LOOKING ALONG MANOR CLOSE, FELPHAM

AN INDIVIDUAL PERSPECTIVE BY JANE SUMMERVILLE,

CHAIR

Of Felpham Village Conservation Society

In this picture taken in the 1960s, on Felpham Road, opposite the entrance to Manor Close, Colonel Philip Catt (formerly of the Scots Guards and appointed Knight of Justice, Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John), stands outside the front door to Lavender Cottage, one of three thatched homes in that immediate area of the village. In the top right-hand corner of the photograph, a window can just be seen on the side of the flat above what was Mr and Mrs Richardson’s bicycle and knitting wool shops, now the funeral directors.

Opposite Lavender Cottage, where Philip lived with his wife, Ianthe, and on the corner with Manor Close, there was the pharmacy, then owned by Arthur James, next to which was an opticians (now the barbers and tattoo parlour) run by Arthur’s son, known as Jimmy, and Barclays Bank (now the opticians), one of three banks in Felpham village, at the time. The village school was next to the bank.

Walking down (or up?) Manor Close which largely comprises houses built between the two world wars, Philip Catt would often have seen local resident, Violet Hudson (known as Tommy) whose pretty cottage had a lovely garden where she was often found, if not baking her wholemeal bread or walking to the village in her hat and cape. Manor Close was also home to the Vanderbyles and, it is said, their butler would have announced your arrival for drinks which he then adeptly served. Dodie Pollet, too, lived in Manor Close, an active, amateur operatic singer. One house in Manor Close, with an old flint wall at its boundary to the rear, had a water pump in the garden which had been for a local well.

The two islands in Manor Close were tree covered and led up to the twitten which takes those on foot to the Grove. A prominent sign stated “No Cycling” by order of Bognor Regis Urban District Council. Once in the Grove, one was a hop and skip away from the Manor House in Limmer Lane which then had extensive grounds and an orchard opposite the house, home to Colonel and Mrs Goddard, the latter being sister to Ianthe Catt where this article began.

In the grounds of the Manor House, the Goddards hosted the annual village Fête, now run by Felpham Village Conservation Society and a host of volunteers, in the Old Rectory Gardens. Saturday 8th July 2023 is a date for your diary, for this year’s Summer Fête. We hope to see you there.

To find out more about Felpham Village Conservation Society, see: https://felphamvillageconservation.co.uk