Midhurst walk on 19th April 2023

With the laudable wish to support Midhurst whilst it suffers from the effect of the fire in the Angel Hotel, Pauline had a very well researched walk around the town. We started from the Grange car park and passed the 17th C Bricklayers Arms on our way to North Street. The damage to the Angel Hotel and adjacent buildings was very sad to see. It was originally built as a coaching Inn in the 17th C and where the Pilgrim Fathers stayed before setting off for America. The current frontage is 19th C. Opposite the Angel is the Tesco store, architecturally now dated but only built after the demolition of the Odeon Cinema in 1966. The Odeon was a large Victorian building, capable of seating 750 in its prime.

After looking at the disaster site, we wandered past Midhurst Grammar School where H G Wells was a pupil and teacher, before reaching the River Rother and the huge corn mill building, some parts dating from 1810. From there we headed for Cowdray House, built in the style of a castle in the early 1500's. Visited by Henry VIII, Edward VI and Elizabeth I. Guy Fawkes was employed as a footman and his employer, the 2nd Viscount was imprisoned as he was accused of being complicit in the plot to destroy Parliament in 1605. However this had nothing to do with the fire that eventually almost completely destroyed Cowdray House in 1793. After this we headed for St Ann's Hill, passing the Wharf which no longer sees any barges. The last barge departed Midhurst in 1871 carrying a cargo of timber. The ‘Eleanor’, pulled by horse, arrived in Weybridge ten days later. We then climbed a slope to have a look at the site of a castle, once on St Ann's Hill. Built at the same time as Arundel Castle it had completely disappeared by the 15th Century and whilst walls are visible they are 20th C replicas of where the walls had originally been. After our exertions (we had walked over a mile!) we stopped in the Market Square, home to some old stocks and the even older St Mary and St Denys Church to drink some excellent coffee from Comestibles across the road. Suitably refreshed we were able to put a few more miles on the clock by walking past South Pond (once the fish pond for the castle that once stood on St Anns Hill) and up the Jubilee Path, then on to New Road and subsequently Heathfield Park. After walking down Carron Lane we took another diversion through St Margarets Way to reach our lunch stop in Redh . We hadn't covered many miles but had travelled through centuries of history, kindly provided by walk leader Pauline. An excellent journey.

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