Seaward Sussex Part 6

The original church was founded by St. Cuthman. Travelling from the west with his crippled mother, whom he conveyed in a wheelbarrow, he was forced to mend the broken cords with elder twigs. Some haymakers in a field jeered at him, and on that field, now called the Penfold, a shower has always fallen since whenever the hay is drying. The elder twigs finally gave way where Steyning was one day to be and here Cuthman decided to halt and build a shelter for his mother and himself.

Afterwards he raised a wooden church and in this the saint was buried.

The father of the great Alfred was interred here for a time, his remains being afterwards taken to Winchester when his son made that city the capital of united England, though the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle a.s.serts that the King was buried at Worcester.

[Ill.u.s.tration: STEYNING.]

Steyning was once known as Portus Cuthmanni and to this point the tidal estuary of the Adur then reached. There are a number of fine old houses in the little town, some with details which show them to date from the fifteenth century. The gabled house in Church Street was built by William Holland of Chichester as a Grammar School in 1614; it is known as "Brotherhood Hall." The vicarage has many interesting details of the sixteenth century and in the garden are two crosses of very early date, probably Saxon.

[Ill.u.s.tration: GRAMMAR SCHOOL, STEYNING.]

The bygone days of Steyning seem to have been almost as quiet as its modern history. A burning of heretics took place here in 1555; and the troops of the Parliament took quiet possession of the town when besieging near-by Bramber, but Steyning had not the doubtful privilege of a castle and so its days were comparatively uneventful.

[Ill.u.s.tration: OLD HOUSES, STEYNING.]

The main road may be left at the north end of Steyning by a turning on the left which rises in a mile and a half to Wiston ("Wisson") Park and church; this is the best route for the ascent of Chanctonbury. The park commands fine views and is in itself very beautiful; the house dates from 1576, though several alterations have spoilt the purity of its style. This manor was once in the hands of the de Braose family, from whom it pa.s.sed by marriage to the s.h.i.+rleys, another famous family. Sir Thomas s.h.i.+rley built the present house about 1578. It was Sir Hugh s.h.i.+rley to whom Shakespeare referred in _King Henry IV_.

"Hold up thy head, vile Scot, or thou art like Never to hold it up again. The spirits Of s.h.i.+rley, Stafford, Blount, are in my arms."

His great-grandsons were the famous s.h.i.+rley brothers, whose adventures were so wonderful that their deeds were acted in a contemporary play.

One went to Persia to convert the Shah and bring him in on the side of the Christian nations against the Ottomans. On the way he discovered coffee! His younger brother, who accompanied him, remained in Persia and married a Circa.s.sian princess. The elder, after being taken prisoner by the Turks, was liberated by the efforts of James I and then imprisoned in the Tower by the same King for his interference in the Levant trade. Ruined in pocket and with a broken heart he sold Wiston and retired to the Isle of Wight. The estates soon afterwards pa.s.sed to the Gorings, who still own them.

Wiston church, which stands in the park and close to the house, contains several monuments to the s.h.i.+rleys and one of a child, possibly a son of Sir John de Braose; a splendid bra.s.s of the latter lies on the floor of the south chapel; it is covered with the words 'Jesu Mercy.'

There are a number of dilapidated monuments and pieces of sculpture remaining in the church, which has been spoilt, and some of the details and monuments actually destroyed, by ignorant and careless "restoration."

To the north-west of Wiston Park is Buncton Chapel, a little old building in which services are occasionally held. The walls show unmistakable Roman tiles.

Chanctonbury (locally "c.h.i.n.kerbury"), one of the most commanding and dignified of the Down summits, rises 783 feet on the west of Wiston; the climb may be made easier by taking the winding road opposite the church. The "ring" which is such a bold landmark for so many miles around makes a view from the actual top difficult to obtain. The whole of the Weald is in sight and also the far-off line of the North Downs broken by the summits of Holmbury and Leith Hill with Blackdown to the left. In the middle distance is St. Leonard's Forest, and away to the right Ashdown Forest with the unmistakable weird clump of firs at Wych Cross. But it is the immediate foreground of the view which will be most appreciated. The prehistoric entrenchment is filled with the beeches planted by Mr. Charles Goring of Wiston when a youth (about 1760). In his old age (1828) Mr. Goring wrote the following:--

"How oft around thy Ring, sweet Hill, A Boy, I used to play, And form my plans to plant thy top On some auspicious day.

How oft among thy broken turf With what delight I trod, With what delight I placed those twigs Beneath thy maiden sod.

And then an almost hopeless wish Would creep within my breast, Oh! could I live to see thy top In all its beauty dress'd.

That time's arrived; I've had my wish, And lived to eighty-five; I'll thank my G.o.d who gave such grace As long as e'er I live.

Still when the morning sun in Spring, Whilst I enjoy my sight, Shall gild thy new-clothed Beech and sides, I'll view thee with delight."

Chanctonbury must have had an overpowering effect on our ancestors; the correspondent quoted below perhaps saw the hill through one of the mists which come in from the sea and render every object monstrous or mysterious.

"Chanckbury, the Wrekin or Cenis of the South Downs, is said to be 1,000 _perpendicular yards_ above the level of the sea; on the summum jugum, or vertex, is a ring of trees planted by Mr. Goring of Whiston, and if they were arrived at maturity, would form no indifferent imitation of an ancient Druidical grove." (_Gentleman's Magazine_, 1819.)

The descent from the ring is made past a pond whose origin is unknown; judging by its appearance it may well have supplied the men who first occupied the fortifications on the hill top. The white path below eventually leads, by a narrow and steep gully, very slippery after rain, directly to the village of Was.h.i.+ngton on the Horsham-Worthing high road. The church stands above the village in a picturesque situation, but is of little interest. With the exception of the tower, it was rebuilt in 1866. Here is a sixteenth-century tomb of John Byne from the old building, and in the churchyard may be seen the grave of Charles Goring. Hillaire Belloc has immortalized the village inn thus:--

"They sell good beer at Haslemere And under Guildford Hill; At little Cowfold, as I've been told, A beggar may drink his fill.

There is good brew at Amberley too.

And by the bridge also; But the swipes they takes in at the Was.h.i.+ngton Inn Is the very best beer I know."

A great find of silver coins of the time of the last Saxon Kings was made in 1866 on Chancton Farm; a ploughman turning up an urn containing over three thousand. This was an effective rebuke to those who laugh at "old wives' tales," for a local tradition of buried treasure must have been in existence for eight hundred years.

[Ill.u.s.tration: CHANCTONBURY RING.]

A motor-bus runs here from Worthing and then westwards as far as Storrington on the branch road to Pulborough. Storrington has almost the status of a small town and lays claim to fame as the birthplace of Tom Sayers, the prize-fighter, and of an equally famous prince of commerce in whose honour a metropolitan street has recently been renamed "Maple" (late "_London_") Street. The church has been almost spoilt by "restorers," but there are fine tombs by Westmacott and a bra.s.s of the sixteenth century. Near the church is a modern Roman Catholic Priory; the beautiful chapel is always open and should be seen. It is, however, for its fine situation opposite Kithurst Hill and its convenience as a centre from which to explore this beautiful section of the Down country that Storrington is important to the explorer of Downland. Within easy reach are the quiet stretches of the Arun at Pulborough and Amberley, and Parham (p. 191) is within three miles. The line of lofty hills on the south are seldom visited, most tourists being content with Chanctonbury. Near the Downs, about a mile south-east, lies the little church of Sullington under its two great yews, very primitive and at present unrestored; most of the work seems to be Early English. Here is an effigy of an unknown knight, also an old stone coffin. A footpath leads direct to Was.h.i.+ngton where we turn towards the sea, climbing by the Worthing road the narrow pa.s.s which cuts between the Downs and drops to Findon. This is another beautifully placed village with a Transitional and Early English church in an adjacent wood and, for strangers, rather difficult to find. In the chancel is a doorway in a curious position between two seats. A Norman arch, probably the relic of an older building, fills the opening of a transept on the south side. A former rector in 1276 must have broken all records in the matter of pluralities; besides Findon he held livings in Salisbury, Hereford, Rochester, Coventry, two in Lincolns.h.i.+re, and seven in Norfolk, also holding a canonry of St.

Paul's and being Master of St. Leonard's Hospital in York.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FINDON.]

Findon is noted for its racing stables; the hills and combes on the east forming an ideal galloping ground. The walks over Black Patch and Harrow Hill are among the best in the central Downs. East of the village a path leads to Cissbury Ring (603 feet). "Cissa's Burgh" was the Saxon name for this prehistoric fortress which was adapted and used by the Romans, as certain discoveries have proved. Cissa was a son of Ella and has given his name to Chichester also. The foundations of a building may be seen in dry summers within the rampart; this is probably Roman. On the western slopes are some pits which may be the remains of a British village. But stone weapons, some of rude form and others highly finished, prove the greater antiquity of the camp. About sixty acres are enclosed within the trench, and approaches to it were made on the north, east and south. Cissbury is thus the largest entrenchment on the Downs and must have been one of the most important in the south. The views seawards are very fine and the stretch of coast is one of the longest visible from any part of the range Below the southern side of the fosse, on the slope that brings us down to Broadwater, is the reputed site of a Roman vineyard; the locality still goes by this name and certainly the situation, a slope facing south and protected from cold winds, is an ideal one for the culture of the grape.

Broadwater is now a suburb of Worthing. Here is a very interesting Transitional-Norman cruciform church, at one time magnificent in its appurtenances, no fewer than six chantry chapels being attached; the remains of these were done away with in the early nineteenth century.

Note the old altar stone in the floor of the chancel, also on the exterior north wall a dedication cross in flints. In the chancel is a bra.s.s to John Mapleton, 1432, chancellor of Joan of Navarre, and there are two fine tombs, one of Thomas Lord de la Warre (1526) and the other of the ninth of that line (1554). John Bunnett, interred in 1734, aged 109, had six wives, three of whom he married and buried after he was 100! The church has a modern a.s.sociation which will be of interest to all lovers of wild nature; here in 1887 Richard Jeffries was buried.

One cannot but think that the great naturalist would have been more fittingly laid to rest in one of the lonely little G.o.d's-acres which nestle in the Downs he loved so well.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BROADWATER.]

Worthing until the end of the eighteenth century was a mere suburb of Broadwater; its actual beginnings as a watering place were nearly contemporary with those of Brighton. When the Princess Amelia came here in 1799 the fortunes of the town were made, and ever since it has steadily, though perhaps slowly, increased in popular favour. The three miles of "front," which is all that fifty per cent, of its visitors know of Worthing, are unimposing and in places mean and rather depressing in architecture, but this is atoned for by the stretch of hard clean sands laid bare at half tide, a pleasant change after the discomfort of Brighton s.h.i.+ngle. As a residential town, pure and simple, Worthing is rapidly overtaking its great rival, and successful business men make their money in the one and live in the other, as though the Queen of Watering-places were an industrial centre. Worthing has a great advantage in its fine old trees; as a matter of fact the place would be unbearably arid and glaring without them in the summer months, for it has undoubtedly proved its claim to be the sunniest south coast resort; a claim at one time or other put forth by all. The most convincing proof to the sceptical stranger will be the miles of gla.s.s houses for the culture of the tomato with which the town is surrounded.

Its chief attraction lies in the number of interesting places which can easily be reached in a short time and with little trouble. The Downs here are farther off than those at Brighton, but are of much greater interest, and public motors take one easily and cheaply into their heart as we have already shown. The South Coast Railway runs east and west to Sh.o.r.eham and Arundel, reaching those super-excellent towns in less than half an hour; and of the walks in the immediate neighbourhood, all have goals which well repay the effort expended in reaching them.

Sompting, which can be combined with Broadwater as an excursion, has already been described; we therefore turn westward again and pa.s.sing the suburb of Heene, now called West Worthing, arrive, in two and a half miles from the Town Hall, at the village of Goring. Its rebuilt church is of no interest. Here Richard Jeffries died in the August of 1887. A mile farther is West Ferring with a plain Early English church; notice the later Perpendicular stoup at the north door and the piscina, which has a marble shelf. The Manor House is on the site of an ancient building in which St. Richard of Chichester lived after his banishment by Henry III, and here the saint is said to have miraculously fed three-thousand poor folk with bread only sufficient for a thirtieth of that number.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SALVINGTON MILL.]

A pleasant ramble through the lanes north of the village leads to Highdown Hill, perhaps the most popular excursion from Worthing; the top has an earthwork probably dating from the stone age. Human remains of a later date were found here in 1892, also coins, weapons and personal ornaments belonging to the time of the Roman occupation. The "Miller's Tomb" is on the side nearest Worthing; it has representations of Time and Death with some verses composed by the miller, John Olliver. A cottage on the other side of the hill stands on the site of the mill. The view is particularly fine both Downwards and seawards, though the hill is not half the alt.i.tude of Cissbury. Northwards are the beautiful woods of Castle Goring, once the residence of the Sh.e.l.leys, through which we may walk to Clapham and Patching, villages on southern spurs of the Downs; the latter has a restored Early English church with a very beautiful modern reredos. Clapham has a Transitional church containing memorials of the Sh.e.l.ley family. Notice the blocked-up Norman arch which proves the existence of an earlier building. On the south is a venerable farmhouse, ancient and picturesque.

[Ill.u.s.tration: OLD HOUSES AT LARRING.]

The return journey to Worthing may be taken through Salvington, pa.s.sing the ruins of Durrington chapel; at the south end of the village at the cottage named "Lacies" John Selden was born in 1584. On the door post is a Latin inscription said to have been composed by him when ten years old; it runs thus:--

Gratus, honeste, mihi, non claudar, initio sedebis, Fur abeas non sum facta soluta tibi.

Translated by Johnson:--

Walk in and welcome; honest friends, repose; Thief, get thee hence, to thee I'll not unclose.

Selden's father was a wandering minstrel and the birthplace of the great jurist was humble even for those days.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BECKET'S PALACE, TARRING.]

A short walk southwards brings us to West Tarring, which is practically a suburb of Worthing. Here is a very fine Early English and Perpendicular church with a lofty spire. Notice the beautiful modern mosaics depicting the Prophets and Apostles. Also the old miserere seats and an ancient muniment chest. The window under the tower is in memory of Robert Southey whose daughter married a onetime vicar of Tarring. Another inc.u.mbent here was Stripe the historian.

A peculiarity noticeable in many country churchyards may be remarked here--the reluctance to bury on the north side of the church (though strangely enough this has been reversed at near-by Ferring). In many churchyards, where the ground is as extensive on the north side as on the others, the grave digger's spade has left it either quite untouched or the graves are few in number and mostly of recent date.

West Tarring was once a market town and several good specimens of medieval and Tudor domestic architecture still exist. It was once a "peculiar" of the Archbishops of Canterbury, and the remains of the archiepiscopal palace may be seen in the school house on the east of the church. In the rectory orchard close by is the "columbarium," or all that is left of it. Becket is said to have occupied the palace. The celebrated fig orchard is supposed to have been raised from slips planted by him, though another story has it that the original planter was St. Richard. The present orchard is of much interest and dates from the year of the "forty-five," though it can well be believed that some of the trees are older; the venerable patriarch in the centre is known as "St. Thomas," but this is of course impossible. A most remarkable occurrence takes place annually at the ripening of the fruit; a small bird similar to, if not identical with the _Beccafico_ ("Figeater") of Italy visits the orchards here and at Sompting, stays a few weeks and then departs until the next season; it is seen in no other part of England.

CHAPTER VI

ARUNDEL AND THE ARUN

There is a choice of roads between Worthing and Arundel: that which keeps to the low lands has been partly traversed in the journey to West Ferring.