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

THE MYSTERY OF YE OLDE VILLAGE SHOPPE

Copyright Valerie Martin 2010

Published in Sussex Local, July 2010.

 I will attempt to do a little time travel to the year 1886 to discover the whereabouts of a certain shop that was advertised in a village that was a hive of industry at the time ― Findon.  

Lets take a peek into the past when the "big" houses in the area were Muntham Court in all its splendour....the seat of the Marchioness the Dowager of Bath.  

Findon Place.... the ancient Manor of Findon..... was the home of Lieutenant Colonel William George Margesson.

The house called Cissbury in Nepcote was the Seat of Hugh Penfold Wyatt JP at this time.

The Reverend William Gover (the Honorable Canon of Worcester) lived at Saltystead in The Square ..... now renamed Grey Point.

Miss Elizabeth Bull ran the school on School Hill with her rod of iron.

To set the scene, the population 125 years ago consisted of over 700 souls, the majority of these living around the centre of the village and Nepcote which was a satellite community.   Findon in those days could boast its own veterinary surgeon and there were blacksmiths, bakers, carpenters, shoemakers, sadlers and ironmongers.   There was even a marine store dealer, butcher, fly proprieter, bricklayers, beer retailers, millers wheelwrights and goodness knows what else.  

Yes, they did advertise back in those days too ― so there must have been a certain amount of competition for trade.   Here is the fascinating advertisement for one of the shops but I have been unable to locate exactly where the shop was situated..... 

click to enlarge

The Aslett family appear to have held considerable stock but this does not give any clue as to the whereabouts of their establishment..... could it have been in the High Street?    Maybe they did not run their business for very long in the village and were soon forgotten?

A well-known grocery shop and Post Office at this date was run by Thomas Winton in The Square.... and so this eliminates the possibility of the Aslett's premises being situated near the Gun Inn or Grey Point.   

John C. Greves of Walton on Thames (he grew up in Findon during the Second World War), emailed to suggest...."Aslett's Shop might have been known as Elmcroft Stores (between Goachers and Hermit Terrace)".

Roger Blackwell now living in Polegate near Lewes says..."A wild guess ....could the shop of  F & K Aslett been further down the High Street, where I can recall a grocer's  shop occupied by a Mr. Leavey when I was a youngster, or was Miss A. Hewlett a previous owner as Hermit Terrace is situated nearby?  Kindest regards from Roger B"

Here are some of the other shopkeepers' actual advertisements that appeared in a publication of 1886 and rather interestingly none of them appeared to think it necessary to give their exact Findon addresses in their advertisements..... giving the impression that they were all well known.

Here's an Ockenden spread of the same era.... and, of course, we know their woodyard was on the site of Nepfield Close in Nepcote.....

 I hope that one day I will be able to solve this mystery of the location of the Aslett's shop for once and for all.

Continue if you would like to read about Bob and Roger Blackwell's grandfather in .....The Life in Findon of Frank Ernest West (Bob & Roger Blackwell's Grandfather)

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