Cissbury Ring on 30th December 2007.   The main Neolithic flint mining area of Cissbury Ring is directly below.   Looking north.  

29th January 2006

Cissbury

Hello again Valerie, Did a couple of laps round the top of Cissbury Ring today.  First time up there for 40 years, although it didn't seem so steep, or the wind so bitterly cold then.

We did forget about the amazing views though, on a nice clear day, like today. There were many people up there, quite surprising considering the wind chill. It was a bit sticky underfoot, due to the frost thawing, & I did tread in a dogs ----, which was unpleasant.

We used to be what I would now call hooligans, Charlie, Peter, Myself & a few others, racing round on old motorbikes up there.  Obviously untaxed or Mot'd.  I only remember it being very empty in the area, but I suppose the changes in lifestyle, health worries etc. changed that.

Going for Chanctonbury again next time, & then hopefully a trip round Muntham, [with permission], where I spent a lovely childhood, poor but happy.  Hand milking the cows, & driving tractors, from the age of about 8 years old.  Too much health & safety law now, to let kids enjoy themselves.

Also remember digging up live shells, from the army days there, a carrying them around. [sometimes with the bomb disposal squad coming down from Horsham, to blow them up.]

I can remember some of the people who lived around there, with the Mackbeys? at the bottom of the road, the house opposite [is this where Mr & Mrs Pelling live now?] we used to think was haunted, & I believe one or two old ladies lived there, but were never seen.

We lived a bit further up, in a group of 4 farmhouses [1954], another new house was built a bit further on, & then the Pratt family, in the keepers cottage.

John Heath was the farmer, with his children , Robert & Jane. It was a large farm, consisting of Muntham, New Buildings, New Barn, & Cobden.

I had a motorbike at 8 years old, which I swapped for a car at 10. Wish I had them now!!!!!

We at one time also had a gay man living in keepers cottage, although that wasn't the word for it then.  We had people walking past just to look for him.  How times change.  He moved to the village, opposite Langridges fruit shop.

Must stop , got a lot to do,

Best regards,

John.

30th January 2006

Valerie

John Linfield Remembers

The house John remembers at the bottom of the lane to Muntham farm was my beloved North End House and the two old ladies were Mrs Madge and her companion Bessie Hucker. I lived there for over 30 years and can assure John it is not haunted! I can see why he thought it might be. Here is how it looked in 1968.

It looks very different now. The Macbays lived at the Old Well House opposite. Mr Macbay was the bailiff on the Muntham estate.

18th February 2006

Hello Valerie,

Cissbury 1950

I came across this photograph the other day...

A very poor photo I'm afraid. I think you can just see Chanctonbury on the horizon and the car is standing (I think) on the road to Findon? Has the view altered a lot since 1950?

Does the apparent track (centre foreground) enter the ramparts at the north breach?

All best wishes, Peter.

Peter Archbold, Ashburton, South Island, New Zealand.

I have tried to stand on the same spot as you for taking a photograph from the north side of Cissbury Ring...on a wet, dreary, misty February day in 2006.  I have even manage to get a car almost in the same spot on the lane heading to Findon for you !     (That's my blue Honda 4-wheel drive parked beside the lane).

There is now a wood on the slopes of Cissbury Ring and, therefore, I couldn't quite capture the same view as you........ because of the trees growing on the hillside in the way.

In this photograph, Chanctonbury is in the top far right corner....... but fog has swirled over it and it is gradually obliterating the landscape. So the weather was worse than for your photograph.

You can just see a gaggle of Nick Gifford's racehorses out exercising on the Findon Gallops at the centre top of this photograph.