THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — these
Findon Chronicles were created by Valerie Martin and contain scenes from her home
village of Findon,
West Sussex, U.K. Everyday stories about real people.
The Village House (on the left) pre 1905 |
THE VILLAGE HOUSE
OS Ref: TQ 122 089
Copyright Valerie Martin 2004
There are many who wrongly assume that the
Village House in The Square in Findon has always been a public house and was one
of the watering places scattered along the ancient carriage route from London.
They should have delved a little more into the history of the place to discover
how wrong they are.
The property was first mentioned
in Findon chronicles in 1527 when it was conveyed to one Thomas Benet
It has only been a public house in recent years.
Before that it was a private house. I have discovered that one of the
owners was Mrs Penelope Hind. Her husband, the Reverend John Hind had been
appointed to the living of Findon in August 1807 and lived at The Rectory in the
High Street (now the Findon Manor Hotel). In October, 1832, John Hind was
discovered sprawled unconscious on the floor of his bedroom. Two days later he
died. He had not regained consciousness.
In February, 1834, Penelope, at the age of 74, received
the news that she must vacate The Rectory by June as the new vicar would be
arriving to take over. At first she wondered if the Lyall family of Grey Point would be
leaving Findon as she hoped to move into Grey Point. However, Alfred Lyall
offered his services as curate to the
Reverend George
Booth, the new vicar, and
as a result, stayed put in the village.
In April, Penelope moved house and went to live in one of Findon's ancient
dwellings at the foot of School Hill, now known as The Village House on the
corner in The Square opposite the Gun Inn. The property was older than she first thought — but she was not to know that
many years later, (in the 1960s), work would reveal herringbone Tudor brickwork,
now to be seen on the south wall.
Penelope lived in The Square for the next thirteen years until 3rd
November, 1846, when she died at the age of 87.
There is then a gap of several decades and I do not know who
inhabited the property but around the year 1883 a prosperous young lady of German descent arrived
in the village. I expect she was most likely considered immensely
wealthy compared to the poorer villagers. Her name was Miss Emma Louisa Schroeter and she purchased the house in The Square known
today as the
Village House. Over the centuries there had been considerable alterations
and additions to the property, but to Emma the house with its hotch-potch of
styles and materials presented a most attractive appearance.
I have gleaned that Emma arranged for further alterations to
be made and by 1885 she opened the doors of her convalescent home to many
patients who came from London. She gave herself the title of Lady Superintendent and she employed
Mary Trevellion to be in charge.
I understand that the convalescent home took about a dozen
inmates by the end of the nineteenth century. On Sundays Emma would take her
patients to St. John the Baptist Church. In those days, there were not many
empty pews.
I have been unable to find out when the convalescent home
ceased business. In a
village like Findon, there are always some names that come to the forefront over
the years. One of these was a lady of distinction, Barbara Hylton Madge. She was well connected in her day. Her brother
was Sir Harvey Hylton Foster, who was for many years the Speaker in the House of
Commons. She married Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Albert Madge and before
the First World War lived at the
property on the corner opposite the Gun Inn. Unfortunately, her husband
was killed in France on 10th May 1916 in the South African Defence Force, late
6th Royal Warwickshire Regiment. Barbara then decided to move to North End
House with her two boys, John and Charles.
|
An old photograph of the Gun Inn, School Hill
and the Village House in The Square. Date not sure.
|
At some point before the Second World War the property on the
corner in The Square then became a guest house and tearoom. In 1934 under
the tenure of Mr and Mrs Bowring Paul, I have discovered the accommodation
described for me thus —
| THE OLD VILLAGE HOUSE,
FINDON... Findon seems to specialise in Guest House, but the place
there, without a doubt, is the "Old Village House".
It is on the right as you come in,
before passing the Gun Inn. This is a Guest House as well as a tea
shop, and I feel certain that Mr. and Mrs Paul, who own the "Old Village
House" must have seen at once its suitability for the purposes to which
they have adapted it.
There is a fine large room for teas with
fires in winter to warm it and candlelight to cheer, and occasional "hops"
are arranged for the benefit of the local neighbourhood.
There is an old world garden, or a
series of gardens, and upstairs there are a few bedrooms available for
guests, all overlooking the Downs.
Even if you have not got a car there is
a frequent bus service to Worthing and in the opposite direction;
but if you have any love for the country it will not be long before you
are forsaking the road for the Downs, and staying in their midst!" |
The Bowring Paul family had printed a promotional
brochure that listed some of the attractions of Findon as being — "a place for
the regular meets of the Crawley and Horsham foxhounds and for the Storrington
Foot Beagles".
The prices back in those serene days before the
war were 2½ guineas to 4 guineas according to the season, or 12s 6d per day with
a garage thrown in at 1s per night.
Extras were fires and meals in the guests' rooms
and the blurb stated that —
| Bedrooms are comfortably
furnished with such modern conveniences as electric light and a spacious,
tiled bathroom.
|
The telephone number in those far off halcyon
days was Findon 50.
All of this goes to prove that the Village House
was not always a public house and has been a private home and a tearoom in its
time.
|
The Village House in 1938 |
|
The Square, Findon, pre 1958
|
In November 1983 there was a row
in Findon over unbearable guitar noise coming from the Village House in the
evenings. It brought a storm of protests from people living nearby
to the police and council.
Peggy Dowding even put her house up for sale (The Spinning Wheel Craft shop
opposite the the Village House) because she said she could not live with the
excessive noise. Several others sent letters of complaint to the Arun
District Council's Environmental Health Department.
The catalogue of complaints was
heard at the Findon Parish Council. Mick Ockenden was the Chairman
at the time and the Clerk, Harry Potts Dawson said he had received copies of
letters sent by inhabitants living in The Willows to Arun complaining about the
din.
The Council decided to monitor
the noise coming from the hotel after 10 p.m. for themselves and these proved
that the readings were not excessive.
Nevertheless, villagers next
starting to complain about cars being parked all along the roads by people using
the Village House.
This well established and popular free house with restaurant in
the centre of Findon was auctioned on the instructions of the proprietors Mr and
Mrs N. L. Synott in May 1985.
|
click on image to enlarge
I am not sure of the date of this watercolour by
Findon resident, Patience Kornicka. This depicts the Village House on the
left and The Square, looking north towards the Horsham Road.
The tearooms have the name of HOPES.
|
The property was auctioned in the public bar by King & Chasemore
and the bar was crowded with "locals" and potential purchasers. It took about
five minutes to sell the Village House. Bidding started at
£200,000 and closed at £220,000.
Who were the buyers? A couple with a hotel in
Shoreham.
|
The Village House in 2000. |
In those days, the Public Bar
was dedicated to racing memorabilia and there was colourful riding gear on
display in cabinets. The Village House was the place to go to meet the racing
fraternity.
Continue if you would like to read
Who Lost Their
Fleur-de-lys in Findon?
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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