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

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WILLIAM (BILL) WALL OF FINDON — and FINDON'S MOST MYSTERIOUS FIREPLACE

Copyright Valerie Martin 2004

In October 2004, I was asked if I had come across a Mr. W. Wall who had lived in The Square in 1953.   It  dawned on me who this must be.   It was, in fact, Bill Wall who had run the stores in The Square and the property still stands next to the old Findon Farmhouse but is not run as a "stores" any longer.

I was then shown why I had been originally asked the question and a knife was put in my hand.  These little teasers are always coming to light to test my powers of deduction.

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I guessed that Bill had these pen knives to hand out (or sell) for the Coronation planned for 1936.  Thousands of souvenirs were manufactured for the Coronation that was destined never took place.   (I will not give you a history lesson on the Duke of Windsor here).

I wonder if anyone else has still got their Coronation pen knife?

The first mention I can find of  Bill Wall and his confectionary shop in The Square goes back to 1927 and I think that maybe before that, the premises was a confectioners and went under the name of Walsh & Wall.   

A Street Directory of the day (1930s) lists William Wall  ......as a confectioner.      

In the past I have bought carpeting from Bill Wall's son, Cyril, born 21st October 1923.... Grammar School educated carpet retailer in Worthing.   Other language skills:  French and Italian.   

Bill Wall's other son, Alan was destined to run a successful furniture removers situated in Cross Lane and this was an on going concern five years later (in 1951).  At this point in time, Bill Wall was residing in a property called Montrose in Cross Lane. 

I understand that at one time, a large stack of bales of straw stood on the site of the now "Willows" complex .... at the time Findon Farm.  One night in the 1940s it was set alight by two boys and the blaze lit up the Horsham Road and smoke drifted around the Square. It was too much of a coincidence when another haystack went up in flames at the north end of The Oval.  The culprits were discovered blatantly enjoying ice cream in Bill's sweetshop when they were apprehended by the law. 

Roger Moulds emailed again...."As for Mr Wills' straw stack catching fire - well, my lips are sealed!"

The shop was known as Wall's Stores by 1951 and was described as a general store.  Bill  sold everything in those days — cigarettes, sweets, groceries and drapery.  His motto was —

“What you cannot see, ask for”,

.....and then he would magically find it behind the counter or upstairs..... or behind the shop.

Incidentally,  I understand that Bill was, in fact, a famous amateur billiards player.

In May 2008 I received an interesting photograph from Roger Blackwell who had lived in Findon as a boy...

I thought that at the back of my mind I had seen a photograph similar to this, if not the same. 

John Linfield (ex Findonian now living in Horsham) emailed.....

Roger Moulds (now living in Llandrindod Wells in Powys) emailed....

John Greves (now in Walton-on-Thames in Surrey) emailed....

It was at this point that I asked if anyone thought it was those same local boys who set fire to the shop by illicit smoking around the shop?...... Just an idea I threw in for good measure to get everyone going. 

Roger Moulds emailed...."I do remember speculation in the village about the fire, that it had been started for the insurance money, but I think it was more of a joke and there was certainly no substance to the rumour".

Lawrie May (now in Antigua in the West Indies) emailed.....

John Greves added a bit more the next day.....

To which I replied "No thanks, I don't need an MBE, John".

Now to the fire that blazed at the Wall's Stores in The Square.   In 1959 workmen were demolishing the fire damaged shop and discovered a secreted fireplace that had been hidden for years....... in fact, dating right back to Elizabeth I's days.    This was described at the time in the local press of the time as "of giant proportions".   

The Gundlach family took over the Stores in The Square after Bill Wall but I do not know at what date this occurred.    I wrote to Alan Gundlach and he was kind enough to reply with lots of details and solved my puzzle of Findon's Most Mysterious Fireplace...

"Dear Valerie..... Wall's Stores....You have the right Gundlach - I was away in London, finishing the Degree course, when the fire occured. My father is in the doorway of the wrecked property, but I was amused to hear of his supposed Communist sympathies - anyone more Conservative you would not meet!!

The fireplace referred to was of the ingle-nook, built-in variety, constructed as part of the flint rear wall of the property. I believe that it was demolished as a consequence of re-building.

It could not have been as massive as all that - 6ft wide and floor to ceiling. As I recall, at 6ft. tall, I had to bow my head to stand in the centre of the ground floor rooms. The joists were massive rough-hewn ship's timbers, with smaller branch packing to support the first floor horizontal. However, the beams were so bowed with age that the head room was 7ft. at the walls and >6ft. at the centre of the shop area, with the first floor similarly bowed!

The facilities were very rudimentary, with an inside, lever operated water pump from a well to the butler sink and the added sophistication of a single mains water tap.

The back yard, where we shot air pistol, was home to the outside privie, which was emptied by the Council every six months or so.

The hotels in the square were not on main drainage, either, at that time and the smell was quite rural on Summer evenings when the dampness fell. Needless to say, we did not actually live on site! We were at Pony Farm, at the back of Ryan Price's racing stables - also quite rural, but with some main services.
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Kind regards, Alan Gundlach"

When Alan emailed again he sent some photographs....

  click on Alan's images to enlarge

FROM ALAN GUNDLACH in Edinburgh....."Dear Valerie...the 1950s....Attached please find scans of 35mm slides of Wall's Stores, Pony Farm (just South of Ryan Price's stables) and the view from the top of Stable Lane over to the church on the other side of the bypass.

All these were from the late 50's.

The Gundlach's must have taken over the Stores at the start of the 50's (or maybe late 40's). Initially, as sales included newspapers, the shop opened from about 6am until 8 or 9pm, 364 days/year. 1953 was a year to remember.

The shop was shut for the Coronation and, as we did not own a TV, we had a day trip to the Isle of Wight.

Latterly the newspaper franchise was relinquished and the opening hours became more reasonable, although there was still an opening for an hour or two on Christmas Day to deliver pre-ordered icecream gateaux.

I remember the excitement when sweets went 'off rationing', although some sort of unofficial rationing of popular items still had to be imposed so that the cupboard was not completely bare!

One of the back rooms, previously used for organising the paper rounds, was sealed off from the rest of the building and was rented out to became The Little Antique Shop. This was all abruptly ended by the fire. Whilst re-building took place, the Walls business continued from a room in the hotel next door, but the experience took a toll of my father's health and the business was sold soon after re-occupation.

Personal recollections of the time include the excitement of serving Tommy Steel's younger brother during the time he spent as a stable lad with Ryan Price. Also, of the several occasions when one of the race horses would get loose and race at full pelt, down Stable Lane, through the Square, only to run out of steam at North End. Luckily, the traffic was much less, then.

From time to time, Nuns would appear from the Convent with collecting boxes. I always thought that they had made a vow of silence, judging from their demeanour. However, one particular nun, very short of stature an full of fun, would regale us, when on her own, with tales of how she heralded from a family of acrobats!

I can confirm the agro created on the several occasions when the Southdown No.5 bus collided with the extended awning of Blackwell's Butchers whilst making the 3 point turn to back up to the bus stop outside Wall's for the return to Worthing. We always feared that the bus would come in beside us if the brakes failed!

Kind regards, Alan Gundlach"

FROM LAWIE MAY IN THE WEST INDIES......  "Gundlachs....Thank you Alan for the wonderful photographs from the past. They will have brought back some memories for lots of people.

I remember being off school with mumps or measles or some other childhood disease but being allowed to choose a book from Gundlachs. Mr Gundlach helped me choose a book about Ships which I treasured for many years.

Many of the children believed Mr. Gundlach to be a german spy but why a spy would run a sweet shop in a sussex village ten years after the war was never explained !   Lawrie, Antigua".

Continue if you would like to read about Gladys Lambourne and Rose Cottage

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