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About Findon
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The Findon Valley Residents' Association is a charity registered in England and Wales: 267009
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Two aspects of Findon Valley By David Morgan
Please click on any photo to enlarge. Cissbury Ring, as we all will know, was an Iron Age hill fort. But evidence of mankind’s activities dating from well before the fort was built (i.e. from more than 5000 years ago) has been identified in the form of flint mines located both within and adjacent to the Ring. These flints formed an important part of early Britain’s trading economy, and traces of them have been found all over Europe and “Asia Minor”. When Worthing Golf Club Ltd. was formed in 1903, included within the land it purchased was Cissbury Ring and the beech copse immediately to the south, the “Cissbury Plantation”. In 1935 ownership of this land was transferred to The National Trust. Cissbury Plantation is typical of many such “Plantations” to be found all along the north scarp of the South Downs. All are a product of Victorian rural ideology. Most recently, Cissbury Ring now forms part of the South Downs National Park.
Please click on any photo to enlarge. It is widely assumed that The Gallops (The Valley’s “dog-walkers paradise”) is owned by Worthing Borough Council. One of our contributors believes that this is not the case, and that this land is still owned by the trust that created it. We are all fortunate in that the land between Bost Hill and the coppice to the south is maintained by Worthing Borough Council as a “public open space”. This contributor was told twenty years ago that, in 1933, and alarmed by the then proposed residential development of The Valley, a benefactress created a trust whereby this land “was maintained in perpetuity for the purpose of exercising horses”. Those of us fortunate enough to “back on” to The Gallops can confirm that the sound of galloping hooves continues to be heard. A few years ago, Worthing Borough Council tried to introduce a bye-law whereby there would be “No Cycling” on The Gallops. Pretty silly that, when you consider the comparative dangers posed by a young person riding a bicycle, and that same young person controlling a galloping horse. In the event, the FVRA’s reasoning prevailed. The Gallops now forms part of the South Downs National Park. Photos courtesy of www.geograph.org.uk Click here to return to 'Did you know?' index. Click here to top of page.
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