Shopping in the Felbridge area, Pt. I
Over the years Felbridge and the surrounding area has been peppered with shops serving their immediate community, including, six shops within the village itself, two shops and a bakery at North End, a sweet shop and butcher’s shop in Imberhorne Lane, a Parade of six shops and Boundary Stores on the main London Road, a way-side stall at Golards Farm and two shops at Newchapel (one on the Green and the other on West Park Road), a butcher’s shop on Frogit Heath, a butcher’s shop, a shop at Judge’s Corner, and at least two grocery stores in Snow Hill, and a general store in Furnace Wood, as well as a travelling salesmen that brought their wares to the Felbridge area by horse and cart or bicycle. This document, the first of two parts, will cover the shops within the village.
The village of Felbridge has had a local grocery shop since at least 1841, with the first documented shop and premises situated on Copthorne Road opposite the Star Inn. This was followed by the Felbridge Post Office that is today known as The Felbridge Village Store, which now forms part of a complex of retail outlets and dwellings situated on the southern side of Crawley Down Road, opposite Felbridge School.
In 1925 Wheeler’s Stores opened in Rowplatt Lane and in the 1930’s and 40’s F Smith’s Green Grocery shop and premises opened further down Crawley Down Road, (opposite the end of Rowplatt Lane), Hannah’s Stores operated from the plot next to Felbridge School and Mr Todd sold fruit, vegetables and selected non-essential groceries from Brockworth, also in Crawley Down Road. This document charts the history and development of these premises and the lives of the people associated with each the property.
Shop and Premises, Copthorne Road
The first evidence for a shop and premises in Felbridge comes from the 1841 census and, based on the entry in the records, was situated on Copthorne Road being one of a pair of cottages with a shop within its grounds, opposite the Star Inn on the site of what is now 1, Longwall Court. Map and Land Tax evidence suggests that the pair of cottages were built in 1837 by William Southey who owned what became known as Harts Hall, they included a small detached rectangular structure (the site of the shop) built in front of the cottages at the west end. The cottages later housed staff from the Harts Hall estate.
In 1911 the cottages were advertised for sale as part of the Harts Hall estate, being described as ‘brick-built and stucco with slated roof, each containing 4 rooms’. Some time after their sale they were converted as a single dwelling known as Long Wall [for further details see Handout, Harts Hall, SJC 07/05]. During the 20th century the only evidence for the shop was a large shop-window shaped scar in the brickwork of the road-side wall where the rectangular structure had stood until its demolition. Demolished at the same time was the house Long Wall, a series of dilapidated glasshouses and a very long brick wall, to make way for the new development of houses known as Longwall Court built in 2007.
Edward and Elizabeth Walker
In 1841 the shop and premises on Copthorne Road was in the occupation of Edward Walker, shop keeper, and his wife Elizabeth. Edward Walker had been born about 1781 and married Elizabeth Willis on 8th August 1801 in St Pancras. Elizabeth had been born the daughter of John and Elizabeth Willis in 1780 in East Wittering near Chichester, Sussex. Elizabeth’s siblings include, James born in 1776, Grace born in 1778, John born in 1782, Thomas and Jenny born in 1785, William born in 1787, Charles born in 1789, Nanny born in 1789 and Mary born in 1794.
Edward and Elizabeth Walker had at least three children, Thomas Willis born in 1800, Georgiana born about 1817 and Eliza born about 1821. In 1841 Edward and Elizabeth, together with their daughter Eliza, were living at Felbridge Water, Edward recorded as a shopkeeper. Their premises were next to the Southey household who owned what became known as Harts Hall, now the site of Felbridge Court, making the Walker shop part of the property later known as Long Wall, now part of the site of the new development of houses known as Long Wall Court [for further information see Handouts, Harts Hall, SJC 07/05 and Eating and Drinking Establishments of Felbridge Pt. II, JIC/SJC 03/08].
Being a shopkeeper meant that Edward Walker had a profession and as such was part of the newly burgeoning Victorian middle class. In the Victorian period, particularly in rural areas, shops were small and generally run by a husband and wife partnership, although it was also an acceptable profession for a woman working on her own, particularly if widowed. Most people would shop for food on a daily basis buying small amounts of what they needed as it was difficult to keep perishable food fresh. Shops generally opened six (sometimes seven) days a week and would stay open in the evening until the last customer had gone. Many shopkeepers traded through open windows at the front of their shop with the customer standing in the street, being served by the shopkeeper from inside. Unfortunately it has not been possible to determine how the shop on Copthorne Road operated as the facing wall that held the scars of what had been the shop window has been demolished. Customers would queue to be served and the shopkeeper would weigh or measure each item and wrap it in paper. Most shopkeepers and their families lived in rooms above or behind their shop and this is the case for the Walkers who occupied part of the dwelling behind the shop that fronted onto Copthorne Road.
Edward Walker died in the winter of 1844 and Elizabeth continued to run the shop after his death and by 1851 had been joined at the premises by her daughter Georgiana and her husband James Mitchell and their son Edward. It has not yet been established when Elizabeth ceased to run the shop but by 1861 she had been succeeded by Edward Brooker, and was living with Georgiana, James and their four children (Edward born in 1850, Henry James born in 1851, Emma born in 1853 and John born in 1855) at their property situated between Wells Bottom and Hackenden Farm in East Grinstead, from where she died in 1862.
Edward Brooker
Edward Brooker was born in East Grinstead in 1820, the son of Joseph Brooker and his wife Ann née Garland. Edward had at least one brother, Thomas, born in 1822. Edward Brooker married Fanny Martin on 5th June 1842 in Worth. Fanny had been born the daughter of George and Philadelphia Martin in 1819. Edward and Fanny had at least five children including, Fanny born in 1843, Mary Ann born in 1846, Louisa Jane born in 1849, Edwin born in 1852 and Charles born in 1855, all born in East Grinstead.
In 1851 the Brooker family were living at The Rocks (the next household being the Toll Gate on the High Street in East Grinstead) where Edward was working as a cordwainer and Fanny as a shoe banker. The household must have been fairly prosperous as they had a live-in house servant by the name of Hannah Skinner. By 1861 the Brooker family had moved to the shop and premises on Copthorne Road, Edward Broker being described as a grocer. By definition grocer originally meant a large scale general wholesaler or dealer in foodstuffs, and Victorian grocers bought goods in bulk and decanted them into smaller weights for sale to the public.
In 1866 Edward Brooker died and Fanny and her children moved back to the High Street in East Grinstead, being succeeded at the shop and premises on Copthorne Road by David King.
David King
David King was born in 1843, the son of William and Mary King in Barcombe, Sussex. William was a miller, and David’s siblings included, Mary Ann born about 1833, Jesse born about 1836, Sophie born about 1837, Thirza born in 1845 and Rhoda born in 1847. By 1861 David was living and working as a servant in the Davis household in Dyke Road, Brighton, Sussex. The head of the household was Nathanial Davis, a baker.
Sometime around 1864, David King married Emily (surname not yet established) who had been born about 1840 in East Grinstead. David and Emily had at least two children, Emily Ada born in 1865 and Harry Horace born in 1867, both births registered in Lewes. By 1871 the King family had moved to the shop and premises on Copthorne Road shop and from the birth place of Harry King it would suggest that hey had moved from the Lewes area sometime between 1867 and 1871. In 1871 David King was described as a grocer and draper. As for the occupation of draper, this was originally anyone who sold something by quantity, particularly wool but also other commodities. However, by the Victorian period, drapers were dealers of needlework and sewing needs, cotton, linen and wool, as well as dry goods.
1871 is the last entry for the shop on Copthorne Road, and by 1881 David King was living on his own at 91, Dalling Road, Hammersmith, where he was working as a grocer’s foreman. It has not yet been possible to establish the whereabouts of David’s wife Emily or their son Harry, but their daughter Emily was in service in Kensington.
As for the shop and premises on Copthorne Road, this became one of a pair of dwellings known as Harts Hall Cottages (later Long Wall), being home to a gardener and game-keeper for Harts Hall in 1881.
The Felbridge Village Store, formerly Felbridge Post Office, Crawley Down Road
From construction to the break up and sale of the Felbridge Place estate
The land on which the Felbridge Village Store is built was purchased by George Gatty of Felbridge Park for £100 on 24th December 1862. The freehold land amounting to just over one and a quarter acres had belonged to the Saunders family and in 1844 the Godstone tithe recorded it as Common Field, plot 274, consisting of 1a 1r 17p of arable land, owned and occupied by Carew Saunders. By 1852 the land was in the ownership of Thomas Saunders of the Star Inn [for further information see Handout, Eating and Drinking Establishments of Felbridge Pt. II]. On the death of Thomas Saunders on 29th November 1852, the land passed to his eldest son Thomas.
The piece of land, adjacent to the Crawley Down Road and abutting Imberhorne Farm, was just one of nearly thirty acquisitions made by the Gatty family during their ownership of Felbridge Park that increased their estate to over 1,350 acres during their forty-seven year ownership.
The first development on the piece of land purchased from Thomas Saunders was at the western end of the plot with the construction of a pair of cottages called Chapel Cottages built some time between 1862 and 1871, being in the occupation of James Lambert, agricultural labourer, and Amos Tolhurst, kitchen gardener, and their families by 1871. Within ten years the shop and premises had been constructed to the east of Chapel Cottages, comprising of a red brick two storey dwelling house, shop floor and rooms over, under a clay-tiled roof, with a large out-building at the rear.
It would appear from the census entries for Felbridge that this new shop and premises either replaced the earlier shop on the site of 1, Longwall Court, on the Copthorne Road (see above), or its opening caused the demise of the shop as that had ceased trading by 1881. On completion of the new shop and premises, John Knell from Cross-in-Hand, Sussex, was appointed by Charles Gatty of Felbridge Park as the grocer, draper and sub-post master for Felbridge.
John Knell
John was born the son of Lawrence and Ann Knell, being baptised on 19th August 1821 in Brenchley, Kent. Known siblings of John include; Lawrence born about 1820, Lucy born in 1821 being baptised on the same day as John, and Abraham born in 1826, all born in Brenchley.
In 1851 John Knell was an assistant grocer residing with William Gosling, linen draper and grocer of Heathfield, Sussex. Two years later John married Sarah Ellis on 3rd April 1853 at St John Horsleydown, Surrey. Sarah was born the daughter of Charles and Sarah Ellis and was baptised on 2nd August 1818 at Mayfield, Sussex. Known siblings of Sarah include; Maria born about 1822 and Anne born about 1827.
In 1861 John and Sarah Knell were living at Cross-in-Hand, where John was working as a grocer and draper. By 1861 John and Sarah had three of their eventual four children, John Laurence born in 1854, Charlotte Ellen born in 1856 and William Robert born in 1860, their fourth child, Alfred Henry was born in 1863. Also living in the Knell household in 1861 was Sarah’s father Charles who had been a widower since at least 1841, and who was working as a Warehouseman at John’s shop, as well as Amos Payne and his wife Mary, working as shop-man and servant, and Ann Caves working as nurse-girl.
The Knell family were still at Cross-in-Hand in 1871 and living in the Knell household in this census was George Chapman working as a grocer and draper’s assistant, Thomas Huggett an apprentice grocer and draper and Mary Ann Haffenden a general servant. At the time of the census, the Knell family were also playing host to Mary Ann Elphick and her daughter Blanch, a draper’s wife and daughter, visiting from Rotherfield, Sussex.
On the completion of the new shop and premises in Felbridge, sometime between 1871 and 1881, John and Sarah Knell moved in with their two youngest sons, William and Alfred. In 1881, the census records the occupations of John, Sarah and William as grocers and drapers, and Alfred as a butcher, residing in what was listed as the Post Office at Felbridge. This is confirmed by advertisements in Kelly’s Directory between 1887 and 1891 listing John Knell as grocer, draper and sub-postmaster of Felbridge.
The new shop differed from older Victorian shops, and possibly from the old shop on Copthorne Road, in that customers were served from behind a counter inside the shop, no longer having to queue on the street to be served. It also incorporated a Post Office, one of a network of post offices which allowed people to purchase pre-paid stamps to adhere to mail before sending. Prior to 1840 and the introduction of the Penny Black stamp, mail was submitted to the General Post Office that forwarded it to a sorting office before being delivered to the receiver who could chose whether to pay the fee or not. The introduction of the Penny Post created a uniform postal rate and the innovative idea of pre-paid stamps that could be purchased and adhered to the mail before being sent. With increased literacy and the uniform postal system came the demand for a network of local Post Offices where senders could purchase the stamps for their letters. Changes in the availability of stamps meant that it was no longer necessary to go to the General Post Office to send a letter, leading to the introduction of free standing pillar boxes where people could deposit their letters, although the original pillar box for the Felbridge Post Office was in the front wall of the building.
John Knell died in service at the age of seventy-two and was buried at St John’s Church, Felbridge, on 1st January 1894, his head stone featuring a broken stemmed lily [for further details see Handout, Memorial Carvings and Statues of St John the Divine, Felbridge, SJC 07/02iv]. After the death of John, the Knell family dispersed and by 1898 Sarah has joined her eldest son John who had taken over the Blue Anchor Inn at Blindley Heath, Surrey, where she remained until her death at the age of eighty-two, being buried at St John’s Church on 24th February 1901. Also, by 1901, William (listed as an epileptic [not insane]) had fallen on less favourable times and was in residence at the Godstone Union Workhouse, but Alfred had married Alice Gammon in the spring of 1901 and was living at 48, Priory Street, Tonbridge, Kent, where he was working as a butcher.
Following the death of John Knell, Charles Gatty issued a two-year lease to Arthur Daws on 14th February 1894, for the shop and premises in Felbridge at a rental of £25 per annum.
Arthur Daws
Arthur was born the son of Samuel and Elizabeth Daws in Merstham, Surrey, being baptised on 6th January 1857. Known siblings of Arthur include; Elizabeth born in 1847, Samuel born in 1849, William born in 1851, Walter born in 1854, Catherine born about 1857, Henry born in 1858 and Albert born in 1860. Arthur’s family came from an agricultural background as in 1861 his father Samuel was recorded as a farmer of fifty acres, the family living in Leigh, Surrey. Unfortunately Samuel died in the spring of 1869 but Elizabeth his wife continued farming and in 1871 was recorded as a farmer of Merstham and, more specifically, a cow-keeper of Merstham in 1881.
In 1881 Arthur Daws, still living at the family home, was working as a draper’s assistant in Merstham, but by 1891 had moved to Forest Row and was living in the household of Ellen Gorringe, grocer and draper. In 1891 Arthur was working as a grocer’s manager, presumably for Ellen Gorringe. Within three years Arthur had taken out a two-year lease on the shop and premises in Felbridge and shortly after this date Arthur Daws married Elizabeth Killick at St John’s Church, Felbridge, on 14th May 1895.
Elizabeth was the daughter of John Killick and his wife Emily née Goble and was born in Albury, Surrey, in 1853. Known siblings of Elizabeth include; Thomas born in 1846, John born in 1849, Harry born in 1850, Mary Ann born in 1856 and George born in 1858. The Killick family had moved to the Felbridge area in the mid 1850’s when John Killick accepted the post of bailiff for the Chartham Park estate before moving to neighbouring Felbridge Park estate as game keeper [for further information see Handout, More Biographies from the churchyard of St John the Divine – Estate workers of the Gatty family, SJC 11/03].
At the time of their marriage in 1895, Elizabeth was nearly forty-two years old and it would appear that Arthur and Elizabeth did not have a family, and this is confirmed by the 1911 census that records Elizabeth as not having borne any children.
On arrival at the shop and premises at Felbridge Arthur Daws commissions several items from the estate carpenter, Allen Bingham, who noted all the details in his work diary [for further information see Handout, Bingham Family of Felbridge, SJC 01/05]. The first item commissioned was a ‘table bench for Mr Daws’ Bake House’, followed a month later by a chest of drawers. The diary records materials used, hours of labour, and for the chest of drawers, a small diagram. In January 1896 Allen Bingham records the materials required to ‘make a Green House for Mr Daws’ together with thirty hours of labour, including ‘3 hours at 6½ d per hour at Mr Daws’ porch’, the total bill coming in at 16s 3d. In June of 1896, Allen Bingham makes a ‘Dough Trough’ itemising the cost of materials and labour, and written beneath is ‘Received of Mr Daws, Grocer, Draper and Baker etc. of Felbridge the sum of 16s 6d’. Underneath this entry Allen Bingham also wrote, ‘Laid out at Daws’ Shop on same day 2s 3½d on Bacon, Tobacco, Salmon, Rops, Ale and Sweets’. Later in the year, during the month of November, Allen Bingham makes weekly purchases of maize, either by the half gallon or bushel, the total bill being 4/-.
From these diary entries it is clear that Arthur Daws was investing in the premises and intended to stay longer than the two years on his lease. It is not known whether the bake house was in operation before his arrival but with the commission of a table and dough trough it is obvious that bread was being made on the premises during Arthur Daws time in Felbridge. It is also evident that besides an assortment of foodstuffs for human consumption, Arthur Daws also supplied chicken feed. The two-year lease taken out in 1894 was extended as the Daws occupied the shop and premises in Felbridge until 1911 when Arthur Daws left the shop and took over from Henry Sanders at the Blacksmith’s Head at Newchapel, as grocer and beer-seller [for further information see Handout, Eating and Drinking Establishments of Felbridge, Pt. IV, SJC 03/10].
The time of the Daws departure from the shop and premises in Felbridge coincides with the break-up and sale of the Felbridge Place estate. Charles Gatty had died in 1903 and the estate had passed to two male cousins who, having little interest in it, sold the estate to Mrs Emma Harvey in 1910 and the East Grinstead Estate Company put the estate up for auction in May 1911. The sites of the shop and premises at Felbridge and Chapel Cottages do not appear in the sale catalogue, although the remaining un-developed section of the original 1a 1r of land purchased by George Gatty in 1862 does appear in the catalogue as Lot 10, described:
A valuable enclosure of
Building Land
Next Felbridge Post Office, in the parish of Godstone
Comprising about
0a 3r 19p
and number 221 on Plan. It has a valuable frontage of about 300ft to the Crawley Down Road.
Possession on completion of purchase.
The corrugated lean-to building belongs to the tenant.
The commuted Tithes for the purpose of Sale are apportioned at 1/- Present value 8½d
It is believed that as neither the shop and premises and Chapel Cottages appear in the sale catalogue they were purchased privately and outside of the auction of the remainder of the Felbridge Place estate. Around the time of the break up and sale of the Felbridge Place estate, a list of tenants was drawn up and the tenant of the shop and premises was recorded as W Upperton. This would suggest that the Daws’ held left the shop prior to the run up of the sale, possibly implying they were either not in a financial position to purchase the shop or had little interest in acquiring the premises.
Nothing is known about W Upperton and he must have been at the shop and premises for only a fleeting moment in time as the census of 1911 records Frederick Cheal in occupation of the ‘Post Office’, Felbridge.
After the break up and sale of the Felbridge Place estate
Frederick Cheal
Frederick was born the son of Henry Cheal and his wife Ellen née Wood in Edenbridge, Kent, in the winter of 1872, shortly after his parents marriage in the September quarter of 1872. Frederick appears to have just one sister, Ellen Elizabeth who was born 1875.
In 1881 the Cheal family was living in Crofts Lane in Edenbridge where Frederick’s father Henry was listed as a farmer and carter. Ten years later, whilst Henry was still a farmer, Frederick had left school and was working as a grocer’s assistant. However, in 1901 Henry had become a road constructor and Frederick was listed as a ‘road constructor’s son’, which may mean just that, or that he was no longer in work as a grocer’s assistant (although he was described as a worker).
In 1910, Frederick Cheal married Emily May Handley in Rudgeley, Staffordshire, where she had been born the daughter of coal miner Alfred Handley and his wife Mary in 1885. Known siblings of Emily include; Albert Henry born in 1887, Annie born in 1888, Thomas Alfred born in 1890, Ethel Jane born in 1893 and Henry born in 1894. By 1901 Emily, aged fifteen, was in service as an under nurse working in the Cowell household in Littleham in Devon. Within nine years she had married Frederick Cheal although it has not yet been established how they met. Within a year of marriage, Frederick and Emily had moved to Felbridge to take over the Post Office in Crawley Down Road, where they had two children, Doris May born in 1911 and Graham born in 1914.
In 1913 Frederick Cheal appears in the Kelly’s Directory as sub-postmaster, Felbridge. Other information in the directory records that ‘Letters arrive from East Grinstead at 7am and 11am and are dispatched at 9am and 5.30pm; Sundays, 9am. The nearest money order and telegraph office is at East Grinstead 2 miles distant’. This entry shows that telegraphic facilities had not yet been introduced at the Post Office in Felbridge at that date.
During the 1920’s and 30’s Felbridge began to expand quite considerably as more and more land from the Felbridge Place estate sale was sold off, initial development having been interrupted by the outbreak of World War I. It was during Frederick Cheal’s occupation of the Post Office that Felbridge acquired two more food shops, Wheelers Stores that opened in Rowplatt Lane and Smith’s Green Grocers that opened further down the road at 135, Crawley Down Road (for further details on both see below).
From a photograph taken of repairs being carried out to the chimney of the Felbridge Post Office in the early 1920’s, the shop has several metal advertisement plaques on the shop front and picket fence including Ogden’s Tobacco, Hudson’s Soap, Martin’s Mineral Water of East Grinstead, Sunlight Soap, R Whites’ Lemonade and a plaque proclaiming the premises Agents for Lyon’s Tea. The shop window is stacked high with various provisions and advertising cards including Nestles and Camp Coffee.
Based on a newspaper article written in 1969, Frederick and Ellen Cheal retired from the Felbridge Post Office in about 1945 moving to Miri Machi, Crawley Down Road, where Frederick died in 1947 and Ellen died in 1951, both being buried at St John’s Church, Felbridge. When Frederick Cheal retired, the Felbridge Post Office was taken over by his son Graham. Graham Cheal had married Gladys Lucking in 1937 and they had two sons, Bryan and Keith, and Graham and his family remained at the Felbridge Post Office until sometime around the mid 1950’s when they were succeeded by Ernest Arthur Scott and his wife Violet.
Ernest Arthur Scott
Ernest Scott came from the Reigate area where he was born in 1910 and where he married Violet Mary Marshall in 1933. Violet, also from the Reigate area, had been born in 1909, and known siblings include, Lilian born about 1902 and Daisy Kathleen who was born in 1905 and who was a long time resident of Rowplatt Lane. Ernest and Violet had at least two children, Kathleen born in 1933 and Barbara born in 1939.
From a photograph of Ernest Scott stood outside his shop taken in about 1950, the shop has lost the large metal plaques, being replaced by smaller advertisements hanging or stuck in the shop window, that include; Lyon’s Cakes, Bovril, Bird’s Eye, Spry, Golden Shread, Spiller’s Shapes, Spratts and Rose’s; There is also a stamp dispenser on the east side of the shop.
Ernest Scott and his wife Violet remained at the shop until the early 1960’s when it was taken over by Harold and May Irwin. Ernest eventually died in 1973, aged sixty-three and Violet died in 1983 aged seventy-four.
Harold and May Irwin
Unfortunately very little conclusive information has so far surfaced about Harold and May Irwin. However, it is known that during their ownership of the shop they suffered a Post Office raid and shortly after the event the Post Office moved from their shop to F Smith’s Green Grocery Store operating from 135, Crawley Down Road (see below).
From a local newspaper article published in September 1969, it is known that Harold and May Irwin had taken on the shop about six and half years previously, making their arrival at the shop about 1963. The article continues that the shop was to be taken over by Mr and Mrs Chittenden and that the first thing Harold and May Irwin were going to do on their retirement was ‘to take a holiday before settling down, probably in the Isle of Wight’.
Vera and Eric Chittenden
Vera and Eric Chittenden took over the Felbridge Stores on 6th October 1969, and brought with them a large newspaper business with delivery rounds of over four hundred customers that Vera Chittenden had built up over eighteen months running the business from her home at Green Meadows in Mill Lane, Felbridge. Eric Chittenden, the son of Henry and Mabel Chittenden of Cherry Tree Farm, Frogit Heath, [for further information see Handout, Clayton’s Ancient Enclosure, JIC/SJC 05/10], had recently handed over his poultry farming business at Green Meadows to his son John, and Eric and Vera decided to take on the shop in their retirement.
Vera and Eric Chittenden remained at the shop until 1972, selling the premises to Mr and Mrs Nichols.
William and Marian Nicol
Little personal information is known about the Nicols other than William, known as Bill, married Marian Eileen Selley in 1952. From photographs the shop was run as a Wavy Line shop, displaying its sign next to the name ‘Felbridge Stores’. Wavy Line was a buying organisation/trading group that allowed small independent shops to buy their stock from a central bulk wholesale store. Prior to the 1970’s independent shops had purchased their groceries from independent wholesalers, this was then superseded by voluntary trading groups such as Wavy Line, Mace and Spar, but by the mid 1970’s both practises were in decline, and the cash and carry system with its network of outlets, such as Bookers, emerged as preferred grocery wholesalers.
Bill and Marian Nicol were responsible for the first enlargement of the shop premises, adding a two-storey extension to the eastern end of the premises, doubling the existing shop-floor space. It is also believed (from local memory) that the Post Office returned from its temporary home at 135, Crawley Down Road during the Nichol’s time at the shop. In the early 1980’s the Nicols left the shop for one at Seaford and were succeeded at the Felbridge property by Sultan Rushid.
Sultan Rushid
Sultan Rushid took over the shop in about 1983 and with sales increasing, the premises was again enlarged by another two-storey extension to the east, being a mirror image of the original dwelling house. However, with a down turn in the economic climate, plus not adhering to best business practises, the second extension proved too costly for the business and the shop was forced to close in 1992.
After the enforced closure of the shop, the premises emerged for sale and lease as a series of divided units. This included the original freehold dwelling and original shop floor, and two leased retail units, a business premise and a first floor dwelling.
Peter and Judy Howard
In 1993 [Michael] Peter Howard and his wife Judy née Weekes purchased the freehold of the original shop and premises which had been closed and empty for the preceding eighteen months. The Howards were not originally from the village but had settled in Crawley Down Road some years earlier, from where Peter operated as a driving instructor. Neither of the Howards had any experience of running a shop but it was something that Peter Howard had always aspired to do. At the time of purchase the Howards bought the original dwelling house (31a, Crawley Down Road), and original shop floor space (31, Crawley Down Road) and leased the ground-floor sections of the twice extended part of the premises (29 and 29c Crawley Down Road). This leased space was divided into additional shop floor space and a separate unit from where Judy ran a printing business called Superform Design. There was also a separate dwelling in the form of a first floor, two-bedroom maisonette (29a Crawley Down Road), and a business premises (29c Crawley Down Road), both leased independently from the extended shop and premises.
For three years the Howard’s were at the centre of Felbridge village life, having re-opened and restored The Village Shop as a focal point. Peter had also become a member of the Felbridge Parish Council offering his time voluntarily for the benefit of the community. However, Peter Howard unfortunately died in January 1999 leaving Judy in sole charge of the premises, running her own printing business and over-seeing the running of The Village Shop.
In May 1999, Judy purchased the haberdashery business known as The Fabric Patch from Pat Hayman who was retiring from the High Street in East Grinstead. A local newspaper article dated May 1999, wrote; ‘Taking on The Fabric Patch is not a strange move for her [Judy], when you learn that both her mother and grandmother were dressmakers – it must be in the blood she says. “The first thing I remember making properly was a pair of pyjamas for my father, when I was about 11” she recalls. She also remembers she was the only one in her first form at grammar school who was allowed to use the electric sewing machine straight away because of previous knowledge. “I have been making things for as long as I can remember”’. Judy condensed the space devoted to her printing business and transferred the contents of The Fabric Patch, bolt, stock and cotton reel, to fill 29, Crawley Down Road. Also in 1999, Judy Howard had to have the shop’s original Victorian window replaced after it was left weakened by two break-ins.
In 2003 Judy Howard, not in the best of health, decided to sell the original shop and premises to Julie and Simon O’Grady, and move from the area, retaining The Fabric Patch which she still ran from a distance until 2005 when it ceased trading. After the closure of The Fabric Patch, the unit remained empty for a period of time before being re-fitted and refurbished as Body Science UK, a shop selling health food, nutritional supplements and natural products. However, within a couple of years the shop closed and the business moved to Copthorne Road. Again after another spell of being empty, the shop unit eventually re-opened as Rags Hair Studio in 2008, which in 2010 expanded as Rags Barbers into the shop unit next to it. This unit (29c Crawley Down Road) had spent much of the time since 2005 un-occupied except for a brief period as a second-hand clothes shop.
Julie and Simon O’Grady
Like the Howards, the O’Grady’s were a couple with no shop experience. The first thing that the O’Grady’s did was to give the shop a much needed thorough clean and complete refurbishment, up-grading the fixtures and fittings and giving it a bright airy feel. During their time at the shop the O’Grady’s introduced several new ideas, including hot and cold snack food for early morning and lunch-time passers-by.
In 2005 the owner of the leased part of the shop complex applied for planning consent to develop the whole site for housing. To progress the development it would necessitate the purchase of the freehold part of the complex (the original shop and premises), fortunately for the village of Felbridge the O’Grady’s were unwilling to sell. As a result the outside wall of the original shop was reinstated by the O’Grady’s detaching them from the leased part of the shop and the former site of The Fabric Patch. The reinstatement of the wall reduced the size of the shop-floor by about a half but to overcome the lack of space the O’Grady’s began displaying their fruit and vegetables in front of the shop under a non-permanent tent/awning, freeing up much needed space inside the shop. However, shortly after this event the O’Grady’s decided, for the sake of their young family, to put the shop on the market and it was purchased as a going concern by Rushid Mustafa.
Rushid Mustafa
Rushid Mustafa took over The Village Shop in 2005 and within a short time of ownership he too was approached to sell up to make way for the proposed development of nine houses, but he also refused, stating it was a valuable asset to the community and that he would make every effort to ensure it remained in business. However, in 2007 the development proposal reared its head again but planning consent was refused.
To increase the shop floor area and provide storage space, planning consent was sort for a single storey rear extension to the shop. This was granted and for a short period of time the shop functioned as a much needed village shop. However, the projected sales were not forthcoming and to supplement the income several unsuccessful attempts were made to gain planning permission to convert the premises as an assortment of Take-Aways. With the fall off of sales The Village Shop eventually closed in February 2008, and remained closed until September 2009 when it re-opened under the ownership of Chetan Patel.
The Felbridge Village Store today
Chetan Patel
Chetan Patel purchased the shop in July 2009 and set about a complete refit and refurbishment, installing a new shop front incorporating security shutters. After several months work the shop finally re-opened at the end of August, with its official opening by Peter Ainsworth (MP for East Surrey) on Monday 7th September 2009.
The shop stocks a good selection of popular brands of everyday products such as groceries, confectionary, household items, frozen food, ice cream, alcohol, newspapers, magazines, greetings cards and stamps. It also sells many locally produced food items, such as breads and cakes from Fellows Bakery of Ardingly, free range meats and hand-made sausages from Osney Lodge Farm of Blindley Heath, and free range eggs from Chapel Farm of Surrey. There is also a good supply of fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables.
Other services offered include, colour and black and white photocopying, photo printing, passport photographs and fax facilities. There is also a free use cash machine within the store which also has the ability to top up mobile phones using a debit card. The shop also has a dry cleaning collection twice a day from Anthony Moore Dry Cleaners, a reputable local firm. With these services and the emphasis on customer service it is hoped that the shop will once again become a focal point for the Felbridge community.
Future services that Chetan Patel hopes to introduce include a lottery terminal and a Post Point that would enable residents to send letters and parcels nationally and internationally, with special delivery and recorded delivery available. A Paypoint terminal has been applied for that would allow household and general bills to be paid for by cash, as well as mobile phone e-top-ups and the London congestion charge. In this way the shop hopes to offer many of the services provided by the Post Office, something that has been missing from the village of Felbridge for a long time. The shop also hopes to offer free cash-back on purchases of £5 or over. It is also hoped that at some stage newspaper deliveries will be re-introduced, plus grocery deliveries for elderly residents in the area.
Today, the shop interior which is modern, clean, well-lit and well-stocked, continues to serve the shopping needs of the residents of Felbridge as it has done (for the majority of the time) since it originally opened over one hundred and thirty years ago.
Rowplatt Stores, Rowplatt Lane
The shop in Rowplatt Lane was opened by Charles Wheeler and his wife Dora née Pattenden in 1925.
Charles and Dora Wheeler
Charles (known as Charlie) Wheeler was born on 19th June 1891, the son of Thomas Wheeler and his wife Betsy Susannah née Baldwin [for further information see Handout, Wiremill, SJC 03/06]. Known siblings of Charles include, Frederick George born in 1890 and Emily Ellen born in 1895. Charlie Wheeler married Dora Jane Pattenden on 6th July 1919 at St John’s church, Felbridge.
Dora Pattenden was born in 1893, the youngest of six children born to Amos Pattenden and his wife and niece Jane Pattenden [for further information see Handout, Pattenden Family of Felbridge, SJC 07/01]. Known siblings of Dora’s include, Annie Sophia born in 1873, Alice born in 1875, Alfred John born in 1877, Arthur Ernest born in 1879, and Agnes Mary born in 1882 [for further information see Handout, Stained Glass of St John the Divine, SJC 07/02ii]. Charlie and Dora had three children, all born in Rowplatt Lane, Frederick born in 1920, Charles born in 1921 and Agnes born in 1923.
In 1959 Dora Wheeler began to compile a scrap book on Felbridge and in 1967 she wrote down the sequence of events leading up to the opening of their shop.
‘In 1912, we, the Pattenden family, bought the four old cottages, numbers 1,2,3,4 [Rowplatt Lane] for less than £600. There was then no other buildings in the lane and it was really only a cart track with a corn field on the left and Warren House Farm on the right.
About 1915 Major Inglis bought the land and began building the houses which he sold for £100 each, the first few. My parents [Amos and Jane Pattenden] lived in no. 3 of the old cottages. My husband’s parents [Thomas and Betsy Wheeler] had lived in no. 1 several years before and their children were born there.
When we married in 1919, number 4 became vacant and so we decided to purchase it from my brother for which we paid £200 including the land where 4A or The Ark now stands.
Number 4 had a lean-to room on the side and in 1925 we decided to start a small shop in it, and with £11 capital we bought a small set of scales and weights, board for shelving and counters and a small quantity of cigarettes and tobacco, sweets and some homemade marmalade. We gradually began to stock biscuits and mineral waters and eventually it was a full grocers shop including paraffin.
In 1929 my mother-in-law passed on and we had the shop enlarged and a room built over it for Grandad Wheeler [Thomas]. Progress still came our way and in 1933 we bought the News Agency of the village with 190 customers on the books and with help delivered papers twice a day in the area. Soon after, Hobbs Barracks were built in what was previously known as Goldards Wood and having got the custom when the troops came in our business increased considerably’.
From its humble begins, Wheeler’s Stores became the preferred shop to supply the allocation of provisions made under the Beef and Faggot Charity to the people of Felbridge who were chosen to benefit from the scheme. The Charity had been set up in 1793 by codicil of the will of James Evelyn of Felbridge Park, who made provision after his death (as he had done during his life) to enable the most needy of the Felbridge community to benefit from the provision of food and nutrition on a regular basis [for further details see Handout, Beef and Faggot Charity, SJC 03/03]. From the minute books for the charity in the 1930’s it is evident that the newly appointed vicar, Rev. Sidley, had concerns that there was no knowledge of the nature of groceries being supplied to the recipients of the grocery grants by Wheeler’s Stores who had been designated to supply the groceries. The Trustees also raised the question of what constituted the ‘necessities of life’ in the way of food and from the list of supplied provisions by Wheeler’s Stores it was apparent that the recipients had not always been purchasing items the Trustees considered necessities. It was decided that a list of nine items would be drawn up that constituted the ‘necessities of life’ in regard to food. This list was to be supplied to the recipients of the grocery grants stating that the vouchers issued to redeem the grocery grant could only be used to purchase items on the list. To ensure no further abuse of the system the list was also supplied to Wheeler’s Stores. This system continued until 1947 when the Trustees decided to discontinue issuing any new grants for groceries, unless already in receipt of the grant prior to 1945.
A photograph of Wheeler’s Stores taken in June 1937 shows a row of local newspaper lead-ins running to the shop front, and the shop windows display includes advertisements for Park Drive [cigarettes], Camp Coffee, Brook bond Tea and Zebo Grate Blacking. Outside the premises is a sign stating ‘You can telephone from here’. Two other photographs show the shop front with a couple of metal signs, one advertising Postage Stamps, the other Lyon’s [wording obscured but probably tea]. The window displays feature a huge selection of Carter’s seeds for flowers, fruits and vegetables at 4d a pack, reminding us that the people of Felbridge were still growing their own food stuffs and were not totally reliant upon shop bought green groceries. The Wheeler’s also had a series of post cards of local views of Felbridge produced that included a view down Rowplatt Lane from Crawley Down Road, a view looking towards the school across the Village Green at the junction of Crawley Down Road and Copthorne Road, Felbridge School and a view down Mill Lane towards Hedgecourt Lake.
In 1949 the Wheelers decided to sell the shop to Cyril T Smith and shortly afterwards the shop became known as Rowplatt Stores. As for the Wheelers they moved first to Brockworth in Crawley Down Road, from where they ran a small holding and continued to grow fruit and vegetables on a large scale, particularly rhubarb and green beans. In their later years Charlie and Dora bought the bungalow adjacent to Felbridge School called Cluden from Mr and Mrs Camden (see below) from where Charlie died in 1965 and Dora in 1972, both being buried at St John’s Church in Felbridge.
Cyril T Smith
Unfortunately with such a common surname it has proved impossible to determine any information on Cyril T Smith. However, a past resident of the Felbridge area who regularly used to shop at the stores always referred to him as ‘Gentleman Smith’ because of his demeanour, commenting that the shop was always clean and tidy, well ordered and well stocked. Cyril Smith was succeeded by Donald Smith, no relation.
Donald Frederick Smith
Donald Smith and his wife Eva Daisy took over the shop in Rowplatt Lane in about 1956/7. They had prior experience in the retail trade as they originally had a sweet and tobacconist shop in Liverpool, and then at Feltham, Middlesex, from where they had moved to Felbridge. Donald and Eva had two children, Derick, who at the time of moving to Felbridge was serving in Aden on National Service, and Anita Muriel.
Donald Smith suffered with his health, put down to the bad weather of the North West, and it was hoped that his health might improve living in the south but it never got any better, so he bought his son Derick out of the army to come home and help with the business.
To the rear of the dwelling and shop premises there was a very large garden that Derick Smith suspects may have been used as a small holding sometime before their arrival to Felbridge as it had several pig pens. The shop was run as a general store selling mainly groceries but also tobacco. Soon after their arrival Donald Smith acquired the franchise for the Pink Paraffin delivery service that served the whole of East Grinstead and surrounding area. Derick recalls, ‘I can remember filling one gallon cans every night in the garage that was attached to the side of the building, and when taking out my new girlfriend (now and still my wife) I used to stink of the dammed stuff’.
The Smith’s remained at the shop until 1959/60 when, due to family issues, the dwelling and shop premises were sold to Victor and Edna Shoubridge.
Victor and Edna Shoubridge
Victor and Edna Shoubridge were a local couple, although Victor had been born inLincolnshiremoving toEast Grinsteadas a small child. The retail experience came from Edna whose father ran a shop in Forest Row until his death. The shop in Rowplatt Lane that victor and Edna took over sold general groceries, sweets and cigarettes, and still held the paraffin franchise that had been acquired by Donald Smith. Edna ran the shop and Victor made all the deliveries.
By the early 1960’s the dwelling attached to the shop was beginning to look a little tired, and like several other properties in the Felbridge area, had a demolition order placed on it. The consequence of the order was that both the dwelling and shop premises had to be completely re-furbished or demolished. Victor and Edna decided that their best option was to close the shop and demolish the premises. Plans were drawn up in the summer of 1964 to build a detached house to the south of the old cottages (adjacent to Lyric Cottage) on land that had been an orchard, together with plans to build a pair of semi-detached houses on the site of the cottages and shop. On completion of the detached property Victor and Edna moved into the new house allowing the for demolition of the old cottages and shop, being replaced by a pair of semi-detached houses, thus ending nearly forty years of shopping in Rowplatt Lane.
Smith’s Green Grocer’s Shop and premises, 135, Crawley Down Road
The site of this shop had been part of the Felbridge Place estate and, like the site of The Felbridge Village Store, was also put up for auction in 1911 as part of Lot 20, being described as:
An Excellent
Enclosure of Freehold Land
Situate on the Crawley Down Road, Felbridge, East Grinstead, of about
0a. 3r. 32p.
of Pasture land
Valuable frontage of over 200 feet
toCrawley Down Road, and suitable for
One or More Houses
From one of the sale catalogues it is known that the plot of land sold for £50 to £70 and five houses were eventually built on it, including Smith’s Green Grocery Store. Nos. 133 and 135,Crawley Down Roadwere built in identical styles and were occupied by Mrs Smith senior and F Smith with nos. 137 and 139 very similar in style. However, Smith’s Green Grocery Stores (no.135) had a single storey extension to the left-hand side of the building that served as the shop premises, firstly a greenhouse lean-to that was later replaced by a brick built structure with a glazed door and bow-fronted window.
Again like the Cyril T Smith of Rowplatt Lane, it has proved almost impossible to find any accurate information about the Smith’s of 133 and 135, Crawley Down Road. It is locally believed that none of the three Smith families were related but it is assumed that Mrs Smith senior of 133, Crawley Down Road was F Smith’s mother. As for F Smith, from living memory it is believed he was named Frederick, known as Freddie Smith, a ‘typical cockney’. The majority of vegetables, (particularly tomatoes) that were sold in his shop had been grown by him on land just down the road on the site that is today occupied by Martin’s Nursery at the end of Ascott’s Lane. Apart from selling fruit and vegetables from the shop, Freddie Smith also used to make bicycle rounds of Felbridge selling his produce.
It has not yet been possible to determine when the green grocery shop opened but it was definitely operating from the mid 1930’s until at least the late 1980’s, although it has not yet been established when Freddie Smith retired from the shop. From local memory the shop was taken over by Cyril Smith sometime in the mid 1960’s and general grocery goods were eventually introduced, together with the Post Office which it took over after the raid on the original Felbridge Post Office at 31, Crawley Down Road, although the Post Office eventually returned to its former site (see above). It has not been possible to establish anything about Cyril Smith or determine any relationship with Cyril Smith of Rowplatt Stores (see above).
Again from local memory, Cyril Smith was succeeded at the grocery shop at 135, Crawley Down Road by Mr and Mrs Palmer sometime in the late 1970’s/early 1980’s, and by the mid 1980’s the shop was in the ownership of Paul and Debbie Burriss. Debbie ran the shop and Paul, who was a mechanic, operated his business from the garage at the side of the shop. However the shop ceased trading as a grocery store in the early 1990’s, operating first as an outlet for horse feed and related equipment, then selling children’s ware, both new and second-hand and finally as an outlet selling crystals for health and well-being.
By the late 1990’s the shop had ceased trading altogether and was converted as additional living space for the attached dwelling, and in 2001 was put on the market described as:
Extended detached 3 Bedroom home with useful Family Room
A detached chalet style property with additional accommodation to one side previously used as the village shop and further benefitting from double glazing and a large rear garden backing onto farmland situated in sought after location. Containing: Entrance porch, entrance hall, kitchen/breakfast room, three bedrooms, bathroom, former shop, garage/stockroom, first floor living room, large garden, double glazing, gas central heating.
After being on the market for a couple of years the property sold and the chalet bungalow and former single storey shop were converted as a two storey dwelling now known as Chelsea House, the original property being totally unrecognisable.
Hannah’s Stores, 4, Crawley Down Road
During the 1930’s and 40’s the property now known as Cluden, adjacent to Felbridge School on Crawley Down Road was a shop known as Hannah’s Stores, selling general household goods, groceries, green groceries, sweets and second-hand furniture, the latter stored in the back garden and at a depository at Wilbess in Furnace Wood.
Hannah’s Stores takes its name from the owner, Elizabeth Hannah, who ran the business with Cecil Filtness who was nick-named Fagin by the local school children. Elizabeth Hannah was born Elizabeth Peatman in 1897, her birth being registered in Ecclesham, on the boundary between Derby and Yorkshire. In the summer of 1919 Elizabeth Peatman married Alexander Hannah in Scarborough, West Yorkshire. In the 1930’s, when Elizabeth was living in the Felbridge area, there was no Mr Hannah and she was known locally as Miss Hannah. On this basis it is assumed that Alexander Hannah must have died some time before the early 1930’s but with no further information on him this cannot be proved conclusively; although it is most likely that he died in 1929 in West Derby. However, several other potential candidates appear in the death index.
From local memories, Elizabeth Hannah also had another shop that was situated opposite the Star Inn where she displayed her wares in a shop window but it has not yet been established whether this preceded the shop in Crawley Down Road or whether it was run concurrently with it. However, in 1945 Elizabeth Hannah, Cecil J Filtness and Dorothy Hall (assumed locally to be Elizabeth’s sister but not proven) appear in the electoral roll, living at the shop in Crawley Down Road.
A former pupil ofFelbridgeSchooland former resident of Furnace Wood writes of Hannah’s Stores adjacent toFelbridgeSchool:
Miss Hannah, Dorothy and Fagin kept a grocers and hardware shop next to the school. They dealt in second-hand furniture, some of which was stored in an open shed parallel to the school fence. We used to climb up and see what the latest purchases were.
The best part was the sweetie counter, some of which never came back after the war years.
Gob stoppers (of course), Lollypops, Owl’s eyes (which we had to take out of our mouths to see what colour it was next), Jungle bars (a long reddish/brown chewy bar with nuts and things in), Sherbet Dabs, Floral Gums (very small gums with floral flavours), Alphabet Letters, Liquorice novelties (including boot laces), Dolly Mixtures and Black Jacks (which were 4 for 1d, otherwise a farthing each), and Lemonade Powder (which dyed tongues, mouths and fingers). These are just a few delights of Miss Hannah’s shop, not forgetting ½d bars of Cadbury’s milk chocolate equal to 1oz. Sweetie Cigarettes and Tobacco strands were also in vogue.
In 1949 Elizabeth and Cecil James Filtness (who had been born in 1899) married and shortly after moved to Spring Gardens, Copthorne, where Elizabeth died in 1954 at the age of fifty-seven being buried at St John’s Church, Felbridge. Cecil died twenty-seven years later in 1981, aged, eighty-two.
Todd’s Shop, Brockworth, Crawley Down Road
A local resident remembers that a small enterprise, Mr Todd (first name possibly Tim, but not yet verified) sold home grown produce from his extensive market garden attached to Brockworth on the southern side of Crawley Down Road, now the site of Wheelers Way. The produce was sold from a shed on the premises and he also stocked sweets and lemonade. To supplement his home grown produce, Mr Todd would also go up to Covent Garden and bring back more exotic fruits such as oranges and bananas.
For local residents, especially the children, Mr Todd’s shed had the advantage that it was open in the evenings when the other shops were closed. It is also remembered that, like Freddie Smith (see above), Mr Todd also made rounds of the local Felbridge area selling his fruit and vegetables, but instead of a bicycle he used a van.
Mr Todd moved to Brockworth when Charlie and Dora Wheeler sold up and moved to Cluden, adjacent to Felbridge School (see above). Mr Todd eventually sold the site for development in **** .
Summary
It has been established, from surviving records, documents and the memories of the residents of Felbridge that the village has had a grocery or provisions store since at least 1841 and probably as early as 1837. Sometime between 1871 and 1881 a new shop opened that included a Post Office and grocery store that later expanded to include a butchers and bakery.
By the 1920’s Felbridge was being developed as a consequence of the break up and sale of the Felbridge Place estate, and the population was on the rise. In 1925 the Post Office faced its first competition when a grocery shop was opened in Rowplatt Lane. This was followed by the opening of a green grocers on Crawley Down Road, opposite the end of Rowplatt Lane, a general store and sweet shop adjacent to the school, and a small enterprise selling home-grown fruit and vegetables and a few non-essentials like sweets and lemonade further down Crawley Down Road.
Over the years these retail outlets flourished and waned and today, the only shop still in operation in the village of Felbridge is the one on the site of the Post Office, although now greatly extended as a group of retail units. However, the original shop floor still serves the local Felbridge community with groceries and provisions, as well as newspapers, magazines and other essential modern life requirements such as cash withdrawal facilities and mobile phone top-up services.
Bibliography
Census records, 1841, 8151, 8161, 8171, 1881, 1891, 1901, 1911
IGI
Ancestry.co.uk
Handout, Harts Hall, SJC 07/05, FHWS
Handout Eating and Drinking Establishments of Felbridge Pt. II, JIC/SJC 03/08, FHWS
Saunders/Gatty conveyance, 1862, Box 3151, SHC
A Dictionary of old trades, titles and occupations, by C Waters
Kelly’s Directory, 1887 – 1891,
Handout, Memorial Carvings and Statues of St John the Divine, Felbridge, SJC 07/02iv, FHWS
Handout, More Biographies from the churchyard of St John the Divine, Estate workers of the Gatty family, SJC 11/03, FHWS
Felbridge Parish Registers, FHA
Handout, Bingham family of Felbridge, SJC 01/05, FHWS
Handout, Eating and Drinking Establishments of Felbridge, Pt. IV, SJC 03/10, FHWS
Kelly’s Directory, 1913
Newspaper article, EGO, 25/9/69, FHA
Handout, Clayton’s Ancient Enclosure, JIC/SJC 05/10, FHWS
Documented memories of V and J Chittenden, FHA
It’s sew easy, Local newspaper article, 1999, FHA
Minutes of FPC, FHA
Around Felbridge, Local newspaper article, 10/09/09, FHA
The Felbridge Village Store, RH19 Magazine article, FHA
Handout, Wiremill, SJC 03/06, FHWS
Handout, Pattenden Family of Felbridge, SJC 07/01, FHWS
Handout, Stained Glass of St John the Divine, SJC 07/02ii, FHWS
Mrs Wheeler’s Scrap Book, 1967, FHA
Handout, Beef and Faggot Charity, SJC 03/03, FHWS
Felbridge Place sale catalogue, 1911, FHA
Local newspaper article, 22/08/01, FHA
Documented memories of E Webber, FHA
Documented memories of M Jones, FHA
Electoral Roll, 1945, ER CC802/56a/3/1, SHC
Grateful thanks are extended to the Derick Smith and Ann Shoubridge for information on Rowplatt Stores, Edna Webber for information on Freddie Smith’s Green Grocery and Mr Todd’s market garden and shop, Jean Fox for information on the Felbridge Post Office/Village Shop and Freddie Smith’s Green Grocery Shop, Marion Jones for information on Hannah’s Stores, and Chetan Patel for information on The Felbridge Village Store.
Texts of all Handouts referred to in this document can be found on FHG website; www.felbridge.org.uk
SJC 07/10ii