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.