Urban Crawl

Well while I've got every other Friday off for a few weeks [one client has temporarily stopped due to the current situation] I might as well take it as a positive and a chance to enjoy myself. Keeping it local I stepped out of my front door and walked across town to an area where I used to live up until 1996. Lots more to see than I remembered being there!

This cemetery is now full and hasn't been used in a long time. It sits rather forlornly just off from the town centre with an air of neglect. The Victorian tombstones are covered in ivy and most people just walk on by oblivious that it's even there. I was one of them and had never visited it until about 15 years ago. However, its air of neglect is carefully managed as it operates as an important refuge for the local wildlife and there are many wild flowers to be seen in the warmer months. On a previous occasion there was a fox curled up in the farthest corner....I don't know which one of us was most surprised! For me it's somewhere to escape to when in need of a bit of peace and calm. The sunshine coming through the branches filled me with delight.

One of the many building/renovation projects happening at the moment. One of the old pubs that closed a few years ago along with a former bakery is being converted into dwellings. This "new" wall has recently been built reusing many of the bricks from the properties. I like the salvage aspect to it...not everyone likes the effect of it. Ah well you can't please all of the people all of the time.

Now what I really do like is the wavy form of the railings around the New Street Gardens. This little green space was set up ostensibly for the local residents to enjoy [anyone can go in though] and maintain as part of the Living Spaces project in 2005. Being Winter it's not perhaps at its most glorious, but as you can see it wasn't without interest, although I hadn't anticipated seeing narcissi so early! At one point the council rather thought that they might like to reclaim the land and build upon it, but thankfully people protested loudly and the idea got shelved.

This door panel on the pub across the way really showed up when the sunlight hit it. It made me think of the colours you get when you pour oil on water.

 

Just as well a] I was on foot and b] I don't drive a mini.......😆

Now on the final leg I passed my old sixth form college. This lovely redbrick building dates from 1892 [designed by Arthur Vernon], but the establishment of the school of Richard Collyer has been around 1532. Richard Collyer was a mercer who lived in the town. The terms of his will stated that a free school for 60 boys should be set up and now it is the fourth oldest school in Sussex. Amazingly the Mercers Company are still the trustees. It was the boys grammar school until becoming a mixed sixth form in 1976. I only wish I could tell you who the carved Queen above the door is or what the wooden shields above the windows are, but I'm afraid I don't know. However, I've put out a request for information so I shall update the post if I do!

Arilx