Castle Goring

Bysshe Shelley, grandfather of the poet, was a principal landowner in Worthing and a Town Commissioner from 1804 until his death in 1814. In the 1790s he decided to build a new house for himself on land to the north-west of the town. He chose for his architect John Biagio Rebecca, who was the son of Biagio Rebecca, also a well-known architect.

The house is essentially Palladian on the south front, with Greek-detailed grand steps, and Gothic castellated to the north (entrance) front. Inside, on the main floor, the two styles merge into a vaulted passage leading to the main rooms, which are disposed along the south side. The incongruous large top-lit central space has a curious sweeping, curving staircase which dates from 1825. There are wings east and west, Gothic facing to the north, and Classical to the south. This charade is slightly un-nerving now that the original tree screening is impaired.

The house took many years to construct and there were horrific estimates of its probable cost. It was a standard jaunt for trippers from Worthing who are blamed for breaking the windows for sport. Mr. F. Somerset, writing in 1891, thought that the house was finished externally by about 1798, but it was described as still being erected in 1805 (‘begun about 12 years ago') when the expenditure to date was reported to be £100,000, with 5-6 years work still to be done at a probable cost of another £50,000. When the question of insurance arose in 1825, Sir Timothy Shelley said that the cost had been no less than £36,000, but a valuation of £12,000 was accepted.

But it is still described as unfinished in 1809, and by 1815 work had ceased, doubtless upon the death of Sir Bysshe Shelley in 1814. It was offered for sale in 1816, but no purchaser could be found. In Chancery Proceedings of 1819 it was described as ‘in an unfinished and uninhabitable state'.

Eventually, in 1825 Sir Timothy managed to get the incomplete structure off his hands by nursing Captain George Pechell RN into a lease involving the necessary finishing. He later purchased the property outright. Naturally, these works were done to a minimum standard. Shelley, well jaundiced by half a lifetime's watching his inheritance evaporate, had a dim view of Rebecca who he blamed for serious design faults regarding drainage and water supply. To what extent these complaints are reasonable it is impossible to say, but since the house had stood unfinished for so long must be viewed with caution. At the same time, whilst hooking Captain Pechell, Sir Timothy wrote to him of how surprised he was at finding so little needing to be done: ‘and a short time will put essentials in Requisition for you to inhabit the Principle part, viz. the Villa Lanti apartments etc. I was astonished to see the House so dry'. It is interesting that an owner of Rebecca's work elsewhere considered it, with the benefit of long hindsight, to be ‘very competent'.

Captain Pechell engaged Jeremiah S. Hemingway, Surveyor of Chichester, to complete the building for him. Pechell renewed the lease in 1838. By now a Rear Admiral and MP for Brighton, he purchased the property outright in 1846 for £11,250. Unfortunately, his son was killed in 1855, aged 25, at the Battle of Sebastopol during the Crimean War. In 1874, Sir Percy Burrell's widow was the owner of the land which passed to her sister Adelaide Harriet, who had married Lt.-Col. (later Sir) Alfred Somerset, whose descendents still hold the land.

During World War 2 the house was in the hands of the military and suffered the usual depredations, making subsequent maintenance troublesome. The house is now occupied by a language school. The house is on the English Heritage At Risk listing.

Type

Park

Purpose

Ornamental

Principal Building

Education

Survival

Extant

Open to the public

Yes

Electoral Ward

Goring