Death, Dentures and Deceit...Exposing the Underbelly of an Outwardly Respectable Town.

Death:
On Chantry Green one poor John Laundry was burnt at the stake for refusing to renounce his Protestantism under the rule of Bloody Mary on 23rd July 1555.

Dentures:

I can only imagine that this particular set of gnashers were either incorporated into the wall whilst it was being built or shortly after its completion. I gather from extensive online research that there is actually another set and a power ranger set into the cement of the very same wall.

Deceit:

There is a gravestone which reads much as any other but things are not always what they seem. William Cowerson died on 21st February 1832. Stonemason by day but smuggler by night he met an untimely death at the age of 31 when he was shot at close range by a customs man. Not in cold blood for he had just broken the other chap's arm and his gang were mid way through a raid. Not all of the gin and other contraband was recovered....one wonders if some of it was stashed away quietly in the stone sided coffins, as in Arundel and retrieved at a later date when the coast was clear.

The list goes on.....lesbian love affairs, black magic..... If you are ever in these neck of the woods do go on the Steyning Scandals Walk and Talk by Dr Janet Pennington who will give you the full tasty run down. I hasten to add that I have not replicated the content of her talk as I have no wish to steal her work...she is after all the one who's done all the research.

Arilx