THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — created by Valerie Martin, contains scenes from her home village of Findon, West Sussex, U.K.
 Nearby
Worthing, c.1800 (a sketch made at the time by a local artist). |
ROYAL VISITORS TO FINDON — FROM 1800
Copyright Valerie Martin
2006
Published in Along the Furlong in October
and November 2006
|
Warwick House (on the right) in nearby Worthing— as drawn in 1804. |
A number of royal personages may have
alighted from their horse drawn coaches The Square over the centuries and they can be
imagined partaking of refreshments before proceeding to the coast.
Princess Charlotte |
One such visitor was
Princess Charlotte, born 1796, (daughter of the Prince of Wales and later
King George IV).
In July 1807
she travelled to Worthing via Findon on holiday and stayed in
Warwick House just to the north of Steyne Gardens.
The book entitled "Glimpses of Old Worthing"
records thus:
| The Princess was met at Findon by
Sir Cecil Bisshopp with a troop of Yeomanry Cavalry and escorted into
Worthing, where the Volunteers with their bands were assembled under the
command of Captain Margesson.
The local gentry and visitors turned out in their
carriages and joined the procession as it made its way through the gaily
decorated streets to Warwick House.
There was a frequent inter-change of visits between
Worthing and Brighton, where the Prince of Wales was superintending his
interminable alterations to the Royal Pavilion.
At the recently opened theatre in Ann Street, William
Oxberry, the well-known comedian and playwright, paid a charming tribute
in one of his monologues to the "Royal sweet blossom". |
The local press of the day obviously covered
her visit in full, including regular Sunday morning attendances at St. Mary's
Church in nearby Broadwater.
During the same year (24th
July 1807), the Prince of Wales rode over from Brighton to visit Princess Charlotte
at the seaside resort. I doubt whether he
called in at the Manor of Findon where he had previously shot the partridge, as his friend, William Green,
the Lord of the Manor, had died by this
date.
In 1811 when his father, King George III,
suffered another bout of insanity he was no longer able to continue with his
royal duties and
the Prince of Wales was appointed Regent. A royal welcome was prepared
in Worthing for his wife, Caroline, Princess of Wales in
May 1814.
The Prince Regent and Caroline not only
lived apart after the birth of their daughter, Princess Charlotte in 1796, but
openly committed adultery. After being banned from the royal court, she
decided to get away from London and so visited Worthing.
One of the
Regent's supporters
leaves us with an apt description of Caroline to go down in history — "a
foolish, charmless, badly-behaved young woman who did not wash enough".
Another described her as "noisy, flighty and unattractive". On the
appointed day, she did not arrive in Worthing until midnight
— I wonder if we will ever discover if she
travelled through Findon and wasted away a few hours!
Caroline made a second journey through the
Sussex countryside in August of the same year when she sailed from Lancing
on 9th August 1814. A barge took her out to a waiting frigate, "Jason"
and she arrived in France and lived abroad for the next six years before returning to
England.
By the 1820s, George IV, now
King, was extremely overweight and was
addicted to both alcohol and laudanum and gradually became a recluse at
Windsor Castle and eventually died in 1830. He did not return to Findon to
avail himself of the shooting facilities.
In 1817 Ernest,
Duke of Cumberland (afterwards the King of Hanover), and the fifth son of King
George III came to the seaside of Worthing. It is not known if he
stopped at Findon for a bite en route.
When the sixth Earl of Shaftsbury received
his bill for staying in Worthing's "most prestigious boarding house", it was for
£29 a week in 1818. In 1820 John
Russell, the sixth Duke of Bedford, and his family, rented Warwick House in
Worthing. In all probability these families travelled in their
carriages and clattered through Findon in order to reach the sea.
The above contemporary painting shows nearby
Worthing c. 1826. Many of the visitors to the coast must have rumbled
through Findon en route. By 1826 the regency
Worthing beach had become well-known for its royal and aristocratic
visitors as can be read in the guide book of the day.....
| The spectacle now afforded by
the newly painted bathing machines, with the waiting groupes in their
morning dishabille, the busy guides hurrying from place to place and the
slowly pacing horses proceeding to lodge one machine after another at a
convenient depth, there leaving the bathers to their leisure to pursue the
health-inspiring pastime or returning to withdraw them from the watery
element, is one of never-failing interest and amusement.
|
The above painting depicts nearly every seafront
property of the era, including the Sea House Hotel on the left. Next
to this is the Marine Hotel constructed during 1826. The familiar
promenade and sea defences have not yet been built.
|
c. 1830 — A Georgian view of the waves at nearby
Worthing from the artist, James Rouse.... view towards the beach with the
buildings of Marine Parade in the background.
The properties include the Warwick Hotel on the
right.... Steyne Hotel is second right.
The trees of the Steyne Gardens are in between.
The low building on the fourth from left is the
Bazaar.
Cissbury Ring is in the distance.
|
Queen
Victoria and her Prince Consort visited Worthing twice during her long
reign - it is extremely unlikely that she dropped off at Findon. We
did not miss much as both times, in 1842 and again
in 1845, she stayed for only a few minutes in
Worthing – just time for a drink and to change horses at the seafront Marine
Hotel.
In
1849, Queen Adelaide came on
holiday to Worthing to the Sea House Hotel (this stood on the site where the
Arcade now stands)..
|
 .
This is a picture from
the Illustrated London News dated 1849 and titled Watering Places of
England — Worthing. As seen by Queen
Adelaide. |
|
The nearby Worthing seafront in 1900.
|
King Edward VII
(1901-1910) visited his friend Sir Edmund Loder at Beach
House in neighbouring Worthing in
1907 and at other dates until his death.
At one time the King even contemplated buying the property.
It is known that the
King visited the Loder family
again in 1908 and stayed at Beach House. His route
to and from the resort was known to be via Findon — a fleeting glimpse may have
been gained of him by the villagers as he drove through.
King Edward VII again
visited the gardens of Beach House in Worthing in 1910 and he also took a stroll
along the pier. (Three years later the pier collapsed into the sea during
a violent Easter storm.)
In 1921 there
was another royal occasion in Findon when Prince Henry William, Duke of
Gloucester, (and younger brother of George VI who was later to be King in 1936),
paid a visit to Colonel Ulric Oliver Thynne and his wife, Marjory, at Muntham
Court in Findon. The indoor staff at Muntham Court were allowed to stand on the
balcony to watch the party go in to dinner; it was a grand occasion and
Mrs Thynne was on the arm of Prince Henry.
Four years later, Colonel Ulric Oliver Thynne DSO, a veteran of the Chitral
Campaign (1895), South African War and First World War, was the tallest member
of the Gentlemen-At-Arms at 6 ft. 3 in. when he went on duty in the Albert
Memorial Chapel at Windsor. He was in attendance at the flag-draped coffin of
Queen Alexandra, wife of the late King Edward VII.
Findon residents have memories of Edward
VII
visiting nearby Worthing and Ferring on various occasions in
1927.... and passing through the village.
The heir to the British throne came on holiday to St. Malo — not the St.
Malo but a large property along the coast at Ferring with that name. He
became quite a familiar figure strolling around the village it is said wearing
"free and easy clothes" and not looking like a prince at all.
Edward also amused himself on the seashore just like the rest of the
holidaymakers.
One of his favourite mistresses, Mrs Dudley
Ward, accompanied him on his holidays.
A 15-year-old young man was seen fishing at
Ferring by the Prince and the royal personage offered to assist him in digging
for bait on the sand when the tide went out. Edward later broke with
Royal tradition and gave the young fellow his autograph.
In 1928, the
Duke and Duchess of York came to Worthing for the Appeal for the Prince Albert
Convalescent Home.
A year later, in
1929, Queen Mary visited Godden’s antique shop in Worthing.
(Geoffrey Godden does in fact now reside in Findon).
In 1933, Prince Edward (later
Edward VIII) came to inspect the Chalk Garden at Highdown Tower and I guess he
came through Findon and turned off to get to Highdown.
In 1934, the Duchess
of York (Queen Mother) visited Gifford House. She may have passed this way
....
24TH MARCH 1934. This is a scene familiar to
all Findonians.
Compare the busy and noisy Offington roundabout
(just to the south of Findon) today with the traffic at the roundabout of over
70 years ago.
The Offington cemetery at Offington Corner with a
gatehouse and chapel was designed by none less than the architect, Sir Giles
Gilbert Scott, and was opened in 1927.
The A24 stretches northwards to Findon but the
mature trees you can see are no longer there. They went in the
hurricane of October 1987.
|
The largest crowds ever recorded in
nearby Worthing, Littlehampton and Shoreham were in 1935.
It was a very hot summer's day and they gathered to watch the processions
marking the Silver Jubilee of the reign of King George V and Queen Mary.
No doubt many from Findon attended too. At Worthing the crowds were estimated to
be 30,000. They all cheered loudly in unison as
soldiers fired a 21-gun royal salute on the seafront that was plainly heard
in Findon.
At Shoreham, thousands thronged the High
Street as a large parade wended its way to Buckingham Park. In a
last minute change of plans, the parade was routed into the Shoreham Institution
and Hospital. This diversion was "so that all the inmates could watch it
from verandas and windows".
16th April 2004.
Dear Valerie
Silver Jubilee
I was there and remember it well! We had grandstand
places standing on the flat roof of the Odeon Cinema restaurant looking
down on the procession as it passed beneath us going towards Montague
Street. All the shops and many of the houses were decked out in red
white and blue bunting with papier mache coats of arms and pictures of
the King and Queen.
The best bit was the Lifeboat being pulled along with, as
I remember it, all the crew dressed in their oilskins and life jackets,
seated in it. Bands, marching soldiery and Boy Scouts, and many
appropriate floats made it quite a long procession. At least one
fire-engine took part with the firemen wearing their brilliantly
polished brass helmets.
I was only four, but the memory has lived on with me
despite my young age at the time.Funnily enough, I can't remember the 21
gun salute!!!........... perhaps I had dozed off after such an exciting
experience.
Thanks Valerie for keeping your website so fascinating.
It really is appreciated.
All good wishes ................ Mike.
Mike Cooksey, Bristol.
|
His Grace the Duke of
Norfolk was present in Findon in 1950 for the opening of the Cricket Pavilion
off Long Furlong. Also again in 1967 he saw the opening of the extension to
the same Cricket Pavilion.
Did our Queen ever come through Findon?
Yes, in 1951 as Princess Elizabeth
she was driven around Worthing in a Rolls-Royce when she made her a
visit to the town. Pam Stepney of Findon was a Brownie
and aged ten at the time she tells me. She stood on the west side of Offington Corner holding a flag that she was supposed to wave on the occasion.
Princess Elizabeth was officially opening Courtlands at Goring
which had been converted into an NHS Recovery Hospital.
What a shame the Princes
William and Harry did not attend Windlesham School, or we could have added them
to the list when they came to buy their tuck at the Findon Newsagency.
THIS IS FINDON
VILLAGE —
www.findonvillage.com is a continually growing record created exclusively for documenting life in Findon.
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