Low-lying pasture land, once ancient woodland where iron was forged, has been transformed into today’s dynamic, modern community. continued from previous page
such as schools, a neighbourhood centre and medical facilities. This new community was to be known as Maidenbower, which was quite lucky for today’s residents because the other name that could have been used to describe the area was Frogshole. One thinks that houses might not have sold quite so easily on Frogshole estate. Maidenbower and Frogshole were the two principal farms in the area selected by the planners. The latter, though not chosen as the title of the new development, has become a well-frequented local hostelry: Frogshole Farm pub. Sadly, much of the old 16thcentury building was destroyed by fire in 2008 but a number of the original features such as the large inglenook fireplace remain. Situated in the heart of the community, the now rebuilt pub with its beautiful half-timbered front is extremely popular and recently its pub garden was voted the best in Crawley. From top: The old Frogshole Farm; Frogshole Farm 1969; Railway Line Worth; Worth Rectory Lodge 1908.
Maidenbower as a name first appears on maps in the 1700s when the land was part of the Crabbet Park Estate. It was owned by the apparently delightfully eccentric Lady Wentworth, who had inherited it from her father, Sir Wilfred Scawen Blunt, who had brought the first Arabian horses to England. Lady Wentworth was passionate about two things: her Arabian horse stud and Real Tennis, and in 1916 she employed one Geoffrey Covey as stud manager and tennis coach. He was world champion at the sport and, in fact, went on to win the world title three more times after coming to Crabbet. Part of his duties there involved two hours of coaching a day for Lady Wentworth in the specially built Real Tennis court. She styled herself as ladies’ Real Tennis champion; during coaching sessions, nobody was allowed into the spectators’ gallery. Lady Wentworth ultimately rewarded her stud manager and coach with the gift of Maidenbower Farm, which included the derelict Frogshole farm buildings. It was a modest enough gift because the quality of the farmland was poor. However, when the land was compulsorily purchased in 1986, three grandchildren of Geoffrey Covey who were now the owners, received what is thought to be a substantial amount of money for their property. Not a bad reward for a few tennis lessons! One measure of how successful the Maidenbower development has been is given by the growth of the school population. Maidenbower First School opened its doors to only 13 pupils in January 1992; now there are at least 2,000 children attending Maidenbower’s infant, primary, junior and senior schools. Maidenbower’s construction was completed largely on schedule by the turn of the century. Now, 26 years after the first sod was turned, the low-lying pasture land which was once ancient woodland where iron was forged, has been transformed into today’s dynamic, modern community.
In writing about Maidenbower and its history, I drew heavily on ‘A Brief History of Maidenbower’, the historical research conducted by David Palmer, which can be found at www.maidenbower.org.uk, and on conversations with several of Maidenbower’s friendly residents.
64
S u ss e x L i v i n g May 2014
www.sussexliving.com