of about 200. Singleton is just 6 miles from the nearest city - Chichester, which is the county town of
West Sussex. The village is very old and has a church dating back to the 12th century. The village is
not very far from the south coast of England and has some very beautiful parts to it. Come and see a
little bit of that beauty...
Walking through the village, this beautiful little
thatched cottage is right on the corner of the main
through-road. When I was a child, I use to think
how lovely it would be to live in a house with a
straw roof.
This would be the first thing you might see if you
entered the village by road from either of the two
nearest towns of Chichester or Midhurst.
On the other side of the road across from the
bridge. There is a flag pole on the green, which
has a flag with a red-cross with white-field hoisted
above it on 23 April - the day of England's Patron
Saint - St George.
This used to be the home of my Sunday School
teacher (Pansy Wells), who used to teach us
every week in the village hall. Sadly, she has now
passed away, and her house is occupied by
newcomers to the village.
The beautiful little church is about 700 years old.
When I was growing up, the church was called "St
John The Evangelist", but it was discovered, about
20 years ago, that there had been some error in
the records, and the original name of "The
Blesséd Virgin Mary" has been restored.
Just 3 miles away from Singleton, here is
another beautiful little village. It gives its name to
the river that runs through Singleton.
This is a photo of Cowdray Park, in Midhurst, 6
miles to the north of Singleton. When I was a
small boy, Lord Cowdray, who only had one arm,
used to be amongst those titled members of the
gentry who used to shoot for pheasants, on Lord
Henry Benson's estate, aptly named "Drovers",
about 1 mile north of Singleton. I used to earn
my money each weekend - with many other boys
& girls from the surrounding villages, "beating". I
saved up enough money to buy a bicycle, and
once even enough to fly to Italy one school
Summer holidays when I was about 12!
This is what makes Chichester a city - it has one
of only two cathedrals in the county. The other is
in Arundel, St Philip's, about 25 miles to the east
of Chichester.
Copyright owner, Malcolm Simmonds.