[2] The town is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as having 44 households (24 villagers, 11 smallholders and nine slaves) with woodland and land for ploughing and pigs and 24 acres (9.7 ha) of meadows.

At that time the cottage was the home of Mrs. Cummings, a seamstress, whose drunkard husband had been a farrier in the Royal Irish Hussars and on the Petworth estate.

[12] Public transport access is currently provided by an hourly bus between Midhurst and Worthing, operated by Stagecoach South.

[citation needed] Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC South and ITV Meridian.

[15] The town's amateur dramatics group is known as the Petworth Players, and their past productions have included The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and The Sleeping Beauty.

On 20 November (St. Edmund's day) each year, the market square is closed off to traffic so that a fun fair can be held.

In earlier centuries the fair lasted several days and may have been wholly or partly held on a field on the south side of the town called fairfield.

Petworth is twinned with Ranville in Normandy, France and San Quirico d'Orcia in Tuscany, Italy.