Amberley, West Sussex

The Ayling House

I know this house is where my great-great-grandfather Harvey Ayling was born (in 1834). The Aylings were in this house for many generations. I have a picture of this same house from the late 1800s with 2 horse wagons parked out front. Still, even today, the same house has the same Ayling family decendents living there. I even have a record of... [more]

Bury Church and Ferry

On this picture you can see the steps used by the ferry man from the 1920s to the 1940s.  He used a pole to steer the punt from the Bury bank to the Amberley bank.  The punt was attached to a chain which stretched across the river lying on the bottom.  The fare in the late 1940s was a theepenny piece.... [more]

My father worked at this shop

My father Ron Burchell worked at the shop seen in this photograph.  The Burchell family had lived in the village for generations.  The owner of the shop was Edward Grinstead and his wife Millie who was my godmother.  We lived at the thatched Old Cottage behind the hedge on the left.  My dad had been a shop boy here before he... [more]

Hardham

Hardham was a place to bicycle to from Pulborough, and visit St. Botolph's Church. One of the many very very old churches in West Sussex. The drawings on the walls go back hundreds of years depicting the tortures of the early Christians, and the church preserves them with the lighting being restricted. I got locked in this church once - scary... [more]

My Grandfather

This is my Grandfather Joseph Smith and my two Great Aunts, Kathleen and Josephine. He was about 12 in this picture. They lived yards from where this was taken in the lodge at Arundel Park gates. My great Grandfather, William, was a groom to the then Duke of Norfolk (Henry) and Great Granmother, Kate, was a domestic. I have spent... [more]

Visiting the Elms

My mother, Phyllis Howard, was born in Kensington and in 1958, we made a trip to see relatives and friends. We came to Storrington to stay with Daisy and Ernie Elms. I was 15 at the time and I will never forget meeting them. When in 2006, I again visited England, my cousin brought me to Storrington, but neither of us... [more]

Storrington in general

I was born and raised in Storrington. I left when I was 18, in 1990, but come back every week to visit my mother. My sister and mother still live in Storrington and my brother is the joint co-manager of the Swans, Eamonn Searle.

My best memories of Storrington are singing in the church choir of St. Mary's when the... [more]

Boring History!

I attended Storrington Primary School in Spierbridge Road, and we all looked forward to our last year at the school, because during the summer seniors were taken to Church Street as part of a local history lesson. Of course, we all thought it would be a great excuse to lark about and pop into the sweet shop which used to be... [more]