very high standard by the current owners, including new plumbing and heating and electrics (installed in 2016 add new internal solid oak doors). All windows have been repaired or replaced, and the house has recently been retiled in handmade tiles, including the roof tiles.

Accommodation

The front door opens into a welcoming hallway-come-dining room, with smart oak flooring, painted panelling, original beams, and lovely-height ceilings, which continue through the house. The bright and airy dual-aspect sitting room next door has a new Chesney stone mantlepiece, cosy open fire, and two sets of glazed doors opening out onto the garden. The dual-aspect kitchen with fitted cabinetry, new wooden worktops and pretty open shelving and a dazzlingly handsome La Cornue range cooker, is situated through double doors off the generous entrance hallway, overlooking the garden.
Perhaps the showpiece of this house is an attached tardis-like former barn, which has been converted by the current owners into a fantastic open-plan entertaining space. Stretching almost 25 feet in width, the barn includes chic crittal doors leading onto the garden and a double-height ceiling open right up to the original eaves. The room is currently set up with a spacious dining area and bar at one end (which has previously accommodated 16 people for Christmas lunch) and a relaxed seating area at the other. One angle for any incoming new owner, is that the current owners have been granted planning permission to demolish the current kitchen and create a new glazed gallery/corridor linking the main house with the barn. This also includes permission to refurbish the barn for kitchen/dining use.
There are four double bedrooms in total. The generous principal bedroom is situated on the first floor with high ceilings, tumbled oak floor and extensive solid oak fitted built-in wardrobes. The adjoining bathroom has been newly refitted to a high standard with a marble floor and underfloor heating, large free-standing elliptical bath and separate walk-in shower. A second bedroom suite comprising bedroom and adjoining shower room is situated in the second floor with triple aspect windows, oak storage cupboards and stunning views over the chimney tops of Petworth all the way to Duncton, and the surrounding countryside of the South Down, looking out to the rear of the bedroom and your view is flanked by by the Baroque beauty that is Petworth House. There are two further double bedrooms (one currently serving as an additional sitting room and the other as a home office) and a family bathroom which is set up as a wet room with shower, found on the ground floor.


Garden

Bamboroughs comes with a charming private courtyard garden at the back with separate street access onto Church Street via a set of large wooden gates, providing privacy and security. The garden is perfect for entertaining in warmer months with space for a barbecue, dining area and seating area surrounded by an army of potted plants and a trellis with trailing vine. The courtyard also incorporates a secure off-street parking space for a large car or SUV, rare to find in town.

Living In Petworth - Set in the rolling South Downs National Park, this delightful ancient market town has managed to remain unspoilt whilst moving with the times, making it an exceptionally beautiful and enjoyable place to live.

Featuring on numerous occasions in The Sunday Times’ ‘Best Place to Live in the Southeast’ rankings, and winning that title in 2019, Petworth has so much to offer. The town covers all daily amenities, with an attractive array of independent shops, delicatessens, butchers, coffee houses, great pubs and restaurants, and a popular monthly farmers market. It is also renowned for its antiques shops (over 30 of which are dotted around the town, and some of them on Lombard Street itself).

Petworth’s stunning historic architecture make a fitting backdrop to the town’s rich cultural scene. Petworth House, run by the National Trust, is one of the standout treasure houses in the country with an impressive collection of Turners as well as works by Reynolds, Van Dyck, Titian, Gainsborough and William Blake. There is also some fantastic contemporary art to be seen at Newlands House Gallery, which holds regular museum quality exhibitions, and the annual Petworth Festival with its world class programme of music, arts and literary events.

Nearby Goodwood offers a vibrant blend of culture and sport, hosting the Festival of Speed, Glorious Goodwood horse racing, and Revival, alongside golf, flying, and a celebrated motor circuit. Cowdray is a leading centre for British polo, including the prestigious Gold Cup, complemented by country pursuits, wellness events, and artisan food experiences. There is a wide choice of excellent local walking routes. Petworth Park’s 700-acre deer park, landscaped by ‘Capability’ Brown, provides scenic walks right on the doorstep with further routes along the Shimmings Valley, to Pulborough, and along the nearby South Downs Way. The glorious South coast is a 30-minute drive away with sailing from Chichester Harbour and popular sandy beaches including West Wittering.

Transport

Pulborough station is a 12-minute drive away, and runs regular services to London Victoria in approximately one hour and 20 minutes. Gatwick Airport is roughly 50 minutes away by car.


Pulborough 6 miles (London Victoria from 74 minutes)
Haslemere 11 miles (London Waterloo from 52 minutes), London 53 miles
Gatwick International Airport 31 miles
(Distances and times approximate)

Chapters Past - The town of Petworth, famed for its immensely rich and fascinating history, needs little introduction. Much of the town’s history is intertwined with the Percy family, who inherited Petworth Park in the 12th century. The current Petworth House was built in the late 17th century following the marriage of heiress Elizabeth Percy to Charles Seymour, the Duke of Somerset.

As well as being one of the prettiest streets in Petworth, Lombard Street is also one of the best preserved. The street runs between the church and the market square and would have been the town’s main commercial hub during the medieval period right up until the 19th century. Its elegant name likely derives from its former historic role as a thriving commercial street, the term Lombard being associated with early banking and trade by Northern Italian merchants. These merchants brought with them financial practices such as bills of exchange, credit, remittances, and advanced money lending techniques and are referenced as stock figures in historic English literature, including Gower’s Confessio Amantis and Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.
Lombard Street would have been lined with shops providing goods for both the town and Petworth House itself. There are reputed to be tunnels running between some of the houses on Lombard Street to Petworth House, used for ease of transporting goods back and forth. Most of the street’s buildings have since been converted to private homes making it a prime residential spot, with its cobbled lane and high concentration of listed houses dating from the 16th, 17th and 18th to early 19th century. Bambouroughs house dates from the early 19th century and was at one time a butcher’s shop, as evidenced by the wonderful decorative tiles still visible on its façade.