This website created by Valerie Martin, contains scenes from her home village of Findon, West Sussex, U.K.

DANCING THE NIGHT AWAY

Copyright Valerie Martin 1998.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, I believe that the cheerless winter evenings in the village were often livened for the lads and lassies of Findon. This was with the distractions and pleasures in the welcome warmth of the Gun Inn.

The recreation was in the form of merry "balls" at the alehouse. These were participated in, and enjoyed by, the many servants who had trudged from the neighbouring large houses for the privilege of the entertainment, as well as the villagers. The local gentry steered clear of these gatherings, and looked upon the antics with disparagement.

The light from the inn pranced on the windowpanes and the gleaming glass and china on display seemed to be alive, as the young people bobbed and danced. No one was in low spirits after visiting the inn.

Light-hearted young girls full of innocent gaiety, dressed especially for the occasion, in their finery of highly trimmed dresses, silk stockings and elegant white gloves. There were local shopkeepers’ daughters, village sempstresses, servants and many others. They painstakingly decorated their hair with coloured roses and their attractiveness could not have failed to impress and catch the eye of the village lads of Findon.

I have stumbled across a description of a kitchen maid on her night off at one of these occasions at the Gun Inn.  She was wearing a striped blue gauze dress trimmed with blue and white satin wreathes, blond net long sleeves, blue bracelets, lengthy blue sash, blue roses adorning her hair, a gold chain and coral necklace, silk stockings and white gloves and shoes.  Shock horror ...there were other dresses, it seems, in the same finery being worn by girls of the lower stations of life.

Continue if you would like to read about the Early 1800s at the Gun Inn.