BY CHARLES EVANS

Stag-hunting from which fox-hunting developed, brought Charles, 2nd Duke of Richmond and Lennox, to Chichester and the South Downs around 1720. His father was one of Charles II’s natural sons by Louise de Keroualle, Duchess of Portsmouth. For him Sir William Chambers built a hunting box and the much more magnificent stable quadrangle.

About 1800 James Wyatt began adding to the former for the 3rd Duke, on a plan intended to form a hexagon with domed towers at the corners. But only two segments (making three in all) were built, so that the resulting house is an unusual shape.

The Lennoxes were a charming and handsome family – George III wanted to marry Lady Sarah, one of the 2nd Duke’s daughters – and George Stubbs painted four delightful canvases of them hunting on the Downs.

The grotto in the park and the banqueting house reflect the tastes of the Lennox family no less than the well-known race course nearby.

The impressive rooms of Goodwood House contain notable historic portraits and furniture of the Chippendale and Regency periods.