THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE www.findonvillage.com created by Valerie Martin, contains scenes from her home village of Findon, West Sussex, U.K.
WHO DO YOU WAKE UP WITH? —
COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO WAKES NEPCOTE
Copyright Valerie Martin 2000
First printed in the Findon News in November 2001.
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Cottages in Nepcote, March 2001. |
The dawn chorus of bantam cockerels sparked off an argument in Nepcote towards the end of 1970 and revealed a split between native villagers and the so-called "newcomers".
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Chris Whittington. |
The cockerels belonged to Christopher Alfred Whittington, aged 66. He ran the lumber yard next to Mick Ockenden's timber business, in Nepcote. His birds were in the habit of crowing at around four o'clock each morning and waking the residents in the lane. To some, the sound of crowing birds was a natural occurrence in the Findon countryside. Mr. and Mrs. C. McKenzie-Johnston did not agree. They had moved from the Isle of Wight to Nepcote in September 1957 and had bought a property called Little Nepcote (previously known before the war as The Hollies), and the din was too early and too close for comfort.
The McKenzie-Johnston family were dogged with problems during their stay in Nepcote. On the 5th March 1959 they suffered a burglary while they were staying in Montevideo where their son was on the staff of the embassy. Mr. McKenzie-Johnston was convinced the theft of valuable pieces of old Chelsea porcelain had been carried out by a neighbour, who left Nepcote soon after. The burglar was not caught and the McKenzie-Johnstons received the full insurance value of the property stolen.
A year later, in July 1960, Mr. McKenzie-Johnston made the surprising discovery of a war-time smoke bomb lodged in the roof of his garage.
A more interesting find was perhaps the discovery in their property of a love letter dated 1942. A Canadian soldier stationed in Findon during the war had written this. The Canadian forces had occupied the McKenzie-Johnston’s house during the war.
The noise from the cockerels was the last straw and Mrs. McKenzie-Johnston, a Yorkshirewoman, gathered the support of other light sleepers and asked Chris if he would get rid of the birds. It was said at the time that Chris Whittington kept about forty bantams and hens beside the woodyard and he claimed that the bantam cocks made fine foster fathers for pheasants. There were eleven strutting cockerels in the run and some of them were roosting in a 50-ft tree, which helped their call to travel over the countryside. In an attempt to stop their antics he fenced the tree off and hoped the complaints from his neighbours would quieten down. Only as a last resort would he dispose of them.
Mr and Mrs. McKenzie Johnston left Little Nepcote and moved into a purpose-built bungalow, Cherry Cottage, in May 1973. Mrs McKenzie-Johnston died on 28th August 1979 and her husband followed her on 6th July 1983 in his 89th year.
Christopher Alfred Whittington of Downview Road died in Southlands Hospital in December 1977. He had run the 25 year established family business of C. A. Whittington Limited with his two sons David and Eric. Eighteen months before his death the firm vacated the Nepcote site and moved to Castle Goring — with the cockerels?
The noise from the cockerels was the last straw and Mrs. McKenzie-Johnston, a Yorkshire woman, gathered the support of other light sleepers and asked Chris if he would get rid of the birds. It was said at the time about forty bantams and hens were kept beside the woodyard by Chris Whittingham and he claimed that the bantam cocks made fine foster fathers for pheasants. There were eleven strutting cockerels in the run and some of them were roosting in a 50 ft. tree, which helped their call to travel over the countryside. In an attempt to stop their antics he fenced the tree off and hoped the complaints from his neighbours would quieten down. Only as a last resort would he dispose of them.
Mr and Mrs. McKenzie Johnston left Little Nepcote and moved into a purpose-built bungalow, Cherry Cottage, in May 1973. Mrs McKenzie-Johnston died on 28th August 1979 and her husband followed her on 6th July 1983 in his 89th year.
Christopher Alfred Whittington of Downview Road died in Southlands Hospital in December 1977. He had run the 25 year established family business of C. A. Whittington Limited with his two sons David and Eric. Eighteen months before his death the firm vacated the Nepcote site and moved to Castle Goring — with the cockerels?
Continue if you would like to read about The Story of the Silver Bodkin.
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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