THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE - The Blackpatch Hillside in the Early 1900s

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

THE BLACKPATCH HILLSIDE (TQ 0909) IN THE EARLY 1900s — Elliott Haigh Marten (1865 -1955)

In November 2007, Peter Archbold in New Zealand emailed to say ."Dear Valerie, Have you got it yet??? Are you going to show it to all of us? Please!".

What is Peter talking about do you think? .... well, it was a watercolour scene of agricultural workers at Tolmare Farm below the Blackpatch hillside early in the twentieth century by Elliott Haigh Marten 1865-1953 (exhibited at the Royal Academy and Dudley Gallery from 1886-1901).

Here's the full painting....

click on photo to enlarge

To confuse the issue there are two artists with similar names. One is my Elliott Haigh Marten who was born in Bolton near Bradford in West Yorkshire in 1865 and the other is Elliot Henry Martin (1886-1910) whose listed address is Hawick in Scotland and he emigrated to Australia.

At first my Elliott Haigh Marten worked in oils before taking up watercolours. He lived for a time in Sussex, including West Tarring and Arundel and I guess that is why he roamed the Sussex countryside and there are a number of paintings of this area.

click on photo to enlarge

Here is the same scene in November 2007.... many decades after Elliott executed his watercolour.

click on photo to enlarge

A close up view of the Blackpatch hillside in November 2007.

click on photo to enlarge

Blackpatch hillside behind the Long Furlong Road, A280, in November 2007.

click on photo to enlarge

The Blackpatch hillside from Cissbury Ring in November 2007.

November 2007

Valerie.....What a lovely painting!

It looks to me as if the workers are making a grain stack - using a mechanical sheaf elevator. It would probably have been belt driven from a steam traction engine - out of sight behind the hedge! Is my guess right?

If that was painted in 1900 - or earlier - that must have been state of the art farm machinery.

I don't know when they first came into use. I CAN remember using a pitchfork to do that job in 1944... No such mechanical aids!

And lovely "comparative" photographs, too.

Peter Archbold, South Island, New Zealand.

BRINGING THE PAST TO LIFE.....CHANCTONBURY RING...... Here's another delightful watercolour. This time of Chanctonbury Ring from the Storrington Road.....by E. H. Marten.....long before the hurricane....

Elliott Haigh Marten finally moved to Kent where he died at Rochester in 1955.

Continue if you would like to read about the local artist, Ronald Windebank and Findon cricket in He Ran Away to Sea at Age 14

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

E-mail: valeriemartin@findonvillage.com