Fittleworth
Fittleworth photos (29 available)
Fittleworth maps (2 available)
Map of West Sussex
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
See this old map of West Sussex
Personalised maps
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Fittleworth books (19 available)
Crawley Town Walk Guide
Paperback
Hastings - A History and Celebration
Hardback
- 7 photos on Fittleworth appear in 4 Frith books - View photos of Fittleworth
- Read extracts and see photos from these books on Fittleworth and West Sussex
Fittleworth memories
Read and share memories of Fittleworth and West Sussex inspired by Frith photos
Swan Hotel corner
I nearly died here when I was seven years old - over-excitement on the cusp of our holiday on IOW. An errand for a quarter of ham from the village shop, and dodgy brakes, led me to come down the hill from Picknells, the shop at the top of the hill above the Swan corner and to emerge from the blind corner created by the hotel across the main road without stopping. I coincided there with Mrs Morley Fletcher who was moving probably at 20 mph in her grey A30, so I was saved. [more later... I bet you can't wait!]
Contributed by paul barry
West Sussex memories
Swan Hotel corner
I nearly died here when I was seven years old - over-excitement on the cusp of our holiday on IOW. An errand for a quarter of ham from the village shop, and dodgy brakes, led me to come down the hill from Picknells, the shop at the top of the hill above the Swan corner and to emerge from the blind corner created by the hotel across the main road without stopping. I coincided there with Mrs Morley Fletcher who was moving probably at 20 mph in her grey A30, so I was saved. [more later... I bet you can't wait!]
A memory of Fittleworth contributed by paul barry
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 because of the lighting, but a beautiful place, surrounded by floods in the Spring, but has survived all that.
A shame there isn't much else there!
A memory of Hardham contributed by Sheelagh MacDonald
Home
I was born in Canada, but grew up in Pulborough as did my mother and uncle, Maureen and Frank Darby.
When I knew we were returning to Canada, a place I didn't remember, it broke my heart, and I vowed never to forget the people and sights of Pulborough.
My Grandparents are buried in the cemetery at St Mary's, and I have a brass rubbing from the church. The baptismal jug was donated by the family.
I was home last October for my Uncle's funeral in Beds, but two of my sisters and I had to visit the village and visit people. Sorry it wasn't longer, but the love for Pulborough I have never diminishes.
A memory of Pulborough contributed by Sheelagh MacDonald
Extracts From Fittleworth & West Sussex books
Just south-east of Stopham Bridge is the confluence of the Arun and its most important tributary, the Western Rother, previously known as the Turning Stream or Westwater, which extended to Fittleworth, Midhurst and beyond. A record of the 17th century reveals that Fittleworth Mill was used for the production of flour and malt.
An extract from from"Sussex Revisited Photographic Memories".
Fittleworth is a picturesque village of fine old houses, commons and fir
woods.The local people call this ‘Hallelujah Corner’ because it is a sharp
bend on a narrow and busy main road, near the church of St Mary.The
house on the right of the picture has a chimneystack that is heavily over-
grown by creeper, in later years removed.
An extract from from"Villages of Sussex Pocket Album".
The Swan, near the river in Lower Fittleworth and recorded in a document dated 1640, is possibly one of the two alehouses mentioned earlier in 1536. By the early 1900s it was described as 'a venerable and rambling building' popular with cyclists, motor car enthusiasts and particularly artists, many of whom decorated the Swan's little parlour with their paintings.
An extract from from"Sussex Revisited Photographic Memories".
Modes of travel have progressed from the time when local
workers walked to their workplace, and when wealthy people used
horse-drawn carriages and stagecoaches for local and trunk travel.
When the stone-chip roads were smooth enough, the bicycle was
useful for local personal travel. Motor transport came along with
smoother roads, and enabled more journeys to the towns. Railways
provided some villages with reliable travel to anywhere in the
country. In recent years, the construction of international railways
and airports has made journeys to anywhere in the world quickly
accessible from anywhere in Sussex.
An extract from from"Villages of Sussex Pocket Album".
By the 1920s, Fittleworth had become an artists' mecca owing to its pretty woods, its fine views from its commons, its quaint architecture and, it has been suggested, the warm welcome offered at the Swan Inn. Lower Fittleworth, by the river, was particularly popular with anglers, while the higher, sandier ground and commons in Upper Fittleworth attracted walkers.
An extract from from"Sussex Revisited Photographic Memories".