vicar of Sidlesham
Publications
Sidlesham Past and Present, by Rev. H. W. Haynes, published 1946 (145 pp., Brighton: Southern Publishing Co. Ltd.) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2841][Lib 8257][Lib 17951] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
Review by L. F. [L. Fleming] in Sussex Notes and Queries, May 1947:There has been contention between the neighbouring territories for the paramountcy of Pagham Harbour. The historian of Selsey, the late Edward Heron Allen, was able to show cause for inclusion in his work of a valuable chapter on that area, to be followed now by the historian of Sidlesham, who states that, when the tract was enclosed from the sea, 196 acres were regarded as in Sidlesham, 428 acres in Selsey, and 68 acres in Pagham. There had been more serious rivalry between the ports of Pagham and of Sidlesham, who owed allegiance the one to the Archbishop of Canterbury and the other to the Bishop of Chichester. Our author quotes an amusing example and might have given further instances of this interesting phase in the history of Sidlesham.
Sea traffic thus gave Sidlesham its early importance, and allied with this was a milling industry of which the sign to modern times was the large brick-built mill which Mr. Haynes describes. I remember exploring its huge deserted floors a year or two before it was demolished and may add a few particulars and a minor correction. The Sussex Daily News recorded on 16th August 1919 that Sidlesham Mill was "in the process of demolition . . . for the sake of the splendid bricks with which it was built in 1755, which were brought all the way from Caen in France. Mr. Charles Cook Dendy, who was proprietor of the mill about a century ago, made a fortune of £100,000 from it. He was followed by several other millers, among them being Mr. John Kiln, who had the mill for about 15 years. It was he who had the water wheel at the west end superseded by a steam engine, which was installed by Mr. Rusbridge, father of the present Mr. Alfred Rusbridge, of the Apiary, Sidlesham, the well-known bee-keeping expert."
The sea still gives eminence to Sidlesham, bringing to her confines rare sea birds, study of whose ways gives delight to many, but Mr. Haynes is no naturalist and does not claim to guide their observations.
The plan of Sidlesham Church recalls the associations of the neighbourhood with early Christianity in these islands, and the fabric is lovingly described. The brief facts are fascinating enough, not needing adornment with legendary tales of St. Wilfrid. Of ancient remains, besides, Sidlesham seems to boast not any.
But Mr. Haynes really warms to his subject when he describes doings and developments in his thirteen years' cure. He justly records his triumph in bringing Old Tom Edbury back to church, and if the Land Settlers became part of the life of Sidlesham, a great deal of the credit seems to have been due to the Vicar. In this section of the book, many facts are put on record that will be of interest to present residents and of value to future enquirers.
The author admits to lack of time for original research. But when a great movement is afoot to preserve local records, and when central repositories are being organised to make them more accessible, any topographer may reasonably be expected to illustrate the nature of such memorials, and at least to indicate the contribution they make to elucidation of the local story. The author admits, too, that his essay is scrappy and incomplete ; while admiring his candour, the reader will not gainsay the self-condemnation. Nevertheless, he may, from the facts to be patiently gathered in these pages, when rearranged in his mind, form a picture of Sidlesham through the centuries; and formulate a theme controlling the lives of its dwellers, against a background of the fertile fields yearning for the sea.
Sea traffic thus gave Sidlesham its early importance, and allied with this was a milling industry of which the sign to modern times was the large brick-built mill which Mr. Haynes describes. I remember exploring its huge deserted floors a year or two before it was demolished and may add a few particulars and a minor correction. The Sussex Daily News recorded on 16th August 1919 that Sidlesham Mill was "in the process of demolition . . . for the sake of the splendid bricks with which it was built in 1755, which were brought all the way from Caen in France. Mr. Charles Cook Dendy, who was proprietor of the mill about a century ago, made a fortune of £100,000 from it. He was followed by several other millers, among them being Mr. John Kiln, who had the mill for about 15 years. It was he who had the water wheel at the west end superseded by a steam engine, which was installed by Mr. Rusbridge, father of the present Mr. Alfred Rusbridge, of the Apiary, Sidlesham, the well-known bee-keeping expert."
The sea still gives eminence to Sidlesham, bringing to her confines rare sea birds, study of whose ways gives delight to many, but Mr. Haynes is no naturalist and does not claim to guide their observations.
The plan of Sidlesham Church recalls the associations of the neighbourhood with early Christianity in these islands, and the fabric is lovingly described. The brief facts are fascinating enough, not needing adornment with legendary tales of St. Wilfrid. Of ancient remains, besides, Sidlesham seems to boast not any.
But Mr. Haynes really warms to his subject when he describes doings and developments in his thirteen years' cure. He justly records his triumph in bringing Old Tom Edbury back to church, and if the Land Settlers became part of the life of Sidlesham, a great deal of the credit seems to have been due to the Vicar. In this section of the book, many facts are put on record that will be of interest to present residents and of value to future enquirers.
The author admits to lack of time for original research. But when a great movement is afoot to preserve local records, and when central repositories are being organised to make them more accessible, any topographer may reasonably be expected to illustrate the nature of such memorials, and at least to indicate the contribution they make to elucidation of the local story. The author admits, too, that his essay is scrappy and incomplete ; while admiring his candour, the reader will not gainsay the self-condemnation. Nevertheless, he may, from the facts to be patiently gathered in these pages, when rearranged in his mind, form a picture of Sidlesham through the centuries; and formulate a theme controlling the lives of its dwellers, against a background of the fertile fields yearning for the sea.
Sidlesham Tidal Mill, by H. W. Haynes, published May 1947 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. XI no. 6, note, p.133) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8229][Lib 2210] & The Keep [LIB/500213] & S.A.S. library