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.]