A Sunday Stroll

With Saturday spent working in The Big Smoke it was good to get out and stretch out the little hobbit legs on Sunday. We didn't venture far...just up the road from GBT, but it's been yonks since we last followed this route. Only three miles, but far enough for tired souls to be revived and sufficient time for me to winkle out the goodies I like😊

Warnham is a pretty little Sussex village with lots of classic Wealden houses. There were lots I could have chosen, but this one with the tiny window and the vase full of green alkanet won me over.

This rather huge pottery chap hangs high up on a wall. Although I work here every week and drive through I've never noticed it before. At first glance I had high hopes that it might be a greenman, but I think the crab and seaweed locks rather points more towards a Poseidon type chap.

Being generally of the long pockets and short armed disposition I made sure I closed the bleeding gate for I had not forty shillings about my person. [The owner was there and kindly let me take a photo]

Continuing away from the village it took us along a picturesque green lane which runs above the main road. Along the embankments the next wave of wild flowers are starting to appear and the trees are donning their Spring mantels.  Yellow Archangel [one of the ancient woodland indicators], Ground Ivy, May blossom, Sycamore [I'm pretty rubbish at identifying trees at the moment, but hopefully I should be able to recognise this one again when I next see it] and the gorgeous curly-wurly unfurling of Bracken fronds.

Then we took a hanger right through the local deer park with a quick nose through the farm gate to take a gander at the ancient crooked barn.

This is what Mr GBT quite accurately referred to as a Stag Party....except quite literally this time. We couldn't see any does or fauns so assume they are being kept elsewhere on the estate. The gate at the far end of the park used to be called a Cuckoo gate in Sussex, but most of us would know it by its more familiar Kissingate name. Not telling whether I puckered up for the Old Man or not😉

Back along the final stretch the parish church appears above the tree line. As we cut through the churchyard I noticed this unusual brick grave. Given that there's a brickworks nearby a little bit of digging has confirmed that the deceased was the Managing Director. As for the wooden, engraved headstone...I've never seen the like. Presumably it was down to it being a cheaper option than stone. Sadly Emma Holden was only 39 when she died.

This huge chunk of Horsham stone sits out the front of the church and is the old tithe stone. I couldn't for the life of me work out how it would have been used, but my Dad explained that the tithe was a tenth of your income or what you produced. I'm guessing it could have been anything from actual money to bushels of wheat. It must have had a hugely negative impact upon those who were barely making ends meet.  Unsurprisingly the system was very unpopular and eventually withdrawn.

Aside from yesterday's discovery of St Margaret of Antioch carelessly standing on a dragon, my other main find was this rather OTT memorial to the Caryll family who were 15th century Squires and paid for one of the chapels. I have often wondered why the children are depicted rather gruesomely carrying skulls. Only recently did I read that it signifies that the child died in infancy. This family lost more than half of their little ones.

Let's not finish on a gloomy note though. Hard not to fall in love with these fallow deer!

All done ramble and ramblings complete!

Arilx