As with its rather more formal sister event Royal Ascot earlier in ‘The Season’, it is a moot point whether Glorious Goodwood is more of a race meeting or a fashionable social gathering. Ascot so legend would have it was founded by Queen Anne early in the 18th century whereas Goodwood can trace its origins to the establishment of a course on the Duke of Richmond’s Goodwood Estate north of Chichester in 1801.
The meeting encompasses five days of flat racing (the fourth being Ladies’ Day), including two Group One events: the Sussex Stakes (established in 1841) for thoroughbreds three years or more old and the Nassau Stakes for thoroughbred fillies and mares (first run in 1840).
Something of the gentlemanly amateur remains about the course with its lengthy straight and sharply curved turning loop, an air not hindered by the backdrop of the Downs and Goodwood House, and the occasional coastal mist, though it is of course these days a highly professional meeting with excellent facilities.
But enough of the racing, Goodwood is Glorious because of the fashion, the atmosphere and the style. Late July or early August in Sussex hopefully means some hot and sunny spells, time for gentlemen to wear linen suits and sporty Panamas, and the ladies to don summer dresses and shading hats. Indeed the dress code for the posh Richmond Enclosure insists on hats for the gels and jacket and tie or cravat (or polo neck shirt) for the chaps. Though some areas are less formally informal, don’t even think about coming shirtless or in shorts or jeans, or heaven forefend fancy dress. Darling, really, there are limits.
More British Institutions
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Allotments
April Fools Day
Big Ben
Binge Drinking
Black Cabs
Bonfire Night
British Sense of Humour
Brown Windsor Soup
Burns Night
Cadburys
Castles
Changing the Guard
City of London
Coronation Street
Cowes Week
Cricket
Crufts
Dad’s Army
E-Type Jag
Eccentricity
English Country Garden
Fish and Chips
Fish Fingers
Fox Hunting
Full English Breakfast
Gin and Tonic
Glastonbury
Glorious Goodwood
Grand National
Grouse Shooting
Harrods
Highland Games
Hogmanay
James Bond
John Bull
King Arthur
Land Rover
Lloyds of London
London to Brighton Veteran Car Rally
Marks and Spencer
Monty Python
Morecambe and Wise
Old School Tie
Oxbridge
Panto
Picnics
Pimms
Point-to-Point
Punch and Judy
Queueing
Real Ale
Red Arrows
Red Telephone Boxes
Remembrance Poppies
Robin Hood
Rolls Royce
Royal Ascot
Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo
Savile Row Suits
School Discos
School Sports Day
Seaside Piers
Speakers’ Corner
Stag Nights
Stiff Upper Lip
Strawberries and Cream
Street Markets
Summer Festivals
Sunday Roasts
The Archers
The BBC
The Beano
The Boat Race
The Brass Band
The British Bobby
The Bulldog
The Church of England
The Cup Final
The Curry House
The English Rose
The Garden Shed
The Honours System
The Kilt
The Last Night at the Proms
The London Bus
The Mini
The National Trust
The NHS
The Oak
The Pub
The Queen’s Speech
The Rolling Stones
The Royal Christmas Message
The Spitfire
The V Sign
The Village Fete
The Weather
Travelling Fairs
Trooping the Colour
Village Greens
Wedgwood
Wellington Boots
Wimbledon
Wine Gums
Yeomen of the Guard
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