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Title: Seaward Sussex
The South Downs from End to End
Author: Edric Holmes
Release Date: June 11, 2004 [EBook #12585]
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SEAWARD SUSSEX ***
Produced by Dave Morgan, Beth Trapaga and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team.
[Illustration: HURSTMONCEUX.]
SEAWARD SUSSEX
THE SOUTH DOWNS
FROM END TO END
BY
EDRIC HOLMES
ONE HUNDRED ILLUSTRATIONS BY
MARY M. VIGERS
MAPS AND PLANS BY THE AUTHOR
LONDON: ROBERT SCOTT
ROXBURGHE HOUSE
PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C.
MCMXX
"How shall I tell you of the freedom of the Downs--
You who love the dusty life and durance of great towns,
And think the only flowers that please embroider ladies' gowns--
How shall I tell you ..."
EDWARD WYNDHAM TEMPEST.
Every writer on Sussex must be indebted more or less to the researches
and to the archaeological knowledge of the first serious historian
of the county, M.A. Lower. I tender to his memory and also to his
successors, who have been at one time or another the good companions
of the way, my grateful thanks for what they have taught me of things
beautiful and precious in Seaward Sussex.
E.H.
CONTENTS
CHAP.
INTRODUCTION
I LEWES
II TO EASTBOURNE AND PEVENSEY
III SHAFORD TO BRIGHTON
IV BRIGHTON
V SHOREHAM AND WORTHING
VI ARUNDEL AND THE ARUN
VII THE VALLEY OF THE ROTHER
VIII GOODWOOD AND BOGNOR
IX CHICHESTER
X SELSEY AND BOSHAM
APPENDIX--
THE SUSSEX DOWNS FROM END TO END.
LONDON TO THE SOUTH DOWNS. THE WEALD.
RAILWAY ROUTES.
INDEX
The traveller through Sussex, as through every other English shire,
will find many reminders of the Great War in church, churchyard or
village green. Some are imposing or beautiful, some, alas, are neither,
or are out of keeping with the quiet peace of their surroundings. To
mention any, however striking in themselves or interesting in their
connexion, would be invidious as, at the time of writing, lack of
labour or material has prevented the completion of a great number of
them.
The local historian of the future will bring a woeful number of his
family records to a final close with the brief but glorious inscription
on the common tablet where plough-boy and earl's son are commemorated
side by side.
The sketch maps accompanying this book are simply for convenience in
identifying the route followed therein. Wanderers upon the Downs and
in the highways and byways at their feet will find Bartholomew's
"half-inch" map, sheet 32, the most useful. This scale is much to be
preferred to the "one inch" parent which lacks the contour colouring.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Hurstmonceux _Frontispiece_
Near Alciston
Market Cross, Alfriston
A Sussex Lane, Jevington
Willingdon
Lamb Inn, Eastbourne
Wannock
Old House, Petworth
The Barbican, Lewes Castle
St. Anne's Church, Lewes
The Priory Ruins, Lewes
Anne of Cleves House, Southover
The Grange, Southover
Cliffe
Firle Beacon
Alfriston Church
Alfriston
Lullington Church
Litlington
West Dean
East Dean
Beachy Head
Old Parsonage, Eastbourne
Jevington
Pevensey
Westham
Wilmington Green
Newhaven Church
Bishopstone Church Porch
Seaford Church
Seaford Head
Rottingdean
Brighton
The Pavilion, Brighton
St. Nicholas, Brighton
St. Peter's, Brighton
Poynings
Danny
Hurstpierpoint
Wolstonbury
Portslade Harbour
Shoreham and the Adur
New Shoreham
Old Shoreham
Sompting
Coombes
Upper Beeding
Bramber
St. Mary's, Bramber
Steyning
Grammar School, Steyning
Old Houses, Steyning
Chanctonbury Ring
Findon
Broadwater
Salvington Mill
Old Houses at Tarring
Beckets' Palace, Tarring
Arundel from the River
Arundel Castle
The Keep, Arundel
Arundel Gateway
Arundel Church
Lyminster
Clymping
Church Street, Littlehampton
Littlehampton Harbour
Amberley Castle
Stopham Bridge
Byworth
Petworth Church
Petworth House
Saddler's Row, Petworth
Cowdray
The Granary, Cowdray
Market Square, Midhurst
Midhurst Church
East Lavant
Felpham
Boxgrove Priory Church
Chichester Cathedral
Chichester Palace and Cathedral
Bell Tower, Chichester
Chichester Cross
St. Mary's Hospital, Chichester
Fishbourne Manor
Fishbourne Church
Bosham
Bosham Mill
Bosham, The Strand
Harting
Cowdray Cottage
Middle House, Mayfield
High Street, East Grinstead
Sackville College
Causeway, Horsham
Pond Street, Petworth
Steyning Church
North Mill, Midhurst
Knock Hundred Row, Midhurst
PLANS.
Geology of the Downs
Lewes
The Eastern Downs
The Brighton Downs
Old and New Shoreham
The Valley of the Arun
Arundel
Chichester
Chichester Cathedral
The Lowlands
The Western Downs
The Roads from London to the Downs
ARCHITECTURAL TERMS
_The following brief notes will assist the traveller who is not an
expert, in arriving at the approximate date of ecclesiastical
buildings._
SAXON 600-1066. Simple and heavy structure. Very small wall openings.
Narrow bands of stone in exterior walls.
NORMAN 1066-1150. Round arches. Heavy round or square pillars. Cushion
capitals. Elaborate recessed doorways. Zig-zag ornament.
TRANSITION 1150-1200. Round arched windows combined with pointed
structural arch. Round pillars sometimes with slender columns attached.
Foliage ornament on capitals.
EARLY ENGLISH 1200-1280 (including Geometrical). Pointed arches.
Pillars with detached shafts. Moulded or carved capitals. Narrow and
high pointed windows. Later period--Geometrical trefoil and circular
tracery in windows.
DECORATED 1280-1380. High and graceful arches. Deep moulding to
pillars. Convex moulding to capitals with natural foliage. "Ball
flower" ornament. Elaborate and flamboyant window tracery.
PERPENDICULAR 1380-1550. Arches lower and flattened. Clustered pillars.
Windows and doors square-headed with perpendicular lines. Grotesque
ornament. (The last fifty years of the sixteenth century were
characterized by a debased Gothic style with Italian details in the
churches and a beauty and magnificence in domestic architecture which
has never since been surpassed.)
JACOBEAN and GEORGIAN 1600-1800 are adaptations of the classical style.
The "Gothic Revival" dates from 1835.
[Illustration: NEAR ALCISTON.]
INTRODUCTION
"Then I saw in my Dream, that on the morrow he got up to go forwards,
but they desired him to stay till the next day also, and then said
they, we will (if the day be clear) show you the delectable Mountains,
which they said, would yet further add to his comfort, because they
were nearer the desired Haven than the place where at present he was.
So he consented and staid. When the Morning was up they had him to the
top of the House, and bid him look South, so he did; and behold at a
great distance he saw a most pleasant Mountainous Country, beautified
with Woods, Vineyards, Fruits of all sorts; Flowers also, with Springs
and Fountains, very delectable to behold."
Every one who has followed the fortunes of Christian in the stately
diction of the _Pilgrim's Progress_ must wish to know from whence came
those wonderful word pictures with which the dreamer of Bedford Jail
gems his masterpiece. That phrase "delectable mountains" conjures up in
each individual reader's mind those particular hills wherever they may
be, which are his own peculiar delight, and for which, exiled, his
spirit so ardently longs.
It is not presuming too much to suppose that the scene in Bunyan's mind
was that long range of undulating downs sometimes rising into bold and
arresting shape, and always with their finest aspect toward the Bedford
plains and him who cast longing eyes toward them. From almost any
slight eminence on the south of Bedford town on a clear day the
Dunstable and Ivinghoe hills are to be seen in distant beauty, and
there is the strongest similarity between them and those glorious
summits which every man of Sussex knows and loves so well.
The Chiltern Hills and the South Downs are built up of the same
material, have had their peculiarities of shape and form carved by the
same artificers--rain and frost, sun and wind; their flowers are the
same, and to outward seeming their sons and daughters are the same in
the way that all hill folk are alike and yet all differ in some subtle
way from the dweller in the plains.
Be this so or not our Downs are to us delectable mountains, and let the
reader who scoffs at the noun remember that size is no criterion of
either beauty or sublimity. That Sussex lover and greatest of literary
naturalists, Gilbert White, in perhaps his most frequently quoted
passage so characterizes the "majestic chain"; to his contemporaries
such a description was not out of place; our great grandfathers were
appalled when brought from the calm tranquillity of the southern slopes
to the stern dark melancholy of the mountains of Cumberland and
Westmoreland. The diary descriptions of those timid travellers of the
late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries are full of such
adjectives as "terrible," "frightful," "awful." One unlucky
individual's nerves caused him to stigmatize as "ghastly and
disgusting" one of the finest scenes in the Lake District, probably
unsurpassed in Europe for its perfectly balanced beauty of form and
splendour of colouring. To the general reader of those times the
descriptive poems of Wordsworth were probably unmeaning rhapsodies. Our
ancestors, however, were very fond of "prospects." An old atlas of the
counties of England, published about 1800, came into the writer's hands
recently. The whole of the gentler hills, including every possible
vantage point in the Downs, had been most carefully and neatly marked
with the panorama visible from the summit; but even Kinder Scout and
the Malverns came in for the same fate as the Welsh and Cumberland
mountains, all of which had been left severely alone, though the
intrepid traveller had braved the terrors of the Wrekin, while such
heights as Barton Hill in Leicestershire and Leith Hill in Surrey were
heavily scored with names of places seen, the latter including that
oft-told tale--a legend, so far as the present writer is aware--of St.
Paul's dome and the sea being visible with a turn of the head. Though
our idea of proportion in relation to scenery has suffered a change,
Gilbert White's phrase must not be sneered at; and most comparisons are
stupidly unfair. The outline of Mount Caburn is a rounded edition of
the most perfect of all forms. The rolling undulations of the tamest
portions of the range are broken by combes whose sides are steep enough
to give a spice of adventure to their descent. The "prospects," as
such, are immeasurably superior to those obtainable from most of the
mountains of the north and west, where a distant view is rare by reason
of the surrounding chain of heights, and where the chance of any view
at all to reward the climber is remote unless he chooses that fortnight
in early June or late September when the peaks are usually unshrouded.
Really bad weather, long continued, is uncommon in the Down country. A
dull or wet spell is soon over. The writer has set out from Worthing in
a thin drizzle of the soaking variety, descending from a sky of lead
stretching from horizon to horizon, which in the north would be
accepted as an institution of forty-eight hours at least, and on
arriving at the summit of Chanctonbury has been rewarded by a glorious
green and gold expanse glittering under a dome of intense blue.
[Illustration: MARKET CROSS, ALFRISTON.]
From the wooded heights of the Hampshire border to that grand headland
where the hills find their march arrested by the sea, the escarpment of
the Downs is sixty miles long and every mile is beautiful. It would be
an ideal holiday, a series of holy days, to follow the edge all the
way, meeting with only three valley breaks of any importance; but the
charm of the hill villages nestling in their tree embowered and
secluded combes would be too much for any ordinary human, especially if
he were thirsty, so in this book the traveller is taken up and down
without any regard for his consequent fatigue, when it is assured that
his rest will be sweet, even though it may be only under a hawthorn
bush!
[Illustration: A SUSSEX LANE, JEVINGTON.]
"No breeze so fresh and invigorating as that of the Sussex Downs; no
turf so springy to the feet as their soft greensward. A flight of larks
flies past us, and a cloud of mingled rooks and starlings wheel
overhead.... The fairies still haunt this spot, and hold their midnight
revels upon it, as yon dark rings testify. The common folk hereabouts
term the good people 'Pharisees' and style these emerald circles
'Hagtracks.' Why, we care not to enquire. Enough for us, the fairies
are not altogether gone. A smooth soft carpet is here spread out for
Oberon and Titania and their attendant elves, to dance upon by
moonlight...." (Ainsworth: _Ovingdean Grange_.)
"He described the Downs fronting the paleness of the earliest dawn and
then their arch and curve and dip against the pearly grey of the
half-glow; and then among their hollows, lo, the illumination of the
east all around, and up and away, and a gallop for miles along the
turfy, thymy, rolling billows, land to left, sea to light below you....
Compare you the Alps with them? If you could jump on the back of an
eagle, you might. The Alps have height. But the Downs have swiftness.
Those long stretching lines of the Downs are greyhounds in full career.
To look at them is to set the blood racing! Speed is on the Downs,
glorious motion, odorous air of sea and herb, exquisite as the Isles of
Greece." (Geo. Meredith: _Beauchamp's Career_.)
The most delightful close springy turf covers the Downs with a velvet
mantle, forming the most exhilarating of all earthly surfaces upon
which to walk and the most restful on which to stretch the wearied
body. Most delightful also are the miniature flowers which gem and
embroider the velvet; gold of potentilla, blue of gentian, pink and
white of milkwort, purple of the scabious and clustered bell-flower;
the whole robe scented with the fragrance of sweet thyme. Several
unfamiliar species of orchis may be found and also the rare and
beautiful rampion, "The Pride of Sussex." The hills are a paradise for
birds; the practice of snaring the wheatear for market has lately
fallen into desuetude and the "Sussex ortolan" is becoming more
numerous than it was a dozen years ago. Every epicure should be
interested in the numerous "fairy rings," sufficient evidence of the
abundance of mushrooms which will spring up in the night after a moist
day. One of the most comfortable traits of our chalk hills however is
the marvellous quickness with which the turf dries after rain. Those
who have experienced the discomfort of walking the fells of Cumberland
and Westmoreland, which at most seasons of the year resemble an
enormous wet sponge, often combined with the real danger of bog and
morass, will appreciate the better conditions met with in Sussex hill
rambling. Where the chalk is uncovered it becomes exceedingly slippery
after a shower, but there is rarely a necessity to walk thereon.
The pedestrian on the Downs should use caution after dusk; chalk pits
are not seen, under certain conditions, until the wayfarer is on the
verge. Holes in the turf are of frequent occurrence and may be the
cause of a twisted ankle, or worse, when far from help.
The "dene holes" are of human origin. Once thought to be primitive
dwelling places, they are now supposed to have been merely excavations
for the sake of the chalk or the flints contained therein, and possibly
adapted for the storage of grain. Of equal interest are the so-called
"dew ponds," of which a number are scattered here and there close to
the edge of the northern escarpment. Undoubtedly of prehistoric origin,
the art of making the pond has become traditional and some have been
built by shepherds still living. These pools of clear cool water high
up on the crest of a hill gain a mysterious air by their position, but
their existence is capable of a scientific explanation. Built in the
first place to be as nearly as possible non-conducting, with an
impervious "puddled" bottom, the pond is renewed every night to a
certain extent by the dew which trickles down each grass and reed stem
into the reservoir beneath, and to a much greater extent by the mists
which drift over the edge to descend in rain on the Weald. The pools
might well be called "cloud ponds."
[Illustration: WILLINGDON.]
The most lovely scenes, the best view points, are described in their
proper place. The question as to which is the finest section of the
Downs must be left to the individual explorer. To some natures the free
bare wind-swept expanse at the back of Brighton will appeal the most.
By others the secret woods which climb from hidden combe and dry gully,
mostly terminating in a bare top, and which are all west of the Arun,
will be considered incomparably the best. To every man of Lewes the
isolated mass of hills which rise on the east of the town are _the_
Downs. But all must be seen to be truly appreciated and loved as they
will be loved.
Hotels will not be found in the Downs; the tourist who cannot live
without them will find his wants supplied within but a few miles at any
of the numerous Londons by the Sea; but that will not be Sussex pure
and undefiled, and if simplicity and cleanliness, enough to eat and
drink, and a genuine welcome are all that is required, he will find
these in our Downland inns.
It is in the more remote of these hostelries that the inquisitive
stranger will hear the South Saxon dialect in its purity and the slow
wit of the Sussex peasant at its best. The old Downland shepherd with
embroidered smock and Pyecombe crook is vanishing fast, and with him
will disappear a good deal of the character which made the Sussex
native essentially different from his cousins of Essex and Wessex.
[Illustration: LAMB INN, EASTBOURNE.]
One of the most delightful records of rustic life ever printed is that
study in the "Wealden Formation of Human Nature" by the former rector
of Burwash, John Cocker Egerton, entitled _Sussex Folk and Sussex
Ways_. True, the book is mainly about Wealden men and we are more
concerned with the hill tribes, but the shrewd wit and quaint conceits
of the South Saxon portrayed therein will be readily recognized by the
leisurely traveller who has the gift of making himself at home with
strangers. It is to be hoped that in the great and epoch-making changes
that are upon us in this twentieth century some at least of the
individual characteristics of the English peasantry will remain. It is
the divergent and opposite traits of the tribes which make up the
English folk that have helped to make us great. May we long be
preserved from a Wellsian uniformity!
A brief description of the geological history of the range may not be
amiss here. It will be noted by the traveller from the north that the
opposing line of heights in Surrey have their steepest face (or
"escarpment") on the south side, while the Sussex Downs have theirs on
the north. A further peculiarity lies in the fact that the river
valleys which cut across each range from north to south are opposite
each other, thus pointing to the probability that the fracture which
caused the clefts was formerly continuous for fifty miles through the
great dome of chalk which extended over what is now the Weald. The
elevation of this "dome," caused by the shrinking and crumpling of the
earth's crust and consequent rise of the lower strata, was never an
actual smooth rise and fall from the sea to the Thames valley; through
the ages during which this thrust from below was in progress the crown
of the dome would be in a state of comparatively rapid disintegration,
and it is because of this that we have no isolated masses of chalk
remaining between the two lines of hills. The highlands called by
geologists the "Forest Ridge" are in the centre and are the lowest
strata of the upheaval; they are the so-called Hastings sands which
enter the sea at that town half-way between Beachy Head and Dover
cliffs. North and south of this ridge is the lower greensand, forming
in Sussex the low hills near Heathfield, Cuckfield and Petworth, and
which reaches the sea south and north of Hastings. It was at one time
supposed that the face of the Downs originally formed a white sea cliff
and that an arm of the sea stretched across what we know as the Weald,
but the simpler explanation is undoubtedly the correct one.
[Illustration: WANNOCK.]
The Downs themselves are composed of various qualities of chalk; some
of such a hard, smooth and workable material that, as will be seen
presently, the columns in some of the Downland churches are made from
this native "rock." While the upper strata is soft and contains great
quantities of flints, the middle layers are brittle and yield plenty of
fossils, lower still is the marl, a greyish chalk of great value in the
fertilization of the gault. This latter forms an enormous moist ditch
or gutter at the foot of the escarpment, and from the farmer's point of
view is essentially bad land, requiring many tons of marl to be mixed
with it before this most difficult of all clays becomes fertile.
Between the chalk and the gault clay is a very narrow band of upper
greensand, only occasionally noticeable in the southern range, but
strongly marked in the North Downs.
"The chalk is our landscape and our proper habitation. The chalk gave
us our first refuge in war by permitting those vast encampments on the
summits. The chalk filtered our drink for us and built up our strong
bones; it was the height from the slopes of which our villages,
standing in a clear air, could watch the sea or the plain; we carved
it--when it was hard enough; it holds our first ornaments; our clear
streams run over it; the shapes and curves it takes and the kind of
close rough grass it bears (an especial grass for sheep) are the cloak
of our counties; its lonely breadths delight us when the white clouds
and the necks move over them together; where the waves break it into
cliffs, they are characteristic of our shores, and through its thin
coat of whitish mould go the thirsty roots of our three trees--the
beech, the holly, and the yew. For the clay and the sand might be
deserted or flooded and the South Country would still remain, but if
the Chalk Hills were taken away we might as well be in the Midlands."
(Hilaire Belloc: _The Old Road_.)
[Illustration: GEOLOGY OF THE DOWNS.]
A description of these hills, however short, would be incomplete
without some reference to the sheep, great companies of which roam the
sunlit expanse with their attendant guardians--man and dog (who deserve
a chapter to themselves). Southdown mutton has a fame that is
extra-territorial; it has been said that the flavour is due to the
small land snail of which the sheep must devour millions in the course
of their short lives. But the explanation is more probably to be found
in the careful breeding of the local farmers of a century or so ago.
Gilbert White refers to two distinct breeds--"To the west of the Adur
... all had horns, smooth white faces and white legs, but east of that
river all flocks were poll sheep (hornless) ... black faces with a
white tuft of wool." Since that day, however, east has been west and
west east and the twain have met.
[Illustration: OLD HOUSE, PETWORTH.]
The traveller _may_ be fortunate enough to come across a team of oxen
ploughing. The phenomenon is yearly becoming more rare; but within
sight and sound of the Eastbourne expresses between Plumpton and
Cooksbridge this archaic survival from a remote past is more likely to
be seen than elsewhere.
The oxen are usually black and are the remnants of a particular breed,
the outcome of a long and slow experiment in getting the right sort of
draught animal. The ploughs themselves, as Jefferies says, "must have
been put together bit by bit in the slow years--slower than the ox....
How many thousand, thousand clods must have been turned in the furrows
before ... the curve to be given to this or that part grew upon the
mind, as the branch grows upon the tree!"
But the Downs are not scarred to any great extent by cultivation. The
sheep and the birds are mostly in sole possession and are almost the
only living moving things on the hills. The fox, though at one time
common, is now very rarely seen, for game, with the disappearance of
gorse and bramble, has almost vanished, and other beasts of prey,
weasel and stoat, shun the open uplands where the only enemy of field
mouse and vole is the eagle of the south country, the peregrine falcon.
[Illustration: THE BARBICAN, LEWES CASTLE.]
SEAWARD SUSSEX
CHAPTER I
LEWES
"Lewes is the most romantic situation I ever saw"; thus Defoe, and the
capital of Sussex shares with Rye and Arundel the distinction of having
a continental picturesqueness more in keeping with old France than with
one of the home counties of England. This, however, is only the
impression made by the town when viewed as a whole; its individual
houses, its churches and castle, and above all, its encircling hills
are England, and England at her best and dearest to those who call
Sussex home. The beauty of the surroundings when viewed from almost any
of its old world streets and the charm of the streets themselves make
the old town an ever fresh and welcome resort for the tired Londoner
who appreciates a quiet holiday. As a centre for the exploration of
East Sussex Lewes has no equal; days may be spent before the interest
of the immediate neighbourhood is exhausted; for those who are vigorous
enough for hill rambling the paths over the Downs are dry and passable
in all weathers, and the Downs themselves, even apart from the added
interest of ancient church or picturesque farm and manor, are ample
recompense for the small toil involved in their exploration.
[Illustration: SKETCH PLAN OF THE BOROUGH OF LEWES.]
The origin of Lewes goes back to unknown times, the very meaning of the
name is lost, its situation in a pass and on the banks of the only
navigable river in East Sussex inevitably made it a place of some
importance. It is known that Athelstan had two mints here and that the
Norman Castle was only a rebuilding by William de Warenne on the site
of a far older stronghold. To this de Warenne, the Conqueror, with his
usual liberality, presented the town, and it is from the ruins of his
castle that we should commence our exploration.
Of de Warenne's building only the inner gateway remains. The outer gate
and the keep date from the reign of the first Edward; the site of a
_second_ keep is shown in private grounds not far off, a feature very
rare in this country if not unique.
The summit of the tower is laid out as an old world garden; and here is
also the interesting museum of the Sussex Archaeological Society, but
the visitor will be best repaid by the magnificent view of the
surrounding country spread out before him. To the north-west rises
Mount Harry, and to the right of this stretches the wide expanse of the
Weald bounded by the sombre ridges of Ashdown Forest, dominated by
Crowborough Beacon slightly east of due north.
The quarries and combe of Cliffe Hill stand up with fine effect
immediately east of the town, which sinks from where we stand to the
Ouse at the bottom of the valley. More to the south-east is Mount
Caburn above the bare and melancholy flats through which the Ouse finds
its way to the sea; due south-west the long range of Newmarket Hill
stretches away to the outskirts of Brighton, and the Race Course Hill
brings us back to our starting point. Beautiful as is the distant
prospect the greatest charm of this unique view is in the huddle of
picturesque red-tiled roofs and greenery beneath us.
Of the history of the Castle there are but scanty records; its part in
the making of East Sussex seems to have been fairly quiescent, and in
the great struggle of May 1264 between the forces of the Barons and
Henry III, for which Lewes will always be famous, the fortress took no
actual part and merely surrendered at discretion.
"The battle was fought on the hill where the races are held. Simon de
Montfort, Earl of Leicester, headed the Baronial army. The Royal forces
were divided into three bodies; the right entrusted to Prince Edward;
the left to Richard, Earl of Cornwall, King of the Romans; and the
centre to Henry himself. Prince Edward attacked the Londoners under
Nicholas Seagrave with such impetuosity that they immediately fled and
were pursued with great slaughter. Montfort taking advantage of this
separation, vigorously charged the remaining division of the Royalists,
which he put to rout. The King and the Earl of Cornwall hastened to the
town, where they took refuge in the Priory. Prince Edward, returning in
triumph from the pursuit of the Londoners, learned with amazement the
fate of his father and uncle. He resolved to make an effort to set them
at liberty, but his followers were too timid to second his ardour, and
he was finally compelled to submit to the conditions subscribed by his
father, who agreed that the Prince and his cousin Henry, son of the
Earl of Cornwall, should remain as hostages in the hands of the Barons
till their differences were adjusted by Parliament. In this contest
5,000 men were slain. The King, who had his horse slain under him,
performed prodigies of valour. Richard, Earl of Cornwall, was taken
prisoner."
By all accounts it was a good fight, and the best men won. A touch of
humour is added to one record wherein it is related that Richard, King
of the Romans, took refuge in a windmill, wherein he was afterwards
captured amid shouts of "Come out, thou bad miller." This mill stood
near the old Black Horse Inn, but has long since been burnt down.
Accounts vary exceedingly as to the number of the slain, some
authorities giving as many as 20,000, others no more than 2,700.
"Many faire ladie lose hir lord that day,
And many gode bodie slayn at Leans lay.
The nombre none wrote, for tell them might no man.
But He that alle wote, and alle thing ses and can."
(Robert Brune.)
There are certain times, especially in the early hours of a fine autumn
day, when the mass of old grey stone is seen rising above its vassal
town through golden river mists which veil the modernities of the
railway and its appurtenancies, and one feels that the battle might
have taken place yesterday. Strange that this town is an important and
busy railway junction and yet so little has the old-world appearance
of the place suffered in consequence; here are no ugly rows of
railwaymen's cottages in stark evidence on the hillsides; in actual
fact the coming of the railway has added to the antiquarian and
historical interest of the town, as will be seen presently.
A short distance along High Street stands St. Michael's Church, which
has one of the three curious round towers for which the valley of the
Ouse is famous. The style of the tower is Norman, but the body of the
church is of later dates. Here are some fine brasses; one is supposed
to commemorate a de Warenne who died about 1380; another is to John
Bradford, rector, dated 1457. The monument to Sir Nicholas Pelham
(1559) has an oft-quoted punning verse--
"What time the French sought to have sacked Sea-Foord
This Pelham did repel-em back aboord."
St. Anne's Church is nearly a quarter of a mile farther on. The style
is Transitional. There are several interesting items, including a very
fine and ancient font of a "basket" pattern. Note the uncommon
appearance of the capitals on the south side pillars, an ancient tomb
in the chancel wall, and, not least, the doorway with Norman moulding.
There is in this church a window in memory of Lower, a fitting tribute
to the historian of Sussex, but his best memorial will always be that
work that is still the basis of most writings on the past of the
county.
The road continues to the Battlefield and Mount Harry, but to explore
the lower portion of the town a return must be made to High Street. At
the corner of Bull Lane, marked by a memorial tablet and with a queer
carved demon upon its front is Tom Paine's house. Note the unusual
milestone on a house front opposite Keere Street, down which turning is
presently passed (on the left) Southover House (1572), a good example
of Elizabethan architecture. Keere Street has another remnant of the
past in its centre gutter, the usual method of draining the street in
medieval times, but now very seldom seen except in the City of London.
At the foot of the street is the (probably dry) bed of the
Winterbourne, so called because, like other streams of the chalk
country, it flows at intermittent times. A short distance farther, to
the right, and just past St. John's Church, will be found the entrance
to the space once occupied by the first Priory of the Cluniacs in
England.
[Illustration: ST. ANNE'S CHURCH, LEWES.]
Founded in 1078 by William de Warenne and his wife Gundrada and
dedicated to St. Pancras, the Priory was always closely allied with the
parent house on the continent. At the Dissolution more than the usual
vandalism seems to have been observed and Cromwell's creatures must
have vented some personal spite against the monks in their wholesale
demolition of the buildings. A mound to the north-east is supposed to
be the site of a calvary, and until quite recently a "colombarium" or
dovecote was allowed to stand which contained homes for over three
thousand birds.
"The Priory building was probably irregular, varying in its form as the
increase of inmates demanded additional room. But though irregular, it
was certainly a noble edifice, faced with Caen stone, and richly
adorned by the chisel of the sculptor. Its walls embraced an area of 32
acres, 2 rods, 11 perches, and it was not less remarkable for its
magnificence than extent. The length of the church was 150 feet, having
an altitude of 60 feet. It was supported by thirty-two pillars, eight
of which were very lofty, being 42 feet high, 18 feet thick, and 45
feet in circumference; the remaining twenty-four were 10 feet thick, 25
feet in circumference, and 18 feet in height.[1] The belfry was placed
over the centre of the church, at an elevation of 105 feet, and was
supported by the eight lofty pillars above mentioned. The roof over the
high altar was 93 feet high. Its walls were 10 feet thick. On the right
side of the high altar was a vault supported by four pillars, and from
this recess branched out five chapels that were bounded by a wall 70
yards long. A higher vault supported by four massive pillars, 14 feet
in diameter, and 45 feet in circumference, was probably on the left
side of the high altar, and corresponded with the one just mentioned,
from which branched out other chapels or cells of the monks. How many
chapels there were cannot be ascertained; the names of only three are
known, the Virgin Mary, St. Thomas the Martyr, and St. Martin. The
chapter-house and church were by far the most splendid apartments of
this stately pile; the latter was richly adorned by the painter and the
sculptor."
[1] These measurements are confusing, unless the pillars were of
an unusual shape. A round column 18 feet thick would be 54 feet
in circumference.
The wooden chapel of St. Pancras which existed here in Saxon times
probably stood where later the high altar of the great Norman church
was reared, and across this site the Eastbourne trains now run. The
station itself is supposed to be on the site of the convent kitchens
and consequently the present ruins are very scanty. Though the
foundations laid bare at the cutting of the railway in 1845 show the
great extent of the buildings, the battered walls which now remain give
but little indication of the imposing dimensions quoted above, and the
visitor will have to depend on sentiment and the imagination rather
than on actual sightseeing. The excavators in 1845 had a gruesome
experience, for they discovered a charnel pit containing thirteen cart
loads of bones of the fallen warriors at the battle of Lewes. Although
nearly six centuries had elapsed the stench was dreadful.
That the archaeological interest of Lewes owes much to the making of
the railway will now be seen.
[Illustration: THE PRIORY RUINS, LEWES.]
The following account appeared in the _Gentleman's Magazine_, 1845:--
"On the morning of Tuesday, October 28, a most interesting discovery
was made by the workmen employed in forming a cutting for the Lewes and
Brighton Railway, through the ground formerly occupied by the great
Cluniac Priory of St. Pancras, at Lewes. It is well-known that the
original founders, in 1078, were William de Warenne, Earl of Surrey, of
a great Norman family, and his wife Gundred, the daughter of William
the Conqueror and his Queen Matilda; that they pulled down an old
wooden church to replace it by a stone one, and that after their deaths
in 1085 and 1088, they were buried in the chapter-house of their
Priory. So effectual, however, was the destruction of the buildings in
1537 by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners of Henry VIII that the very
site of the church has been uncertain, and there has long been nothing
visible of the ruins but a confused mass of broken walls and arches
half buried under the soil. The bold intrusion of a railway into these
hallowed precincts has thrown light upon this obscurity, and in the
course of their excavations the workmen have found, covered by some
slabs of Caen stone, two leaden chests containing the bones of the
founders, and inscribed with their names. They are not coffins, but
cists or chests, and are both of similar form and dimensions,
ornamented externally by a large net-work of interlaced cords moulded
in the lead. The cist of William de Warenne measures 2 feet 11 inches
long, by 12-1/2 inches broad, and is 8 inches deep, all the angles
being squared, and the flat loose cover lapping an inch over. On the
upper surface at one end is inscribed in very legible characters
'WillelMus.' The cist of the princess his wife is 2 inches shorter and
1 inch deeper, and the word 'Gvndrada' is very distinctly inscribed on
the cover. It is worth remarking that her father, the Conqueror, in his
charter, calls for Gundfreda, and her husband, who survived her, calls
her Gundreda in his charter.
"It is obvious, from the length of these receptacles, that their bones
have been transferred to them from some previous tombs, and it is not
difficult to suppose that, the chapter-house not being built at the
time of their deaths, the founders were buried elsewhere until its
completion, and that the bodies were then found so decayed that their
bones only remained for removal to a more distinguished situation, and
were, on that occasion, placed in these very leaden chests. A
rebuilding of the Priory Church was begun on the anniversary of William
the founder's death in 1243, and from the antique form of the letters G
and M the inscriptions cannot be fixed at a later period. The
characters, indeed, more resemble the form used in the twelfth century.
Of the genuine antiquity of these relics there cannot be the slightest
doubt. It is locally notorious that the black marble slab which
formerly covered the remains of Gundrada, beautifully carved and
bordered with nine Latin verses in her honour cut in the rim and down
the middle, was discovered in 1775 in Isfield Church, misappropriated
as a tombstone over one of the Shirley family, and by the care of Sir
William Burrel removed to the church of Southover, immediately
adjoining the ruins of the Priory. It is very singular that now, after
an interval of eight years, her very bones should be brought to the
same church (under the superintendence of the Rev. Mr. Scobell) there
to undergo a third burial under Gundrada's marble slab.
"The tombstone of Gundred Countess of Warren was discovered about the
year 1775, by Dr. Clarke, rector of Buxted, in the Shirley chancel of
Isfield Church, forming the table part of a mural monument of Edward
Shirley, Esq., by whose father probably it was preserved at the
demolition of the Priory, and conveyed to Isfield, his manorial estate.
At the expense of Dr., afterwards Sir William, Burrell, it was removed
from its obscure station, and placed upon a suitable shrine, in the
vestry-pew of Southover Church, that being the nearest convenient spot
to its original station. The stone is of black marble, sculptured in
very high relief. The lower end had been broken off before its
discovery at Isfield. Around the rim, and along the middle, is the
following inscription:
Stirps Gundrada ducum, decus evi, nobile germen,
Intulit ecclesiis Anglorum balsama morum,
Martir (is hanc aedem struxit Pancrati in honorem)
Martha fuit miseris, fuit ex pietate Maria;
Pars obiit Marthe, superest pars magna Marie.
O pie Pancrati, testis pietatis et equi,
Te facit heredem, tu clemens suscipe matrem.
Sexta kalendarum junii lux obvia carnis
Fregit alabastrum (superest pars optima coelo).
(_Conjectured words in parenthesis_.)
"Another leaden coffin, full of bones, but without any inscription, has
also been found, longer than those of the founder's, having a
semicircular top, and six large rings of 3-1/4 inches diameter attached
to the outsides. At a little distance from the two small chests, there
was also found the remains of an ecclesiastic, buried without any
coffin, but lying upon a bed of coarse gravel within a hollow space
formed by large flat stones. His hands were in a position indicating
that they had been joined together in the attitude of prayer over his
breast, as usual. Not only his bones, but much of his thick woollen
gown, his under-garment of linen, and his leather shoes have been
preserved. These, too, have been carefully transferred to Southover
Church. It has been conjectured with much probability that these
remains were those of Peter, the son of John, Earl de Warren, the
patron of the monastery, who was appointed prior contrary to the
nomination of the Pope in favour of the suggestion that the reinterment
of the remains of the founders took place about the beginning of the
thirteenth century."
[Illustration: ANNE OF CLEVE'S HOUSE, SOUTHOVER.]
A chapel specially designed to receive the leaden caskets was erected
in excellent taste at St. John's, Southover, in 1847. The names are
plainly decipherable. The tombstone on the floor is that of Gundrada,
brought here from Isfield. The effigy in the wall of the chapel is
conjectured to be that of John de Braose, who died in 1232.
The picturesque old house on the north side of the street is called
Anne of Cleve's House, but this title appears to be contradicted by the
date 1599 on the front of the building; there is a possibility that
this date was added when certain alterations took place; it is certain,
however, that when Thomas Cromwell's time was past the property was
made over to the King, of whom a very startling legend is told locally
to the effect that he murdered one of his wives on a stairway in the
Priory!
The rebuilt church of St. John-sub-castre has its ugliness redeemed in
the antiquary's eye by the round Saxon arch retained in the outside
wall and by the "Magnus Memorial" as certain stones, bearing a Latin
inscription in Anglo-Saxon characters, are called. Here is also a
fourteenth century tomb and an old font. The churchyard forms the site
of a Roman camp, the vallum of which may still be seen.
[Illustration: THE GRANGE, SOUTHOVER.]
St. Thomas-at-Cliffe has several interesting details including an
uncommon and elaborate "squint" with two pillars; a modern painting of
St. Thomas of Canterbury, patron saint of the church, and an old Dutch
representation of the Ascension.
Among the many famous men of Lewes must be mentioned Tom Paine who came
here in 1768, marrying in 1771 a daughter of the town named Elizabeth
Ollive and in due time succeeding to her father's business of
tobacconist. The house has already been noticed, it bears a memorial
tablet and also a very quaint carved demon. It is just off the High
Street and near St. Michael's Church. Lewes cannot claim the honour of
seeing the birth of _The Rights of Man_ (a rather dubious honour in
those days); the book was written while Paine stayed with his
biographer, Thomas Rickman the bookseller, in London.
Another famous resident of Lewes was John Evelyn, who spent a great
part of his schooldays in the Grammer School at Southover. Here also
was educated John Pell, the famous mathematician.
A house at the end of the town on the Newhaven road belonged to the
Shelleys, and Dr. Johnson once stayed here on his way to the Thrales in
Brighton.
The old "Star" Inn has been converted into municipal offices, but the
fine front still remains and most of the old work in the interior. In
the tower close by, in the Market-place, is "Great Gabriel," a bell
dating, it is said, from the time of Henry III. Lower has the following
lines on the bells of Lewes:--
"Oh, happy Lewes, waking or asleep,
With faithful _hands_ your time _archangels_ keep!
St. _Michael's_ voice the fleeting hour records,
And _Gabriel_ loud repeats his brother's words;
While humble _Cliffites_, ruled by meaner power,
By Tom the _Archbishop_ regulate their hour."
It was hereabouts that a great burning of heretics took place in 1557.
Among the honoured names recorded upon the Martyr's Memorial is that of
Richard Woodman, ironmaster, of Warbleton, whose protests against his
pastor's weathercock attitude during the Marian persecutions resulted
in the stake. The memorial perpetuates the names of sixteen persons who
suffered the fiery death at this time. The consequence is that the zeal
of the townsmen on the 5th of November is Orange in its fervour, and
the streets are given up to various "fireworks" clubs whose members
have been subscribing their spare shillings for months past. Crowds
ascend Saxon Down and the surrounding hills to see the display from a
distance; still greater crowds throng the streets to watch the
destruction in effigy of some unpopular local or national celebrity. Of
the Down land walks we have mentioned the most interesting, by reason
of its fine views of the town, is to Cliffe Hill. An extension may be
made to Saxon Down, a glorious expanse of wind-swept hill; and farther
on to the conical Mount Caburn, with magnificent marine views; from
this point a descent may be made to Glynde, which will be described
presently.
The long street of Cliffe leads northwards to South Malling; here is a
conventicle named "Jireh" erected by J. Jenkyns, W.A. These cryptic
initials mean "Welsh ambassador." In the cemetery behind is the tomb of
William Huntingdon, the evangelist, whose epitaph is as follows:--
"Here lies the coalheaver, beloved of his God, but abhorred of men.
The Omniscient Judge at the grand assize shall ratify and confirm
this to the confusion of many thousands; for England and her
metropolis shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.
"W.H., S.S." (Sinner Saved.)
The evangelist was wont to say "As I cannot get a D.D. for want of
cash, neither can I get a M.A. for want of learning, therefore I am
compelled to fly for refuge to S.S."
[Illustration: CLIFFE.]
Malling Church is of no interest except perhaps for the fact that John
Evelyn laid the foundation stone. At Old Malling once stood a Saxon
collegiate church founded by Caedwalla in 688 and therefore one of the
first Christian churches erected in Sussex. The Archbishops of
Canterbury had a residence near, and in the _Memorials of Canterbury_
Dean Stanley tells how Becket's murderers entered the house and threw
their arms on the dining-table, which immediately threw them off;
replaced, they were again thrown farther off with a louder crash. One
of the knights then suggested that the table refused to bear its
sacrilegious burden. This is still a popular local legend.
Ringmer, about two miles to the north-east, is closely connected with
Gilbert White; the oft-quoted letter in which he says "I have now
travelled the Downs upwards of 30 years, yet I still investigate that
chain of majestic mountains with fresh admiration year by year" was
written from here. There are several interesting monuments and brasses
in the church, especially those to the Springett family.
[Illustration: THE EASTERN DOWNS.]
CHAPTER II
TO EASTBOURNE AND PEVENSEY
Two miles distant from Lewes on the Eastbourne road is Beddingham,
whose church shows a medley of styles from Norman to Decorated. About
one hundred years ago a discovery was made near the village of a
quantity of human remains together with weapons and accoutrements,
pointing to the probability of a forgotten battle having taken place in
the pass between the hills. A religious house dedicated to St. Andrew
is conjectured to have existed at one time in or near the village.
Monkish records relate that a ship hailing from Dunkirk and having on
board a monk named Balger was driven into Seaford by a storm. This
Balger was of an enterprising turn; making his way inland he helped
himself to the relics of St. Lewinna, a British convert, which reposed
in St. Andrew's Monastery. The adventures that overtook the relics and
their illegal guardian during the journey back to Flanders make up a
medieval romance of much interest and throw a curious light on the
mental attitude of the religious, as regards the rights of property,
during the Dark Ages.
[Illustration: FIRLE BEACON.]
A mile farther along the high road is the turning which leads to Glynde
station and village, for which the most pleasant route is over the
hills. The name is possibly a Celtic survival and describes the
situation between opposing heights. "Glyn" is common throughout the
whole of Wales. The church is in a style quite alien to its
surroundings and might well belong to Clapham or Bloomsbury. It is a
Grecian temple built about 1765 by the then Bishop of Durham, Dr.
Trevor, and here the Bishop was buried. There are few more charming
groups of cottages in Sussex than this beautiful village. Glynde Place,
the seat of a former Speaker of the House of Commons, boasts the
largest dairy in Sussex if not in England; between 700 and 800 pounds
of butter are made here daily. John Ellman, the famous breeder of
Southdown sheep lived here for nearly fifty years (1780-1829.)
A short way farther, on the main road, is a turning to West Firle, on
the east of which is the fine Firle Park belonging to the Gage's, a
very ancient local family whose tombs and brasses may be seen in the
church. The pedestrian is advised to press on to Firle Beacon from
which a descent may be made to Alciston (pronounced "Aston") on the
high road. The heap of flints on the summit of the Beacon is 718 feet
above the sea, and therefore the hill is not so high as it looks, nor
is it, as was formerly supposed to be the case, the second highest
summit of the Downs. The view is superb both northwards to the Weald
and southwards over the Channel. Alciston calls for little comment, the
charm of the place consists in its air of remoteness and peace. The
small church is partly Norman, and in the walls of Court House Farm are
the remains of a religious house. Note the ancient barn and dovecote. A
mile to the north is another little hamlet called "Simson," and spelt
Selmeston. The curious wooden pillars in the church were fortunately
untouched when the building was restored. The old altar slab has five
crosses, and there are one or two interesting brasses.
[Illustration: ALFRISTON CHURCH.]
Berwick is a scattered village on the western slopes of the Cuckmere
valley; the Early English church is embowered in trees on a spur of the
Downs; there is a fine canopied tomb in the chancel, an old screen and
an uncommon type of font built in the wall. Note the eloquent epitaph
to a former rector.
Half a mile farther is a turning on the right that passes Winton
Street, where, a few years ago, there was a rich find of Anglo-Saxon
antiquities. In two miles this byway reaches Alfriston.
("_All_-friston.") The church has a very common legend associated with
it; the foundations are said to have been again and again removed by
supernatural agency from another site to the spot where the solemn and
stately old building now stands. It is a Perpendicular cruciform church
and has an Easter sepulchre and three sedilia. The register is said to
be the oldest in England, its first entry bearing the date of 1512. "A
few years since as many as seventy 'virgins' garlands' hung in
Alfriston Church at once" (Hare). Close by is a delightful
pre-Reformation clergy house. Antiquaries are perhaps as concerned with
the "Star" Inn, one of the most interesting in the south of England and
dating from about 1490. The front of the house is covered with quaint
carvings including St. George and the Dragon, a bear and ragged staff
and what appears to be a lion. On each side of the doorway arc mitred
saints conjectured to represent St. Julian and St. Giles. The inn is
reputed to have been a place of sanctuary under Battle Abbey; it stands
within the abbot's manor of Alciston and was undoubtedly the recognized
hostel for pilgrims and mendicant friars. Another old inn, once a noted
house of call for smugglers, is Market Cross House, opposite all that
remains of the Cross, a mutilated and battered stump, and the only
example, except that at Chichester, in the county.
[Illustration: ALFRISTON.]
Alfriston once had a race week, the course being on the side of Firle
Beacon; in those days the resident population was probably greater than
it is now. Not only were more souls crowded into the old houses still
standing in the village street but tradition tells that the place was
larger and more suited to its spacious old church which is now barely
half filled on an ordinary Sunday.
A footpath may be taken over the Cuckmere and up the hill beyond to the
little dependency of Lullington. The church calls itself the smallest
in Sussex but this depends upon what constitutes a church. The existing
building is actually the chancel of a former church, perhaps another
proof of a dwindling population.
[Illustration: LULLINGTON CHURCH.]
The winding lane on the eastern bank of the Cuckmere is thick with a
glaring white dust on the dry days of summer, but there is no other
practicable route to Litlington; where is a quaint and interesting old
church with arches formed of the native chalk. This village is growing
rather than decaying, and appears to be, in a small way, an asylum for
those who have grown weary of the broader highways. It is in a most
delightful situation and is even within reach of a morning dip in the
sea for those vigorous enough to undertake a three mile walk each way.
"Tea" placards nestling among the roses and ivy on the cottage walls
also testify its attractions to holiday wayfarers, though the way to
Litlington, even for the motor-cyclist, is too strenuous for the
village to become overcrowded or vulgar.
[Illustration: LITLINGTON.]
The Cuckmere now begins to widen its banks and the theory that the
waters once extended from side to side of the valley seems tenable as
we view the wide expanse of sedgy swamp through which the present
channel has been artificially cut. Cuckmere Haven is the name given to
the bay between the last of the "Seven Sisters" and the eastern slopes
of Seaford Head which should be ascended for the sake of the lovely
view up the valley, seen at its best from this end.
"The only light that suits the tranquillity and tender pathos of the
region is that which fills the dimples of the Downs with inexpressibly
soft and dreamy expressions, and quickens the plain by revealing the
individuality of every blade of grass and plough-turned clod by its own
shadow."
(Coventry Patmore.)
Nearly all the villages of the Cuckmere are in sight and make together
perhaps the most likely to be remembered of Sussex pictures. It is
surprising how little this tranquil vale is known except to the chance
visitor from Seaford. When one remembers the much exploited and spoilt
beauty spots of Dorset and Devon one feels nervous for the future of
these lesser known but equally charming sea-combes of Sussex.
A short distance from the haven a steep gulley leads to the beach with
a convenient chain and rope to prevent too sudden a descent. It has
been suggested that through this gap the Romans passed from their
moored fleets to the fortified settlements above. It was at one time
possible to descend by another opening higher up the cliff to a ledge
called "Puck Church Parlour." This is now inaccessible except to
seabirds. The well-known view of the "Seven Sisters" is taken
hereabouts and the disused "Belle Tout" lighthouse stands up well on
the western slopes of Beachy Head, looking no distance across the
Cuckmere bay.
On the way from Litlington a slight divergence of half a mile or so
might have been made to West Dean; this is a most sequestered little
hamlet, famous only as the meeting place between the great Alfred and
Asser, though some authorities claim the West Dean between Midhurst and
Chichester as the authentic spot. There is a Norman arch in the
tower of the church and also several canopied tombs and some good
stained glass. Here is another priest's house even older than the one
we have seen at Alfriston. George Gissing well describes the village
and the surrounding country in his novel _Thyrza_.
[Illustration: WEST DEAN.]
A Downland road can be taken from here to Friston, Eastdean and
Eastbourne, saving some miles of up and down walking, but the most
enjoyable though more strenuous route is by the cliff path from
Cuckmere Haven over the "Seven Sisters" cliffs to Beachy Head; a
glorious six miles with the sea on one side and the Downs on the other,
culminating in the finest headland on the south coast, 575 feet high,
the magnificent end of the Downs in the sea. All these cliffs provide
nesting-places for wild birds.
"I was much struck by the watchful jealousy with which the peregrines
seemed to guard the particular cliff--more than 500 feet from the
sea--on a lofty ledge of which their nest was situated, and which,
indeed, they evidently considered their especial property; with the
exception of a few jackdaws who bustled out of the crevices below, all
the other birds which had now assembled on this part of the coast for
the breeding season--it being about the middle of May--seemed to
respect the territory of their warlike neighbours. The adjoining
precipice, farther westward, was occupied by guillemots and razorbills,
who had deposited their eggs, the former on the naked ledge, the latter
in the crevices in the face of the cliff Here the jackdaws appeared
quite at their ease, their loud, merry note being heard above every
other sound, as they flew in and out of the fissures in the white rock
or sate perched on a pinnacle near the summit, and leisurely surveyed
the busy crowd below."
(A.E. Knox.)
At Birling Gap, just short of the Head, is a coast-guard station and
the point of departure for the cable to France where we may descend to
the coast by an opening which was once fortified. In history Beachy
Head (possibly "Beau Chef") is chiefly remembered for the battle
between the combined English and Dutch fleets and the French, in which
the English admiral did not show to the best advantage.
[Illustration: EAST DEAN.]
Before the erection of the Belle Tout Light wrecks off the Head were of
frequent occurrence and many are the tales of gallant fight and
hopeless loss told by the coast dwellers here. "Parson Darby's Hole"
under the Belle Tout is said to have been made by the vicar of East
Dean (1680) as a refuge for castaways. We can but hope that his
parishioners were as humane, but the probability is that the parson's
efforts were looked on askance by his flock, who gained a prosperous
livelihood by the spoils of the shore; and perhaps this feeling gave
rise to the unkind fable that the cave was made as a refuge from Mrs.
Darby's tongue.
"Sussex men that dwell upon the shore
Look out when storms arise and billows roar;
Devoutly praying with uplifted hands
That some well-laden ship may strike the sands.
To whose rich cargo they may make pretence."
(Congreve.)
The fine carriage-road which leaves Beachy Head leads directly into
Eastbourne and is called the Duke's Drive. It was owing to the
initiative of the grandfather of the present Duke of Devonshire, whose
local seat is at Compton Place on the west of the town that the little
hamlet of Sea Houses became the present beautiful and fashionable
resort, with a sea-front of nearly three miles of gardens backed by
hotels, boarding-houses and schools. As at Folkestone, education is
here a strong feature, and a few years ago demure files of young ladies
with attendant dragon taking the air between breakfast and study might
have been seen. The epoch-ending events of the last few years, however,
appear to have killed the "caterpillar."
Eastbourne seems to have carefully pushed its workers, together with
the gasworks, market gardens, and other utilitarian features round the
screen of Splash Point. The boulevards going west and north are full of
fine houses and brilliant shops and are lined with well grown trees.
The continuation of Terminus Road will take us in a little over a mile
to the old town; here is the parish church, mostly Transitional, and
with many interesting features which should on no account be missed.
Note the oak screen in the chancel; sedilia and piscina; also an Easter
sepulchre. There is some old Flemish glass in the east window of the
nave aisle; that of the chancel is modern but good. Near the church is
a farmhouse, once a priory of Black Friars. The ancient "Lamb Inn" has
an Early English crypt which may be seen on application.
[Illustration: BEACHY HEAD.]
The most popular excursion from Eastbourne after "The Head" is to
Willingdon, near which is Hampden Park and Wannock Glen, and, farther
afield, Jevington. Willingdon has an interesting old church and is
pleasantly situated, but the village is too obviously the "place to
spend a happy day" to call for further comment. On the other hand,
Jevington with its ancient but over-restored church, is quite unspoilt
and, lying in one of the most beautiful of the Down combes, should
certainly be visited.
We are now at the end of the Downs and the scenery eastwards takes on
an entirely different character:--
"The great and fertile plain stretching along the Sussex coast from the
eastward of Beachy Head in the direction of Hastings, and inland
towards Wartling, Hurstmonceux and Hailsham, now studded with fat
beeves, was at some remote era, covered by the sea, and what are known
as 'eyes,' or elevations above the surrounding level--such as Chilleye,
Northeye, Horseye, Richeye, &c.--must have been islands, forming a
miniature archipelago. As all these are of Saxon meaning, it may be
presumed that, at the time of the Saxon colonization, they were
frequently or constantly insulated."
[Illustration: OLD PARSONAGE, EASTBOURNE.]
(Lower.)
Five miles from Eastbourne across the dreary flats of Pevensey Level
lies all that remains of the city of Anderida, the headquarters of the
Roman "Count of the Saxon Shore" and one of the last strongholds of
Rome in Britain. The melancholy tale of the overthrow of ancient
civilization in this corner of England by the barbarous Saxon invaders
is summed up in the terse words of their own chronicle--"They slew all
that dwelt therein, nor was there henceforth one Briton left." The name
"Andredes Weald" is derived from the British--An tred--"No houses," and
it correctly described the surrounding country at the time of the Roman
occupation. The great Weald or forest actually extended from the coast
to the Thames valley, broken only by the "Old Road" along the side of
the North Downs, traversed by far-off ancestors of ours whose feelings
as they gazed fearfully down into the depths of the primeval wood must
have been on a plane with those of the earliest African explorers in
the land of Pygmies. Here were the very real beginnings of those
countless tales of Gnome and Fairy--ferocious tribe and gentle
tribe--with which our folk-lore abounds.
[Illustration: JEVINGTON.]
As to the existence of a British town here before the coming of the
Romans nothing is known, but that Pevensey Bay witnessed the landing of
Julius Caesar is tolerably certain, and here the custodians of Britain
erected a great stronghold of whose walls we shall see the remnants as
we first enter the castle. In 490 Ella besieged the city and, as quoted
above, put it to fire and sword in effectual fashion; from this period
therefore must be dated the foundations of the South Saxon kingdom.
After upwards of five hundred years another conqueror appeared on the
old Roman wall. On the twenty-eighth September 1066 William I landed,
stumbled and fell, and "clutched England with both hands." Pevensey
(Peofn's Island) was given to Robert of Mortain, and he it was who
built the massive castle of the "Eagle" which we see rising inside the
Roman wall. This name arose from the title "Honour of the Eagle" which
was given to de Aquila, holder of the fortress under Henry I. After
many changes of owners who included Edward I, Edward III and John of
Gaunt, and after being besieged by Stephen against Matilda, by the
Barons against Henry III, and by Richard II against Bolingbroke it fell
on evil times and was actually sold for forty pounds by the
Parliamentary commissioners as building material. The keep is in ruins
and the chapel can only be traced in the grassy floor; here may still
be seen the old font covered by an iron frame, and the opening of the
castle well, in which, as related by Hare, skulls of the wolves which
once roamed the great forest have been found.
In connexion with the Norman occupation of Sussex the curious and
arbitrary system of "Rapes" by which the county is divided should be
noticed. These six blocks of land have no apparent relation to the
natural features of the country; each contains a powerful castle to
overawe the division to which it belongs. The whole plan is eloquent of
the method by which the Norman ruled the conquered race and kept them
in subjection.
[Illustration: PEVENSEY.]
Pevensey shore is very trying for the pedestrian. The great expanse of
shingle is of that drifting variety which makes walking almost an
impossibility.
Pevensey church is to the east of the castle; the interior is graceful
and it has some interesting details. Note the case of local
curiosities, title deeds, etc. Westham, that part of the village
nearest the station, was the overflow settlement from the walled town;
this has a much finer church with Norman remains dating from the
Conqueror's time, and the tower is noble in its massive proportions.
Visitors should purchase the interesting little booklet shown on the
table within the porch. The church has a fine oak screen in the south
chancel and a stone altar with five crosses in the north aisle. Not far
away is a large farmhouse known as "Priest-house"; this was once a
monastic establishment.
[Illustration: WESTHAM.]
Close to Westham is Pevensey Station, from which the traveller can
proceed to Hastings, Rye and Winchelsea; this beautiful and interesting
district of Sussex is dealt with in Mr. Bradley's _An Old Gate of
England_, and we must regretfully turn westwards. The return journey to
Lewes may be made by the railway, though the Downs, for the unfatigued
traveller, should prove the most alluring route. After passing Polegate
a good view may be had on the left of the "Long Man of Wilmington" a
figure 230 feet in length with a staff in each hand cut in the
escarpment of Windover Hill; this is the only prehistoric figure on the
Sussex Downs. Its origin has never been satisfactorily explained. Lower
has suggested that it was the work of an idle monk of Wilmington. This
is most unlikely. The theory has lately been put forward that the
"staff" which the figure appears to be holding in each hand is really
the outline of a door and that the effigy is that of Balder pushing
back the gates of night. Wilmington village has an interesting Norman
Church with a very fine yew in the churchyard. Built into the walls of
a farmhouse close by are some remains of a Benedictine priory.
Beautiful walks into the nearer woodlands of the Weald are easily taken
from this pleasant village and the hill rambles toward Jevington are
delightful.
Before leaving this district mention must be made of Hurstmonceux. The
nearest station is Pevensey, from which there is a rather dull walk of
four miles across the Pevensey Levels. The more picturesque route is
from Hailsham, though this is longer and belongs more to a tour of the
Weald. The only village passed on the way from Pevensey is Wartling,
beyond which a footpath can be taken across the meadows with a fine
view of the ruins ahead. The present castle was built by Sir Roger de
Fiennes in the reign of Henry VI. The name is taken from the first Lord
of the Manor, Waleran de Monceux.
[Illustration: WILMINGTON GREEN.]
The outer shell is all that remains of what was once one of the
grandest fortified mansions in England; it is now but a subject for
artists and photographers, though at one time, since its dismantling,
it made a good secret wine and spirit vaults. The colour of the walls
is a surprise until it is realized that the building is of brick. The
southern entrance, by which we approach, is the most imposing part of
the ruin. We enter by a wooden bridge across the moat; this replaces
the drawbridge. In the recessed chamber behind the central arch a
ghostly drum was sometimes heard, and the supernatural drummer was
supposed to guard hidden treasure. This legend was made good use of by
the smuggling fraternity, the thumping of an empty keg being sufficient
to scare away inconvenient visitors. Within the walls we are in a
wilderness of broken brickwork covered with an enormous growth of ivy.
Notice the great oven, and the ruins of the private chapel on the north
side. The circuit of the walls should be made as far as is practicable;
the magnificent row of Spanish chestnuts is much admired.
The story of the demolition of Hurstmonceux is unhappy reading; the act
of vandalism for which the architect Wyatt was officially responsible
seems to have been prompted by family spite.
The church is of great interest. The Dacre chantry and the splendid
tomb of Thomas Fiennes, Lord Dacre, must be noticed; also a brass of
Sir William Fiennes, 1405. The association of the place with the Hares,
who are buried under the yew in the churchyard, although of recent date
is nevertheless of much interest. The property and the living, which
passed in 1855, came to the family through George Naylor of Lincoln's
Inn, who bought them in 1708.
Near the church stands a fine fourteenth-century barn. The village is
remarkable for a local industry--the making of "trug" baskets for the
carriage of fruit.
CHAPTER III
SEAFORD TO BRIGHTON
The direct route to Brighton for pedestrians is by a footpath which
leaves Lewes at the west end of Southover Street; this leads to the
summit of Newmarket Hill and thence to the Racecourse and Kemp Town. No
villages are passed and but few houses, and the six miles of Down,
although so near a great town, are as lonely as any other six in
Sussex. The high road leaves the town by the Battlefield road past St.
Anne's church and follows the railway closely until the tram lines on
the outskirts of Brighton are reached; this route passes Falmer,
north-west of which lies the beautiful Stanmer Park, seat of the Earl
of Chichester.
[Illustration: THE BRIGHTON DOWNS.]
It will be best, however, to take the Newhaven road from Southover
which hugs the foot of the Downs and in a short two miles reaches
Iford. About half-way a turning to the right leads to the snug little
village of Kingston with the hills rising closely all round. This place
was once the property of Sir Philip Sidney. The remains of an ancient
house belonging to the Priory at Lewes are to be seen in the old
farmhouse named Swanborough which lies between Kingston and Iford. The
architecture is Perpendicular, and Early English; permission should be
obtained to examine the interesting details which, include a venerable
oak table in the kitchen. Iford Church is a Norman building with a
central tower and an Early English font.
A little over a mile farther is Rodmell with very fine Norman details
in the church, which has the rare feature of a baptistery. The early
Decorated screen is good; note also the squint with a shaft in the
centre. Here is a brass dated 1433 in memory of Agatha Broke, on the
back of which is another inscription to some one else of the
seventeenth century. The church is surrounded by magnificent trees,
and of especial note is the huge holm oak which overshadows the rest.
The village inn has on its walls a quaint and amusing collection of
precepts for its habitués which might well be duplicated elsewhere.
Southease, the next village, has another of the three round towers of
Sussex, and Piddinghoe, two miles farther, the third. These towers are
a matter of puzzled conjecture to archaeologists; all three, Lewes,
Southease and Piddinghoe are on the western bank of the Ouse. The
suggestion that they were originally beacon towers is not very
convincing, though the Ouse at the time they were built was a wider and
deeper stream, forming in fact an estuary haven. The more prosaic
explanation is that lack of stone for the quoins, which every square
flint tower must have, led the builders to adopt this form. In any
case, a beacon fire from a square tower is as effectual as from a round
one. Piddinghoe has many associations with the smuggling days which
have given birth to some quaint sayings, as "Pidd'nhoo they dig for
moonshine,"--"At Pidd'nhoo they dig for smoke," etc., but we fail to
see the point in "Magpies are shod at Pidd'nhoo."
[Illustration: NEWHAVEN CHURCH.]
Seven miles from Lewes stands the rather mean port of Newhaven. After
many years of neglect and decay this Elizabethan sea-gate is once more
of great importance in continental traffic. Much money and skill were
expended during the latter half of the nineteenth century in improving
the harbour and building a breakwater and new quays. Louis Philippe
landed here in 1848, having left Havre in his flight from France in the
steamer "Express"; he was received by William Catt, who at one time
owned the tide mills at Bishopstone; this worthy was a well known
Sussex character and is immortalized by Lower. Newhaven has little to
show the visitor beyond the small Norman church which has a chancel
apse at the east of the tower. This portion is interesting but the nave
has suffered from ignorant tinkering under the alias of "restoration."
In the churchyard is a monument to those who perished in the wreck of
the "Brazen" sloop of war in 1800 off the harbour, and another to a
local brewer of the one-time famous "Tipper" ale, made from brackish
water. The town was once called Meeching; this name is perpetuated in
"Meeching Place" where a descendant of William Catt still lives.
[Illustration: BISHOPSTONE CHURCH PORCH.]
On the east of the Ouse is a much more interesting halt for the
tourist in the small village of Bishopstone. The small remains of the
tide mills just referred to are near the station. The very fine Norman
church is about a mile away on the road to the Downs. The four storied
tower is almost unique. Each stage diminishes in size, thus dispensing
with buttresses; in this respect it is similar to Newhaven. Notice
under the short spire a quaint corbel table. The south porch is
extremely interesting as Saxon work though the mouldings are probably
later enrichments by Norman workmen. Over the door is a stone dial with
a cross and the name EADRIC. The interior is a good example of the
change from round to pointed, the pure Norman of the east end gradually
changing to Early English at the west. The combination of Norman
ornament with the later style is almost unique in Sussex. In the vestry
an interesting stone slab is shown; this was discovered during the
restoration. It bears the carved presentment of a lamb, a cross, and
two doves drinking. At this time a stone coffin lid, and a hidden
fourteenth-century niche in the porch were also discovered. In the
chancel is a memorial to James Hurdis, formerly Vicar of the parish,
the author of _The Village Curate_, which has been likened to Cowper's
_Task_; the verses are full of shrewd wit and local colour.
One mile south-east is the village of East Blatchington, now a suburb
of Seaford; the restored church is Norman and Early English. In the
south wall is a curious recess in Decorated style, the real use of
which has not yet been discovered. Notice the sedilia and projecting
piscina, and the tablet to the memory of the famous aeronaut, Coxwell,
who died here in 1900.
Seaford was once an ancient port at the mouth of the Ouse before that
river forsook its old channel for the outlet where is now the "New
Haven." An important satellite of Hastings and ranking as one of the
lesser Cinque ports, the old town saw much history-making during the
French wars and suffered accordingly. Its actual foundation dates at
least from Roman times as is proved by the fragments of sculpture,
coins, etc., dug up at different times during the last two hundred
years. At the rear of the East Cliff, near a footpath leading to
Chyngton, are traces of a Roman cemetery with possible evidence of
earlier British burials.
In the town itself are some interesting though scanty remains of
mediaeval times. In the garden of a house named "The Folly" is a
vaulted room the origin of which has never been satisfactorily
explained. It is possibly part of the Ancient Hospital of St. Leonard.
The open space at the higher end of the town is called "The Crouch" a
name that is a corruption of "The Crux." The fine old Hardwicke House
in Broad Street is dated 1603. At one time it was a lodging-house, but
its fortunes have lately risen. Seaford House was once the temporary
residence of Tennyson.
Seaford church is dedicated to St. Leonard and is Norman as far as the
tower is concerned, of which the embattlement is modern; note the
crosses in black flints on three of the sides. The base of the walls of
the church date from this period, rising through Transitional to
Perpendicular. The detail has been largely spoilt through restoration.
Note the capitals of the pillars which are most elaborately worked,
that near the south door having a representation of the Crucifixion
carved upon it.
[Illustration: SEAFORD CHURCH.]
Millburgh House was once the property of a noted smuggler named
Whitfield, whose immunity from punishment was obtained by judicious
presents of choice wines in high quarters. Tales of the old smuggling
days would fill many pages, and undoubtedly the profession formed the
major commercial asset not only of Seaford but of more important Sussex
towns both on the coast and on the roads leading to the capital.
Lower has recorded many interesting facts about the long war between
the revenue officers and the natives, relieved at all times by the
unfailing humour of the law-breakers, who took a keen delight in
fooling the exciseman. It was but infrequently that real tragedy took
place; considering the times, and the manner of those times, the
records of Sussex are fairly clean. Such brutal murders as that of
Chater in 1748, which crime was expiated at Chichester, were rare. The
professionals were nearly all men of substance and standing in the
land. The marine smuggler was of course a separate breed whose
adventures and danger were of a different sort and, despite the glamour
of the sea, of much less interest and excitement; on the other hand
most of the inhabitants of such places as Alfriston had one or more of
the male members of the family engaged in the trade, and many are the
houses which still have secret vaults and chambers for the reception of
the goods, chiefly wine, brandy, silk and tea. Most of the churches
between Seaford and Lewes have at one time or another proved convenient
temporary storage places, and on more than one occasion Sunday service
has had to be suspended, on one excuse or another, until the building
could be cleared of its congregation of tubs. Lower records that at
Selmeston the smugglers actually used an altar tomb as a store for
spirits, always leaving a tub for the parson.
Seaford in its new rôle as a holiday resort has a serious obstacle to
surmount; the only sea "front" possible is a wide shingle beach
separated from the old town by a nondescript stretch of sandy desert;
when and if this is filled in or converted into a garden the town
should prosper exceedingly, for it has great natural attractions in
Seaford Head which rises to the east and in the glorious Down walks
within easy distance. In actual distance by rail it is, next to
Brighton, the nearest South Coast resort to London and without doubt
has a successful future before it. It is but little over two miles to
the Cuckmere valley past the Roman camp and over the Head. The views of
the "Seven Sisters" and on to Beachy Head from this point are very
fine, and the great cliff itself, though much lower, is almost as
interesting as the Eastbourne height. For one thing the wild life of
the precipice is more easily studied, the crowds which on most summer
days throng the more popular Head are not met with here. The writer has
spent a June morning quite alone but for the myriad birds wheeling
around and scolding at his presumption in being there at all.
[Illustration: SEAFORD HEAD.]
The route now follows the coast road from Newhaven westwards. From the
Portobello coastguard station, four miles from Newhaven Bridge, a road
runs across the downs to the beautiful little village of Telscombe,
nestling in a secluded combe in the heart of the hills; by-roads and
footpaths also lead here by delightful ways from Southease and
Piddinghoe. The church is old and interesting, quite unspoilt by any
attempt at restoration; note the beautiful font on a marble platform.
Both here and at Rottingdean the artificial height of the churchyard
above the surrounding land will be noticed. Cobbett's explanation for
this is the obvious but rather gruesome one that dust added to dust has
more than doubled the contents of the consecrated ground. From the
comparative heights of the enclosure the author of _Rural Rides_
reckoned the age of the building, a method which made a greater appeal
to him than the rule of Norman round or English point.
Rottingdean has lately made a name for itself by reason of its modern
literary associations. Its connexion with William Black and Rudyard
Kipling is well known. Cardinal Manning and Bulwer Lytton both attended
a once celebrated school kept here by Dr. Hooker. Edward Burne-Jones
has left a lasting memorial of his association with the place in the
beautiful east window of the church which was designed and presented by
the artist. Certain columns in the walls point to the existence of a
Saxon building of which these are the remains. Notice the effect of the
tower in its unusual position between chancel and nave.
The village has a deserved place in the national history, as the
following account will show:--
"In 1377 Hastings was burnt by the French, who also attempted to burn
Winchelsea, but were foiled. They also attacked Rye, where they landed
from five vessels. After plundering and setting it on fire they went
away, leaving the town desolate. They landed at Rottingdean, advanced
over the Downs with the design of laying waste Lewes, but in this were
disappointed by the valour of John de Cariloce, Prior of Lewes, Sir
Thomas Cheney, Constable of Dover Castle, Sir John Falsley, and others,
who upon apprisal of it, hastened their vassals, and were joined by a
number of peasantry, who boldly ascended the Downs, resolved to repel
the invaders. They were insufficient both in number and skill to cope
with the well-trained troops of France. The brave peasantry were
totally routed, but not till one hundred of their party had sacrificed
their lives, and the Prior and the two knights had been made prisoners.
The loss which the French had sustained prevented further
encroachments, and they returned to their ships with their prisoners,
who were conducted to France."
That Rottingdean was known and appreciated over one hundred years ago
will come as a surprise to many. The following account appeared in the
_Gentleman's Magazine_, 1801:--
"The pleasant and delightful village of Rottingdean is situated on the
Newhaven Road, at the distance of nearly four miles from
Brighthelmstone, a popular watering place. This place is no otherwise
remarkable than for its wells, which are nearly empty at high water,
but which rise as the tide declines. This little village has of late
been the resort of a considerable number of genteel company, for which
bathing-machines and every accommodation have been provided. Here are a
variety of lodging houses, a good inn, with convenient stables,
coach-houses, etc. It is most frequented by such families as prefer a
little retirement to the bustle and gaiety of Brighthelmstone, and who
occasionally may wish to mix with the company there, for which its
situation renders it at any time perfectly convenient. The road from
Rottingdean to Brighthelmstone is delightfully pleasant in the summer
season. On one side you have an extensive view of the sea, and on the
other the Downs, covered with innumerable flocks of sheep, so justly
held in estimation for their delicious flavour."
[Illustration: ROTTINGDEAN.]
About two and a half miles from Rottingdean in a lonely dene surrounded
by the Downs is the little hamlet of Balsdean; there is nothing to see
here but a building locally called "The Chapel" (the architecture is
Decorated, with an ancient thatched roof) but the walk will give the
stranger to the district a good idea of the solitude and unique
characteristics of the chalk hills. The curious T-shaped cuttings still
to be seen in the sides of the Downs may be remarked; these are where
the traps set to catch wheatears were set. A great trade was once done
by the Downland peasantry in these "Sussex Ortolans," as they were
called, but of late years the demand has dwindled to vanishing point.
The lover of the picturesque will feel grateful to the powers who
refuse to destroy the deserted windmills which stud the Downs and of
which there is one good example near here. One cannot suppose however
that the object of letting them stand is other than utilitarian; after
a long life of service in their original capacity these daylight
beacons perform the duty of landmarks for seamen in the Channel.
A footpath from Rottingdean just a mile long crosses the Downs to
Ovingdean, another lonely hamlet without inn or shop. An ancient
church, possibly Saxon in part, and a few houses hidden by trees make a
goal of a favourite walk from Brighton. Harrison Ainsworth has made the
little place famous in "Ovingdean Grange," in which romance the
novelist makes it one of the scenes in the flight of Charles II; this
however is incorrect, as it is certain that Brighton was the limit of
the royal fugitive's journey eastwards. The large building on the hill
above Ovingdean is Roedean College for girls; its fine situation and
imposing size make it a landmark, and the seascape from its windows
must be unrivalled.
[Illustration: BRIGHTON.]
CHAPTER IV
BRIGHTON
"Kind, cheerful, merry Dr. Brighton." Thackeray's testimonial is as apt
to-day as when it was written, but the doctor is not one of the
traditional type. Here is no bedside manner and no misplaced sympathy,
in fact he is rather a hardhearted old gentleman to those patients who
are really ill in mind or body and his remedies are of the "hair of the
dog that bit you" type.
Londoners take Brighton as a matter of course and--as Londoners--are
rarely enthusiastic. It takes a Frenchman to give the splendid line of
buildings which forms the finest front in the world the admiration that
is certainly its due. When one has had time to dissect the great town,
appreciation is keener; there are several Brightons; there is a town
built on a cliff, another with spacious lawns on the sea level, and a
third, the old Brighton, bounded by the limits of the original fishing
village, and, with all its brilliance, having a distinctly briny smell
as of fish markets and tarred rope and sun-baked seaweed when you are
near the shingle. This last is nearly an ever-present scent, for the
sun is seldom absent summer or winter; in fact it is when the days are
shortest that Brighton is at its best; The clear brilliance of the air
when the Capital is full of fog and even the Weald between is covered
with a cold pall of mist, makes the south side of the Downs another
climate. Richard Jeffries, almost as great a town hater as Cobbet, has
a good word for Brighton. "Let nothing cloud the descent of those
glorious beams of sunlight which fall at Brighton" (referring to its
treelessness). "Watch the pebbles on the beach; the foam runs up and
wets them, almost before it can slip back the sunshine has dried them
again. So they are alternately wetted and dried. Bitter sea and glowing
light, dry as dry--that describes the place. Spain is the country of
sunlight, burning sunlight, Brighton is a Spanish town in England, a
Seville."
The history of Brighton is the history of Piccadilly, but although the
Prince Regent is usually credited with the discovery of the town, this
title to fame must be given to a doctor of Lewes named Russel, who
wrote a book on the virtues of sea water as applied to the person. This
was published in 1750, and from that time must be dated the rise of
England's first sea resort, for almost immediately patients eager for
the new cure came thronging from London by post-chaise and family
coach, and the doctor soon removed from his native town to attend them.
The "cure" became the mode, and in 1783, when the Prince made his first
visit, the fortune of the town was assured.
After a hundred years that ended with the Mid-Victorians the
exclusiveness of Brighton gave way to the excursion train, and though
still a fashionable place, it is now more than ever London-by-the-sea
and caters with true courtliness for coster and duke.
Brighton was never a "steps to the sea" for anywhere but London, and
its beginnings as a small but independent fishing settlement are very
remote; according to some seventeenth century writers it once boasted
walls and upwards of two thousand inhabitants, but through the
depredations of the sea, it had dwindled to a mere hamlet, and cut off
by the Downs and away from all the usual channels of communication, the
self-sufficiency of the place must have received a rude shock when the
first visitors arrived, but natives of the coast are notoriously
adaptable and know a "sure thing." The following account written in
1766 shows how quickly the town was preparing for its great future.
"Brighthelmstone, in the County of Sussex, is distant from London 57
miles, is a small, ill-built town, situate on the sea coast, at present
greatly resorted to in the summer time by persons labouring under
various disorders for the benefit of bathing and drinking sea water,
and by the gay and polite on account of the company which frequent it
at that season. Until within a few years it was no better than a mere
fishing town, inhabited by fishermen and sailors, but through the
recommendation of Dr. Russel, and by the means of his writing in favour
of sea water, it is become one of the principal places in the kingdom
for the resort of the idle and dissipated, as well as the diseased and
infirm."
"It contains six principal streets, five (East Street, Black Lion
Street, Ship Street, Middle Street, West Street) lie parallel with each
other, and are terminated by the sea. The sixth, North Street, running
along the ends of the other five, from the assembly house almost to the
church. The church, which is a very ancient structure, is situate at a
small distance from the town, upon an eminence, from which there is an
exceedingly fine view of the sea, and in the churchyard is a monument
erected to the memory of Captain Nicholas Tattersell, who assisted King
Charles II in his escape after the Battle of Worcester.
"The house in which the King was concealed is kept by a publican who
has hung the King's head for his sign. The church is a rectory, and the
Rev. Mr. Mitchell is the present incumbent; besides the church there
are three other places of worship, one for Presbyterians, another for
Quakers, and a third for Methodists, which last is lately erected at
the expense of the Countess of Huntingdon adjoining her house, through
which there is a communication. There are two assembly rooms, which are
opened on different nights, one kept by Mr. Shergold, and the other by
Mr. Hicks, who also keeps the coffee-house. The place on which the
company usually walk in the evening is a large field near the sea,
called the Stean, which is kept in proper order for that purpose, and
whereon several shops with piazzas and benches therein are erected, as
is also a building to perform in when the weather will permit. There is
also a small battery towards the sea. At a little distance from the
town is a mineral spring which is said to be a very fine one though
little used. Upon the hills near the church the Isle of Wight is
frequently seen on a clear day. About the town are very pleasant Downs
for the company to ride on, the air of which is accounted extremely
wholesome, and about eight miles from Brighthelmstone on the Downs is
one of the finest prospects in the world called Devil's Dyke."
The literary associations of Brighton are many and various. Charles
Lamb lived for some years is Sussex House, Ship Street. Paston House
was the home of William Black before he removed to Rottingdean.
Ainsworth produced a goodly portion of his historical novels at No. 5,
Arundel Terrace, and at 4 Percival Terrace, Herbert Spencer spent the
last years of his life and here died. The name of Holyoake, the social
reformer, is connected with Eastern Lodge, Camelford Street. A list of
such names might be extended indefinitely, and if the celebrities who
have been regular visitors were mentioned the record would be endless,
though it is said that Robert Browning never entered the town. Dr.
Johnson stayed in West Street, when the Thrales lived there; he bathed
with the rest and, unlike the rest, abused the surroundings in his
usual manner, declaring that a man would soon be so overcome by the
dismalness of the Downs that he would hang himself if he could but find
a tree strong enough to bear his weight!
Every Dickensian would like to identify the house which the creator of
Paul Dombey had in mind when he painted the inimitable portrait of Mrs.
Pipchin, "ogress and child queller," whose castle "was in a steep bye
street.... where the small front gardens had the property of producing
nothing but marigolds, whatever was sown in them; and where snails were
constantly discovered holding on to the street doors.... In the winter
time the air couldn't be got out of the Castle, and in the summer time
it couldn't be got in.... It was not naturally a fresh smelling house;
and in the window of the front parlour, which was never opened, Mrs.
Pipchin kept a collection of plants in pots, which imparted an earthy
flavour of their own to the establishment."
Little Paul afterwards went to Dr. Blimber's, which "was a mighty fine
house fronting the sea"; this has been identified as being on or near
the site now occupied by the Metropole. Thackeray, whose verdict on the
town is quoted at the head of this chapter, laid several scenes among
these squares and crescents and gave to one of his greatest characters
the town's best known feature as a title.
The extraordinary and incongruous building in the Steyne known as the
Pavilion was built by Nash at the instigation of George IV. The
architect cannot be entirely blamed for the monstrosity, the general
idea and "style" was no doubt conceived by his patron. This is how the
Pavilion impressed Cobbett: "Take a square box the sides of which are
three feet and a half and the height a foot and a half. Take a large
Norfolk turnip, cut of the green of the leaves, leave the stalk nine
inches long, tie these round with a string three inches from the top,
and put the turnip on the middle of the top of the box. Then take four
turnips of half the size, treat them in the same way, and put them on
the corners of the box. Then take a considerable number of bulbs, of
the Crown-Imperial, the narcissus, the hyacinth, the tulip, the crocus
and others; let the leaves of each have sprouted to about an inch more
or less according to the size of the bulb; put all these pretty
promiscuously but pretty thickly on top of the box. Then stand off and
look at your architecture."
[Illustration: THE PAVILION, BRIGHTON.]
The building now belongs to the town, and the stables (The "Dome") form
a very fine concert hall. The adjacent buildings, all part of the
Pavilion, are used as Museum, Library and Picture Gallery. The
residence of Mrs. Fitzherbert still overlooks the Steyne, up the steps
of this house Barrymore drove his carriage and pair to the great
detriment of both house and equipage. The Y.M.C.A. now occupy the
premises. One of the best descriptions of the Regent's Brighton is in
"Rodney Stone."
It was about 1826 that the greatest growth in building took place; from
about this period date those magnificent squares, Regency and Brunswick
in Hove, and Sussex Square in Kemp Town.
The Steyne is now a pleasant public garden; it was originally the
"Stane" or rock upon which fishing nets were dried. St. Peter's
Church at the north end was built in 1824 by Barry, and for its
period is not unpleasing. In Church Street is the only ancient church
in Brighton; it is dedicated to St. Nicholas; and was to a great
extent rebuilt in 1853. Note its fine gilt screen and the Norman font
with a representation of the Lord's Supper and certain scenes connected
with the sea, but too archaic to be actually identified. In a chantry
chapel is the Wellington memorial, an ornate cross eighteen feet high.
The Duke was a worshipper here while a pupil of the then vicar, and the
restoration of the church was a part of the memorial scheme. Captain
Tattersell, who was instrumental in the escape of Charles II, is buried
in the churchyard and a monument sets forth--
"When Charles ye great was nothing but a breath,
This valiant soul stept between him and death."
Here is also a memorial to Phoebe Hessel, who fought as a private in
the fifth regiment of foot at the Battle of Fontenoy and died here aged
108.
There are several fine churches which have been built during recent
years, including St. Paul's in West Street; every excursionist knows
this, and to thousands it is the only church in Brighton, being on
the direct route from the station to the sea. St. Martin's and St.
Bartholomew's are open all day and are well worth a visit. Trinity
Chapel was the scene for six years of the incumbency of F.W. Robertson,
and another preacher of more recent fame, R.J. Campbell, was for a time
the Minister of Union Street Congregational Church.
[Illustration: ST. NICHOLAS, BRIGHTON.]
The old Chain Pier was, next to the Pavilion, the most distinctive
feature of the town; built in 1823 and paved with stone, it was
historic as the first pleasure pier. Swept away by a storm on the night
of December 4, 1896, old Brightonians must have felt that something had
gone from their lives when they looked from their windows next morning.
One of the "institutions" of Brighton is the Aquarium; it contains a
very good collection of Marine exhibits, not as much appreciated as
they should be. Of late years extra attractions have had to be added
and concerts and other entertainments help to keep the glass tanks and
their occupants popular.
Kemp Town, named after its speculative builder, has been but briefly
alluded to; it is to many the most attractive part of the great town,
rising at the east end to a respectable height above the sea and with
fine views of the Channel. Unlike its parent it has no "history"
whatever. King Edward, during the last years of his life, took a liking
to this part of Brighton, and in his honour the district was officially
renamed "King's Cliff," but the new style does not seem to have become
popular. On the other hand Hove, with its "Lawns" and imposing squares,
has a past; the following note appears in the _Gentleman's Magazine_
dated 1792: "Hoove, by some spelled Hove or Hova, lies on the road
between Brighthelmstone and New Shoreham, about two miles from the
former and four from the latter. It was one of the many lordships in
the county of Sussex which the Conqueror's survey records to have been
the estate of Godwin Earl of Kent, in Edward the Confessor's time, and
which after his death passed to his eldest son Harold, who being
afterwards King, was slain by the Norman Duke, who seized his lands and
gave them to his followers. Long after this time, this place was as
large and as considerable a village as the county could boast; but it
is reduced, by the encroachment of the sea at different times, to about
a dozen dwellings. This place gives title to a prebend in the cathedral
of Chichester; and the living, which is a vicarage united to Preston,
is in the gift of the prebendary. Divine service is only performed in
the church once in six weeks, and, by appearance of the ruinous state
in which it at present is, that will be soon entirely neglected." This
church, dedicated to St. Andrew, has been practically rebuilt, though
some of the ancient features have been retained. Near the chancel door
is the grave of Charlotte Elliot, the hymn writer. Admiral Westphal,
one of the officers of Nelson's "Victory," is also interred here. The
new parish church--All Saints--is of great magnificence and has cost
about £50,000.
[Illustration: ST. PETER'S, BRIGHTON.]
The western end of Hove, if we may believe some experts, has claims to
a higher antiquity than any other locality between Pevensey and Bosham.
Aldrington, as this district is called, is conjectured to have been the
Roman "Portus Adurni," of which Shoreham would then be the lineal
descendant. On the other hand the identification of this mysterious
place with any part of Sussex has been seriously challenged. The
estuary of the Adur then extended to Bramber. A glance at the two-inch
Ordnance map of the district will make the old course of the river
quite clear. In Hove Park is the famous "grey wether," called the
"Goldstone." This used to lay in Goldstone Bottom between the railway
and the Downs. Inspecting antiquaries proved such a nuisance that the
farmer on whose land it lay determined to bury it out of sight; this
almost superhuman task was performed in 1833 and the stone remained in
the ground until 1902 when it was exhumed.
Preston, the northern extension of Brighton, originally a small place
on the London road, has a pleasant park from which the suburb takes its
name. The one object of interest to the tourist is the Early English
church which has some remarkable frescoes; these represent the murder
of St. Thomas of Canterbury, with Our Lord revealing himself to the
martyr; on the opposite side St. Michael is shown weighing a soul. In
the nave is another picture of the nativity. A destructive fire, a few
years ago, greatly damaged these and also the fabric of the church.
Careful repair, however, has to a great extent restored the building to
its original condition The altar consists of a seventeenth century
tomb. The old font was taken away to St. Saviour's Church, but has been
very properly replaced.
Brighton is not the best centre for the exploration of the central Down
country. If a coast town is chosen Worthing is much better; from there
the real country is quickly reached, although the hills themselves are
farther away. But there are one or two excursions which obviously
belong to Brighton, the most important being that to the Devil's Dyke
and Poynings. A rather dull walk of over five miles from the Steyne,
retrieved during the last two by fine views on the left hand, will
bring us to the old stone posts labelled "The Dyke." This road passes
an interesting Museum of Ornithology collected by the late E.T. Booth.
Here are to be seen cases of wild birds in their natural surroundings
planned with greatest care by Mr. Booth, who gave a lifelong study to
the habits and environment of British birds. On the occasions on which
the writer has visited the collection no other persons were present,
and few residents seem to have heard of it.
Trains run at frequent intervals from Brighton Central to the Dyke and
public conveyances from the Aquarium. The excursion should not be
missed, though the visitor who is a stranger must be prepared for a
regrettable amount of waste paper and broken bottles left about to mar
what would otherwise be one of the finest scenes in the Downs.
Refreshment stalls and tea gardens help to vulgarize the surroundings,
though the added desecration of aerial railway across the Dyke has been
removed.
The local legend is almost too well known to bear repetition. The
Sussex native has a dislike, probably derived from his remote
ancestors, to refer directly to the Devil, so the story has it that the
"Poor Man," becoming enraged at the number of churches built in the
Weald, conceived the idea of drowning them by letting in the sea; he
had half finished the great trench, being forced (like his remote
prototype) to work at night, when an old lady, hearing the noise of
digging, put her candle in a sieve and looked out of the window. The
Devil took it for sunrise and disappeared, a very simple fiend indeed!
[Illustration: POYNINGS.]
The view from the edge of the escarpment with Poynings just below to
the right is very beautiful; away to the south-west is an eminence
called "Thunder's Barrow," probably Thor's Barrow; at the lower end of
the Dyke is the Devil's Punch Bowl, here are two more barrows "The
Devil's Grave" and "The Devil's Wife's Grave."
A visit to Poynings (locally "Punnings") should be combined with this
excursion; this is a really pleasant and, as yet, unspoilt village. One
feels nervous for its future, but the good taste of the inhabitants,
combined with the formidable barrier of the hills, will, it is hoped,
prevent it ever becoming a mere congeries of tea gardens and like
amenities. The fine cruciform church has a central tower and is Early
Perpendicular; built by Baron de Poynings in the late fourteenth
century it has many interesting details. Note the old thurible used as
an alms box. The great south window was brought here from Chichester
Cathedral. There is some good carved wood in the pulpit and rails. The
ruins of Poynings Place, the one-time home of the Fitz-Rainalts, Barons
of Poynings, may still be seen.
Newtimber Hill immediately east of the village is rarely visited and
therefore is not rendered unsightly in the manner of the Dyke. The view
is equally good and the Downs westward appear to even better advantage
from this outlying point. A return could be made from Newtimber to
Pycombe, once famous for its manufacture of shepherds crooks--"Pycoom
Hooks." The village lies in the pass by which the London-Brighton road
crosses the Downs. The old church has a twelfth century leaden font and
a double piscina and is one of the highest in Sussex, being situated
400 feet above the sea. This walk could very well be extended to
include Wolstonbury Hill and Hurstpierpoint.
The road running west from Poynings at the foot of the Downs would
bring us to Fulking where is a memorial fountain to John Ruskin erected
by a brewer. Another two miles along it is Edburton, an unspoilt
village under the shadow of Trueleigh Hill; the fine Early English
church has a pulpit and altar rails presented by Archbishop Laud and a
leaden font of the early twelfth century. Nine miles north of Brighton
by road, and about half-way between the two London highways, either of
which may be taken, lies the large village or small town locally called
"Hurst" and by the world at large, more romantically, Hurstpierpoint.
The situation, with its wide and beautiful views over the surrounding
country from Leith Hill and Blackdown to the ever present line of the
Downs on the south, make it one of the pleasantest places in Sussex for
a prolonged stay. St. John's College is one of the Woodard schools in
connexion with Lancing foundation (see page 103); it is a fine building
with an imposing chapel. The church is modern and was designed by Sir
Charles Barry. In the south transept is an effigy of an unknown
crusader and another of a knight in the north aisle. A brass in the
chapel commemorates the fact that the martyred Bishop Hannington was
born and held a curacy here. There are a number of memorials to the
Campions, local squires and present owners of Danny; one of them runs
thus:--
"Reader, bewail thy country's loss in the death of Henry Campion. In
his life admire a character most amiable and venerable, of the Friend
and Gentleman, and Christian."
[Illustration: DANNY.]
Danny is a beautiful specimen of the Elizabethan mansion at its best;
it is built under the shadow of Wolstonbury Hill, one of the finest in
shape of the outstanding bastions of the Downs, on the top of which is
a circular camp with several pits within the vallum. The twin woods on
the slope of the hill are locally known as "Campion's Eyebrows," they
are well seen in the accompanying sketch.
[Illustration: HURSTPIERPOINT.]
Hurstpierpoint may also be easily visited from Hassocks Station (2
miles), from which we may also start on the last stage of our return to
Lewes. One mile east of the station is Keymer, a pleasant little place
with an uninteresting church which has been practically rebuilt.
Ditchling, a mile further, has a very fine Transitional and Early
English church which will repay a visit. The nave is severely plain in
the older style; the chancel shows some untouched and very beautiful
workmanship. The east window is Geometrical, as are several in the
nave, others are Decorated and, in the transept, Perpendicular. Note
the old font which was evidently at one time coloured; also the aumbry,
piscina and sedile. The chalk arches are finely worked. In the village
are several old timber houses, including one said to have been
inhabited by Anne of Cleves.
A walk of about two miles past Wick Farm or by Westmeston, over half a
mile farther, brings the traveller to the summit of this section of the
Downs--Ditchling Beacon (813 feet). Until more accurate surveys were
made this was supposed to be the highest point of the whole range.
"This most commanding down is crowned with the grassy mound and
trenches of an ancient earthwork, from whence there is a noble view of
hill and plain. The inner slope of the green fosse is inclined at an
angle pleasant to recline on, with the head just below the edge, in the
summer sunshine. A faint sound as of a sea heard in a dream--a sibilant
'sish, sish'--passes along outside, dying away and coming again as a
fresh wave of the wind rushes through the bennets and the dry grass."
(Richard Jefferies.)
[Illustration: WOLSTONBURY.]
The views from Ditchling, though fine, are not nearly the best, for
there is a tameness in the immediate country to the north. A glorious
walk, however, can be taken by keeping along the edge past "Black Cap,"
the clump of trees about two miles east, and then either over or round
Mount Harry to Lewes. Those who must see all the settlements of men
should proceed downwards to Westmeston, a beautiful little place
embowered in trees, some of which are magnificent in shape and size,
particularly the great ash at the east of the church which is literally
overshadowed by the Beacon. The building is uninteresting and the mural
paintings dating from the twelfth century, which were discovered about
fifty years ago, have not been preserved. It was near here that Baring
Gould speaks of seeing the carcasses of two horses and three calves
hanging in a elm; on inquiry he was informed that this was considered
"lucky for cattle."
About a mile and a half north and two miles east of Ditchling village
is the lonely hamlet of Street. The "Place" is a grand old house dating
from the reign of the first James; behind the chimney of the hall was
once a spacious hiding place and a story is told of a Royalist fugitive
who _rode into it on his horse_ and was never again seen. The restored
church has a number of iron grave slabs and a monument to Martha
Cogger, who was a "Pattern of Piety and Politeness."
Nearly two miles on the Lewes road is Plumpton, chiefly famed for its
steeplechases which are held two miles away in the Weald and close to
Plumpton station. The church is uninteresting. The "Place" is an old
moated house, the property of Lord Chichester. The Leonard Mascall who
lived here in the sixteenth century is said to have introduced the
first carp from the Danube, the moat being used as their nursery.
Notice the great V in firs on the face of the Downs; this is a memorial
of the Victorian Jubliee; not particularly beautiful and leading one to
speculate upon its permanence. A cutting in the chalk would probably
recommend itself to the pious care of coming ages when the personage
commemorated had either been entirely forgotten or had developed into a
legendary heroine of fictitious character. That even cuttings are not
always permanent is proved close by, for only occasionally can the
cross cut to commemorate the great battle of Lewes be seen; the turf
shows but a different shade of green at certain times and under certain
atmospheric conditions.
The road to Lewes continues under the shadow of Mount Harry and
eventually drops to the Lewes-London highway near Offham, remarkable as
being the first place in the south where a line of rails was used for
the passage of goods. A turn to the right and we soon reach Lewes near
St. Anne's Church.
CHAPTER V
SHOREHAM AND WORTHING
Public conveyances run from Brighton to Shoreham several times each day
by Portslade and Southwick; the railway to Worthing also follows the
road and little will be lost if the traveller goes direct to New
Shoreham. Portslade and Southwick churches have some points of
interest, the latter a one time church of the Knights Templar, but they
are not sufficient compensation for the melancholy and depressing
route. After passing Hove the road is cut off from the sea by the
eastern arm of Shoreham Harbour, and there follows a line of gas works,
coal sidings and similar eyesores, almost all the way to Shoreham town.
However, the explorer will be amply recompensed when he arrives at the
old port at the mouth of the Adur.
The original Saxon town had its beginnings at Old Shoreham, but, as the
harbour silted up, the importance of the new settlement under Norman
rule, exceeded all other havens between Portsmouth and Rye. The
overlords were the powerful De Braose family, who have left their name
and fame over a great extent of the Sussex seaboard.
[Illustration: PORTSLADE HARBOUR.]
King John is known to have landed here after the death of Richard, and
Charles II sailed from Shoreham after the Battle of Worcester. The
fugitive came across country accompanied by Lord Wilmot, and at
Brighton fell in with the Captain Tattersell, whose grave we have seen
there. An arrangement was made by which he was to leave Shoreham in the
captain's vessel; this was done the next morning and the King in due
time reached Fecamp safely. At the restoration the gallant captain
received an annual pension of one hundred pounds.
Shoreham is decidedly not the town to visit for an hour or two or for
half a day. No one can possibly gain a correct impression of these
smaller English towns by a casual call, as it were, between trains. A
short stay, or two or three day visits (_not_ on "early closing" day)
is the least one can do before claiming to know the place.
New Shoreham is almost certain to disappoint on first acquaintance. In
fact it may be described as mean and shabby! Other and competent judges
have felt the charm of this old Seagate and one--Algernon Charles
Swinburne--has immortalized it in his glowing lines "On the South
Coast":--
"Shoreham, clad with the sunset glad and grave with glory that death
reveres."
Shoreham church is second only to the Cathedral at Chichester and
Boxgrove Priory in interest. As will be seen by the fragments in the
churchyard a nave once made the building cruciform, and its proportions
then would not have disgraced a small cathedral. A movement has been on
foot for some time to rebuild the nave on the old site and an offertory
box for this purpose will be seen within the church.
[Illustration: SHOREHAM AND THE ADUR.]
The prevailing effect of both exterior and interior is of solemn and
stately age. The upper part of the tower is Transitional with certain
later additions. The base of the tower, the choir transepts, and the
fragment still remaining of the nave are Norman and Transitional of
very noble and dignified proportions.
The vaulting will be noticed. This is Early English, also the beautiful
ornament on the capitals and the interesting mason's marks on the
pillars. The marble font is a very good specimen of the square type
common in this locality. A brass in the nave of a merchant and his lady
should be noticed, also a piscina with trefoil ornament and a modern
window in the north transept to the infants who died between 1850 and
1875. There are a number of memorials to the Hooper family hereabouts.
In this portion of the building the election of parliamentary
candidates once took place.
The church owes nothing of its stateliness to a past connected with
priory or monastery, it has always been a parish church and is of
additional interest thereby. That it always will hold this rank is
another matter; in these days of new sees one cannot tell that the
parish church of to-day will not be the cathedral of to-morrow.
Certainly Shoreham would wear the title with dignity.
There are many quaint corners left in the town (which since 1910 has
been officially styled "Shoreham by Sea "), but the individuality of
the place is best seen on the quay where a little shipbuilding is still
carried on; in the reign of Edward III it supplied the Crown with a
fleet of twenty-six sail. The figure-head sign of the "Royal George"
Inn may be noticed; this was salvaged from the ill-fated ship of that
name which sunk in Portsmouth Harbour.
The Norfolk Suspension Bridge, still retaining its old-fashioned toll,
carries the Worthing road across the river, at high tide a fine
estuary, but at low a feeble trickle lost in a waste of mud. The view
of the town from the bridge is very charming, especially in the evening
light.
[Illustration: SKETCH PLAN OF OLD & NEW SHOREHAM.]
At Old Shoreham, a mile up stream, is another bridge which, with the
church, is the most painted, sketched and photographed of all Sussex
scenes; few years pass without it being represented on the walls of the
Academy. This bridge is a very ancient wooden structure which has been
patched and mended from time to time into a condition of extreme
picturesqueness. The bridge leads to the "Sussex Pad," a noted
smuggling hostelry in a situation ideal for the purpose, and then on to
Lancing and Sompting.
The sturdy and grey old church which has seen so many centuries of
change and decay in the life around it, which has even seen the very
face of nature alter in the haven beneath, has not changed in any
essential since the great De Braose of the eleventh century built it on
the foundations of its Saxon predecessor, whose massive walls still
support a goodly part of the Norman building. Almost the whole of the
upper part of the church is Norman, though the chancel appears to have
been restored at a later date. Note the fine pointed screen and the
rich moulding of the arches and door, also the carved tye-beam above
the great arch which leads to the crossing. The nave is curiously dark,
through the absence of windows; here may be seen the remains of the
Saxon wall projecting beyond the line of the newer work. A low side
window near the southwest corner has been variously described as a
confessional, a hagioscope, and a leper window.
The few small houses to the south of the church are all that now remain
to show where the one time port stood; though none of the existing
buildings are contemporary with that period.
[Illustraton: NEW SHOREHAM.]
There is now a choice of ways. The direct route to Worthing goes across
the Norfolk Bridge and then by South Lancing ("Bungalow Town ") and
calls for no comment other than its fine marine views. The valley road
to Bramber and Steyning we propose to travel presently, and we will now
cross the old bridge by the "Sussex Pad," lately rebuilt. Half a mile
from the inn the Down road to the right leads direct to the prominent
group of buildings on a spur of the Downs which have been constantly in
view during the walk from Shoreham. St. Nicholas', or Lancing, College
was founded in 1849 by Nicholas Woodard, an Anglican priest. It is part
of a larger scheme, other colleges in connexion being at Hurstpierpoint
and Ardingly. The original school, established in 1848 at Shoreham, may
still be seen at the corner of Church Street; it is now a laundry. The
buildings are dominated most effectively by the great pile of the
college chapel 97 feet from roof to floor. The general effect is most
un-English and gives the west side of the Adur an air reminiscent of
Normandy or Picardy.
Lancing is supposed to be derived from Wlencing, one of the sons of
Ella. The church, originally Norman, has been much altered at various
times and is mainly Early English. The remains of an Easter Sepulchre
may be seen in the north wall of the chancel and at the door the
mutilated fragment of a stoup.
[Illustration: OLD SHOREHAM.]
At the third mile from Shoreham is Sompting, famous for its church and
well known to Worthing visitors, who have a pleasant walk of about two
and a half miles by shady road and field path through Broadwater. The
church stands in a group of elms on the slope to the north of the
village. The tower and part of the chancel are undoubtedly Saxon, the
remainder of the church having been rebuilt in Norman and Early English
times. Notice the characteristic bands of stonework which run round the
tower and the long capitals of the central ribs. The gabled spire is
almost unique in this country and will awaken memories of Alsace for
those who know that land. A similar spire may be seen in another Down
country, at Sarratt in Hertfordshire, and a modern example at
Southampton. Between the north side of the tower and the nave are the
remains of a chapel erected by the Peverells. The interior of the
church is equally uncommon and interesting, and the distressing newness
which follows most restorations is not seen here, the work of the
restorer, Mr. Carpenter, having been most careful and sympathetic. The
outline of the original windows may be traced in the chancel which is
now lit by Perpendicular openings. Over the altar is a tabernacle, not
very well seen. Notice the piscina with triangular arch, and a tomb, it
is supposed, of Richard Bury, dating from the time of Henry VII; also
the curious corbel face in the east aisle of the vaulted north
transept. The south transept is below the level of the nave; here are
two mutilated pieces of sculpture, representing Our Lord with a book
and a seated bishop with his crozier. The font is placed in a recess
which formerly held an altar. The church became the property of the
Knights Templar and a portion of the manor was held by the Abbey of
Fécamp; the adjoining manor-house being still known as Sompting
Abbotts; this house was for a short period the home of Queen Caroline.
[Illustration: SOMPTING.]
Enjoyable rambles may be taken by any of the numerous by-roads which
lead northwards into the heart of the Downs by Roman Ditch, Beggar's
Bush and Cissbury. It is proposed, however, to leave a more particular
description of this country to that portion of our longer route to
Worthing viâ Washington, for which we must return to Shoreham, and now
to take the road which runs by the Adur to Upper Beeding. On the way
will be noticed the little church at Coombe backed by the Downs; this
has an unmistakable Saxon window in the nave, and a medieval crucifix
discovered in 1877. Higher up the river is the little old church of
Botolph's, which may be Saxon so far as the chancel arch is concerned,
Both these churches are very old and quite untouched by the restorer.
At Upper Beeding the Priory of Sele once stood where is now the
vicarage; the Early English church is of small interest and need not
detain us.
[Illustration: COOMBES.]
Bramber (Brymburgh) Castle holds the same position for the valley of
the Adur that Lewes does for the Ouse and Arundel for the Arun. The
stronghold antedates by many centuries the great Norman with whose name
it is always coupled. Some authorities claim Bramber to have been the
Portus Adurni that we have already connected with Aldrington; however
that may be, Roman remains have been discovered here in the form of
bridge foundations and it is more than possible that a British fort
stood either on or near the hillock where William de Braose improved
and rebuilt the then existing castle; this, with the barony, was
granted to him by the Conqueror, and the family continued for many
years to be the most powerful in Mid-Sussex. After the line failed, the
property went to the Mowbrays and afterwards to the Howards, in whose
hands it still remains. It was through this connexion that the title of
Duke of Norfolk came to the holders of Arundel. Thomas Mowbray was made
first Duke in 1388, and when the line ceased and the property changed
hands the title went with it. It is possible that the army of the
Parliament destroyed the castle in the Civil War, though no actual
records prove this. A skirmish took place here between the Royalists
and their opponents and is described in a letter addressed to a certain
Samuel Jeake of Rye by one of the latter:--
"The enemy attempted Bramber Bridge, but our brave Carleton and
Evernden with his Dragoons and our horse welcomed them with drakes and
muskets, sending some eight or nine men to hell, I feare, and one
trooper to Arundell prisoner, and one of Captain Evernden's Dragoons to
heaven." It was the scene of a narrow escape for Charles II in his
flight to Brighton. The poor remnants of the Castle are now an excuse
for picnickers who are not always reverent, in point of tidiness,
towards what was once a palace of the Saxon Kings.
[Illustration: UPPER BEEDING.]
Bramber village is most picturesque and attractive; its size renders it
difficult to believe that within living memory it returned two members
to Parliament. Some amusing stories are told of the exciting elections
in olden days, when as much as £1,000 were offered and refused for a
single vote. This "borough" once returned Wilberforce the Abolitionist,
of whom it is told that on passing through and being acquainted with
the name of the village exclaimed "Bramber? why that's the place I'm
member for."
[Illustration: BRAMBER.]
The church lies close under the south wall of the castle; only the nave
and tower remain of the original cruciform building. Although the
arches are Norman and show the original frescoes, a claim was made by
Dr. Green, Rector in 1805, that "in rebuilding the church at his own
expense about twenty years before, he had no assistance except that the
Duke of Rutland and Lord Calthorpe, joint proprietors of the borough,
each gave £25, Magdalen College £50 and Mr. Lidbetter, an opulent local
farmer, £20; but the Duke of Norfolk, Lord of the Manor, nothing!" This
"rebuilding" refers to the re-erection of the tower arches, the space
between being converted into a chancel. New windows in Norman style
were inserted in 1871 to bring the east end into harmony with the nave.
[Illustration: ST. MARY'S, BRAMBER.]
St. Mary's is the first house to be seen on approaching the village
from the east. It is a beautiful specimen of a timber-built Sussex
house; notice the open iron-work door with its queer old bell-pull.
Every visitor should inspect the quaint museum of taxidermy in the
village street; here guinea-pigs may be seen playing cricket, rats
playing dominoes and rabbits at school; the lifelike and humorous
attitudes of the little animals reflect much credit on the artist.
Steyning is a short mile farther on our way (both Bramber and Steyning
are stations on the Brighton Railway). This was another borough until
1832 but, unlike its neighbour, it was of considerable importance in
the early middle ages and at the Domesday survey there were two
churches here. The one remaining is of great interest; built by the
Abbey of Fécamp to whom Edward the Confessor gave Steyning, it was
evidently never completed; preparations were made for a central tower
and the nave appears to be unfinished. The styles range from Early
Norman to that of the sixteenth century when the western tower was
built. Particular notice should be taken of the pier-arches which are
very beautifully decorated; also the south door.
The original church was founded by St. Cuthman. Travelling from the
west with his crippled mother, whom he conveyed in a wheelbarrow, he
was forced to mend the broken cords with elder twigs. Some haymakers in
a field jeered at him, and on that field, now called the Penfold, a
shower has always fallen since whenever the hay is drying. The elder
twigs finally gave way where Steyning was one day to be and here
Cuthman decided to halt and build a shelter for his mother and himself.
Afterwards he raised a wooden church and in this the saint was buried.
The father of the great Alfred was interred here for a time, his
remains being afterwards taken to Winchester when his son made that
city the capital of united England, though the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
asserts that the King was buried at Worcester.
[Illustration: STEYNING.]
Steyning was once known as Portus Cuthmanni and to this point the tidal
estuary of the Adur then reached. There are a number of fine old houses
in the little town, some with details which show them to date from the
fifteenth century. The gabled house in Church Street was built by
William Holland of Chichester as a Grammar School in 1614; it is known
as "Brotherhood Hall." The vicarage has many interesting details of the
sixteenth century and in the garden are two crosses of very early date,
probably Saxon.
[Illustration: GRAMMAR SCHOOL, STEYNING.]
The bygone days of Steyning seem to have been almost as quiet as its
modern history. A burning of heretics took place here in 1555; and the
troops of the Parliament took quiet possession of the town when
besieging near-by Bramber, but Steyning had not the doubtful privilege
of a castle and so its days were comparatively uneventful.
[Illustration: OLD HOUSES, STEYNING.]
The main road may be left at the north end of Steyning by a turning on
the left which rises in a mile and a half to Wiston ("Wisson") Park and
church; this is the best route for the ascent of Chanctonbury. The park
commands fine views and is in itself very beautiful; the house dates
from 1576, though several alterations have spoilt the purity of its
style. This manor was once in the hands of the de Braose family, from
whom it passed by marriage to the Shirleys, another famous family. Sir
Thomas Shirley built the present house about 1578. It was Sir Hugh
Shirley to whom Shakespeare referred in _King Henry IV_.
"Hold up thy head, vile Scot, or thou art like
Never to hold it up again. The spirits
Of Shirley, Stafford, Blount, are in my arms."
His great-grandsons were the famous Shirley brothers, whose adventures
were so wonderful that their deeds were acted in a contemporary play.
One went to Persia to convert the Shah and bring him in on the side of
the Christian nations against the Ottomans. On the way he discovered
coffee! His younger brother, who accompanied him, remained in Persia
and married a Circassian princess. The elder, after being taken
prisoner by the Turks, was liberated by the efforts of James I and then
imprisoned in the Tower by the same King for his interference in the
Levant trade. Ruined in pocket and with a broken heart he sold Wiston
and retired to the Isle of Wight. The estates soon afterwards passed to
the Gorings, who still own them.
Wiston church, which stands in the park and close to the house,
contains several monuments to the Shirleys and one of a child, possibly
a son of Sir John de Braose; a splendid brass of the latter lies on the
floor of the south chapel; it is covered with the words 'Jesu Mercy.'
There are a number of dilapidated monuments and pieces of sculpture
remaining in the church, which has been spoilt, and some of the details
and monuments actually destroyed, by ignorant and careless
"restoration."
To the north-west of Wiston Park is Buncton Chapel, a little old
building in which services are occasionally held. The walls show
unmistakable Roman tiles.
Chanctonbury (locally "Chinkerbury"), one of the most commanding and
dignified of the Down summits, rises 783 feet on the west of Wiston;
the climb may be made easier by taking the winding road opposite the
church. The "ring" which is such a bold landmark for so many miles
around makes a view from the actual top difficult to obtain. The whole
of the Weald is in sight and also the far-off line of the North Downs
broken by the summits of Holmbury and Leith Hill with Blackdown to the
left. In the middle distance is St. Leonard's Forest, and away to the
right Ashdown Forest with the unmistakable weird clump of firs at Wych
Cross. But it is the immediate foreground of the view which will be
most appreciated. The prehistoric entrenchment is filled with the
beeches planted by Mr. Charles Goring of Wiston when a youth (about
1760). In his old age (1828) Mr. Goring wrote the following:--
"How oft around thy Ring, sweet Hill,
A Boy, I used to play,
And form my plans to plant thy top
On some auspicious day.
How oft among thy broken turf
With what delight I trod,
With what delight I placed those twigs
Beneath thy maiden sod.
And then an almost hopeless wish
Would creep within my breast,
Oh! could I live to see thy top
In all its beauty dress'd.
That time's arrived; I've had my wish,
And lived to eighty-five;
I'll thank my God who gave such grace
As long as e'er I live.
Still when the morning sun in Spring,
Whilst I enjoy my sight,
Shall gild thy new-clothed Beech and sides,
I'll view thee with delight."
Chanctonbury must have had an overpowering effect on our ancestors; the
correspondent quoted below perhaps saw the hill through one of the
mists which come in from the sea and render every object monstrous or
mysterious.
"Chanckbury, the Wrekin or Cenis of the South Downs, is said to be
1,000 _perpendicular yards_ above the level of the sea; on the summum
jugum, or vertex, is a ring of trees planted by Mr. Goring of Whiston,
and if they were arrived at maturity, would form no indifferent
imitation of an ancient Druidical grove." (_Gentleman's Magazine_,
1819.)
The descent from the ring is made past a pond whose origin is unknown;
judging by its appearance it may well have supplied the men who first
occupied the fortifications on the hill top. The white path below
eventually leads, by a narrow and steep gully, very slippery after
rain, directly to the village of Washington on the Horsham-Worthing
high road. The church stands above the village in a picturesque
situation, but is of little interest. With the exception of the tower,
it was rebuilt in 1866. Here is a sixteenth-century tomb of John Byne
from the old building, and in the churchyard may be seen the grave of
Charles Goring. Hillaire Belloc has immortalized the village inn
thus:--
"They sell good beer at Haslemere
And under Guildford Hill;
At little Cowfold, as I've been told,
A beggar may drink his fill.
There is good brew at Amberley too.
And by the bridge also;
But the swipes they takes in at the Washington Inn
Is the very best beer I know."
A great find of silver coins of the time of the last Saxon Kings was
made in 1866 on Chancton Farm; a ploughman turning up an urn containing
over three thousand. This was an effective rebuke to those who laugh at
"old wives' tales," for a local tradition of buried treasure must have
been in existence for eight hundred years.
[Illustration: CHANCTONBURY RING.]
A motor-bus runs here from Worthing and then westwards as far as
Storrington on the branch road to Pulborough. Storrington has almost
the status of a small town and lays claim to fame as the birthplace of
Tom Sayers, the prize-fighter, and of an equally famous prince of
commerce in whose honour a metropolitan street has recently been
renamed "Maple" (late "_London_") Street. The church has been almost
spoilt by "restorers," but there are fine tombs by Westmacott and a
brass of the sixteenth century. Near the church is a modern Roman
Catholic Priory; the beautiful chapel is always open and should be
seen. It is, however, for its fine situation opposite Kithurst Hill
and its convenience as a centre from which to explore this beautiful
section of the Down country that Storrington is important to the
explorer of Downland. Within easy reach are the quiet stretches of the
Arun at Pulborough and Amberley, and Parham (p. 191) is within three
miles. The line of lofty hills on the south are seldom visited, most
tourists being content with Chanctonbury. Near the Downs, about a mile
south-east, lies the little church of Sullington under its two great
yews, very primitive and at present unrestored; most of the work seems
to be Early English. Here is an effigy of an unknown knight, also an
old stone coffin. A footpath leads direct to Washington where we turn
towards the sea, climbing by the Worthing road the narrow pass which
cuts between the Downs and drops to Findon. This is another beautifully
placed village with a Transitional and Early English church in an
adjacent wood and, for strangers, rather difficult to find. In the
chancel is a doorway in a curious position between two seats. A Norman
arch, probably the relic of an older building, fills the opening of a
transept on the south side. A former rector in 1276 must have broken
all records in the matter of pluralities; besides Findon he held
livings in Salisbury, Hereford, Rochester, Coventry, two in
Lincolnshire, and seven in Norfolk, also holding a canonry of St.
Paul's and being Master of St. Leonard's Hospital in York.
[Illustration: FINDON.]
Findon is noted for its racing stables; the hills and combes on the
east forming an ideal galloping ground. The walks over Black Patch and
Harrow Hill are among the best in the central Downs. East of the
village a path leads to Cissbury Ring (603 feet). "Cissa's Burgh" was
the Saxon name for this prehistoric fortress which was adapted and used
by the Romans, as certain discoveries have proved. Cissa was a son of
Ella and has given his name to Chichester also. The foundations of a
building may be seen in dry summers within the rampart; this is
probably Roman. On the western slopes are some pits which may be the
remains of a British village. But stone weapons, some of rude form and
others highly finished, prove the greater antiquity of the camp. About
sixty acres are enclosed within the trench, and approaches to it were
made on the north, east and south. Cissbury is thus the largest
entrenchment on the Downs and must have been one of the most important
in the south. The views seawards are very fine and the stretch of coast
is one of the longest visible from any part of the range Below the
southern side of the fosse, on the slope that brings us down to
Broadwater, is the reputed site of a Roman vineyard; the locality still
goes by this name and certainly the situation, a slope facing south and
protected from cold winds, is an ideal one for the culture of the
grape.
Broadwater is now a suburb of Worthing. Here is a very interesting
Transitional-Norman cruciform church, at one time magnificent in its
appurtenances, no fewer than six chantry chapels being attached; the
remains of these were done away with in the early nineteenth century.
Note the old altar stone in the floor of the chancel, also on the
exterior north wall a dedication cross in flints. In the chancel is a
brass to John Mapleton, 1432, chancellor of Joan of Navarre, and there
are two fine tombs, one of Thomas Lord de la Warre (1526) and the other
of the ninth of that line (1554). John Bunnett, interred in 1734, aged
109, had six wives, three of whom he married and buried after he was
100! The church has a modern association which will be of interest to
all lovers of wild nature; here in 1887 Richard Jeffries was buried.
One cannot but think that the great naturalist would have been more
fittingly laid to rest in one of the lonely little God's-acres which
nestle in the Downs he loved so well.
[Illustration: BROADWATER.]
Worthing until the end of the eighteenth century was a mere suburb of
Broadwater; its actual beginnings as a watering place were nearly
contemporary with those of Brighton. When the Princess Amelia came here
in 1799 the fortunes of the town were made, and ever since it has
steadily, though perhaps slowly, increased in popular favour. The three
miles of "front," which is all that fifty per cent, of its visitors
know of Worthing, are unimposing and in places mean and rather
depressing in architecture, but this is atoned for by the stretch of
hard clean sands laid bare at half tide, a pleasant change after the
discomfort of Brighton shingle. As a residential town, pure and simple,
Worthing is rapidly overtaking its great rival, and successful business
men make their money in the one and live in the other, as though the
Queen of Watering-places were an industrial centre. Worthing has a
great advantage in its fine old trees; as a matter of fact the place
would be unbearably arid and glaring without them in the summer months,
for it has undoubtedly proved its claim to be the sunniest south coast
resort; a claim at one time or other put forth by all. The most
convincing proof to the sceptical stranger will be the miles of glass
houses for the culture of the tomato with which the town is surrounded.
Its chief attraction lies in the number of interesting places which can
easily be reached in a short time and with little trouble. The Downs
here are farther off than those at Brighton, but are of much greater
interest, and public motors take one easily and cheaply into their
heart as we have already shown. The South Coast Railway runs east and
west to Shoreham and Arundel, reaching those super-excellent towns in
less than half an hour; and of the walks in the immediate
neighbourhood, all have goals which well repay the effort expended in
reaching them.
Sompting, which can be combined with Broadwater as an excursion, has
already been described; we therefore turn westward again and passing
the suburb of Heene, now called West Worthing, arrive, in two and a
half miles from the Town Hall, at the village of Goring. Its rebuilt
church is of no interest. Here Richard Jeffries died in the August of
1887. A mile farther is West Ferring with a plain Early English church;
notice the later Perpendicular stoup at the north door and the piscina,
which has a marble shelf. The Manor House is on the site of an ancient
building in which St. Richard of Chichester lived after his banishment
by Henry III, and here the saint is said to have miraculously fed
three-thousand poor folk with bread only sufficient for a thirtieth of
that number.
[Illustration: SALVINGTON MILL.]
A pleasant ramble through the lanes north of the village leads to
Highdown Hill, perhaps the most popular excursion from Worthing; the
top has an earthwork probably dating from the stone age. Human remains
of a later date were found here in 1892, also coins, weapons and
personal ornaments belonging to the time of the Roman occupation. The
"Miller's Tomb" is on the side nearest Worthing; it has representations
of Time and Death with some verses composed by the miller, John
Olliver. A cottage on the other side of the hill stands on the site of
the mill. The view is particularly fine both Downwards and seawards,
though the hill is not half the altitude of Cissbury. Northwards are
the beautiful woods of Castle Goring, once the residence of the
Shelleys, through which we may walk to Clapham and Patching, villages
on southern spurs of the Downs; the latter has a restored Early English
church with a very beautiful modern reredos. Clapham has a Transitional
church containing memorials of the Shelley family. Notice the
blocked-up Norman arch which proves the existence of an earlier
building. On the south is a venerable farmhouse, ancient and
picturesque.
[Illustration: OLD HOUSES AT LARRING.]
The return journey to Worthing may be taken through Salvington, passing
the ruins of Durrington chapel; at the south end of the village at the
cottage named "Lacies" John Selden was born in 1584. On the door post
is a Latin inscription said to have been composed by him when ten years
old; it runs thus:--
Gratus, honeste, mihi, non claudar, initio sedebis,
Fur abeas non sum facta soluta tibi.
Translated by Johnson:--
Walk in and welcome; honest friends, repose;
Thief, get thee hence, to thee I'll not unclose.
Selden's father was a wandering minstrel and the birthplace of the
great jurist was humble even for those days.
[Illustration: BECKET'S PALACE, TARRING.]
A short walk southwards brings us to West Tarring, which is practically
a suburb of Worthing. Here is a very fine Early English and
Perpendicular church with a lofty spire. Notice the beautiful modern
mosaics depicting the Prophets and Apostles. Also the old miserere
seats and an ancient muniment chest. The window under the tower is in
memory of Robert Southey whose daughter married a onetime vicar of
Tarring. Another incumbent here was Stripe the historian.
A peculiarity noticeable in many country churchyards may be remarked
here--the reluctance to bury on the north side of the church (though
strangely enough this has been reversed at near-by Ferring). In many
churchyards, where the ground is as extensive on the north side as on
the others, the grave digger's spade has left it either quite untouched
or the graves are few in number and mostly of recent date.
West Tarring was once a market town and several good specimens of
medieval and Tudor domestic architecture still exist. It was once a
"peculiar" of the Archbishops of Canterbury, and the remains of the
archiepiscopal palace may be seen in the school house on the east of
the church. In the rectory orchard close by is the "columbarium," or
all that is left of it. Becket is said to have occupied the palace. The
celebrated fig orchard is supposed to have been raised from slips
planted by him, though another story has it that the original planter
was St. Richard. The present orchard is of much interest and dates from
the year of the "forty-five," though it can well be believed that some
of the trees are older; the venerable patriarch in the centre is known
as "St. Thomas," but this is of course impossible. A most remarkable
occurrence takes place annually at the ripening of the fruit; a small
bird similar to, if not identical with the _Beccafico_ ("Figeater") of
Italy visits the orchards here and at Sompting, stays a few weeks and
then departs until the next season; it is seen in no other part of
England.
CHAPTER VI
ARUNDEL AND THE ARUN
There is a choice of roads between Worthing and Arundel: that which
keeps to the low lands has been partly traversed in the journey to West
Ferring.
About two miles east of this village, and close to Angmering station,
are the twin villages of East and West Preston; the former has a Norman
and Transitional church with one of the four stone spires in Sussex. At
Rustington, a mile farther, is a more interesting Early English church
with a Transitional tower. Note the ancient sculpture in the north
transept, also the squint and rood-loft steps. This village is but a
short distance from Littlehampton, which may be approached by the shore
road.
The country about here seen from the flats appears to be thickly
wooded, an effect that is produced by the screen of tall trees in every
hedgerow, untouched until time levels them, in return for their
protection of the growing crops from the searching sea winds which
sweep across the level fields to the Downs. Vegetation here has a
different aspect from that on the other side of the wall of hills. In
May and early June one may come from the tender green of the Washington
lanes over the pass through Findon and find the spring livery of the
lowland hedgerows temporarily blackened and withered.
[Illustration: THE VALLEY OF THE ARUN.]
The direct way to Arundel, and also the most interesting and beautiful,
is by Castle Goring, reached by the Broadwater road. A short distance
past the Goring woods a side road on the left leads to Angmering. Here
the rebuilt church retains its old chancel and tower with an inscribed
stone over the doorway. Returning by a shorter lane northwards to the
main road we pass New Place, once a mansion but now converted into a
group of cottages; it is famous as the birthplace of the three sons of
Sir Edward Palmer, who were born on three consecutive Sundays, a
circumstance probably unique in natal annals. All three were afterwards
knighted by Henry VIII.
The foothills of the Downs to the right are hereabouts very beautiful;
one of the spurs is occupied by Angmering Park belonging to the Duke of
Norfolk. At Poling, on a tributary of the Arun southwards, is a decoy
for wild fowl. Here is a Perpendicular church containing a
fourteenth-century brass to a former priest, one Walter Davey. A chapel
belonging to a commandery of the Knights of St. John still stands near
the church; it has been converted into a modern dwelling house.
[Illustration: ARUNDEL FROM THE RIVER.]
The first view of Arundel as it is approached from the Worthing road or
from the railway station is almost unique in England. Bridgnorth, the
northern Richmond, Rye, all cities set on a hill, come to the mind for
comparison, but none have the "foreign" look of Arundel; this is to a
large extent helped by the towering church of St. Philip Neri; the
apsidal end and the great height of the building in proportion to its
length, appear more in keeping with northern France than southern
England. The town, when one comes to close quarters with it, has a
feudal air, and indeed this is as much a matter of fact as of fancy.
Arundel is a survival, and depends for its existence on the magnificent
home of the Howards which dominates domestically and ecclesiastically
the town at its feet. The castle has the same relation to the pass of
the Arun that Bramber and Lewes have to the Adur and Ouse, but the fact
that it is still the ancestral home of an ancient and historic family
gives it a far greater interest than either of the others possesses.
The castle is mentioned in Domesday Book, and prior to this in the will
of Alfred the Great. The earldom was given by the Conqueror to Roger of
Montgomery; in addition to the castle and its immediate neighbourhood
it comprised wide and rich possessions in the surrounding country. By
their treason to the Crown the Montgomerys soon forfeited the estates
and the Earldom passed through the hands of Queen Adeliza, and her son
de Albrin, and then to the Fitz-Alans, who held it for over three
hundred years. The daughter of the last Earl married the fourth Duke of
Norfolk and this family have held it ever since. They have made it
their principal home and have built in recent years the magnificent
temple of the older faith which dwarfs and overshadows the parish
church. This itself has felt the might of the great family who, as we
shall presently see, imposed their will on the representatives of the
Establishment.
[Illustration: ARUNDEL CASTLE.]
"What house has been so connected with our political and religious
annals as that of Howard? The premiers in the roll-call of our nobility
have been also among the most persecuted and ill-fated. Not to dwell on
the high-spirited Isabelle, Countess Dowager of Arundel, and widow of
Hugh, last earl of the Albini family, who upbraided Henry III to his
face with 'vexing the church, oppressing the barons, and denying all
his true born subjects their right'; or Richard, Earl of Arundel, who
was executed for conspiring to seize Richard II--we must think with
indignation of the sufferings inflicted by Elizabeth on Philip, Earl of
Arundel, son of the 'great' Duke of Norfolk, beheaded by Elizabeth in
1572 for his dealings with Mary Queen of Scots. In the biography of
Earl Philip, which, with that of Ann Dacres his wife, has been well
edited by the fourteenth Duke, we find that he was caressed by
Elizabeth in early life, and steeped in the pleasures and vices of her
court by her encouragement, to the neglect of his constant young wife,
whose virtues, as soon as they reclaimed him to his duty to her,
rendered him hated and suspected by the Queen, so that she made him the
subject of vindictive and incessant persecution, till death released
him at the age of thirty-eight. To another Howard, Thomas, son of Earl
Philip, the country is indebted for those treasures of the East, the
Arundel marbles."
(_Quarterly Review_: Hare.)
[Illustration: THE KEEP, ARUNDEL.]
The castle, though not that portion at which we have been looking, has
been besieged on three important occasions; in 1102 by Henry I, to whom
it surrendered. By Stephen, on its giving hospitality to the Empress
Maud; and by Waller, who captured it after seventeen days' siege with a
thousand prisoners. Artillery mounted on the tower of the church played
great havoc with the building and it remained in a ruinous condition
until practically rebuilt by the tenth Duke in the latter part of the
eighteenth century.
We commence the ascent of the keep, which is the only part shown to the
public (usually on Mondays only) by way of the clock tower which once
formed the entrance to the inner courts. We can now see the remnants of
Richard Fitz-Alan's buildings (1290). A flight of steps leads to the
Keep, the older portion of which was built by the same Earl; the walls
are in places ten feet thick. In the centre a well descends to the
storeroom of the garrison, which is cut out of the solid chalk. Over
the entrance note the remains of St. Martin's chapel; from the window
is a magnificent view towards Littlehampton. The openings in the floor
suggest the use of boiling liquid for the heads of besiegers.
The Keep was once famous for its owls, the older members of the colony
being known by appropriate names, such as that recorded in the story of
the Ducal butler who convulsed the guests one evening by announcing,
"Please, your Grace, Lord Thurlow has laid an egg."
[Illustration: ARUNDEL GATEWAY.]
The views in every direction are very fine and the nearer prospect
proves to the observer the unrivalled position which the fortress held
as guardian of one of the most important of the routes between London
and the Continent by way of the Port of Littlehampton. In the distant
view "The Island" is conspicuous on clear days with Chichester
Cathedral spire in the middle distance. Eastwards is Highdown Hill and
the country round Worthing, North the beautiful valley of the Arun and
the lovely tree-clad slopes of the Downs of which the nearer spurs form
Arundel Park.
The "state" and residential portions of the castle are never shown to
the general public. In the fine collection of pictures are a number of
Van Dycks and Holbeins, mostly portraits of the Fitz-Alans and Howards.
The entrance to the chancel of Arundel Church, now the Fitz-Alan
Chapel, is from the castle grounds. Permission to inspect the famous
tombs is rarely given. A lawsuit in the last century attempted the
recovery of the chancel for the parishioners of Arundel, but was
ineffectual owing to the fact that the chapel was originally that of
the college of Holy Trinity, founded in 1380 by Richard Fitz-Alan; this
passed to its present possessors at the Dissolution. The Lady Chapel
retains its old altar stone with consecration crosses, and above is a
window with some fragments of stained glass. In the centre is the tomb
of the sixteenth Earl (1421) and a modern tomb of Lord Henry Howard. A
number of interesting brasses may also be seen. The main portion of the
chapel contains the more famous tombs, the effigies being highly
interesting studies of the state dress of various periods. Earl Thomas
and his Countess, daughter of King John of Portugal, (1415) occupy the
centre; the others are Earl John (1435) under the east arch. William,
nineteenth Earl (1488), in a chantry on the south side. On the north
are Thomas (1524) and William (1544). A tablet over Earl William's
chantry is in memory of the last Fitz-Alan, Earl Henry (1580).
[Illustration: ARUNDEL CHURCH.]
The fine parish church is separated from the chancel by a screen wall.
It dates from 1380 and now consists of nave and transepts, the space
under the tower being used as the choir. An ancient canopied pulpit is
placed against the south-west pier. On the north side are frescoes of
the Seven Deadly Sins and the Seven Works of Mercy. The modern ornate
reredos shows with great effect against the curious arrangement of iron
grill and bare brick which forms the screen wall. The church was once
attached to the Monastery of Seez in Normandy.
The magnificent modern Roman Catholic church of St. Philip Neri is open
to visitors between the services. It is built in the purest style of
Decorated Gothic and has already cost over one hundred thousand pounds.
Notice, before entering, the statues of the Twelve Apostles at the west
end beneath the fine "rose" window. On entering, the imposing effect of
the clustered columns and beautiful apse will be admired. Unlike most
Roman churches there is but little colour displayed, the "Stations of
the Cross" being bas-reliefs in the aisle walls. The subdued yet
glowing tints in the stained glass help the general effect of
restrained dignity.
[Illustration: PLAN OF THE CASTLE & TOWN, ARUNDEL.]
In the lower portion of the town, the scanty remains of Maison Dieu
show the position of that retreat, founded by Earl Richard, who built
the church; the house provided for twenty inmates. The piers of Arun
bridge were built out of the ruins in 1742.
The park will probably prove the most satisfactory of the sights of
Arundel to the ordinary visitor, who is here allowed to wander where he
will. The road passing under the castle to the right should be taken as
far as a small gate on the left, by the mill, entering which we
immediately see the Swanbourne Lake in all its beauty.
"The mill is situated beneath the castle, on the east side, at the head
of the stream by which the ancient Swanbourne Lake discharges itself
into the river, and most probably occupies the site of the original
building mentioned in _Domesday_. Perhaps, of all the beautiful spots
in the neighbourhood of Arundel, none comprises more real beauty than
this. The valley in front, shaded by the willows and the ash which
adorn the little islands of the lake, and winding its way in the
distance among the hills; the castle projecting boldly from the
eminence on the left; the steep acclivities on each hand, clothed to
their summit with luxuriant forest trees ... present a scene in whose
presence the lapse of centuries will be easily forgotten." (Tierney.)
The charm of the spot is not in any way spoilt, obvious care being
taken to keep the surroundings spotless; although picnickers are
allowed where they will, here are no scraps of paper or broken bottles,
the efficient service of "clearing up" is at work in the early hours of
the morning, which is the right time to see the park. The visitor
should continue round the left bank and up the hill to Hiorne's Tower,
from which a magnificent view of the Arun valley and the surrounding
Downs is to be had. Equally beautiful is that from the brow of the hill
overlooking the Arun, from which point the castle makes an effective
picture with the broad sweep of the sea and lowlands behind. The Downs
are here at their best and the glorious woods of beech and oak are
superb in October, and that month, with late May as an alternative, is
the best time to see the western Downs. The Castle Dairy is open to the
public, usually on the same days that the Keep may be seen. The Dairy
dates from 1847 and has the appearance more of a monastic establishment
than of farm buildings.
[Illustration: LYMINSTER.]
The exploration of the valley of the Arun must be commenced by turning
down the stream to see that least interesting section which lies
between Arundel and the sea. At the mouth of the river stands the old
port of Littlehampton, the direct road to which leaves the Arun to the
right and passing Lyminster (Lemster), sometimes spelt Leominster,
which has a restored Transitional church, enters Littlehampton near the
Railway station. The river road goes by way of Ford, where there is a
little church interesting by reason of its many styles. According to
Mr. P.M. Johnson they range from Norman (and perhaps Saxon) right
through to Caroline. Nearly two miles west is another interesting
church at Yapton, which has a black granite font, ornamented with
crosses and probably pre-Norman. The interior of the church shows work
of an archaic character usually described as early Norman. The inn here
has a sign--"The Shoulder of Mutton and Cucumbers"--which must be as
unique as it is mysterious.
[Illustration: CLYMPING.]
Continuing south we reach in another mile the very fine Early English
church at Clymping. The tower is Transitional. The artist has sketched
the beautiful doorway, one of the finest in Sussex. Notice also the old
stone pulpit and ancient chest. The road running directly south leads
to the coast at Atherington, where are the remains of a chapel attached
to the "Bailiff's Court House," a moated mediaeval building with
portions of a cloister. The Bailiff was the local representative of the
Abbey of Seez already referred to. The Littlehampton road turns east
half a mile beyond Clymping and after a dull stretch of over a mile
crosses the Arun by Littlehampton (swing) Bridge.
The ancient seaport, never of more than local importance, has given way
to a watering place almost entirely devoted to children. From the
number of nursemaids seen on the beach on an average summer day and the
scarcity of other adults one is forced to the conclusion that patrons
of this resort use it as a dumping ground for their offspring while
they enjoy themselves elsewhere. The firm clean sands are ideal for
paddling and castle building, and many ephemeral Arundels arise between
tides. The ebb and flow in the Arun interfere with what would otherwise
be an enjoyable trip up stream, but with skill and care there is little
danger. Littlehampton shows few traces of its antiquity, the church was
rebuilt in the last century and is of no interest, but there are many
good walks in the neighbourhood and the immediate country is
beautifully wooded, with the distant Downs as an occasional background.
[Illustration: CHURCH STREET, LITTLEHAMPTON.]
To explore the valley of the Arun to the north a return must be made to
Arundel, and either the path through the park or the road to South
Stoke may be taken. The latter runs between park and river and soon
reaches the two villages of North and South Stoke, both charming little
hamlets without any communication by road, though a footpath unites the
two. The first village, South Stoke, has an Early English church with
sedilia and other details. North Stoke has a fine Norman door worthy of
inspection. Here a British canoe was discovered in the last century; it
may be seen in the Lewes Museum. Across the river, and only to be
approached by a detour past Amberley Station, is Houghton. From the
bridge over the Arun is a very beautiful retrospect of the valley
towards Arundel with the hills falling in graceful curves to the river.
The church is Early English of a severe type; here is a fifteenth
century brass but nothing more of much interest.
A mile from Houghton Bridge will bring us to Amberley. The village is
built on a low hill or cliff immediately above the "wild brooks" or
water meadows of the Arun, and is famous for the picturesque remains of
the palace of the Bishops of Chichester, which still edge the sandy
hill in front of the village. Amberley Castle, as the residence has
always been called, was built in the reign of Richard II, about 1379,
and then consisted of a crenellated building with square corner towers
and two round gate towers; the present house, which stands within the
walls, was erected in the early sixteenth century by Bishop Sherbourne.
This has probably been the site of an episcopal residence since before
the Conquest and is in as beautiful a situation as is to be found in
Sussex, though judging by a local saying quoted by Lower, it would not
appear to be as perfect in the winter. An Amberley man when asked from
where he comes then answers "Amberley, God help us," but in the
summer--"Amberley, where _would_ you live?" "Amerley" is immortalized by
Izaac Walton for its trout, and by Fuller, who speaks of them as "one
of the four good things of Sussex."
[Illustration: LITTLEHAMPTON HARBOUR.]
Amberley Church is a small Norman building with Early English
additions; note the brass to John Wantle (1424) and the beautifully
ornamented door in the south aisle. There is an hour-glass stand in the
pulpit. Notice also the ancient font and the remains of frescoes at the
east end of the nave.
The road now runs eastwards with the fine escarpment of Rackham Hill to
the right and in about two miles reaches Parham Park, the seat of Lord
Zouche. A short distance further east is Storrington, which we have
seen on our way to Worthing. Delightful walks may be taken across the
park, which is freely open to the pedestrian. This stretch of sandy and
picturesque wild land is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful domains
in the south. Its fir-trees are characteristic of the sandstone
formation which here succeeds the chalk. Visitors should make their way
to the lake where the scene, with the Downs as a background, is one of
extreme beauty. The Heronry here is famous; the birds were originally
brought from Wales to Penshurst, from which locality they migrated to
Angmering and then to Parham.
Lady Dorothy Nevill, in her interesting "Leaves," refers to Parham as a
favourite resort of smugglers. A former Lady de la Zouche, while a
little girl, was made to open a gate for the passage of a long
procession of pack-horses laden with kegs.
Parham House is a fine Elizabethan manor, although partly spoilt by
some modern additions; built by Sir Thomas Palmer about 1520 it passed
to the present family in 1597. The house is famous for the magnificent
collection of works of art, early printed books and ancient illuminated
MS.; permission to inspect these may be obtained by written application
when the family are not in residence and for purposes of research this
important collection is always available. Some time since the most
valuable items were removed to the British Museum for safety. The house
contains a priest's hole, the entrance to which is from a window seat
in the long gallery; one of the Babington conspirators--Charles
Paget--was hidden here. South of the house is Parham Church, possessing
one of the three leaden fonts of Sussex.
[Illustration: AMBERLEY CASTLE.]
It is now proposed to visit Pulborough and the valley of the Rother.
Though rather far afield from Seaward Sussex and the chalk lands, this
district comes naturally within the Down country, but must have a
chapter to itself. From Parham we may either go direct to Pulborough by
the highroad or, more profitably, by Greatham to Coldwaltham on the
Roman Stane Street, the great highway from Chichester to London; here
we turn north east and in a mile (just past the railway) note the
scanty ruins of Hardham Priory on the right; another mile and, crossing
the old Arun bridge, we are in Pulborough.
[Illustration: STOPHAM BRIDGE.]
CHAPTER VII
THE VALLEY OF THE ROTHER
Pulborough on Stane Street was once a Roman station. Relics of the
occupation are constantly turning up in the neighbourhood. Near the
church is a mound, on which stood the "castellum." A glance at the map
will show the commanding position the station held over the meeting of
the Arun and Rother. There are traces of a Roman villa at Borough Hill
north-east of the village.
The fine church is mostly Perpendicular, though there are Early English
portions. Note the archaic Norman font and several interesting brasses,
especially that of Thomas Harlyng, Canon of Chichester and rector here
in 1420; also the restored sedilia and beautiful modern reredos.
Not far from the church are the remains of the ancient "Old Place" once
belonging to the Apsleys; the neighbouring barn is even older than the
house; "New Place," a little farther north, is another picturesque
house with a fine hall.
Pulborough is, with Amberley, a Mecca for weekend anglers; it has a
famous inn, the "Swan," and is a good halting place before proceeding
westwards, in which direction our road now runs. A mile out of the town
we take final leave of the Arun at Stopham Bridge, a fine medieval
structure of many arches. The Rother joins the larger river just below
the bridge and between the two streams may be seen Stopham House, the
home of the Bartelotts, seneschals of the Earls of Arundel; their
monuments and brasses for several centuries are in the church, an
ancient building among trees some distance from the bridge.
We now approach Fittleworth, another favourite place for anglers, whose
rendezvous must be looked for nearly a mile away near the bridge and
station. The Early English church, unrestored and interesting, has in
the vestry a curious stone coffin lid with a Greek cross upon it. The
famous "Swan" Inn is a well-known feature of the little town and a
great resort for artists, who find endless subjects in the beautiful
district we are now traversing.
Egdean has a church dating from the early seventeenth century. About
fifty or more years ago it was "restored" in a way which even among
restorers must be unique, "Early English" details being imposed upon
the original work. Byworth is picturesque, as Miss Vigers sketch will
show; but, apart from its situation, it calls for no other comment.
The scenery around Petworth is characteristic of the Lower Greensand
country and the picturesque wooded outcrop north-east of Byworth is
perhaps as beautiful as any other part of this distinctive belt. In no
part of this miniature range, about three miles long, is the altitude
over 450 feet, but the charm of the woodland dells and meandering
tracks which cross and traverse the heights between the "Fox" on the
north-west and the Arun at Hardswood Green, is quite as great as in
localities of more strongly marked features and greater renown.
[Illustration: BYWORTH.]
The road trends north-west by Egdean and Byworth to Petworth. Petworth
town consists of a number of old-world streets extremely crooked,
narrow, and picturesque. Seen from any near point the grouping of roofs
is as artistically good as any in Sussex. Petworth Church has been
practically rebuilt. The north chantry contains the tombs of some of
the Percy family, including that of the ninth Earl, who was imprisoned
in the Tower on suspicion of being concerned in the Gunpowder Plot.
Here is also the monument to Lord Egremont (1840), a fine seated
figure. Notice several interesting brasses and a sixteenth century tomb
of the Dawtreys. Near the church is an old house belonging to this
family. One of the rectors of Petworth was Francis Cheynell, the
antagonist of Chillingworth. Just below the church is the Somerset
Hospital, eighteenth century almshouses founded by a Duke of Somerset.
In North Street is Thompson's Hospital, another picturesque group. In
the centre of the town stands the Market House built by the Earl of
Egremont. In its front is a bust of "William the Deliverer."
[Illustration: PETWORTH CHURCH.]
Petworth is another instance of feudal foundation. The manor, at
present owned by Lord Leconfield, was for centuries in the possession
of the Percy family. The house is said to have the finest private
collection of pictures in the kingdom, most of which are due to the
collecting zeal of the third Earl of Egremont; they are usually shown
on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and visitors are handed a list of the
paintings by the guides. The hurried round of the pictures takes about
an hour. A wide range of schools are represented, but the most
interesting is perhaps the splendid show of Turners.
[Illustration: PETWORTH HOUSE.]
The present mansion is one of the ugliest in the county and replaced in
1730 a beautiful medieval pile; the latter had been the scene of some
historic visits, notably that of Edward VI, and in 1703 Charles III of
Spain, who was met by Prince Consort George of Denmark. The Prince
Regent with the Allied Rulers visited the Earl of Egremont in 1814.
Three interesting relics shown are a piece of needlework made by Lady
Jane Grey, the sword of Hotspur used at the battle of Shrewsbury, and
an illuminated Chaucer MS. The chapel is the only portion of the old
building remaining.
Petworth Park is quite free and open to the pedestrian. The entrance is
in the Tillington road. Although of an entirely different character
from the scenery we have already passed through, partaking more of the
nature of an East Midland demesne, especially in the lower, or south
end, the magnificent stretches of sward interspersed with noble groups
of native trees will amply repay the visit. For those who have time to
extend the ramble to the Prospect Tower in the northern portion of the
park there is a magnificent view in store, especially south and west.
Herds of deer roam the glades and there are two fine sheets of water.
[Illustration: SADDLER'S ROW, PETWORTH.]
The author of _Rural Rides_ thus describes Petworth: "The park is very
fine and consists of a parcel of those hills and dells which nature
formed here when she was in one of her most sportive moods. I have
never seen the earth flung about in such a wild way as round about
Hindhead and Blackdown, and this park forms a part of this ground. From
an elevated part of it, and, indeed, from each of many parts of it, you
see all around the country to the distance of many miles. From the
south-east to the north-west the hills are so lofty and so near that
they cut the view rather short; but for the rest of the circle you can
see to a very great distance. It is, upon the whole, a most magnificent
seat, and the Jews will not be able to get it from the _present_ owner,
though if he live many years they will give even him a _twist_."
The road now goes directly west and in a mile reaches Tillington, which
has a Transitional church modernized and practically rebuilt by the
Earl of Egremont; here are several interesting tombs and brasses. A
divergence two miles further will take us downhill across the Rother to
Selham (with a station close to the village). The Norman and Early
English church has a chancel arch with finely carved and ornamented
capitals. Proceeding westwards between high banks of red sandstone our
road soon approaches Cowdray Park, across which it runs without hedge
or fence.
[Illustration: COWDRAY.]
The park is a beautiful pleasaunce for the inhabitants of Midhurst;
thickly carpeted with bracken and heather and broken by many
picturesque knolls and hollows. The famous burned and ruined mansion
lies on the west, close to the town and river. This beautiful old house
was destroyed in 1793 through the carelessness of some workmen employed
in repairing the woodwork of some of the upper rooms. Within a month of
the calamity the last of the Montagues, a young man of 22, was drowned
while shooting the falls of the Rhine at Schaffhausen. These tragic
happenings were supposed to fulfil a curse of the last monk of Battle
pronounced against Sir Anthony Browne when he took possession of the
Abbey. "Thy line shall end by fire and water and utterly perish."
The following is a contemporary account of the tragedy: "Lord Montague
was engaged to the eldest daughter of Mr. Coutts (the present Countess
of Guildford) and, with a view to his marriage on his return to
England, the mansion house had been for several months undergoing a
complete repair and fitting up. The whole was completed on the day
preceding the night on which it was consumed, and the steward had been
employed during the afternoon in writing the noble owner an account of
its completion. This letter reached his hands. On the following day the
steward wrote another letter announcing its destruction: but in his
hurry of spirits, he directed it to Lausanne instead of Lucerne, by
which accident it was two days longer in its passage to his lordship's
place of abode than it otherwise would have been. Had it not been for
that fatal delay, in all human probability this noble family would not
have had to deplore the double misfortune by which its name and honours
have become extinguished; for the letter arrived at his lordship's
lodging on the morning of his death, about an hour after he had left
them, and, as nearly as can be computed at the very moment in which he
was overwhelmed by the torrent of the Rhine."
[Illustration: THE GRANARY, COWDRAY.]
The turreted entrance gateway is less ruinous than the remainder of the
buildings and, with the banqueting hall, is as fine a specimen of early
sixteenth-century architecture as will be found in England. Notice the
vaulted entrance to the Hall. On the north side, looking towards the
Guard House is the State Bedchamber, wherein Queen Elizabeth slept in
1591. There are several contemporary accounts of the stately
merrymakings which took place during the visit, including the "hunting"
scene in which buck deer were guided past Gloriana's bower, from which
she made dead shots at them, reminding one of the "bulls-eyes" with
which a later Queen opened the national shooting competition for her
worshipping subjects.
On St. Ann's Hill near the town may be traced the outlines of the
stronghold erected by the de Bohuns; the town and surrounding country
remained in their hands until Sir David Owen, uncle of Henry VII,
married the last of the line. Sir David sold the estate to the Earl of
Southampton, whose son left it to his half brother Sir Anthony Browne,
Standard Bearer of England; his son became the first Viscount Montague.
The estate is now held by Lord Cowdray, who has a modern mansion, built
in a flamboyant Elizabethan style, near-by.
Midhurst is a pleasant old place with some good ancient houses here and
there. Those in the centre which form the subject of Miss Vigers'
sketch, are being demolished as this is written; their disappearance
will be appreciated by motorists in a hurry but by no one else. The
Perpendicular church has been largely rebuilt during the last century
and the Montague Chantry lacks its tomb, which has been removed to
Easebourne. Richard Cobden was educated in the Grammar School (founded
in 1572). During the last few years Midhurst has become to some extent
a resort for Londoners who appreciate a quiet country town amid
beautiful surroundings which may be explored easily. The walks, not
only to the Downs on the south but northwards to the lovely and remote
hills which culminate in Blackdown, are among the best in West Sussex.
South, west, and east the town is well served by the Brighton and
South-Western Railways, a single line in each direction.
[Illustration: MARKET SQUARE, MIDHURST.]
The road to Henley is one of the loneliest as it is one of the
loveliest in south-west Sussex. The writer has tramped the long miles
to Henley (uphill all the way) without meeting a single pedestrian.
Even the advent of the great Sanatorium on the southern slopes of
Bexley Hill does not seem to have made any difference. Possibly
visitors use the public motor which runs between Midhurst and
Haslemere. By so doing they miss one of the finest woodland walks in
the south, indescribably beautiful in the scarlet and gold of late
autumn.
The traveller in Downland is advised for once to turn his back on the
hills and walk as far as the summit of the Haslemere road where the new
route turns sharp round to the left and hugs the escarpment of Bexley
Hill. In front will be seen an overgrown track, the old highway,
plunging down the face of the hill. A few feet down this causeway,
paved with large slabs of stone, brings us to a surprising hamlet
clinging to the hillside and, with its "Duke of Cumberland" Inn,
looking across the wide Fernhurst vale to where Blackdown lords it on
the other side.
[Illustration: MIDHURST CHURCH.]
At Easebourne, about a mile north-east of Midhurst, is a Benedictine
Priory used, until quite lately, as a farmhouse. It is close to the
church, which, with the buildings of the nunnery, form three sides of a
hollow square. The restoration has been carried out with taste and care
and the whole is worth seeing. The nuns of Easebourne would seem to
have been "difficult females," for a Bishop of Chichester in 1441 was
obliged to call the Prioress to order for wearing sumptuous clothes
with fur trimmings and for using too many horses when travelling, the
penance being a restriction to four. The nuns were spoken of by a
contemporary writer as "wild females of high family put at Easebourne
to keep them quiet."
The church, besides the tomb of the first Viscount Montague, removed
from Midhurst, contains a figure of Sir David Owen (1540); also a
Transitional font.
CHAPTER VIII
GOODWOOD AND BOGNOR
We now leave the Rother, turn south by the Chichester road and passing
over Cocking causeway reach, in three miles, that little village at the
foot of the pass through the Downs to Singleton, or better still, by
taking a rather longer route through West Lavington we may see the
church in which Manning preached his last sermon as a member of the
Anglican communion. The church and accompanying buildings date from
1850 and were designed by Butterfield; they are a good example of
nineteenth-century Gothic and are placed in a fine situation. In the
churchyard, which is particularly well arranged, lies Richard Cobden
not far from the farmhouse in which he was born. Dunford House is not
far away; this was presented to Cobden by the Anti-Corn-Law League, and
here the last years of his life were spent.
Cocking once had a cell belonging to the Abbey of Seez in Normandy but
of this nothing remains. This beautifully situated little place has a
primitive Norman church with a fine canopied tomb and an old painting
of Angel and shepherds. We are now at the foot of Charlton Forest
covering the slopes of the Downs which stretch eastwards to Duncton
Beacon; and along the edge of this escarpment it is proposed to travel.
This is one of the loneliest and most beautiful sections of the range.
"A curious phenomenon is observable in this neighbourhood. From the
leafy recesses of the layers of beech on the escarpment of the Downs,
there rises in unsettled weather a mist which rolls among the trees
like the smoke out of a chimney. This exhalation is called
'Foxes-brewings' whatever that may mean, and if it tends westwards
towards Cocking, rain follows speedily." (Lower.)
The hamlet of Heyshott need not tempt us from the hill, though
Graffham, one of the loveliest villages in Downland, might well be
visited. Where at last it is necessary to drop toward the Petworth
Chichester road a divergence may be made to East Lavington with its
associations and memories of Samuel Wilberforce, who is buried here and
in whose memory a memorial brass may be seen in the church; note also
the Bishop's pastoral staff fixed to the wall near the altar. There are
still "oldest inhabitants" of this peaceful place who remember the
celebrated Victorian, whose rather unkind sobriquet was really but a
tribute to his genial kindliness of disposition. Here he married in
1828 the local heiress, Miss Emily Sergent, and here Mrs. Wilberforce
was buried in 1841. It is said that at Oxford, or wherever the Bishop
was resident, there hung in his bedroom a picture of Lavington
churchyard "that I may ever see my own resting place."
Directly south of Lavington rises the _summit_ of the Downs--Duncton
Beacon (837 feet), like many other "highest tops" a great
disappointment after visiting some of the lesser heights, for the
Beacon, which is named "Littleton Down" on the Ordnance map, is not on
the edge of the range but stands back among encircling lesser heights
and is itself partly covered with trees which to a great extent cut off
the view. Barlavington Down, about half the height of Duncton, and Farm
Hill face east and both command fine views in this direction. The
latter is above Bignor, to which village we now descend. This is a
place beloved of archaeologists, for here is the site of the famous
Roman villa. Bignor church is remarkable for the chancel arch which
most authorities admit to be a genuine Roman work. Note also the long
lancet windows in the chancel and the magnificent yews in the
churchyard. Enquiry must be made in the village for the farm at which
the keys of the villa enclosure are kept. (Notice the beautiful old
house, timbered and with a projecting upper story, near the lane
leading to the villa.) Authorities are at variance as to the actual
history of the remains which were discovered in 1811. The conjecture
that this was the fortified station on Stane street (which may be seen
descending the hills south-west), at the tenth milestone, "Ad Decimum,"
seems lately to be discredited, and the supposition gains ground that
the villa was simply the country palace of a great Roman, or possibly a
civilized British prince. However that may be, the discoveries revealed
one of the most important and interesting remains of the Roman
occupation in Britain, and cover an area of no less than 600 feet in
length by 350 feet in breadth. The principal pavement may be that of
the Banqueting hall, in the centre of which is a stone cistern,
probably a fountain. The hypercaust below has caused the floor to give
way in several places. The pavement of a smaller room is perfect and
shows a finely executed design; another is decorated with cupids
fighting. The details of the building, too numerous to be mentioned
here, deserve careful attention even by the uninitiated and prove more
forcibly than history-books the magnificence of the civilization which
once was, before Sussex became an entity, and which the first Sussex
men so wofully destroyed.
The old Roman way could be followed directly across the hills for four
miles until the high road is joined near Halnaker Hill, where we shall
presently arrive from Goodwood, but a longer route must be taken to
explore the lovely and retired part of the Downs which lies between
Bignor and Singleton. A path between Farm Hill and Barton Down leads to
Up Waltham where is a little Early English church with the rare feature
of a circular apse. Just south of the village an exquisite combe opens
out to the south-west and is traversed by a rough and stony hill road
leading to East Dean; this claims to be the _real_ East Dean where
Alfred met Asser, but its beautiful situation will be its chief
recommendation to the traveller. Another mile brings us to the hamlet
of Charlton from which the extensive forest to the north takes its
name. A short distance further and the Midhurst-Chichester road is
joined at Singleton, which village, very pleasantly situated, has a
Perpendicular church with a Norman tower, so ancient that some
authorities name it Saxon; it is at the latest very primitive Norman.
Notice the quaint wooden gallery and the stairs to the rood loft, and
also a stoup in good preservation. The village is in a most beautiful
situation, surrounded by groups of low wooded hills. There is a station
here on the Midhurst railway.
The high road now winds through West Dean to Mid-Lavant and Chichester.
Both villages have "restored" churches. The first named contains a
notable monument--the Lewknor. Near by is the beautiful West Dean Park.
Mid-Lavant church is Early English but boasts a Norman window. The name
of this village perpetuates a phenomenon which is becoming more rare
each year. At one time erratic streams would make their appearance in
the chalk combes in the head of the valley and combining, cause serious
floods or "lavants." For some unknown reason the flow of water is
gradually becoming smaller and of late years it has been quite
insignificant.
[Illustration: EAST LAVANT.]
To resume the route a return must be made to Singleton and the path
taken which leads over the Goodwood hills past the Race Course to
Halnaker. The whole of this beautiful stretch of Downland is open to
the stranger; the best views are undoubtedly from the Race Course,
which dates from 1802. This is the most fashionable of all
race-meetings and the course is in the most beautiful situation. To the
west of the course, on an isolated eminence, sometimes called "Roche's
Hill" and sometimes "The Beacon" is an ancient camp with double vallum
and fosse enclosing over five acres. On the slope due south of Roche's
Hill are some caves supposed to have been prehistoric dwelling-places.
A mile to the south is Goodwood House (Duke of Richmond), on certain
days and during certain seasons open to the public. The house, so far
as its exterior is concerned, is exceedingly ugly, but contains a
magnificent collection of paintings, chiefly portraits, the most famous
of which are by Lawrence, Gainsborough, Romney and Vandyke, the last
named being represented, among other works, by the well-known painting
of Charles I with his queen and children.
The most striking view in the neighbourhood of the house is from
"Carney's Seat" above the pheasantry, a magnificent prospect of the
coast extending for many miles in each direction. There are grand
groups of cedars here and throughout the park; these add materially to
the foreground of the prospect. The timber generally is very fine, as
is almost always the case in the enclosed parklands of West Sussex. In
High Wood is a temple which contained until recently an inscribed slab
discovered in Chichester when the foundations of the Council chamber,
erected in 1731, were being excavated. This stone, of the greatest
interest to antiquaries, has been returned to the town and will be
noticed when we arrive there.
The ruins of Halnaker are on the south-east of the park. The house was
built in the reign of Henry VIII by Sir Thomas West, Lord De la Warr.
Before being allowed to fall into ruin the best of the fittings were
removed to the "Chantry" in Chichester.
At the distance of a mile south of Halnaker, Stane Street is reached at
a point about four miles from Chichester. There are, however, still
some interesting places to be seen before, for almost the last time, we
turn west. These include Boxgrove, which must on no account be missed.
Eartham is a beautifully situated village about two miles directly east
of Halnaker. It is chiefly of interest for its associations with the
poet Hayley, who lived at Eartham House, now the residence of Sir P.
Milbanke. The house became for a time the rendezvous of many
celebrities, including Cowper, Flaxman, Blake and Romney. A very fine
Flaxman monument in memory of Hayley's son may be seen in the church;
notice also the memorial of William Huskisson the statesman, who lived
near here and who was afterwards killed at the opening of the Liverpool
and Manchester Railway. The church has a Norman arch in the chancel,
much admired for its graceful proportions and details.
Even more beautiful a village is Slindon, about two miles farther east
and about three miles from Arundel. Its perfect situation is enhanced
by the picturesque clumps of beech trees on the sides of the hills that
encircle it. In the restored church, which was built at various
periods, is the effigy of a knight in wood. Note the curious shorn
pillars in the nave. Here is an old Elizabethan hall, and the park,
with its magnificent beech woods, is very fine. Slindon is becoming a
favourite resort for those who desire a quiet holiday in delightful
rural surroundings.
Two miles south of Slindon lies Walberton. The church walls have Roman
bricks worked into Saxon masonry. The upper part of the nave is of the
usual heavy Norman type. Eastergate, the next village on the main road
to Bognor, has an untouched Saxon chancel, with a good deal of Roman
masonry mixed with later material built into the walls. These
interesting little villages may be easily reached from Bognor.
The last years of the eighteenth century were prolific in the birth of
south-coast watering places or in the transformation of decayed ports
or remote seaside hamlets into fashionable bathing places. Bognor is a
case in point and comes within the latter category. A successful hatter
of Southwark named Hotham, having "made his pile" built himself a house
near the little manor hamlet of Bognor, which boasted a single inn but
no church. The example of Brighton and the nearer neighbour Worthing
being constantly before the then member of Parliament and one-time
business man, the possibilities of the land he had acquired, with its
fine fringe of firm sand, soon made themselves apparent, and the
Crescent, Hothampton Place and several other terraces in what is now
the centre of modern Bognor quickly appeared. A determined attempt to
change the name to Hothampton failed, and as soon as the speculator
died, his gamble a personal failure, the town reverted to the original
Saxon Bognor (Bucganora).
The young town had the usual royal send-off; the Princess Charlotte
stayed here for a short time and was followed in due course by the
little princess who was one day to become so famous a Sovereign.
It will be seen that Bognor has nothing to interest the visitor who
requires something besides a rather homely home from home with good
air, bright sunshine and almost the nearest stretch of good sand to
London, which delights the shoals of juveniles who give to the front
its air of busy animation. The famous Bognor rocks provide an
additional attraction; the sea at low tide retires for a considerable
distance and exposes a line of rocks which indicate the general trend
of the ancient coast. Here treasures of the sea may be found in
profusion and variety. During spring and leap tides the waves, backed
by a strong wind, may cause great excitement by dashing across the
front and invading the back streets; until the present wall was built
this was of frequent occurrence. Bognor has a very mild winter
temperature and runs Worthing very close for sunshine.
The old parish church is at South Bersted. It is of Norman origin with
some remains of this period and possibly of Saxon times; the main
portion is, however, Early English. Note the stone slabs outside the
porch; these were brought from Bosham by a former incumbent. There is a
sixteenth-century fresco on one of the nave pillars depicting St.
Thomas Aquidas disputing with the doctors. In the churchyard are
several interesting graves and a very ancient yew reputed to be over
800 years old.
Felpham is now the eastern suburb of Bognor, and is linked to the town
by a small bungalow colony. Here Hayley came after selling Eartham, but
the place is now more famous for its associations with the poet's
friend Blake, who lived for three years in the small thatched cottage
which still stands at the seaward end of the village. Hayley was buried
in the churchyard, which also contains the tomb of Dean Jackson, once
tutor to George IV. The church is a mixture of styles, one row of
pillars being Early English the other Transitional. The much quoted
epitaph on a blacksmith written by Hayley runs as follows:--
"My sledge and hammer lie reclin'd;
My bellows, too, have lost their wind;
My fire's extinct, my forge decay'd,
And in the dust my vice is laid;
My coal is spent, my iron gone,
The nails are driven, my work is done."
Blake's associations with the village came to a sudden end in
consequence of a stupid and unwarranted prosecution for treason, the
outcome of a struggle with a drunken soldier. The mystic poet-artist
gained some of his most characteristic inspirations while staying here,
and it was in the garden of his cottage that he saw a "fairy's
funeral," the description of which has been often quoted; it is
difficult to judge how much of his visions were, to himself, poetic
fancy or actual fact.
[Illustration: FELPHAM.]
We now resume our journey towards Chichester at Walberton, north of
which the high road runs west, with little of interest until a turning
on the right brings us to the finest ecclesiastical building in the
county excepting the Cathedral.
The Priory Church of St. Mary and St. Blaise _Bosgrave_ was founded in
the reign of Henry I by Robert de Haia of Halnaker. Being a Benedictine
church, the nave, now in ruins, formed the parochial section. The
choir, transepts and tower, which remain, belonged to the monks, and
this portion, with the exception of the Norman tower, forms one of the
most beautiful examples of Early English in the kingdom and dates from
about 1200. The fine Purbeck marble columns are much admired, as are
also the graceful clerestory and vaulting. The galleries of the
transepts have ornamented oak fronts, and were used by the lay portion
of the ancient congregation. There is a frescoed ceiling belonging to
the sixteenth century. Notice the Renaissance tomb of Lord De la Warr
(1532) on the south side of the chancel with its curious carvings and
in the south transept those of Countess Phillippa of Arundel (1428) and
her second husband, Adam de Poynings; also several others, some of
which are without inscriptions, but possibly including those of the
daughters of that Countess of Arundel who was once the first Henry's
queen. The ruins of the priory may be traced and several of the
beautiful Norman arches belonging to the cloisters still remain.
[Illustration: BOXGROVE PRIORY CHURCH.]
Tangmere has a Norman and Early English church with a wooden tower. The
village is on the south side of the main road but need not detain us.
West Hampnett, nearer Chichester, is of more interest; here Saxon work
in Roman materials may be seen; notice the fine tomb of Richard
Sackville and the representation of the Trinity between the kneeling
figures of Richard and his wife. On the left of the road will be seen
an old Tudor house which has been converted into a workhouse. The road
now enters the suburbs of Chichester.
[Illustration: SKETCH PLAN OF THE CITY OF CHICHESTER.]
CHAPTER IX
CHICHESTER
The Brito-Roman city of Regnum has left its mark on modern Chichester
in the regularity of the streets, which follow the lines of the ancient
thoroughfares. The actual beginnings of the town may antedate the
Romans, but of this we know nothing. It was to the British chief Cogi,
whose name was Romanized into Cogidubnus, that the foundation of
Chichester was probably due; this Briton was a chief of the native
tribe of the Regni who inhabited the Down country and the adjacent
seaboard. Instead of opposing the conquerors this astute statesman
welcomed and allied himself to them and in return received the unique
honour, for a native, of the title "Legate of the Emperor."
It is probable that the city was built on the fork of two important
existing roads, Stane Street--the new stone causeway from London to the
harbours on the coast between modern Bosham and Portsmouth--and the
adapted and straightened ancient trackway running parallel to the sea
and serving the settlements and ports east and west of the junction. At
that time small ships were able to approach within a short distance of
the meeting place and here the new town would naturally arise.
Many remains of the Roman period have from time to time been excavated;
a pavement was found in 1866 below the retro-choir of the cathedral and
some ancient graves in St. Andrew's churchyard were found to have the
coffins resting on a tessellated pavement. Old buildings in various
parts of the town, notably St. Olave's church, have much Roman
brickwork, and the usual treasure of denarii and broken pottery is
found whenever an exceptional turning over of the foundations of the
town takes place.
But the most remarkable of all these earlier relics is the so called
"Pudens Stone" to which reference has been made in speaking of Goodwood
Park. This slab was discovered while digging the foundations of the
Council Chamber and after being kept at Goodwood for many years has
been returned to the Council House in North Street, where it may now be
seen. The stone is Purbeck marble and bears the following inscription:--
(N)eptuni et Minervae templum
(pr)o salute d(omus) divinae
(Ex) auctoritat(e Tib) Claud.
(Co)gidubni r. leg. aug. in Brit.
(Colle)gium fabror. et qui in eo
(A sacris) sunt d.s.d. donati aream
(Pud)enti Pudentini fil.
(The conjectural restorations are given in parentheses.)
(_Translation_.) "The temple of Neptune and Minerva, erected for the
health and preservation of the Imperial family by the authority of the
Emperor Tiberias Claudius and of Cogidubnus, the great king of the
Britons. The company of Artificers, with others, who were ambitious of
supplying materials, defrayed the expense. Pudens, son of Pudentinus,
gave the ground." (Hare.)
The great interest of the inscription is in that part which refers to
Pudens; a controversy raged for a long time during the middle of the
last century around the question of the identity of this individual,
the results of which seem to favour the connexion between Chichester
and the Pudens of St. Paul's second Epistle to Timothy.
The town seems to have been of little importance in South Saxon times,
although the modern name dates from that period--"Cissa's Ceaster."
Cissa was one of the sons of Ella who landed on the Selsey peninsula.
During the Conqueror's reign Chichester regained some of its former
dignity when the seat of the Sussex see was removed hither from Selsey.
At the same time the town was presented to Roger Montgomery, Earl of
Alencon, together with most of South-west Sussex. The Earl built a
castle, but nothing of this remains, though the mound in the Priory
Park is said to be the site.
The troops of the Parliament--led by Sir William Waller, besieged
Chichester in 1642; after ten days the city fell and much ill work,
especially in the cathedral, followed. Since then its history has been
uneventful.
Some days may be spent in this pleasant town without exhausting its
interest and charm and the cathedral cannot be seen in one visit
without fatigue. As a centre for the exploration of West Sussex
Chichester is much better than one of the smaller towns. (I am not now
advising that adventurous traveller who, fearing nothing, will trust
himself to a remote village hostelry among the Downs.) The South Coast
Railway runs in three directions and all high roads converge on the
city.
[Illustration: CHICHESTER CATHEDRAL.]
Chichester Cathedral is the second on the site, and much of this
building has been added to and altered at various dates. The original
cathedral is supposed to have been for a time the adapted church of St.
Peter's monastery which stood on or near the south-west corner of the
city cross-roads. Bishop Ralph's building, erected in 1107, was
destroyed by fire in 1114. The same bishop started to build the older
portions of the church which we now see.
The most striking object in the exterior view is the modern spire,
built by Scott to replace the tower which fell in 1861 while repairs to
the piers were in progress. The summit is exactly equidistant from the
west porch and the end of the Lady Chapel. The most effective, if not
the most picturesque view, is from the north, where the sturdy
campanile makes a good foil to the graceful spire. Until the enormous
bulk of the new Liverpool Cathedral rose above the great city in the
north, Chichester was the only English cathedral visible from the sea.
[Illustration: SKETCH PLAN OF CHICHESTER CATHEDRAL.]
The nave should be entered from the west porch, a much admired specimen
of Early English. We are at once aware of the fine effects of light and
shade produced by the four aisles. The Cathedral is one of the widest
in England (though those usually quoted as excelling it--York Minster
and St. Paul's, are actually excelled themselves by Manchester, which
also has four aisles). The nave and the inner aisles are Norman, the
outer being Geometrical; these were added to make room for the various
chapels and shrines which were found necessary as the development of
the church progressed. The base of the south-west tower is possibly of
an earlier date than the remainder of the nave and the suggestion has
been put forward that it forms part of the original monastery church of
St. Peter; the style of it is very rude and archaic.
Proceeding by the left-hand or north aisle we see first, close to the
north door, the chapel of the Baptist, which contains an unknown tomb
and an ancient chest reputed to be over a thousand years old and to
have been brought from Selsey. Following come the Collins tomb and the
Arundel chantry containing the altar-tomb of Richard Fitz-Alan and his
countess. At the end of this aisle is an unknown female effigy
conjectured to be Maud of Arundel (1270). Some good modern stained
glass will have been noticed in the nave. The pulpit, a memorial to
Dean Hook, was designed by Sir Gilbert Scott. The south aisle of the
nave has the tomb of Bishop Arundel (1478), Bishop Durnford, and Agnes
Cromwell and a brass to William Bradbridge three times mayor of
Chichester (1592).
In a spirit of ruthless improvement the beautiful old stone screen
between nave and choir was removed in 1859, and replaced by the present
rood-screen in memory of Archdeacon Walker. The finely carved throne
and stalls in the choir are also modern but are in excellent taste and
keeping with the solemn Norman stone which surrounds them. The east
window was placed in 1844, and it is no worse than other examples of
this period.
The north transept was for many years used as the parish church of St.
Peter. Note the pictures by Bernhardi of the English Bishops; those
after Elizabeth were destroyed when the tower fell. On the west are the
tombs of three bishops, Grove (1695), King (1669) and Carleton (1705).
King was the defender of Chichester during Waller's attack and the
latter described him as a "pragmatical malignant." The cathedral
library is in this transept, entered from the north choir aisle. It
contains several treasures, notably the service book of Hermann,
Archbishop of Cologne, once the property of Cranmer and bearing his
autograph. From this book the Reformer adapted many phrases for the
Book of Common Prayer. There are several interesting relics from the
stone coffins discovered under the choir in 1829, including a papal
absolution cross, an abraxas ring and a twelfth-century silver chalice
and paten. These are displayed in a case by the wall. In the north
choir aisle is a beautiful altar cloth in a glass case. We now pass the
fine canopied tomb of Bishop Moleynes (1449). In the Early English
chapel at the end, dedicated to St. Panthelon, is the modern tomb of
Bishop Otter (1840). Before entering this chapel note the stone built
into the wall and known as "Maudes Heart." The screens separating the
aisles from the presbytery are made of native Sussex iron.
We now return and cross to the south transept, on the north side of
which is the tomb once supposed to be the shrine of St. Richard de la
Wych, Bishop (1253) but now definitely accepted as that of Bishop
Stratford (1362). This tomb, with several others, was barbarously
"restored" in the last century; near it may be seen the modern brass in
memory of Dean Burgon (1888). The pictures on the west wall are by
Bernhardi and represent Ceadwalla giving Selsey to St. Wilfrid and the
confirmation made by Henry VIII to Bishop Sherborne. Part of the
transept is used as a consistory court. The sacristy is on the west
side and on the east is St. Catherine's Chapel. In the wall of the
aisle, proceeding east, note two slabs which are said to have been
brought from Selsey Cathedral. The subjects are the Raising of Lazarus
and the Saviour meeting Martha and Mary. Note between them the tomb of
Bishop Sherborne (1536); near by is a memorial of Dean Hook (1875) also
the coffin slabs of Bishop Neville (1224) and Bersted (1262).
[Illustration: CHICHESTER PALACE AND CATHEDRAL.]
We now enter the Transitional Retro-choir; here is the altar tomb of
Bishop Story (1503) who built Chichester Market Cross, and of Bishop
Day (1556). The columns of Purbeck marble which grace this part of the
cathedral are of great beauty. The screens of native iron have already
been noticed, they are of simple but effective design.
We pass the terminal chapel of the south aisle, dedicated to St. Mary
Magdalene and restored in memory of Dean Cross, and enter the Chapel of
Our Lady, noting (left) the tombs of Bishops Hilary and Ralph, and
(right) Bishop Seffrid II, the builder of the Early English portions of
the Cathedial. This beautiful chapel was finished in the early
fourteenth century and in the eighteenth was considered unworthy of
repair and handed over to the Duke of Richmond, whose private property
it for a long time became. The floor was raised to allow of a burial
vault being constructed below, and the upper portion became the
library.
The restoration was resolved upon in 1870 as a memorial to Bishop
Gilbert, and the then Duke being in sympathy with the revived canons of
good taste no opposition was encountered. It may be of interest to
quote an anonymous correspondent in the _Gentleman's Magazine_ (1829,
part II) which shows how the leaven was at work even then.
"Some ten years since a Goth, by some untoward chain of circumstances,
possessed sufficient influence with his brethren in the Chapter to
induce that body to whitewash the church, and by way of ornament, and
with a view to compensate for the loss of the original paintings on the
groining of the choir destroyed by the whitewash, the said gentleman
had the archivolt mouldings and all the lines of the building which
were in relief, tastefully coloured in yellow ochre. The name of the
perpetrator of this outrage on good taste and good feeling it is
unnecessary to add, as he will never plan or design any further
embellishment to the cathedral, but if any of his coadjutors in the
daubing and smearing line have survived him, and still possess
influence, I tremble for the effects of the present repair.
"The curious chantry of St. Richard, an object of veneration among
Catholics even to our own days, and the elegant stone screen of the
roodloft, have been literally plastered with whitewash, the rich
sculptured bosses being converted into apparently unshapely lumps of
chalk, and the flat spaces within the heads of the Norman arches of the
nave, which are sculptured with scales and flowers, are almost reduced
to a plane surface.... The removal of this rubbish would be a work of
time; it should be gradually and effectually performed arch by arch, or
its removal may carry away with it many of the sculptures it may
conceal. This will certainly be the case if any London architect, with
a contractor at his heels, sets about a thorough repair to be completed
in a given time....
"The more ancient injuries which the appearance of the cathedral had
sustained were, in the first instance, occasioned by the erection of a
breastwork in front of the triforium, which concealed the bases and
half the shafts of the columns; this might now be easily removed as the
object of its erection, to protect from accident the spectators of the
ancient processions, has ceased to exist. Since the Reformation a great
portion of the nave has been fitted up with pews, the congregation
adjourning from the choir to the nave to hear the sermon. I need not
point out the injury the nave sustains in appearance from this cause
and many points of perspective, highly picturesque, which would arise
from the singular duplication of the aisles of this church are entirely
lost through the existence of the sermon place."
On the south side of the nave is the entrance to the irregularly built
cloisters; here are several monuments and a good view of the
interesting details of the exterior of the cathedral. The Bishop's
Palace is at the west end; it has an Early English chapel in which is
an interesting fresco of the Virgin and Child. At the south-east angle
of the cloister is the Chantry of St. Faith dating from the early
fourteenth century.
[Illustration: BELL TOWER, CHICHESTER.]
The Bell Tower, which is an unique feature of the Cathedral, dates from
the late fifteenth century; it was built to relieve the central tower
of the main building from the weight of the eight bells, most of them
ancient, with quaintly worded and spelt inscriptions. The Arundel
screen has been placed within the tower, but special permission must be
obtained to see this.
The old documents in the Cathedral muniment room are quaint reading,
especially in these post-war days; here are a few items taken at random
from an old book of accounts:--
Payd Thomas the broderer for his labors in amendyng of
dyverse cooppes vestments and other ornaments of the
church workynge thereabouts by the space of IIII wyks
after Chrystmas VI s
For hys comones so longe IIII s
Payd unto Wolsey the masson for amendynge of the tumbe
in our Lady Chapell that was broken uppe when the
Commissionars were here from the Councell to serch
the same XV d
(This was possibly the shrine of St. Richard.)
Payd to Mother Lee for apparellinge of XV
mens albes XIIII d
unto hyr for a dosen of childrens albes IIII d
unto hyr for the makinge of a towell I d
Payd unto Thomas Nowye for pollynge and shavinge of
the chorusters crounes for VI quarters ending at our
Ladye in Lente VIII s
In 1553 Lambart Barnard the painter received an annual payment of
£3 6s. 8d. for his works in the church "in arte suae facultate sua
pictoria" (_sic_).
This Barnard was probably a relative of Bernhardi.
The surroundings of the Cathedral on the south side are very pleasant
and the second visit should be made by way of the Canon Lane Gate in
South Street. On the right is the Vicar's Close and, farther on, the
Deanery (1725). The passage called St. Richard's Walk gives a
particularly beautiful view of the Cathedral.
[Illustration: CHICHESTER CROSS.]
Chichester Cross is the next object of general interest. It was built
by Bishop Story in 1500 and received rough treatment from Waller's men.
On the east side is a bronze bust of Charles I. The clock was presented
by Dame Elizabeth Farringdon in 1724 as "an hourly memento of her
goodwill to the city"; it has not, however, added to the beauty of the
cross. The central column is surrounded by a stone seat which bears
witness to the generations who have used it as a resting place. The
stone lantern which crowns the whole dates from the eighteenth century.
We may now proceed up North Street, passing on the right St. Olave's
Church. A quantity of Roman materials have been found in the walls, and
some authorities declare the south door to be actual Roman work; it is
undoubtedly the oldest building in the town. The Council House is at
the corner of Lion Street; here may be seen the Pudens Stone already
described.
At the end of Lion Street stands St. Mary's Hospital. This was
originally a convent founded in 1158; for some unknown reason the nuns
were evicted in the following century, since then it has been an
almshouse, probably the oldest foundation of its kind in the county. It
supports eight poor persons who live in tiny two-roomed dwellings round
the sides of the great hall. At the end of this is the Decorated chapel
separated from the remainder of the building by an open screen. The
main portion of the building is Early English and a great deal of
timber has been used in the construction. Visitors should enter without
waiting for permission, and one of the courteous ladies will, if
required, show the chapel. The whole makes a quaint and pleasing
picture, quite unique in its way.
[Illustration: ST. MARY'S HOSPITAL, CHICHESTER.]
We may continue along St. Martin's Lane northwards to the Guildhall, no
longer used as such. This was originally the chapel of the Grey Friars.
It has a very fine Early English window; the sedilia should also be
seen. The building was for many years used as a court of justice; its
future is still uncertain.
The city walls are not far distant; though not continuous, considerable
portions have been laid out as public promenades. They are for the most
part constructed of flints and undoubtedly have a Roman base. Some
lines of fortifications about a mile north of the walls, locally called
the "Broyles," are supposed to be Roman works, possibly in connexion
with the military station or garrison.
Returning to the city's centre at the Cross, St. Andrew's Church in
East Street may be visited; this has a Roman pavement at a depth of
about five feet. The poet Collins is buried within the church. Note the
slab on the outside wall which up to the present has kept its secret
from archaeologists.
A very interesting museum in South Street contains a quantity of local
finds. Particular note should be made of the pottery removed from a
British tomb at Walberton; also of the curious old lantern called the
"moon," formerly carried in municipal processions after dark.
The "Pallant," a corruption of Palatinate, was once an ecclesiastical
peculiar; it consists of four streets between South and East Streets.
In West Street is the Prebendal school at which Selden commenced his
education. This street has a very fine specimen of seventeenth-century
architecture, built by Wren and dated 1696. There are several good old
residences of about this date in South Street.
CHAPTER X
SELSEY AND BOSHAM
Chichester Harbour ends just west of the town and close to the
Portsmouth high road at New Fishbourne, a pleasant little place with a
restored Early English church. This may be said to be the north-western
limit of the Selsey Peninsula, one of the most primitive corners of
southern England. The few visitors who make use of the light railway to
Selsey have little or no knowledge of the lonely hamlets scattered over
the wind-swept flats, in which many old customs linger and where the
Saxon dialect may be heard in all its purity.
[Illustration: THE LOWLANDS.]
Selsey--"Seals' Island"[2]--was the scene of the first conversions to
Christianity in Sussex and, for this reason, a semi-sacred land to the
early mediaeval church in the south.
[2] Two seals were seen on the west of the Selsea Peninsula in
December, 1919, and one of them was shot for preservation in a
local museum.
St. Wilfrid's first visit was unpremeditated; he was shipwrecked while
returning from a visit to France, where his consecration had taken
place in A.D. 665. His reception was so hostile that after getting
safely away he decided to return at some future date and convert the
Barbarians to more gentle ways. Not for fifteen years did his
opportunity come. Then, despoiled of his northern bishopric, for
Wilfrid was a turbulent Churchman, he came prepared, we must suppose,
for the reception usually meted out to the saints in those days. The
heathen Saxons, however, were now in a different mood, for "no rain had
fallen in that province for three years before his arrival, wherefore a
dreadful famine ensued which cruelly destroyed the people.... It is
reported that very often, forty or fifty men, being spent with want,
would go together to some precipice, or to the sea-shore, and there
hand in hand perish by the fall, or be swallowed-up by the waves."
(Ven. Bede.)
The efforts of the missionary saint met with success. The unprecedented
sufferings of the people had been ignored by their tribal deities and
the offer of a new faith was eagerly accepted. The King had been
converted, possibly in secret, before this. The baptism of the leading
chieftain was followed by the breaking of the terrible drought. The
fruits of the woods came to feed the bodies of those who had accepted
the food of the spirit, and "the King being made pious and gentle by
God, granted him (Wilfrid) his own town in which he lived, for a
bishop's see, with lands of 87 houses in Selesie afterwards added
thereto, to the holy new evangelist and baptist who opened to him and
all his people the way of everlasting life, and there he founded a
monastery for a resting-place for his assembled brothers, which even to
this day belongs to his servants." (Eddi's _Life of Bishop Wilfrid_.)
The monastery site was probably the same as that of the cathedral, now
beneath the waves, about a mile east of the present Selsey church.
[Illustration: FISHBOURNE MANOR.]
To explore the peninsula a start should be made at Appledram, a small
village close to Chichester Channel and about two miles south-east of
the city; here is a fine Early English church, on the south of which is
an ancient farm-house, originally a tower built by one Renan in the
reign of Edward II. The King would not grant permission for its
crenellation, Renan thereupon disposed of most of the materials and
they were used to build the campanile at Chichester. Footpaths lead
across the meadows to Donnington where is another Early English church
of but little interest. A mile away on the banks of the disused
Chichester and Arundel canal is the strangely named "Manhood End." This
is a corruption of Mainwood, and refers to the great forest which once
stretched from the Downs to the sea. A rather dull walk westwards past
Birdham to West Itchenor, a remote little place on the shores of the
creek, is amply repaid by the fine views northwards up the Bosham
channel, with the far-flung line of the Downs beyond. (A ferry can be
taken from here which would make a short cut to Bosham or Fishbourne
practicable.) Returning past the church with its interesting font, a
footpath is taken to West Wittering and its very fine Transitional
church, the most interesting ecclesiastical building in the Selsey
Peninsula; note the two rude sculptures of the Annunciation and
Resurrection at the ends of a canopied altar tomb; and a coffin lid
with pastoral staff possibly of a "boy-bishop." We are now on that
portion of the coast which approximates most nearly to the original
spot, now beneath the waves, where the first colonists of Sussex
landed.
[Illustration: FISHBOURNE CHURCH.]
At East Wittering a short distance away is an Early English church with
a Norman door. This is not far from Bracklesham Bay, an adventurous
excursion for Selsey Beach visitors who come here treasure hunting for
fossils, of which large numbers repay careful search. To reach Selsey
"town" devious ways must be taken past Earnley, which is surely the
quietest and most remote hamlet in the kingdom, on the road from
nowhere to nowhere; or we may, if impervious to fatigue, follow the
beach all the way to Selsey Bill. The settlement is easily approached
from Chichester and the South Coast line by the Selsey Tramway (8
miles). The charm of the place, which consists in a great measure in
its air of remoteness, is likely to be soon destroyed. Pleasant
bungalows, of a more solid type than usual, are springing up everywhere
between the railway and the Bill, though here we may still stand on the
blunt-nosed end of Sussex and watch the sun rise or set in the sea.
It would be interesting to know if the quality of the buildings erected
will enable them to last until the sea eventually disposes of Selsey.
The encroachment of the waves, especially on the eastern side of the
Bill, has been more rapid than on any other part of the coast, except
perhaps certain parts of Norfolk. The sea immediately east of Selsey is
called the "Park"; this was actually a deer-park no longer ago than
Tudor times and in Camden's day the foundations of Selsey Cathedral
could be seen at low water.
The Transitional church was rebuilt in 1867 from the materials of the
older church, two miles away at Church Norton, where the chancel still
remains among its old mossy tombs. Each stone and beam was placed in
the same position on the new site. The old chancel at Church Norton
contains a battered tomb to John Lewes and his wife (1537). Near-by is
a mediaeval rectory, once a priory, dating from the fourteenth century,
very quaint and picturesque.
We now follow the line of the light railway. At Sidlesham, the first
halt, is a restored Early English church containing a fine old chest.
Note the curious epitaphs within and also on the gravestones in the
churchyard, and, not least, the queer names that accompany
them:--"Glue," "Gravy," "Earwicker" etc.
From the station a footpath may be taken to Pagham and what is left of
the harbour of that name. Here there was until late years a curious
phenomenon known as the "Hushing Well." A rush of air would burst
through the water in the harbour at the time of the incoming tide. The
"well" was destroyed by draining operations which also caused the
disappearance of large numbers of rare water fowl and aquatic insects,
though the naturalist will still be repaid by a visit to this lonely
coast and its immediate surroundings. A short time ago the sea made an
entrance, but without reconstructing the old conditions. It is no
longer practicable to walk along the coast to Bognor.
Pagham Church is an interesting Early English building dedicated to St.
Thomas of Canterbury and erected by a successor to St. Augustine's
Chair. Note a slab in the chancel with Lombardic lettering and the old
glass in the east window. The scanty remains of the episcopal palace
may be seen southeast of the church.
From Hunston Halt a walk of about a mile westwards leads to another
remote and straggling village, North Mundham. In the restored church is
a Saxon font and certain curious sculptures may be seen outside the
door. From here it is only two miles to Chichester, passing
Rumboldswyke church, which has interesting features, including Roman
brickwork in the chancel arch.
The Portsmouth road, in three miles from Chichester, reaches Walton,
where a turning to the left leads in another mile to Bosham, certainly
the most interesting relic of the past in West Sussex. Bosham (pron.
_Bozam_) to-day seems existent solely in the interest of artists; it is
certainly the most besketched place on the South Coast and is rarely,
in fine weather, without one or more easels on its quiet quay. The best
loved hours of the day for the painting or sketching fraternity--those
of low tide, when every boat lies at a different angle--will be the
most unpopular for the ordinary visitor, who will be eager for the
friendly smoke-scented parlour of the inn as a refuge from the flavour
of the malodorous flats; at low tide Bosham is certainly picturesque,
at the full she is comely and clean.
[Illustration: BOSHAM.]
The harbour, from British, through Roman, Saxon and Norman times to the
later middle ages, was one of the principal entrances to and exits from
this county. It was on several occasions harried by the Danes and, as
depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry, Harold left here on that visit which
was to have such dire consequences for himself and his line, and such
untold results on the history of the nation-to-be. The great Emperor of
the North--Knut--was a frequent visitor to the creek in his
dragon-prowed barque. His palace, also the home of Earl Godwin and
Harold, is supposed to have been on the northeast of the church, where
a moat is still in existence. It is here that the incident recorded in
every school reader, the historic rebuke to sycophantic courtiers, is
said to have taken place.
The church is of venerable antiquity. The tower has certain indications
which point to its being Saxon work. The chancel arch may be still
older in its base, and some authorities suggest that the lower portions
are actually the remains of the basilica erected in the time of
Constantine, on the site of which the church now stands. The east
portions of the chancel are Early English and once formed the chapel of
a college founded by William Warlewaste, Bishop of Exeter (1120). Note
the figure in the north wall, said to be that of the daughter of Knut
who died here while on a visit to Earl Godwin. The effigy is, however,
of much later date. The fine arcaded font is placed upon high steps
against a column. At the east end of the south aisle the floor is
raised over an Early English crypt or charnel-house, the entrance to
which is close to a canopied tomb. This tomb is that of Herbert of
Bosham, secretary to Becket, who wrote the _Book of Becket's
Martyrdom_.
[Illustration: BOSHAM MILL.]
The church was restored in 1865 and during this work the most
interesting discovery was made of the traditional burial place of
Knut's daughter. How often has a local tradition, accepted as fact by
the peasant, but looked upon as an idle tale by his educated superior,
proved to have more than a grain of truth in it and sometimes to be a
very circumstantial record of actualities, and fully supported by
antiquarian research. The exact position of the grave is shown by the
figure of a Danish raven painted upon a tile, and a stone slab with an
inscription upon it placed by the children of Bosham in 1906.
One of the ancient bells was stolen by Danish pirates; the story goes
that when half way to the open sea a storm arose which swamped the boat
in consequence of the great weight of the metal on board. On high
festivals of the Church, a Bosham man will tell you, its sound can be
heard from the waves mingling with the chimes of the modern bells of
the tower. As a matter of fact the echo of the peal, thrown back by the
woods of West Itchenor, is, in certain favourable conditions of the
atmosphere, distinctly like a second chime, and might deceive a
stranger into thinking that another church lay across the water.
[Illustration: BOSHAM. THE STRAND.]
A most interesting fact recorded by the Venerable Bede is that when
Wilfrid of York came here in 681 he found a religious house ruled by a
monk named Dicul. It was this monk who had converted King Ethelwalch
before Wilfrid arrived. The existence of this tiny community in the
midst of hostile tribes, over two hundred years after the extinction of
Christianity in the south, is a matter of high romance in the history
of the faith in Britain.
There are two other isolated bits of Sussex on the south of the high
road to Emsworth, the first containing the small hamlet of Chidham with
a beautiful little Early English church; the next is occupied by West
Thorney. Here is another church of the same period with a Transitional
tower and a Norman font. This peninsula was until quite recently an
island and the home of innumerable sea fowl.
Emsworth is almost entirely in Hampshire and therefore outside our
limits, but we can well make it the starting place for the last corner
of seaward Sussex unexplored.
Westbourne, one mile north of Emsworth, has a fine Transitional church
with a large number of monuments and an imposing avenue of yews. At
Racton to the north-east is the well-known seamark tower used by
mariners in the navigation of the channels of Chichester Harbour. The
church has a monument to an ancestor of that Colonel Gunter who took
part in the escape of Charles II. Near by is Lordington House, erected
by the father of Cardinal Pole and said to be haunted by the ghost of
that Countess of Salisbury who, when an old woman upwards of seventy,
was beheaded by the order of Henry VIII, and caused the headman much
trouble by refusing to place her head upon the block; an illustration
by Cruickshank depicts the executioner chasing the Countess round the
platform.
[Illustration: THE WESTERN DOWNS.]
Several roads lead north through beautiful country, covered by lonely
and unfrequented woodlands, to the Mardens. West Marden is about five
miles from Emsworth and close to the Hampshire border; all the four
villages which bear this name are among the most primitive in southern
England. At North Marden is a plain unrestored Norman church, the only
one in the immediate vicinity which is worth a visit for its own sake.
Compton, a mile beyond West Marden, has a Transitional Norman church
partly rebuilt; this is close to Lady Holt Park, a favourite retreat of
Pope; and Up Park, a fine expanse of woodland, where the Carylls once
lived; their estates were forfeited for their championship of the
Stuarts. The northern end of the park rises to the edge of the Downs
close to Torberry Hill, the last summit in Sussex, though the traveller
who is so inclined may, with much advantage to himself, penetrate into
the lonely recesses of the Hampshire hills, sacred to the shade of
Gilbert White, and, still within the probable limits of the _ancient_
kingdom of Sussex, finish his travels at Butser Hill and Petersfield.
Butser Hill is 889 feet above the sea, and therefore higher than any
point of the range within Sussex. This well-known summit is familiar to
all travellers on the Portsmouth road, from which it rises with
imposing effect on the west of the pass beyond Petersfield. Here the
South Downs, so called, may be said to end. The chalk hills are
continued right across Hampshire, slowly diminishing in height until
they are lost in the great plateau of Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire.
[Illustration: HARTING.]
Between a fold of the hills lies picturesque Harting in a most
delightful situation; an ideal spot for a restful time away from
twentieth-century conditions. The tourist, if amenable to the simple
life, might well make a stay of a few days to explore the lovely
country of which this village forms the centre. The finely placed Early
English cruciform church has several interesting monuments to members
of former local families, including sixteenth century memorials of the
Cowper-Coles. Here is buried Lord Grey, who was connected with the Rye
House Plot. Notice the embroidery in the reredos, an unusual style;
also the fine wooden roof and shorn pillars; the latter detract from
the general effect of the interior and have been noticed in other
Downland churches on our route. Quite close to the church are the old
village stocks, undoubtedly placed in this position for the sake of
convenience, the "court" in more remote districts having been held, in
former times, in the church itself. Harting was for a time the home of
Anthony Trollope, and Cardinal Pole was rector here.
There are few districts in England and certainly none south of the
Trent where old customs and queer legends persist with so much vitality
as in these lonely combes and hollows. The effect of being out of the
world is perhaps enhanced in these western Downs by the ring fence of
dark woods through which we have to pass to reach the bare, wind-swept
solitudes and lonely hamlets within them. The northern escarpment and
southern flanks of the hills are clothed in vast forests of beech which
add that grandeur to the great ramparts of chalk which the eastern
ranges lack. Seen through the ever-shifting sea mists which creep up
from the channel these heights take on an appearance of greater
altitude and an added glamour of mystery.
South-east of Harting is the isolated Beacon Hill, once a semaphore
station between Portsmouth and London; but instead of taking at once to
the heights, the pedestrian should first visit Elsted up on its own
little hill, and Treyford a mile farther; both churches are ruined and
deserted. A new church with a spire that forms a landmark for many
miles, stands midway between the two and serves both. Elsted has an inn
from the doorway of which the traveller has a superb view of the Downs.
From Treyford a bridle-path leads directly south to the summit of
Treyford Hill, where are five barrows called "The Devil's Jumps." From
here the track running along the top of the Down will bring us in two
miles to the bold spurs of Linch Down (818 feet), the finest view-point
on the western Downs, the views over the Weald being magnificent in all
directions. A track will have been noticed on the west side of the
summit, and a return should be made to this, and then by striking
southwards through the Westdean woods we eventually reach Chilgrove. We
might then climb the opposite spur and keep southwards until the ridge
rises to the escarpment of Bow Hill, but the finest walk of all and the
most fitting termination to our tour will be to keep to the rough road
which runs down the valley south-east to Welldown Farm. Here a road
turns right and in a little over a mile drops to the romantically
beautiful Kingley Vale.
This vale is a cup-shaped hollow in the south side of Bow Hill; its
steep sides are clothed in a sombre garb of yews and at the farther end
of the combe is a solemn grove of these venerable trees amid which
broad noon becomes a mystic twilight filled with the spirit of awe; a
fitting place for the burial of warrior kings with wild, barbaric rite.
Tradition has it that many Danish chieftains were here defeated and
slain and that here beneath the yews they rest. But who shall say what
other strange scenes these lonely deeps in the bosom of the hills have
witnessed before Saxon or Dane replaced the Celt; who in turn, for all
his fierce and arrogant ways, went, by night, in fear and trembling of
those spiteful little men he himself displaced, and whose vengeance or
pitiful gratitude is perpetuated in the first romances of our
childhood. Though their living homes were in the primeval forests of
the Britain that was, their last long resting places were under the
open skies on the summits of the wind-swept Downs. Many of the smooth
green barrows that enclosed their remains have been ruthlessly rifled
and desecrated by greed or curiosity. It is to be hoped that the
votaries of this form of archaeological research have now discovered all
that they desired to know, and that our far-off ancestors will be left
to the peace we do not grudge our more immediate forefathers.
Appendix
THE SUSSEX DOWNS FROM END TO END
The following summary will suggest to the stranger how his time, if
limited, could be so disposed as to take in the whole range with those
villages which are essentially Downland settlements and those which lie
immediately at the foot of the escarpment. For this purpose the order
of the book is reversed and the tourist should start at the western or
Hampshire end and finish his walk at Beachy Head. The enjoyment of this
tour will of course be greatly enhanced if half the distance is
traversed each day, thus doubling the time.
[Illustration: COWDRAY COTTAGE.]
1ST DAY.
Midhurst (Angel Inn) or Cocking Station via Lynch Down, Beacon Hill, to
Harting, 9 miles (Ship Inn).
2ND DAY.
Harting to Bow Hill and Kingley Bottom via North and East Marden, 8
miles; on to West Dean, Singleton and Cocking (Inn), 17 miles; or
Midhurst, 20 miles.
3RD DAY.
Cocking by Heyshott Down and Duncton Beacon to East Dean, 7 miles
(Inn); on by Burton Down and Bignor Hill (Stane Street) to Bignor, 13
miles (Inn); on to Amberley, 19 miles (Inn).
4TH DAY.
Amberley to Rackham and Kithurst Hills; down to Storrington (White
Horse Inn), 5 miles. By the main road to Washington (Inn) and Wiston.
Ascend Chanctonbury Ring, 10 miles; on to Cissbury Ring and over Downs
at Steyning, 16 miles (White Horse).
5TH DAY.
Steyning via Bramber and Upper Beeding to Trueleigh Hill and Devil's
Dyke, 6 miles (Inn); down to Poynings, round Newtimber Hill to Pyecombe
and Wolstonbury, thence by hill road to Ditchling Beacon, 12 miles; on
by edge of Downs to Mount Harry and down to Lewes, 18 miles (White
Hart, Crown, etc.)
6TH DAY.
Lewes over Cliffe Hill and Mount Caburn to Glynde and West Firle, 4
miles (Inn); over Firle Beacon and along edge of Downs to Alfriston, 9
miles (Star Inn); by Lullington to Windover Hill ("Long Man of
Wilmington") down to Jevington, 12 miles (Inn); up to Willingdon Hill
and thence by eastern edge of Downs all the way to Beachy Head, 17
miles. Eastbourne, 20 miles.
[Illustration: SKETCH MAP OF THE ROADS FROM LONDON TO THE DOWNS.]
Appendix II
LONDON TO THE SOUTH DOWNS--THE WEALD
The writer of the preceding chapters has often been tempted to trespass
outside the limits imposed upon him, and penetrate the woody fastnesses
of the Weald. In this separate section a short description will be
given of some of the most characteristic scenes and interesting towns
and villages between London and the coast.
A certain proportion of the pleasure of a holiday is, or should be,
obtained on the journey toward the goal. This is, of course, much more
the case where road rather than rail is taken, and most of the routes
to the south run through a lovely and varied countryside which will
repay a leisurely mode of progression. To the writer there is no way of
seeing England equal to doing that on foot; however, it would be
unreasonable to expect every one to adopt this mode of travelling even
if they were able, and these notes can easily be followed by motorist
or cyclist without undue loss of time.
LONDON TO LEWES BY WESTERHAM AND MARESFIELD
This road keeps within Kent until the boundary of Sussex is reached,
and runs via Catford Bromley and Keston, climbing gradually to
Westerham Hill, after which there is a steep and dangerous descent to
the small town of Westerham (23 miles) pleasantly situated between the
North Downs and the sandy hills of the Surrey Weald. It is famous as
the birthplace of Wolfe, whose statue adorns the green, around which is
grouped the quietly dignified assemblage of inns, shops and houses that
are typical of this part of Kent. The large and finely situated church
also has a memorial to the local hero, who was born in the vicarage
here and buried at Greenwich.
The road continues through pleasant country over Crockham Hill to
Edenbridge (28 m.) on the small river Eden. Although the immediate
surroundings are dull and featureless this is a good centre from which
to explore the district eastwards to Hever, Penshurst, and Tonbridge.
One mile out of the town we bear left and, in another three, cross the
Kent Water into Sussex. In 7-1/2 miles the road passes over the Medway
to Hartfield (33-1/2 m.) on the edge of Ashdown Forest. The Early
English church has a lych-gate dating from 1520. Inside may be seen
three piscinas, one in an uncommon position near the south door.
[A long mile east is Withyam, with a Perpendicular church famous
for its monuments of the Dorset family. Only a gateway remains of
the ancient Buckhurst mansion, the greater part of the materials
going to the erection of Sackville college at East Grinstead.]
From Hartfield we climb steadily towards the centre of the Forest with
occasional wide views between the close woods which line the northern
slopes.
[Before reaching Camp Hill and near the summit, a path leads left
to Crowborough, which of late years has become suburban and a
second Haslemere. The Beacon commands wide views, but the
immediate surroundings have been spoilt.]
We now drop towards Maresfield with grand forward views over the Weald
to the South Downs.
Maresfield (41 m.) has a small Decorated church with a Norman window in
the nave. Note the ancient woodwork and restored oak porch, also two
stoups, one within and the other outside the church. This was once an
important "Black Country" centre. Local names, such as "The Forge"
perpetuate the memory of this strange period in the history of Sussex,
which was at its busiest about 1680, the last furnace being quenched in
1828.
"It is a strange thing to remember, when one is standing on the cold
desolate hills about Crowborough Beacon, or in the glens of the Tilgate
Forest--now the very picture of quiet, and rest, and loneliness--that
this same Sussex was once the iron mart of England. Once, spotted over
these hills and through these forests, there were forges that roared
from morning till night, chimneys that sent up their smoke and their
poisonous vapour from one year's end to another; cannon were cast ...
where now there is no harsher voice than the tap of the woodpecker....
One cannot fancy the forests of St. Leonards and Ashdown, the
Wolverhampton of their age. But so it was; and not the least remarkable
thing ... is the absence of traditions about the life and customs of
the manufacturers so employed." (Lower.)
[From Maresfield a round of about thirty miles could be made
through the beautiful East Sussex Weald, rejoining the main road
at Uckfield. In two miles is Buxted, which has an interesting
Early English church standing high amidst woods. In the Decorated
chancel is the brass of Britellus Avenel (1408) and J. de Lewes
(1330), by whom the church was founded. Note the old muniment
chest in the north aisle and the mortuary chapel of the Earls of
Liverpool south of the chancel. Not far from the church is "Hog
House," note the hog carved over the door and dated 1581. The
Hogge family, ironmasters, once lived here. In 1543 was cast the
first iron cannon made in this country.
"Master Huggett and his man John,
They did cast the first cannon."
Not far away is the one time cell of a hermit, carved out of the
rock, and named "The Vineyard." The road now winds through a
remote country, which once resounded with the clangour of the
forge, to Hadlow Down and Butcher's Cross and in seven miles
reaches Mayfield. The village street is according to Coventry
Patmore the "sweetest in Sussex." The half-timbered "Middle
House" nearly opposite the church is the best example of this
style of architecture in the south, it is dated 1575. Lower House
was built about 1625. The fine Perpendicular church is on the
site of the traditional building erected by St. Dunstan. This was
made of wood, and the Saint, finding that the orientation was not
quite true, set his shoulder to the wall and pushed it straight!
The visitor will note the fine effect of the raised chancel, the
roof of which is composed of a one time gallery. Note, among
other objects, the old screen and choir stalls; a squint; font
dated 1666; iron slabs in the nave to the Sands (1668 and 1708);
monument to T. Aynscombe (1620); chandeliers; and curious east
window; and, not least, the glorious view from the churchyard.
The Palace of the Archbishops is now a convent: it was restored
by Pugin after being in a state of ruin for many years. Certain
portions may be seen at uncertain times. In the ancient
dining-room are preserved the hammer, tongs and anvil of St.
Dunstan. The Saint's well is in the garden. It was hereabouts
that St. Dunstan had his great tussle with the Devil, holding the
fiend by the nose with his tongs; eventually the Evil One
wrenched himself free; making an eight mile leap he cooled his
nose in a pool of water, giving it for ever "a flavour of warm
flat irons" and making the fortune of the future Tunbridge
Wells. Mayfield has another claim to a niche in history, not a
quaint old tale like the above but a sombre fact:--
"Next followed four, which suffered at Mayfield, in Sussex, the
twenty-fourth of September 1556, of whose names we find two
recorded, and the other two we yet know not, and therefore,
according to our register, hereunder they be specified, as we
find them: John Hart, Thomas Ravendale, a shoemaker and a
carrier, which said four being at the place where they should
suffer, after they had made their prayers, and were at the stake
ready to abide the force of the fire, they constantly and
joyfully yielded their lives for the testimony of the glorious
Gospel of Jesus Christ." (Foxe.)
The scenery hereabouts is distinctly of Devonian character. Rich
and varied views reward the leisurely traveller who will make a
side excursion to Rotherfield, passing, halfway the conical Argos
Hill crowned with a windmill. The village, though not so
interesting as Mayfield, is well placed and has a fine
Perpendicular church, the spire being a landmark for many miles.
Here is an east window by Burne Jones and several other good
examples of modern stained glass which make fine splashes of
colour in the old building. A quaint saying in reference to the
handsome presence of the Rotherfield women is that they have an
"extra pair of ribs."
The beautiful district between here and Tunbridge Wells deserves
a chapter to itself. Frant Wadhurst and Ticehurst belong more
naturally to West Kent than East Sussex. These three beautiful
villages and the glorious Eridge Park could be combined in this
excursion by the traveller who has unlimited time.
We may now follow the valley of the Rother through scenery of
much quiet beauty to Burwash, 6-1/2 miles from Mayfield. Here is
an old church with a (possibly) Saxon tower and an interesting
iron slab inscribed "Orate p Annima Johne Colins," probably the
oldest piece of local ironwork in existence. The outline of the
village is eminently satisfying to the artist, especially the
house called "Rampyndens." Burwash is connected with the Rev. J.
Cocker Egerton, to whom reference has already been made. From the
natives of this particular district was gleaned that record of
rustic humour which makes the Sussex peasant depicted in his
writings so real to those who know him. The village has lately
become the home of Rudyard Kipling, who lives at "Batemans," a
beautiful old house in an adjacent valley surrounded by wooded
hills. "Puck of Pooks Hill" is said to have been inspired by the
locality. Brightling Beacon, three miles farther, commands the
finest prospect of the western Weald, the immediate foreground
being of great beauty. Brightling church should also be seen.
A return could now be made by way of Heathfield, from Brightling,
passing Cade Street. Here a monument commemorates the death of
Jack Cade, who was shot by an arrow discharged by Alexander Iden,
Sheriff of Kent, in 1450. Cade had been hiding at Newick Farm;
gaining confidence he came out for a game of bowls and met his
end while playing. Heathfield _old_ village and church are off
the main road to the left; our route passes the railway station
and runs westwards to Cross-in-Hand and Blackboys; this road is a
succession of lovely views throughout the seven miles to Framfield,
where there is a Tudor church. A short two miles more brings us to
our main route at Uckfield.]
[Illustration: MIDDLE HOUSE, MAYFIELD.]
Uckfield (43-1/2 m.) old church was pulled down in the early nineteenth
century, and its successor is of no interest. An old stone house in
front of the "King's Head" was once the village lock-up. A picturesque
outcrop of the Hastings sandstone around a small lake forms a beauty
spot of local fame: it is within the demesne of "The Rocks" on the west
of the town.
[An alternative route to Lewes could be taken from Uckfield
through the best part of the Ouse valley; nearly half-way and on
the right is Isfield ("Eyefield"), the church is interesting.]
The road now bears south-east to High Cross and then by Halland to East
Hoathly (48-1/4 m.). The church here has the Pelham buckle as a
dripstone. Note the Norman piscina. In five miles the little hamlet of
Horsebridge is reached. We are now in the Cuckmere valley.
[One mile short of this a round of four miles could be made via
The Dicker to Mickleham Priory and Hailsham. The Priory is now a
farmhouse; the position of the chapel is shown by some arches
built into the wall. The interior has a fine cowled fireplace and
Early English crypt. The gatehouse is the only complete portion
of the Priory buildings. Permission must be obtained to view the
interior.]
The Eastbourne road crosses the Cuckmere and turns sharp to the right
before reaching the railway.
Hailsham (55-1/2 m.). The fine pinnacled tower of the church shows up
well above the roofs of the old market town, which, however, has little
to show the visitor and is not particularly picturesque. The immediate
surroundings of the road are tame until we enter the woodlands, which
surround the route almost to Polegate (58-1/2 m.). We now have fine
views of the Downs on our right front though Willingdon to Eastbourne
(63 m.).
LONDON TO SEAFORD BY EAST GRINSTEAD AND LEWES
This route follows the Brighton road through Croydon to Purley (12-1/2
m.). Here we bear south-east and follow the Eastbourne road through
suburban but pleasant Kenley and Whyteleafe to Caterham (17-1/2 m.).
The North Downs are crossed between Gravelly hill (Water Tower) and
Marden Castle, followed by a long descent to Godstone (20 m.), built
around a charming green with a fine old inn ("Clayton Arms") on the
left. A lane at the side of the inn leads to the interesting church and
almshouses. The direct road onwards, runs over Tilburstow Hill (500
feet), but the better route bears left and passes Godstone station,
rejoining the old road at Springfield (23 m.).
[At Blindley Heath a road bears left to Lingfield, a pretty
village with an interesting church, once collegiate. Note
misererie seats and choir screen (fifteenth century). Tombs of
the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Lord Cobhams and other interesting tombs and
brasses.]
[Illustration: HIGH STREET, EAST GRINSTEAD.]
At Fellbridge, just past the Horley road, we enter Sussex and, after a
short rise and fall, arrive at East Grinstead (30 m.). This is one of
the pleasantest towns of the Weald, with many old houses here and there
in the High Street. The church, though of imposing appearance from a
distance, is, on closer acquaintance, disappointing; the fabric dating
from 1790. Note an iron tomb slab (1570). Not far from the church is
the Jacobean Sackville College. Here the celebrated Father Neale was
warden for twenty-five years. (In barely two miles from the centre of
the town a lane leads over the railway to the right in 1/3 mile to the
picturesque ruins of Brambletye.)
Forest Row (33 m.), on the river Medway. The road now climbs steadily
between woods to Wych Cross (35 m.). Grand views south and west. This
is one of the finest passes over the Forest Ridge and the peculiar
characteristics of the Hastings sands are here seen to the best
advantage. These high sandy moors, covered with glorious stretches of
bracken and heather, here and there clothed in dense growths of oak and
beech, with occasional distinctive clumps of Scots fir and beneath all
a thick tangle of bramble, a perfect sanctuary of wild life, are more
reminiscent of Radnor or Galloway than of the south country.
[Illustration: SACKVILLE COLLEGE.]
The right-hand road is taken at the fork and there follows a long coast
down to Danehill, where the Lewes road bears left to Sheffield Green
(40 m.).
[A road to the left would bring us in 2 miles to Fletching, where
the forces of Simon de Montfort started on their march to Mount
Harry and subsequent victory of Lewes. The village is the centre
of a delightful neighbourhood and is delightful in itself, not
only for the charm of its surroundings, but for its quaint and
attractive architecture of the humbler sort. The Early English
church has been well restored and beautified by the Earl of
Sheffield, whose estate lies to the west. Gibbon the historian
lies in the Sheffield mausoleum. Note the old glass in the small
lancet windows; this was buried in the churchyard during some
forgotten trouble and discovered and replaced during the
restoration. Several old helmets and gauntlets with the crest of
the Nevill's are hung in the north transept. A small brass should
be noticed; the inscription refers to a local worthy, P. Devot,
who took part in the Cade rebellion.]
Sheffield Park on the left is full of fine timber; at the end we cross
the Ouse and the railway and keep straight forward to Chailey (43-1/2
m.) with occasional views ahead of the Lewes Downs. Passing Chailey
potteries on the left the road calls for no comment until we pass
Cooksbridge station and draw near the Downs.
Offham (48 m.). Lewes (50 m.). There is a choice of routes to Seaford;
that passing Southease (54 m.) enters Newhaven and crosses the Ouse
there. The alternative road crosses the river in Lewes, runs under
Mount Caburn and going through Beddingham (51-1/4 m.) bears right.
South Heighton (55-1/2 m.).
Seaford (59 m.).
THE BRIGHTON ROAD
This classic fifty-two miles, the scene of many records in coaching,
running, cycling and walking, is the shortest way from London to the
sea, but not by any means the most interesting either for the lover of
nature or the tourist of an antiquarian turn. Distances are reckoned
from Westminster Bridge ("Big Ben"). After Kennington comes a two-mile
ascent from Brixton to Streatham and then a fairly level stretch to
Croydon (10 m.), Whitgift Hospital (1596), Archbishop's Palace, fine
rebuilt church. We now enter the chalk country and pass through
suburban Purley to Merstham (18 m.).
[Reigate (2 m. right). Large Perpendicular church. The town is
pleasant and picturesque but rapidly becoming suburban.]
The road drops between spurs of the North Downs to Redhill (20 m.); a
busy railway junction. Thence over Earlswood Common.
Horley (24-3/4 m.). Interesting church; note yews in churchyard.
Lowfield Heath. Three miles from Horley we pass into Sussex and shortly
reach Crawley (29-1/4 m.). Decorated church. Note the quaint lines on
one of the roof beams. Mark Lemon lived at Vine Cottage in the village.
[The tiny village of Worth, south of the East Grinstead road and
nearly 3 miles from Crawley, should be visited for the sake of
its unique Saxon church, the only one remaining which is complete
in its ground plan. Notice the typical band of stones supported
by pillars which runs round the building; also the curious double
font; pulpit dated 1577 and ancient lych-gate. On the north side
of the church is a "Devil's Door." The exorcized spirit passed
out this way at the sacrament of Baptism.]
We now enter the forest zone. Note the fine retrospect when approaching
Pease Pottage (31-1/4 m.).
[On the left is Tilgate Forest, which is continued by Worth
Forest, whence many lovely and lonely paths lead to Horstead
Keynes and West Hoathly, whose church has a land-mark spire
visible for many miles. Underneath the tower will be seen two
iron grave slabs. Within the church notice the Geometrical
windows and the triple sedilia. The village is picturesque and
well placed, and the local "lion"--"Great upon little," an effect
of denudation, is well known. The village is much nearer the
Seaford road at Wych Cross, but from the present route we have
the advantage of seven miles of woodland otherwise unexplored.
On the right from Pease Pottage, in the recesses of St. Leonard's
Forest, and two miles from the main route, is Holmbush Beacon
Tower. This should be visited for the sake of the magnificent
woodland views; in the distance are the south Downs visible from
Butser Hill behind Portsmouth to the hills surrounding Lewes.
Hindhead, Blackdown, Leith Hill, the North Downs and the
Hampshire Heights are all visible on a clear day.
We are here in a remote district, the haunt of legend and
folk-lore almost unequalled in the south. Here St. Leonard put an
end to the career of a fierce and fiery dragon, but not before
the saint was grievously wounded, and where his blood fell now
grow the lilies of the valley, common here but nowhere else in
the neighbourhood. Headless horsemen, who have an unpleasant
habit of sharing the benighted traveller's steed; witches and
warlocks; white-ladies and were-wolves are in great plenty, and
the normal inhabitants of the forest must have a fervent
appreciation of the high noon and the hours of daylight.]
The two miles south of Pease Pottage are the highest on the road
culminating at Handcross, 504 feet (33-1/2 m.). The road now descends
the steep and dangerous Handcross Hill.
[At the foot of the hill, half mile right, is Slaugham ("Slaffam")
with a Decorated church, old font and brasses.]
Bolney Common (37-1/2 m.) in lovely surroundings. The church has early
Norman, or as some authorities declare, Saxon features. The Norman
south door, covered by a wooden porch dating from the eighteenth
century, should be noticed.
[Cuckfield ("Cookfield") 3 miles left, amidst beautiful scenery,
with a fine Early English church commanding a glorious view. Note
monuments and handsome reredos. Cuckfield Place is the original
of "Rookwood," but has been "improved" out of its ancient
character. The Jacobean gate house still stands unrestored at the
end of the avenue. Close by is Leigh Pond, a fine sheet of
water.]
Albourne Green (42 m.), for Hurstpierpoint (1 m.), beautiful views of
the South Downs which we now ascend to Pyecombe (45-1/2 m.).
Preston (49-1/2 m.).
Brighton (front 51-1/2 m.).
THE HORSHAM ROAD
At Kennington Church we leave the Brighton Way and pass Clapham Common,
Tooting and Merton to Cheam (11-1/4 m.) Ewell and Epsom (14-1/2 m.) The
Downs and Race-course are up to the left.
Ashtead.
Leatherhead (18-1/2 m.). This little town has some picturesque streets,
but is rapidly becoming suburban. The Perpendicular church contains
interesting windows. The scenery now greatly improves and becomes
beautiful after passing Mickleham, a pretty village with a Transitional
church.
[Illustration: CAUSEWAY, HORSHAM.]
Norbury Park, on the right, is one of the most charming places in
Surrey. Box Hill (590 feet), which may easily be ascended from the
well-placed Burford Bridge Hotel, is on the left. The road, river and
rail run through a deep cleft in the North Downs forming the Mole
valley and facing the sandstone hills of the Weald. In the shallow
depression between the two ranges lies Dorking (23-1/4 m.). The town is
pleasant but has nothing of much interest for the visitor. It is for
its fine situation from a scenic point of view and as a convenient
headquarters from which to explore the best of Surrey that it will be
appreciated. The rebuilt parish church is imposing and stands on the
site of the ancient Roman Stane Street. We leave the town by South
Street and proceed to Holmwood, from which Leith Hill may be visited,
though there are more direct and much finer routes from Dorking.
Capel (28-3/4 m.). We are now in quiet wealden scenery and there is
nothing of special interest until we cross the Sussex boundary, about
half a mile beyond the railway bridge. Kingsfold (31-1/2 m.). We now
bear left and again 1-1/2 miles farther by Warnham Pond, with memories
of Shelley.
Horsham (36 m.). This prosperous and pleasant county centre makes a
good halting place. The Early English and Perpendicular church is worth
a visit, although practically rebuilt in the middle of the last
century. The fine proportions and spacious and lofty interior will at
once strike the visitor. Notice the altar tomb of Thomas de Braose
(1396), Lord Hoo (1455), Eliz. Delves (1645), and a brass of Thomas
Clerke (1411). Also the ancient font. The old "Causeway," which leads
to the church from Carfax, as the centre of the town is called, should
be more popular with artists than it is. The wonderful colour of some
of the Horsham roofs will be noticed; this is due to the local stone
with which the older roofs are covered. It seems a pity from an
aesthetic point of view that the quarries are no longer used. The great
weight of the covering had another advantage, it made for sturdy
building and honest workmanship. Horsham no longer has the artificial
importance of returning members to Parliament (at one time, two; and as
lately as 1885 one), but is now merged in the western division of
Sussex, of which district it shares with Midhurst the position of chief
agricultural and commercial centre. The town is also becoming
residential as East Grinstead, on the other side of the county, has
already done.
[Illustration: POND STREET, PETWORTH.]
THE SHOREHAM ROAD
The high road from Horsham skirts Dene Park, which is quite open and
commands fine views of the town and the surrounding Weald. To the right
may be discerned the buildings of Christ's Hospital and Southwater
Station (38-1/2 m.).
Burrell Arms (41-1/2 m.). A halt must be made to view the scanty
remains of Knepp Castle, a one time stronghold of the de Braose family.
Close by is a beautiful lake, the largest sheet of water in the south
of England. The road now bears south-east. To the right and close to
the Adur is West Grinstead. The church, partly Norman, should be seen.
Note the two naves. The old oak seats bear the names of the farms to
whose occupants they have from time immemorial belonged. Behind the
altar of the north nave is an aumbry, and in the roof above is a cover
once used for suspending the canopy over the Host. There are several
interesting monuments including two altar tombs in the Burrell chantry
with fine fifteenth century brasses. Note the font, an old stone
coffin, foliated lancets, fragments of old stained glass and some
remains of ancient frescoes. The rectory is a good specimen of
Elizabethan building. West Grinstead House, once the home of the
Carylls, friends of Pope, "This verse to Caryl, Muse, is due," _Rape of
the Lock_. The poem is said to have been written under the shade of
"Pope's Oak" in the park.
[Cowfold, 3 miles east, is chiefly remarkable for the Carthusian
Monastery dedicated to St. Hugh. Its spire is a landmark for many
miles. This has been the home of exiled French monks since 1877.
Visitors are very courteously shown over the greater part of the
building, which is of much interest and contains several venerated
relics brought from the monastery of the Grand Chartreuse. The
magnificent brass to Nelond, Prior of Lewes, in the parish church
should also be seen.]
We now continue south-east and cross the railway to Shoreham. The tall
spire seen on the left is St. Hugh's Monastery (above). Partridge Green
station (44-1/4 m.), Ashurst (46-1/4 m.), with an Early English church.
At the top of every rise we are rewarded with glorious views of the
Downs crowned by Chanctonbury Ring.
Steyning (49-1/4 m.).
Bramber (50-1/4 m.).
New Shoreham (54-1/4 m.).
[Illustration: STEYNING CHURCH.]
THE WORTHING ROAD
As above to the Burrell Arms. The route runs south and then south-west
to Dial Post (43-1/4 m.), and so with striking views ahead through
Ashington (46-1/4 m.) to Washington (48-1/4 m.).
Findon (51 m.).
Broadwater (54-1/4 m.).
Worthing (55-1/2 m.).
THE ARUNDEL--CHICHESTER ROAD
This route leaves the Horsham road nearly two miles south of the
village of Kingsfold.
Warnham (33-1/4 m.). The district is the scene of Shelley's childhood
and youth. The poet was born at Field Place, about 1-1/2 miles south on
the right of the road.
Broadbridge Heath (35-1/4 m.).
Five Oaks (39 m.). We now join the Roman "Stane Street" from London
Bridge to Chichester.
Billingshurst (40-3/4 m.). Norman and Perpendicular church. Note fine
oak panelled ceiling.
[Across the Adur valley, 2-1/2 miles west is the interesting
church at Wisborough Green. The situation is delightful and the
antiquarian interest more than ordinary. Kemble identifies the
mound on which the church is built as being the site of a temple
dedicated to Woden (Wisc or "Wish"). Restoration brought to light
early Norman (perhaps Saxon) remains in this late Norman church.
The chancel is Early English. Notice the tower walls inside.
There are some ancient frescoes, a stoup, and other interesting
details.]
Adversane (42-3/4 m.).
Pulborough (46 m.).
Bury (50-3/4 m.).
Arundel (55-1/4 m.).
_To Chichester_ at 1-3/4 m. past Bury turn S.W.
Balls Hut Inn (56-1/2 m.).
Chichester (62 m.).
THE CHICHESTER ROAD VIA GUILDFORD AND MIDHURST
This route follows the Portsmouth Road from Westminster through
Wandsworth and over Putney Heath to Kingston (12 m.). Here we bear left
past the King's stone and then by way of the river bank through Thames
Ditton to Esher (16 m.), then by the famous "Ripley Road" over Fairmile
Common and through Street Cobham (19-1/2 m.).
Ripley (23-3/4 m.).
Guildford (29-3/4 m.). A prosperous and good-looking old town in danger
of becoming smug and suburban; the steep and picturesque High Street,
however, keeps its old time amenities. The ruins of the castle keep may
be seen south of the High Street. Abbott's Hospital (1619), the
Guildhall with projecting clock (1683); St. Mary's church, Norman and
Early English. Note paintings in north chapel. St. Nicholas' Church has
been mostly rebuilt. Our road turns left just beyond the Wey bridge and
passes under the ruins of St. Catherine's Chapel on the left. At
Shalford (30-3/4 m.), bear right to Godalming (34-1/4 m.) in the centre
of a lovely country. Here is a large cruciform church, Norman and Early
English, with interesting brasses and pulpit.
[Illustration: NORTH MILL, MIDHURST.]
Milford (35 m.). A long rise follows to Brookstreet (39-1/4 m.) and a
dangerous drop just beyond. Haslemere (43 m.). Although the scenery is
very beautiful on all sides of this once remote hamlet, the late
nineteenth century saw a colonization of the slopes of Hindhead, with
the attendant outbreak of red brick, which has almost completely spoilt
the neighbourhood. Branch excursions may be made towards the Hampshire
border and to Chiddingfold country. We cross the Sussex boundary one
mile south of the town and are immediately in the lonely and very
lovely Blackdown country. A climb follows to Kingsley Marsh and a steep
descent to Fernhurst (46-1/4 m.).
[Blackdown, the highest point in Sussex (918 feet) can be easily
reached from here, the distance is about two miles in each
direction with woodland most of the way. The view from the summit
is magnificent in every direction. Aldworth, where Tennyson died,
is on a spur of the hill slightly east of north.]
Henley (48-1/2 m.). A picturesque hamlet below the road commanding
magnificent views of Blackdown. A steep descent, then a road through
lovely woodlands brings us to Midhurst (51 m.).
Cocking (54 m.). Steep hills.
West Dean (57-1/2 m.).
Chichester (63 m.).
RAILWAY ROUTES
LONDON TO EASTBOURNE BY OXTED AND HEATHFIELD
Only slow trains, with possible change of carriage, by this route; the
Eastbourne expresses run by Three Bridges and Lewes. After Croydon the
long ascent between the northern slopes of the Surrey Downs extends to
Woldingham Tunnel. Wide views and retrospect of the Downs. Oxted (20
m.) (church and village right).
Edenbridge (25 m.).
Hever.
Cowden. The line crosses the Kent water and enters Sussex. Ashurst
(Infant Medway right). Eridge (35-1/2 m.) (a good centre from which to
explore north-east Sussex). Rotherfield. Mayfield (scenery reminiscent
of Devon). Hailsham (49-3/4 m.) for Hurstmonceux. Polegate. Eastbourne
(57 m.).
LONDON TO SEAFORD BY EAST GRINSTEAD AND LEWES
(To Oxted above.) Lingfield (picturesque village and well-known racing
headquarters.) West Hoathly (34 m.). (Ashdown Forest left). Horsted
Keynes. Newick. Lewes (50-1/4 m.). Newhaven (56-1/2 m.). Seaford (59
m.).
LONDON TO BRIGHTON BY REDHILL AND THREE BRIDGES
This is the line of the fast expresses, and in the summer one of the
busiest 50 miles of railway in the kingdom. Croydon. Purley. Merstham.
Redhill (20-1/2 m.). Express Trains pass to the left of this station
(fine views). Horley. Gatwick (race-course, right). A long climb over
the Forest Ridge followed by a drop to the Ouse viaduct (St. Saviour's
College, Ardingley, left). Hayward's Heath (37-3/4 m.) (a suburban
growth). Wivelsfield. Burgess Hill (Ditchling Beacon, left front).
Hassocks (43-1/2 m.) (Clayton Tunnel). Preston Park. Brighton (50-1/2
m.).
LONDON TO SHOREHAM AND WORTHING
Sutton (15 m.) (an outlier of villadom). Ewell. Epsom (18-1/2 m.).
Ashtead. Leatherhead (22-3/4 m.). The scenery rapidly improves and
before reaching Box Hill Station attains much beauty. Dorking (26-3/4
m.). Holmwood (31-3/4 m.) (Leith Hill, right, conspicuous by its
tower). Capel. Horsham (40-1/4 m.). Christ's Hospital (left).
Southwater. West Grinstead (Chanctonbury Ring, right). Henfield (52-3/4
m.). The Adur valley is followed to Steyning and Bramber. New Shoreham
(60-1/4 m.). Worthing (64-3/4 m.).
[Illustration: KNOCK HUNDRED ROW, MIDHURST.]
LONDON TO ARUNDEL AND CHICHESTER
(To Horsham above.) Billingshurst (46 m.). Pulborough (junction for an
alternative route to Chichester via Midhurst). Views (left) of the long
escarpment of the Downs. Villages on the Arun (right). Amberley Castle
(left) and (exceedingly fine) Arundel Castle (right). Arundel (59-1/4
m.). Ford. Barnham. Chichester (70-1/2 m.).
Index
Adeliza, Queen
Adur
Ainsworth, Harrison
Albourne Green
Albrin, de
Alciston
Aldrington
Aldworth
Alfred the Great
Alfriston
Amberley
Anderida
Andredes Weald
Angmering
Angmering Park
Anne of Cleves
Anne of Cleves' House
Appledram
Apsleys
Ardingley
Argos Hill
Arun, The
Arundel
Arundel Church
Arundel Park
Arundel Bishop
Ashdown Forest
Atherington
Babington Conspirators
Bailiff's Court House
Balsdean
Barlavington Down
Barrymore
Bartelotts, The
Barton Down
Beachy Head
Beacon, The
Beacon Hill
Beckett, Thomas à
Beddingham
Beggar's Bush
Berwick
Bexley Hill
Bignor
Birdham
Birds, Booth Museum of
Billingshurst
Birling Gap
Bishopstone
Blackboys
Black Cap
Blackdown
Black Wm.
Blake
Bognor
Bolingbroke
Bolney Common
Borough Hill
Bosham
Botolphs
Bow Hill
Boxgrove
Box Hill
Bracklesham Bay
Bradford, John
Bramber
Brambletye
Braose, de
Brightling
Brighton
Broadbridge Heath
Broadwater
Brotherhood Hall
Browne, Sir Anthony
Browning, Robert
Buncton Chapel
Burrell Arms
Burrel, Sir Wm.
Burwash
Butcher's Cross
Butser Hill
Buxted
Byworth
Cade, Jack
Cade Street
Campions, The
Capel
Cariloce, John de
Carylls, The
Castle Goring
Catt, William
Chailey
Chanctonbury Ring
Charles II
Charles III of Spain
Charlotte, Princess
Charlton
Charlton Forest
Cheyney, Sir Thomas
Chichester
Chichester Cathedral
Chidham
Chilgrove
Chiltern Hills
Church Norton
Chyngton
Cissa
Cissbury Hill
Clapham
Clark, Dr.
Cliffe
Cliffe Hill
Clymping
Cobden, Richard
Cocking
Cogidubnus
Cold Waltham
Compton
Coombe
Cornwall, Earl of
Cowdray Park
Cowdray Ruins
Cowfold
Cowper
Cowper-Coles
Crawley
Cromwell, Thomas
Cross in Hand
Crowborough
Croydon
Cuckfield
Cuckmere Haven
Cuckmere Valley
Dane Hill
Danny
De la Warr, Lord
Devil's Dyke
Dickens, Charles
Dicker, The
Dicul
Ditchling
Ditchling Beacon
Donnington
Dorking
Duncton Beacon
Dunford House
Durrington Chapel
Earnley
Eartham
Easebourne
East Blatchington
Eastbourne
East Dean, (East Sussex)
East Dean, (West Sussex)
Eastergate
East Grinstead
East Hoathly
East Lavington
East Wittering
Edburton
Edenbridge
Edward I
Edward III
Edward VI
Egdean
Egerton, J. Cocker
Egremont, Lord
Elizabeth, Queen
Ella
Ellman, John
Elsted
Emsworth
Epsom
Eridge
Ethelwalch, King
Evelyn, John
Falmer
Falsely, Sir John
Farm Hill
Fellbridge
Felpham
Fernhurst
Field Place
Fiennes, Roger de
Findon
Firle Beacon
Fishbourne
Fittleworth
Fitz-Alans
Fitzherbert, Mrs.
Five Oaks
Flaxman
Fletching
Ford
Forest Ridge
Forest Row
Framfield
Friston
Fulking
Geology of the Downs
George IV
Glynde
Godalming
Godstone
Godwin, Earl
Goldstone, The
Goodwood
Goring
Goring, Charles
Goring Woods
Graffham
Greatham
Grey, Lady Jane
Grey, Lord
Guildford
Gundrada
Hadlow Down
Haia, Robert de
Hailsham
Halland
Halnaker
Hampden Park
Handcross Hill
Hardham Priory
Hares, The
Harold
Hartfield
Harting
Haslemere
Hassocks
Hayward's Heath
Hayley
Heathfield
Heene
Henley
Henry III
Henry VIII
Hessel, Phoebe
Heyshott
High Cross
Highdown Hill
High Wood
Hiornes Tower
Horsebridge
Horsham
Hotham
Holyoake
Houghton
Hove
Hunston
Huntingdon, William
Hurdis, James
Hurstmonceux
Hurtspierpoint
Huskisson, William
Iden, Alexander
Iford
Isfield
Jackson, Dean
Jefferies, Richard
Jevington
John, King
John of Gaunt
Johnson, Doctor
Julius Caesar
Kemp Town
Keymer
Kingley Vale
Kingsfold
Kingston
Kingston (Surrey)
Knut
Lady Holt Park
Lamb, Charles
Lamb Inn, Eastbourne
Lancing College
Leatherhead
Leicester, Earl of
Leith Hill
Leominster
Lewes
Lewes, Battle of
Linch Down
Lingfield
Litlington
Littlehampton
Littleton Down
Long Man of Wilmington
Lordington House
Louis Phillippe
Lullington
Lyminster
Magnus Memorial
Maison Dieu
Manhood End
Mardens, The
Maresfield
Martyrs Memorial
Mascall, Leonard
Matilda, Queen
Maud, Empress
Mayfield
Medway, River
Meeching Place
Mickleham
Mickleham Priory
Midhurst
Mid Lavant
Millburgh House
Monceaux, Waleran de
Montague, Lord
Montiort, Simon de
Montgomery, Roger of
Mount Caburn
Mount Harry
Mowbray, Thos.
Naylor, Geo.
Neale, Father
Newhaven
Newick Farm
Newmarket Hill
New Place, Angmering
New Place, Pulborough
Newtimber Hill
Norfolk, Duke of
North Stoke
North Mundham
Offham
Old Mailing
Old Place
Ouse
Ovingdean
Owen, Sir David
Oxen
Oxted
Pagham
Palmer, Sir Edward
Palmer, Sir Thomas
Parham
Parham Park
Parsons Darbys Hole
Patching
Payne, Tom
Pease Pottage
Pelham, Sir Nicholas
Pell, John
Petworth
Petworth House
Pevensey Castle
Pevensey Church
Piddinghoe
Plumpton
Pole, Cardinal
Polegate
Poling
Pope
Portobello
Portslade
Portus Adurni
Poynings
Preston
Preston, East and West
Puck Church Parlour
Pudens Stone
Pulborough
Pyecombe
Rackham Hill
Racton
Renan
Richard I
Richard II
Richard King of the Romans
Richmond, Duke of
Ringmer
Ripley Road
Roches Hill
Rodmell
Roedean College
Roman Ditch
Roman Villa, Bignor
Romans, King of
Romney
Rother, River
Rotherfield
Rottingdean
Rumboldswyke
Russel, Doctor
Rustington
Sackville College
Salisbury, Countess of
Salvington
Saxon Down
Seaford
Seaford Head
Selden, John
Selham
Selmeston
Selsey
Seven Sisters
Sheep
Sheffield Green
Shelley
Shelleys, The
Sherbourne, Bishop
Shirley, Sir Hugh
Shoreham
Shoreham Old
Sidney, Sir Philip
Sidlesham
Singleton
Slaugham
Slindon
Smuggling
Somerset Hospital, Petworth
Sompting
South Bersted
Southease
Southey, Robert
South Lancing
South Mailing
Southover House
South Stoke
Southwick
Spencer, Herbert
St. Andrew's, Chichester
St. Andrew's, Hove
St. Andrew's Monastery
St. Anne's, Lewes
St. Cuthman
St. Dunstan
St. John's, Lewes
St. John's, sub castro
St. Leonard's Forest
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St. Olaves, Chichester
St. Pancras Priory
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St. Wilfrid
Stanmer Park
Stane Street
Star Inn, Alfriston
Star Inn, Lewes
Stephen
Steyning
Stopham Bridge
Stopham House
Storrington
Street
Sullington
Surrey Downs
Sussex Pad
Swanborough
Swanbourne Lake
Swinburne
Tangmere
Tattersell, Capt.
Telscombe
Thackeray
Tilburstow Hill
Tilgate Forest
Tillington
Torberry Hill
Treyford
Trueleigh Hill
Uckfield
Up Park
Upper Beeding
Up Waltham
Walberton
Waller, General
Walton, Isaac
Wannock Glen
Warenne, de
Warlewaste, Bishop
Warnham
Warre, de la
Wartling
Washington
West Dean, East Sussex
West Dean, West Sussex
Weald, The
Welldown Farm
Wellington, Duke of
Westbourne
West Dean, East Sussex
West Ferring
West Firle
West Grinstead
Westham
Westhampnett
West Hoathly
Westerham
West Itchenor
West Lavington
Westmeston
West, Sir Thomas
West Tarring
West Thorney
West Wittering
Wheatears
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Wilberforce, Samuel
Wilberforce, William
William I
Willingdon
Wilmington
Wilmot, Lord
Windmills
Wisborough Green
Wiston
Withyam
Wlencing
Wolfe
Wolstonbury Hill
Woodard, Nicholas
Worth
Worth Forest
Worthing
Wych Cross
Yapton
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