click on pic to enlargeTHIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — these Chronicles are created by Valerie Martin and contains scenes from her home village of Findon, West Sussex, U.K.
CISSBURY RING MYSTERY WITH HUGH WARREN WILLIAMS (1860-1941)
Copyright Valerie Martin 2010
click on pic to enlarge
When I originally came across the above painting dated 1906 it was described as depicting Cissbury Ring...... but at first I could not get my bearings. The artist was Hugh Warren Williams ...... who was born on 15th November 1860 and died on 1st September1941.
I searched the countryside for the above Cissbury Ring view...... the flag was a complete mystery at first.
As days went by, it suddenly dawned on me that I had seen a painting with a flag depicted in the distance some time ago....... in fact, the scene below....
The watercolour was by Hugh Warren Williams and showed the Rifle Range back in the days when it was in use. Above is looking north towards the butts with a warning flag hoisted on the ramparts on the southern side of Cissbury Ring.
As both paintings were executed by Hugh Warren Williams, he could just have had a liking for flags!
click on image if wishing to enlarge
Above is an old photograph, date unknown. It just could be from around the time that Hugh Warren Williams was around.
From my ensuing on-the-spot investigations (dodging the golf balls whizzing passed from enthusiastic early morning risers) I agreed that the picture was indeed from the Golf Course environs to the south of Cissbury, looking towards the Rifle Range area.
click on my photograph
of 2008 to enlarge
My conclusion was that the artist lived (or was working) in Worthing and walked
north through the fields passed the Cissbury Windmill TQ 136 058
(otherwise known as Offington Windmill, Ballard's Mill and Broadwater Mill -
take your pick). Here at the Windmill he executed a couple of
watercolours.
He headed towards Cissbury a hundred years ago and arrived at a good view of the ramparts and East Gate. Here he executed the painting with the wagoners heading home from work with their cart horses. He happened to chose a time when the Rifle Range was in use and the warning flag hoisted
Note that the trees have grown up over the last hundred years....... (not so much sheep and cattle grazing these days).
click
on photograph taken in 2008 to enlarge
The rounded clump of woodland on the left are part of the South Wood...... some of the trees in that area are very old and came down in the hurricane of 16th October 1987 ... but these would have been standing when Hugh Warren Williams sat with his easel looking towards the Ring....
click on my pic to enlarge
Before we leave the scene, here is a bitterly cold one showing the outline of the ramparts in the residue of snow on Boxing Day 2010
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 Chanctonbury from Wiston Pond ... this is definitely by Warren Williams |
Continue if you would like to read The Elephant Mystery.
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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Do let me know of anything you hear about Findon - not too controversial. Please note that opinions expressed in the Findon Chronicles are not necessarily reflective of my own thoughts.... but sometimes they are! |
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