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Nepcote Farm in November 1950 before the bungalows in Nepcote Lane were built. |
THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE created by Valerie Martin, contains scenes from her home village of Findon, West Sussex, U.K.
NEPCOTE FARM
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Nepcote Farm in November 1950 before the bungalows in Nepcote Lane were built. |
Text copyright Valerie Martin 1999.
I have discovered that there was once a farm in Nepcote on the Convent corner. I think that the above may be the only picture of Nepcote Farm unless others come to light in the future.
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Location Plan of Nepcote showing Nepcote Farm. |
The smallholding was farmed by Colonel V.J.K. Hook and the land formerly belonged to Nepcote Lodge Stables in Steep Lane and ran the length of the lane to Nepcote Green.
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Nepcote Lodge Stables in Steep Lane c. 1910 |
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When the land belonged to the racing stables at Nepcote Lodge — the Convent can just be seen through the trees in the background. |
At the end of the Second World War, the village victory celebrations were held in the field. Johnny Spiers Senior from The Oval, led the procession dressed as the Pearly King. He was a happy-go-lucky character who was very interested in Findon horseracing. His nickname was "Fishy" because he sold fish from his van and called out "fish" to let the housewives know he was in the neighbourhood. Mrs Hicks (a true Londoner who had moved to Findon in the 1930s with her husband, George) was the Pearly Queen at the head of the procession. Harris's amusements, which were normally only seen on Nepcote Green on Sheep Fair days, were in attendance at the victory celebrations with all the trimmings of the fairground.
 Nepcote during the years of the Second World War (looking north east). The anti tank blocks straddle the A24 and march up Church Hill. The Gallops are free from fencing. The site of the Findon Windmill can be seen on the horizon where the Mill House stands. |
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Watercolour looking west down Nepcote Lane towards Findon from the Convent corner — by Eileen Gibbons. The site of the Nepcote Farm land is on the left side of the road. |
In time, no one will remember the farm on the convent corner. The Convent was demolished in February 1998 to make way for housing on the site. This makes it all the more important to record the existence of Nepcote Farm on the corner up until the 1950s. After this, bungalows were erected on the farm site facing on to Nepcote Lane.
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22nd October 2006 The Farm at Nepcote My
sister Deanna reminded me today that a farmhouse stood in the middle of the
field there and that the lady at the farm was of a strict religious sect and
wore wooden clogs. Deanna remembers the farm particularly because my Dad used to
hire a shire horse and cart from that farm every year to go round the village
selling pea sticks and bean poles. I later on used to help him but by then he
was using a tractor ! My wife Anne (another
Findon thespian) remembers going to rehearsals at Grantchester in the winter and
the road to the house being frighteningly dark. Of course she was used to the
bright lights of Findon Valley ! Lawrie May, Antigua, West Indies.
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Looking east up Nepcote Lane towards Nepcote Green in the autumn of 1998. The site of Nepcote Farm is on the right hand side of the road. |
Continue if you would like to read about Bonfire Night on Nepcote Green in the Early 1950s.
This is Findon Village — www.findonvillage.com is a continually growing record created by Valerie Martin exclusively for documenting life in Findon.
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E-mail: valeriemartin@findonvillage.com |
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