Places to Visit in Sussex

Michelham Priory dates back 800 years and has the longest medieval, water-filled, moat in England.  Tapestries, furniture, kitchen utensils and an 18th century children's bedroom are all on display, as well as a working watermill and pretty gardens.

Manor house that gives an insight into the upstairs, and downstairs lives of the early 20th century.  Twenty rooms over four floors, with servant’s quarters, kitchens, owners living areas and the nursery on the top floor.

The Goodwood Group of companies are housed in 12,000 acres of countryside and include the racecourse, historic house and park, hotel and health club, airfield, motor circuit and golf club. Goodwood House is owned and still lived in by the Earl and Countess of March.  One hour guided tours around this substantial English country house show the Stately Apartments, Egyptian State Dining Rooms, Ballroom, Yellow Drawing Room and the significant private art collection.

Near By

Places of Interest: Cass Sculpture, Goodwood

Hastings Castle was built by William the Conqueror in 1067. The ruins that remain of Hastings Castle are those of the stone fortress, and less than half of the original structure.  The Castle history and battle can be seen on a 16 minute presentation.

Seventeen-century farmhouse, that in the early 20th century became the meeting place for the Bloomsbury Group, a group of pioneering writers, painters and intellectuals.  Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant moved to Charleston in 1916 and over the next half a century put their artistic abilities to work in around the house creating murals, painted furniture, ceramics, paintings and textiles, as well as a painters garden filled with sculptures, mosaics and ponds.  

Heritage trail, gardens and Museum of Life, with thousands of flowering shrubs, themed gardens such as the Caribbean Garden and Seaside Garden; collections of fossils, crystals and minerals in the museum; huge models of dinosaurs, and a children’s play area including an 18 hole Crazy Golf course.

The Brighton Museum and Art Gallery had a cash injection of £10million, which has resulted in better facilities and redesigned galleries.  A popular museum, with collections that include 20th century art and design, pottery, archaeology, toys, hobbies, images of Brighton, fine art, fashion, style, world art, religion and social history.

Museums of shops and social history from bygone years.  The museum is home to over 100,000 nostalgic items collected over 40 years.  Walk through displays include a children's play room, 1930's wireless shop, 1941 wartime kitchen and the back streets of Victorian England.

The museum is housed in an 18th century corn store and discovers the local history of Chichester with displays and hands on activities looking back to the Roman times onwards.  Regular exhibitions are held here, along with children’s activities.

Open-air museum of fifty rebuilt historic buildings dating from the 13th to the 19th century, situated within 50 acres of beautiful Sussex countryside.  The buildings were rescued from destruction, dismantled, and then rebuilt. Exhibits include a timber framed farmhouse, market hall, Victorian school and medieval shop.  Regular demonstrations and people to talk to about how residents of the properties once lived.

Museum tracing military flights from the beginning to present day, with the emphasis on RAF Tangmere, which was established in 1916 and was one of the key fighter bases during the Second World War.  Historic aircrafts and equipment are on show, as well as flight simulators and a replica of the first Spitfire.

Collection of restored mechanical musical instruments that are played whilst visitors tour, and over 100 Victorian and Edwardian dolls, displayed in a former Victorian church.

Roman villa discovered in 1811, located on the South Downs.  Extraordinary mosaics on display, including the longest section in the country, at 24 metres, and all under cover.  There are also objects on display found on site during excavations, including roof tiles, floor tiles and glass.   

Over 10,000 items, collected over 100 years, of toys, models and souvenirs.  The museum has a priceless toy and model train collection, Meccano, puppets, toy theatres and model ships.

The village of Hartfield was the inspiration for the Winnie the Pooh stories and where all the “Enchanted Places” can be discovered, along with The Pooh shop. This used to be the shop where Christopher Robin’s nanny used to take him on the back of their pet donkey to buy sweets.  It is now home to the world’s largest selection of Winnie-the-Pooh products.  Maps and guides can be picked up in the shop highlighting Pooh places to visit in the forest.

Volk’s Electric Railway is the world’s oldest operating electric railway, running for just over a mile along the Brighton seafront from Brighton Pier to Black Rock, carrying up to 80 passengers.  The Railway closes during the winter.

In October 1066 the English were defeated by the Normans at the Battle of Hastings and now, thanks to an investment of £2.6 million, visitors can discover the story of the battle through a major new exhibition that uses, film, computer technology and interactive exhibits.  Visitors can can enjoy a new audio tour of the 100-acre battlefield and explore the ruins of the Abbey.