Development along The Drive became clearer in the 1930s when some of
the properties were ascribed to the adjacent and ‘new’ Chestnut Avenue,
and a mix of detached bungalows and houses were built along the
northern side of The Drive. Further detached houses were also built in the
1930s at the southern end as the road neared its junction with The
Avenue. The road was not made up until the late 1970s.

Brandy Hole Lane, a leafy and highly attractive rural lane on the
outskirts of the City, is residential with houses built both before and after
the Second World War. It is also an essential conduit to the Local Nature
Reserve and Centurion Way for the whole of Summersdale. To promote
and protect these valuable recreational facilities, any development
opportunity that may arise must be handled most sensitively.

Environmental Features

The only productive farm in Summersdale lies to the north-east astride
the River Lavant, but throughout the area, the established streets are
lined with mature trees and well-stocked gardens, which together support
a diverse range of wild life.

To the south of Brandy Hole Lane is a historic copse of some 15 acres,
mostly coppiced woodland, with part of it belonging to the Chichester
District Council and the rest to two local landowners. Since 2001 it has
enjoyed benefits as a Local Nature Reserve, with funding, clear highway
signage, and information displays.

The copse is home to a wide range of birds, mammals, insects and plant
life. The woodland is generally dominated by sweet chestnut coppice with
occasional oak and birch trees, the coppicing letting in the light for flowers
to flourish. Most of the oaks are English, but there are a few rarer sessile
oaks and hybrids.

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Protected Pipistrelle, Daubentons, Natterers and Whiskered bats are
known to roost in the copse, and have also been reported in houses close
to the site. Moths and other insects include the endangered stag beetle,
hornets, the elephant hawk moth which feeds on the nectar of
honeysuckle, and several common butterflies. The unusual white admiral
has been seen in pairs on several occasions. Summer surveys have
recorded 16 species of birds, many nesting in the copse, while mammals
include mice, rats, voles, shrews, squirrels, rabbits, foxes and the
occasional deer.

The three ponds in the copse support their own variety of species and
marginal plant life, while an abundance of flowering plants can be seen
throughout the woods.

The copse can be both a playground and an educational facility. It is open
to the public at all times, with entrances at either end of Brandy Hole
Lane. It is a valuable and much valued facility close to Summersdale’s
historic core, but with an Iron Age and colourful recent history of its own.
Besides Centurion Way, Summersdale is blessed with immediate access to
a network of walks across fields and roads to the east and north where
the hills of The Trundle and Kingley Vale beckon. From these local beauty
spots 360 degree vistas reach the harbour and the sea, the Isle of Wight,
Bognor and Worthing, the Goodwood estate with its airfield and race
courses, and the beautiful areas of Sussex to the north. There is much to
lift the spirits and enjoy, both within Summersdale and the surrounding
countryside.

Random articles of interest

The Buttery

There is rumoured to be a tunnel from the white horse to the buttery and then from the buttery to the cathedral.

Regarding a tunnel from the crypt to the cathedral. Apparently Keats while upstairs being "entertained" watched the monks lock the gate to the cathedral. Now did he have xray specs on ??? That''s the pic of the guy gesturing towards the shelves is where the door way used to be

Read more: The Buttery

Underneath Hansford Menswear

hansford menswear shop front

A number of those readers remembered a story about tunnels underneath Hansford Menswear, also in South Street, so we spoke the shop''s owner to find out more.
Matthew Hansford described a blocked-off passage in cellar of the shop, which he believes may have led to the cathedral

Read more: Underneath Hansford Menswear

st johns church

About 50 years ago in the vestry of St. John’s Church In Chichester a flag stone was taken up by some teenagers and a tunnel was revealed. Apparently it runs along under St Johns Street in a south / north direction

.MS

Read more: st johns church

Russilon Barracks

The Chichester SMR holds information for 48 sites, whilst the National Monuments Record
Centre holds details of a further 16 sites within the study area. An additional four sites were
located through analysis of historic mapping and during the course of the walkover survey and
one from aerial photographs. Full site descriptions and locations can be seen in Appendix B.
Within the report, the bracketed numbers after site descriptions relate to those allocated to
individual sites in Appendix B and on Figure 2.

Read more: Russilon Barracks

Featured in Chichester Observer

Maureen Williams, 82, of Westgate, recalled a school trip into the rumoured tunnels under Chichester when she was at Chichester High School for Girls.

 

She estimates she was in her early teens at the time and said she chose to share her memories after reading about the search for evidence in this newspaper.', '

Read more: Featured in Chichester Observer

building a cellar

cellar image

Historically, to build a house with a simple cellar you would dig out the ground to a depth of around 6ft, the cellar walls would have been constructed with a lining of stone or brick and with a drain for water within the cellar. The floors would have been built up on crushed stone or sand to provide a level surface and paved, usually with flags. Brick paving became more common in later periods.

Read more: building a cellar

The Punch house

punch house pub

ON THE south side of East Street, close to the Market Cross, lies number 92 which up until fairly recently was The Royal Arms public house (also known as Ye Olde Punch House).

Although the façade dates to the Georgian era, the building is of a timber-framed construction said to date from the 16th century.

 Much of the original building survives including highly decorated plaster ceilings displaying the Tudor Rose and fleur-de-lis.

 It was once a private town house belonging to the Lumley family of Stansted.

Read more: The Punch house

summersdale golf course and mr Stride

Between The Drive’s western and southern ends, Charles Stride built a private estate in c.1905 which included a nine hole golf course designed by James Braid, a lodge (Uplands), and a mansion (Woodland Place) with tree-lined grounds which, as Rew Lane, was developed in the late 1950s. The golf course was too close to the Goodwood course to be a commercial success and it was given up for gravel extraction immediately prior to the first World War, with a mineral branch line connected later to the Chichester-Midhurst railway.
His golf course and pavilion is mentioned in https://golfsmissinglinks.co.uk/index.php/england/south-east/sussex/851-sus-summersdale-golf-club-chichester

The club was founded in 1904.

Read more: summersdale golf course and mr Stride

whyke lodge

 

 

 

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