Felpham remains set on retaining its village status

This year I have included a section on Felpham because of the interest shown by visitors '“ the irony is that the village is in fact older than Bognor.

To qualify as a village, there should be a pub, a church, small shops, history and 'picturesque cottages'.

So far so good, as Felpham has all of these.

One of the first problems, however, is how to pronounce the name of the village. Is it Fel-p-ham or Fel'“ f '“am?

According to Place names of Sussex there were many mentions of the place, which appeared to mean 'fallow-enclosure'. One report in 1575 spelled it 'Phelpham'.

I am sure that these discussions will continue well into the future. It appears in the Domesday Book as Felcheham and was described as a 'pleasant village and parish in the Western division of the country'.

According to the 1882 Sussex Directory, it shows that Flansham and Ankton (or Ancton) are hamlets belonging to Felpham.

In 1882 the commercial part of the village records a grocer, shoemaker and post office, gardener, farmers, blacksmith, shopkeeper, miller, butcher and various licensed premises '“ Fox, George, and Brewer's Arms.

Census returns also provide interesting reading '“ in 1851 the population of the village was 479, with 92 occupied homes and just one unoccupied building.

By the 1990s, the population had risen to about 9,000.

The church is still the heart of the village and has been depicted on numerous postcards. On one from 1907 is written 'this is where Ref Talbot is now'. It was addressed to Haywards Heath.

In the Domesday Survey of 1086, a church was mentioned within the village, but this possible wooden construction has long since been lost to be replaced by today's building.

Felpham Church commenced around 1100 and has had many extensions and additions. Today, the centre of the village is busy and a written history of the church is available at the church.

Another interesting postcard is one of the blacksmith's gravestone '“ I find it quite bizarre to send a postcard of a gravestone home to your family '“ what memories of a holiday!

There is of course an incredible amount of history in the village but people also make it notable.

The most infamous resident was William Blake, who arrived in 1800 when he was commissioned by William Hayley to decorate his library.

The famous case when William Blake was put on trial for sedition took place in Chichester in 1803. Upon his acquittal, Blake moved back to London.

Pictures of his Felpham cottage '“ Rose Cottage '“ are shown on websites and in books, which add to the interest visitors show in the village.

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The cottage today, known as Blake's Cottage, is privately-owned and not open to the public.

Cottages, while not quite so evident today after years of new construction, can still be found, but perhaps they would not quite evoke the message sent to Beckenham on a postcard in 1912 which said '˜this would suit you A1 down here there are such a lot of old thatch cots with grass growing on the roofs.'

If you take the time to look there are many cottages remaining, with names and appearances that continue to reinforce our perspective of a village environment.

Some of the cottages had such idyllic names as Pear Tree, Lavenham Cottage, and Vine Cottage. Many of these cottages are also listed buildings.

In 1929 there was a report in the local paper which talked about a '˜year of progress'.

It remarks that Felpham was moving from a sleepy hollow to an increasingly up-to-date seaside suburb.

Another remark in this article would seem to remain true today, whereby '˜several local organisations were forging ahead '“ and that the ratepayers are starting to take an intelligent interest in matters that vitally concern them'.

Today this would be the parish council, which is still concerned with the village and its people.

Village ale houses have changed considerably over the years both in the range of items they sell and their clientele, but they still serve visitors and residents alike.

The George started out as an alehouse known as the St George and Dragon in 1705, however this disappeared and eventually The George came into existence around 1832.

The Fox, with its unusual inn sign, has a long history, dating back to the 1790s.

The Thatched House dates from 1842. The Brewers Arms was demolished in 1924 to be replaced by the Southdown Hotel. Eventually the Barn in Felpham opened in 1972 and this was originally an old flint building that had been converted into a private residence in 1920.

There was once an alehouse, named The Hero of the Nile, which was on the site of the present post office.

Visitors have come to the area for a variety of reasons, not least the children who arrived to stay at the Sunshine Home situated in the buildings opposite today's Felpham Bazaar.

In 1912 one child wrote on their card sent to Surrey that they had counted 14 windmills on their train journey '“ such excitement and to stay near the sea as well.

As mentioned earlier, many things make up a village, and Felpham still retains many of these facets of village life.

The people who are involved in many of the groups, councils etc. are still all working towards generating the '˜feel of a village'.

Many of the groups in the village are also pressing ahead with conservation and preservation of the village and their work should be applauded.

Today many of the villagers open their gardens to visitors, during a set weekend and, of course, the resident artists have their own open days to exhibit their work.

Many visitors in the last century recorded on their cards that they would '˜take a walk into Bognor' or '˜we are going out for the day to Bognor'.

Visitors still arrive to see the sea, but also to enjoy the village atmosphere of an area mentioned in the Domesday Book, sitting next to the more famous Bognor Regis.

Long may it continue.