Woodstock House, Chichester

Woodstock House is licensed and has 4 stars. Converted from an old Farmhouse situated in the hamlet of Charlton, a few short miles from Chichester West Sussex. Our 13 individual en-suite bedrooms have modern amenities set around an attractive courtyard garden. There are two ground floor rooms, the Rose room which opens out onto the courtyard garden and the Cottage room overlooking Levin Down. Complimentary tea on arrival is served in either the lounge or the courtyard garden. Because of the natural beauty of the surrounding country-side our many corporate customers use Woodstock house regularly for meetings and team building events and we have experience of hosting film crews.Woodstock House is the hospitality venue for the Kings Walk shoot based at West Dean.

The Rose room patio is an ideal place to relax in the evening with a glass of wine, after a long walk on the Downs.

The huntsmen had a special Charlton pie to eat and a banqueting house known as "the Dome" to use for their evening entertainment. Unfortunately the recipe for the pies and the location of "the Dome" remain a mystery.
The importance of Charlton declined during the second half of the 18`" century when the third Duke decided to move the hunt to Goodwood. It closed in the early 1911 century when the hounds caught rabies and the pack had to be destroyed.
Forestry has always been an important local industry. Charlton Forest lies on the slopes of the South Downs to the north of the village. The Charlton Sawmill built in 1863 stood at the edge of the village on the road leading towards Goodwood Racecourse. It was for many years one of the main sources of local employment. A variety of woodland products were made here at various times ranging from charcoal to dowels, brush backs and chair seats. The site was redeveloped during the 1990's.
Some magnificent views of Charlton and the Lavant Valley can be enjoyed from Levin Down, the prominent hill overlooking the village along the Singleton road. Levin Down in old English means "Leave Alone Hill", so called because no crops were grown on its upper slopes. Today it is a Nature Reserve and a wonderful habitat for wildlife and plants, including juniper scrub and the largest area of chalk heath in West Sussex. [t is managed by the Sussex Wildlife Trust and is an SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest).
The Woodstock House was converted into hotel accommodation shortly before the Second World War. The earliest documentary evidence for a building on the site appears on a mid-18`h century map. This identifies two attached cottages belonging to William Budd, a family name which still has associations with the village. One building is the thatched cottage next door to the hotel entrance. The other cottage to the west, although much altered, both internally and externally, now forms the hotel entrance and reception area. The cottages and another building described as a granary were built sometime after 1730, as an earlier map of this date shows no buildings on the site.
When the property became a hotel one wing along the present garden boundary was demolished, but the remaining two sides were converted into bedrooms. Another four loose boxes were housed in the area now containing the hotel bar.