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Tortington
Tortington maps
Historic maps of Tortington and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Tortington maps
Tortington area books
Displaying 1 of 24 books about Tortington and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Tortington
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West Sussex memories
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 many happy times in Arundel and continue to visit.
Church Choir
I think it was about 1959 when a new Vicar arrived in the village of Yapton he was the Rev. Nelson. I was 12 at the time, His wife who we only knew as Mrs Nelson decided to start a church choir. So with a few of my cousins and girls I went to school with off we went to see what it was all about. Mrs Nelson had at least two daughters that I remember and we were all welcomed into the Vicarage for choir practice which used to be on a Thursday night if I remember correctly. In the summer practice was held at the church but winter at the Vicarage.
We all loved the choir, it gave us something to do and an interest as in those days there was not too much to do after school. I remember the year we did Handles Messiah it was wonderful, the church was lit with candles and it was full to capacity. I was lucky... Read more
Our Lives in Yapton 1982-2005
My family moved to Yapton, from Folkestone Kent, because my husband had a job there. It was a difficult time but I was expecting a baby and I had a 3 year old son so it was also an exciting time for us.
Over the years we grew to love the area we lived in, the children went to school nearby and they made some good friends. Then life became difficult, neighbours moved away and new ones moved in and the whole village extended to almost Littlehampton. Water and sewage works were built, and the road we lived on became the main through road for the A27. Lorries were pounding up and down making life difficult.
I was diagnosed with arthritis and lost my job and so we decided the time was right to move.
We had 25 happy years in Yapton, but now it is not the village it once was.
Childhood Memories of Yapton
i have very fond memories of visiting my grand parents in yapton, who lived opposite the church in the cottages.my grandfather Roy, i believe was the villiage carpenter and my nan alice was helper in the church, and also worked at the dentist along the lane.grandad also rang the bells on occasions. There were some good times i remember as a small boy like the time me and nan picked berries in the opposite hedgerow around the field to make jam,she never missed collecting conkers for me from the big tree in the lane.And i remember waving them good bye when dad walked me through the field and across the old air feild into climping .Sadly today we are many miles away living in cambridgeshire mainly due to house prices being out of reach for many of us.However we still make many a trip back to sussex,and visit the church yard where nan and grandad lie in rest together.
Hobbs Farm
Our family moved from Bognor to Yapton in 1951 just before my 10th birthday. I was only 13 and attending Chichester High School for Girls when I started working weekends at Hobbs Farm, Bilsham Corner. It was a pedigree Jersey dairy farm and we used to bottle gold top milk with cream that came half-way down the glass pint. The milk was fresh, not pasteurized. I can't find milk like that today. Most of these cows' milk tested much higher than 5.5\% butterfat. I used to do almost everything, including relieve for the herdsman during holidays and weekends until 1960, when I went to college in Liverpool. We lived in Yapton Gardens (full of potholes), South Yapton, near the old Lamb Inn, and on summer evenings we used to hear the pub revellers singing songs outside.
My not-so-fond memory was when our cesspit had to be emptied. We were limited to four free empties by the council a year, and many people allowed theirs to overflow over their gardens. It... Read more
Yapton Church
My grandfather's father was a minister at the lovely little Yapton church, his name is on the board at the back of the church, Cother.
About 6 years ago, my aunt, (grandad's daughter now almost 91) my sister, brother and self, visited the church. While there someone came in and told us of a lady down the road interested in local family history. We walked down and knocked on the door, got invited in for afternoon tea and biscuits. My sister, very much into family history and the lady spent ages chatting about the Cother family. My brother had gone to get his car and decided to take a nap. I walked around the beautiful garden taking photos, Auntie sat patiently drinking tea. What a friendly little place Yapton appears to be. I would love to know which house my grand father lived in.... I love historical facts.
The Church
I have fond memories of Walberton and the wonderful family that I believed I would be marrying into, but sometimes life doesn't work out as you plan. I was to be married in this church. I still miss them and their lovely village. My heart is still with them.
I often walked behind the church with my dog Blue and spent many a happy hour in the peaceful and tranquil setting. Walberton Church has special memories of love, weddings, christenings. Bless you all.
