THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — www.findonvillage.com created by Valerie Martin, contains scenes from her home village of Findon, West Sussex, U.K.

GREY POINT'S CHRISTMAS PARTIES 

Copyright Valerie Martin 2003

Originally published in the Findon News in December 2003

At Christmas time, the village of Findon snuggles below the dun-coloured dome of a barren Church Hill. The greying slender shape of the church crouches at the foot of the hill, the spire stretching upwards, a straggling outlier of the village. Between the chimneys of the cottages, the roofs sparkle under a layer of frost.

I have learnt that in much early times the property in The Square at the heart of Findon was the centre of Christmas celebrations for the school children. 

The name given to the property at this time has evaded me but by 1901 it was known as Salteystead and by 1909/1922 it had changed to Woolesthorpe.  By 1927 the name had changed again and has remained as Grey Point ever since.

A watercolour of Grey Point by Clifford Meadway.

Around 1874, Captain Thomas McClean Farmer and his family occupied this property. They were all well liked in the community and were a sad loss to the village when they left.

Thomas was a retired army captain in his fifties. His wife, Ellen, was slightly younger. Their teenage daughters, Ella and Annie assisted at the parties with the entertainment. Sarah Clark was employed as cook and domestic servant and it was really all down to her that each year the parties went off well. The housemaid, Fanny Davis and young Harriet Mills, the kitchen maid, both looked forward to the excitement, even if they were not quite so enthusiastic when it came to the clearing up after the children had departed.

Just prior to each Christmas, a large fir tree was decorated in the Drawing Room of the property in The Square and the local school children were invited to a party that was much looked forward to. The rooms of the large Georgian house were decorated with garlands of evergreens and the ceiling was festooned with elaborate paper-chains. The centrepiece was, of course, the tree draped to the ground with tinsel and hung with glistening balls and coloured lights. The pupils played games and enjoyed the feast spread out before them. They nibbled the little morsels on sticks and small delicacies balanced on thin biscuits and thoroughly enjoyed the merriment.

The boys and girls did not depart until they had been presented with their presents. There was a great business of unwrapping and the floor was littered with torn paper that had been ripped off. This was followed by cries of surprise and delight, and profuse expressions of gratitude. There were squeals and shrieks amongst the ritual of Christmas. The day ended with all having flushed faces as they said their goodbyes at the front door and made their respective ways home across the deserted Square. Maybe there were slight snow flurries on the path making it virginally white.

No wonder the Farmer family was liked in Findon.

The late Tony Hammond of East Preston toldme that his mother could also vouch for the generosity of the well-to-do folk of Findon during the early part of the 1900s.  On a fairly regular basis copper coins were thrown down to her and her friends from the upper floor of the Big House (I have no idea which one), the occupants appearing to derive a great deal of satisfaction from their act of generosity.  For the children, however, there was a price to pay.  The coins had been deliberately heated in the fire to such a degree that it was impossible to pick them up without getting badly burned.  I can only assume that the occupants of the property derived some merriment from seeing the children hopping about trying to pick up the hot money.  Not such a jolly Christmas — and not such a cosy picture of life for the children of yesteryear in Findon!

Continue if you would like to read about The Ghost of Washington Bostal.

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THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — www.findonvillage.com is a continually growing record created by Valerie Martin exclusively for documenting life in Findon.