Then, on the corner, was Ivy Cottage , pictured right,
which still stands, and at the north end of Mill Lane the sweeps of the great tower corn mill
would have been confidently rotating. To the south of the Green, obliquely to the road, stood
one of the larger buildings, the old Poor House, then still accommodating some aged widows, though
its main role had long been superseded by the Union at Westhampnett. The present Roseland appears
to occupy part of the site.
Near to this we would have seen the cottages of Burch Row, dominated by th esplendid timber-framed and thatched structure lived in by George Burch, his wife and four children.
This is now intriguingly called Friars Oak and Friars Oak Cottage (left).
As we set off, avoiding horse and cattle dung, and walk eastward along the Street,
surfaced with soil and stone just like Mill Lane today, the first two buildings to our
left would be familiar to us -Yew Tree and Fir Tree cottages; and then would follow the
refreshing openness of two large fields and part of a meadow. Immediately after this we
would reach a brand new house, Elm Cottage, built in 1892 by John Humphrey to put an end
to living over the shop. Adjacent to this cottage there was the old Kennels Cottage and
then the rest of the group, dominated by Humphrey's hugely expanded business under its
triple-eaved roofs, at once Grocer, Draper and Butcher, in a position which might seem to
us surprisingly un-central. These are now Bay Tree Cottages.
Meanwhile on our right hand we would have seen only one building since leaving the
Green - Barrack Row. This had been called so only once, in the 1871 Census, and was
divided into six dwellings for agricultural labourers and their families. It was thatched
at that time, and the name in fact probably has no military significance. It was quite
often used in the countryside to describe a terrace of workers' houses.
To the east of these cottages was one large field followed by the
Pound where
stray cattle, sheep, pigs and goats were impounded.
Immediately adjacent to this was the only surviving in-village farm, owned at that time
by Thomas Ewens. Most other similar farms had by then been moved out into their
consolidated field holdings. Although this farm has now totally disappeared, it is still
commemorated by the house name Barn Ends.
Across the Street (to the north and next to the shop) was then, as now, Pear Tree
Cottage, which was three dwellings; but the shape, and the pretty well in front of it,
would have been familiar to us. The well serves to remind us of crucial things. For
instance, there was no piped water in the village until 1910. This installation would
probably have been followed by the metalling of the Street, though the modern amenity of
piped gas was due to arrive shortly after our imaginary stroll (in 1901).