THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE- He Shot a Partridge at Rogers Farm

Rogers Farm from West Hill pre 1915

HE SHOT A PARTRIDGE AT ROGERS FARM

There is one story with royal connections that I can glean from Findon's history that concerns Rogers Farm. A gentleman by the name of William Green received his Findon inheritance in 1751 when his Uncle John (the Lord of the Manor of Findon) died. He then stood in the shoes of John Cheale — a hunting squire of Findon.

The tract of downs over Rogers Farm land from West Hill c. 1915 — looking across Findon with Chanctonbury Ring on the skyline.

William moved to the Manor of Findon next to the church. He was a sporting character and friend of the Prince of Wales, (later to become King George IV). The Prince Regent, in the company of a bevy of society friends, would travel from The Pavilion in Brighton to take advantage of the shooting facilities and hospitality provided in the Findon area by William. The Prince's first visit to Brighton was on 7th September 1783.

A panoramic scene from the past. The view is from the downland above Rogers Farm over the village of Findon in the centre of the photograph..... and that little mound in the far distance on the left on the horizon is Chanctonbury Ring.

He was often a guest at the Manor of Findon and was seen to bring down a partridge (it is assumed among other trophies), in the vale sheltered by Church Hill, West Hill and the ridge of the Downs, known as Rogers Farm. Findon was not an ideal place for such a royal shooting party but perhaps it was the best within travelling distance of Brighton — there being no rough shooting or coverts in Findon to hold pheasants for any length of time.

Breathtaking terrain at an earlier date — West Hill Shaw in Findon, with the group of trees known as the Seven Sisters, from Church Hill in the 1930s. The scene is unrecognisable today and more wooded. The Iron Age fort of Cissbury Ring is the hump in the background.