From the start, pleasure has been the point of Goodwood. The first Duke of Richmond—an illegitimate son of King Charles II and his French mistress, Louise de Kérouaille—acquired the 12,000-acre estate in 1697 so he could ride with the Charlton Hunt, the most fashionable fox hunt in England.
Richmond’s heirs kept at it. The second duke introduced cricket (Goodwood was the first estate on which the sport was regularly played); the third duke hosted the site’s first public horse race. Their successors added shooting, golf, flying, and car racing to the mix.
Charles and Janet Gordon-Lennox, the 11th Duke and duch*ess of Richmond, in the Large Library at Goodwood, their home.
Many of these amenities are still being enjoyed today, and they have kept the estate going. In addition to the horse track, there are two 18-hole golf courses with a private members club, four restaurants, the Goodwood Hotel, the Goodwood Health Club, a 10-bedroom shooting lodge, a 4,000-acre organic farm, and an aerodrome. Goodwood attracts 1 million visitors a year—most of them in summer for such events as the Festival of Speed, arguably the world’s greatest celebration of car culture.
Sixty miles south of London, Goodwood thus ranks as one of the top draws in what could be described as the Downton Industrial Complex. But with the emphasis here on outdoor activities, Goodwood House itself remains relatively secluded, so it’s a convivial family home for Charles and Janet Gordon-Lennox, Their Graces the 11th Duke and duch*ess of Richmond, and their five children. Its state rooms are open to visitors on select days between March and October, while the rest of the house is private.
Having a million folks in your back yard is challenging. Over tea in the Large Library (as opposed, of course, to the Small Library), I ask the duke and duch*ess how they balance public and private life on the estate. “Not very well,” Her Grace replies, with a laugh. “We sort of live over the shop.” Stocked with Gobelins tapestries, Sèvres porcelain, and pictures by the likes of Canaletto, van Dyck, and Stubbs, it’s quite a shop.
Guests can rent the ballroom, designed in the style of Louis XV. It’s lined with works from the family’s art collection and can fit up to 245 guests, for private dinners or events.
HOSTING WITH HISTORY
A daughter of William Waldorf Astor, third Viscount Astor, and a granddaughter of Nancy Astor, Janet was born at Cliveden House, another great 17th-century manor. So moving into Goodwood wasn’t daunting for her. “I think the Astor gene is inherently sociable,” says the duch*ess, who, among other initiatives, works on the estate’s wellness programs. Over the centuries the women of Goodwood have left their marks. In the 1740s, for example, the second duch*ess and her daughters helped create the interior of a folly known as the Shell House. After sorting through sacks of seashells brought back by naval captains from their voyages, they assembled the loveliest of them into a rococo masterwork.
Owing to its fragility, it doesn’t get many visitors, so it’s a treat when the duke, while giving me a ride in his 1934 Rolls-Royce 20/25, pulls over and unlocks the door. After the Shell House we pass a splendid guesthouse, and he notes, “This was built when the tsar came for breakfast.”
No wonder that, by the time of the third duke’s death, in 1806, the family had blown through its money (a state later rectified when the fifth duke inherited another fortune). Needing to economize, the fourth duke and duch*ess mothballed Goodwood and went to live in less costly Brussels. On the eve of the Battle of Quatre Bras in 1815, the duch*ess gave a ball. Many of the officers present went straight from the party to the battlefield. “They fought in their tailcoats and dancing shoes,” Charles says. After Waterloo, the Duke of Wellington gave the duke Napoleon’s campaign chair. Today Charles sits on it when at his desk in his study.
The Shell House was decorated in the 1740s by the second duch*ess of Richmond and her daughters with shells brought by sailors from their travels.
A GILDED GUEST LIST
Before Goodwood was opened to the public, working from home for its residents meant hosting a who’s who of royalty. During the heyday of the seventh duke, King Edward VII visited frequently, to watch horse races and enjoy house parties. “Him coming made it all very fashionable,” Charles says. Like most stately homes, Goodwood suffered during both world wars, when the house became a hospital for servicemen. As the 1950s dawned, visits from the recently crowned Elizabeth II helped lift spirits. “She came a lot, as a young queen,” Charles says. “She had a lot of horses running here.” And when the races were over, she relaxed as a houseguest. After dinner she enjoyed playing charades.
Still, her visits were grand occasions. As the duke remembers, “The staff were lined up in the hall, along with her staff who she would bring—all the footman in their red livery. It was fantastic to watch.”
A recent revelation from the queen’s last days was particularly poignant: At Balmoral, on September 6, 2022, just after she had greeted Prime Minister Liz Truss, the queen turned on the television to watch her filly, Love Affairs, run in the 3.05 at Goodwood. Love Affairs was victorious. It was one of Her Majesty’s very last pleasures in life. Soon afterward she felt unwell and went upstairs, and she swiftly declined. “This was the last race she watched and her last winner. I was very touched,” Charles says.
Lunch is served by Goodwood’s new butler, George, who is dressed impeccably in a morning coat. He arrived last year well prepared for the job, having been brought up at Badminton, another of England’s great ducal estates, where his father served as butler for 35 years.
The bathtub in the King’s Bedroom, a space rarely open to visitors.
LORDSHIP, MEET SPONSORSHIP
After attending Eton, Charles pursued a career as a photographer. He landed a job with Stanley Kubrick taking location stills, then made a name for himself shooting for editorial and commercial clients while creating his own work. He was always destined to take the reins at Goodwood eventually, but in the early 1990s his father passed control of the estate to him, preferring that his heir take over in his prime—a rare move in the English aristocracy. (The 10th duke died in 2017, age 87.)
Tapping into his passion for cars, Charles revved up the Festival of Speed. Held each summer, it has become a Glastonbury for auto enthusiasts, showcasing the newest and most powerful cars on earth. Then, in September, the Goodwood Revival celebrates vintage motor sports, and visitors dress accordingly.
“It wouldn’t be summer without Goodwood,” says design guru Sir Jony Ive, who says he’s “a colossal fan” of the duke’s. “He’s managed to bring so many facets together into a cohesive, compelling, singular form. You’re aware that it’s this incredibly textured place with all these different components.” Not surprisingly, Goodwood’s events have attracted A-list corporate sponsors, including Cartier, Mastercard, and Ralph Lauren, the last of which unveiled an ad campaign last summer shot at the Goodwood Motor Circuit.
The duke and duch*ess have struck a balance between public and private life at Goodwood. Family-only spaces like the Private Dining Room help.
The roster continues to grow. In 2022 the property hosted the debut of Goodwoof, a canine Woodstock that drew some 10,000 dogs and their enthusiastic owners. Plans are underway for the 2025 launch of the Goodwood Art Foundation. Beginning with an inaugural exhibition of work by Rachel Whiteread, the foundation will show contemporary art outdoors as well as in newly designed galleries.
Increasingly, Goodwood is tapping into the digital world to amplify its reach. Out of the estate’s approximately 750 employees, about 35 belong to a content team that is constantly creating stories. Audiences are responding: In 2023 the Festival of Speed racked up 372.8 million video views. “We’ve got all these stories to tell. And it’s real,” says the duke. “Goodwood has always been very much a shared experience. We’re keen to carry on with that.”
This story appears in the April 2024 issue of Town & Country. SUBSCRIBE NOW
James Reginato
A journalist and writer-at-large for Vanity Fair, Reginato is the author of Growing Up Getty
