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 18th century when the third Duke decided to move the hunt to Goodwood. It closed in the early 19th 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. It 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-18th 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. Sometime during the second half of the 19th century the property was developed into a stable complex. The west cottage and an extension, now the hotel dining room and kitchen became living accommodation. From the time of the First World War until the early 1930's, the property was run as a training stable for racehorses by Mr Arthur Worthington. The champion jockey Steve Donoghue often visited the stables to exercise horses. The loose boxes with stable lad accommodation above opened onto a central courtyard. 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.

Charlton

Amidst the South Saxonian hills, there runs a verdant fruitful Vale, in which, at once Fower small, and pretty Villages are seen; Eastden the one, does first supply the spring, Whence milky Lavant, takes his future course; Charlton, the next, the beauty of the fower, The above verses are taken from an anonymous poem about the Charlton Hunt. From the pub,cross over the road and the River Lavant. This small seasonal downland stream takes its name from the word "levant" or "lavant", meaning "landspring". Traditionally, its springs break out in the winter months and it flows until the late spring, through the village and eventually into Chichester Harbour. The Lavant can however be deceptive and in 1994 it was the cause of considerable flooding in the area.