As yet no trace has been confirmed for the dwellings of these people as the structures would have been wooden[3] but Petersfield Museum hosts a community project to throw more light on this period of history.

In 1415 King Henry V granted the burgesses of Petersfield freedom from toll, stallage, picage, pannage, murage, and pontage throughout the realm of England.

The town grew in prosperity due to its position on frequently travelled routes, local sheep farming, and cottage industries including leather and cloth.

The town's market square has an 18th-century equestrian statue of King William III by John Cheere.

Petersfield is situated in the valley of the Western Rother, on the Lower Greensand at the northern edge of the South Downs.

On the south east side of the town is Petersfield Heath, 95 acres (38 ha) of heathland including woodland, grassland, a pond, and a picnic and recreation area.

[14] Petersfield Youth Theatre was formed in 1990 and performs annually at the Festival Hall, as well as delivering projects throughout the year.

[16] The Petersfield Shakespeare Festival takes place every July in the grounds of Bedales School in Steep.

[17] The Petersfield Musical Festival began in 1901, founded by two sisters, Edith and Rosalind Craig Sellar.

[18] Musicians associated with it over the years have included Kathleen Merritt (conductor of the Petersfield Orchestra from the 1920s to the 1970s), Dr Hugh Allen, Maurice Blower, Adrian Boult, Wilfred Brown, George Dyson, Sydney Watson, Steuart Wilson and (more recently) Mark Deller and Paul Spicer.

[19] Several pubs in the town host live music, open mic nights, and Battle of the Bands competitions.

Exhibitions are sometimes also held at the Festival Hall, St Peter's Church, and the Physic Garden.

The King's Arms is a youth club situated near the town centre, started by Petersfield Area Churches Together (PACT), a charitable Christian organisation.

The town has tennis courts (both public and members only), an open-air pool, a number of playing fields and a golf club.

[25] At a national level, Petersfield is part of the Westminster parliamentary constituency of East Hampshire.

Petersfield stood at a major crossroads until the A3 London to Portsmouth road was bypassed to the west of the town.

Churcher's College is in Petersfield, and counts Tim Rodber and Tiny Rowland amongst its former pupils.

Regional local news and television programmes are BBC South and ITV Meridian.

There is employment in shops and offices in the town centre, and farms in nearby villages, while other people commute to London and Portsmouth.

Light industry tends to be concentrated on the Bedford Road estate on the west side of Petersfield, including Whitman Laboratories (part of Estée Lauder).

Rubber products were manufactured in the town from 1919 to the 1980s, making parts for footwear, and in the 1930s sets of interlocking bricks as construction toys, marketed as Minibrix, pre-dating the plastic versions created by Lego.

Jamie Campbell Bower, Arthur Brough, Tamsin Egerton, Alex Lawther[31] and Miranda Hart were all born or live in Petersfield, as are the BBC Radio 4's soap opera The Archers actors Charles Collingwood (Brian Aldridge) and Edward Kelsey (Joe Grundy).

[32] In the music world, conductor Kathleen Merritt (who lived at Bridge House in the centre of town), opera director Ella Marchment, tenor Wilfred Brown, Sir William Henry Harris and composer Michael Hurd have connections to the town.

[33] Author Ursula Moray Williams (1911–2006) was born there[34] and John Wyndham (1903–1969), who wrote Day of the Triffids, lived in the town.

[35] H. G. Wells also had links to the town, and The Old Drum public house bears a blue plaque commemorating his regular dining and writing at the site.

Victoria Cross holder Commander Loftus William Jones, killed at the Battle of Jutland, was born in Petersfield.

From the citation:Commander Jones was hit by a shell, which took off his leg above the knee, but he continued to give orders to his gun's crew, while a Chief Stoker improvised a tourniquet round his thigh.

[38] In the sporting world, John Small, shopkeeper, cobbler, and Hambledon cricketer is buried in the churchyard of St Peter's.

John Westwood, a notable football fan, lives in the town and is a partner in Petersfield Bookshop, which has two Royal Warrants and celebrated its centenary in 2018.