85 years a go, a small boy called Alan walked into a cottage near Arundel for the first time. In fact, the cottage was an old converted barn, that, at the time, was still part of the Duke of Norfolk’s estate. It had a thatched roof, flint stone walls with red brick corners, a walled garden and views across the valley to Arundel Castle and cathedral. It was and still is, chocolate box pretty, tucked away as it is, down a very narrow country lane far from the hustle and bustle of life.
The cottage was the home of Alan’s two great aunts (“aunts” being used in the loosest sense of the word to describe vaguely connected family members) and that day marked the beginning of nearly a century long love affair between Alan and Sussex. The cottage was the idyllic setting of the long, lingering summers of Alan’s childhood in the 1930s and 40s, and went on to become his adult retreat and later his full time home. Now in his 90s, recently, I was lucky enough to go back to that cottage with Alan for his first visit in many years.
The Barn
Hollyhocks and roses droop over the wall in the summer, and long arms of fennel sway in the breeze to the side of the front path. The cottage is now Grade II listed and described by British Listed Buildings as “Originally a barn, converted into a dwelling. C17-18 … Faced with cobbles with red brick quoins. Thatched roof… Weather-boarded portion in the position of the original waggon entrance.” You can clearly see the waggon entrance still. Although part of the Duke of Norfolk’s estate when Alan first visited, Alan’s father went on to buy the cottage for the aunts, and in due course, Alan inherited it.
Alan
Alan was born in 1931 and as a child, he lived in Sutton in Surrey. His mother’s family were the Pennicotts of Amberley, and a visit there will reveal Pennicott Corner, named after them, along with an interesting story about a family member who disrupted the Sunday service! Before and during the war, Alan would spend his summer holidays with his aunts, even being evacuated there for a while. They would walk into town together to collect his aunt’s pension and he even became friends with soldiers billeted nearby.
Alan went on to lead an interesting life. He lived in London and worked for Johnnie Walker in the whisky industry, but his great passions were Sussex, cycling, books and the Youth Hostel Association (YHA). From as young as 12, he would cycle from Surrey to Arundel and we can only imagine how different the roads would have been in the 1940s. As he grew older, Alan would cycle many miles around the country. He even cycled to Africa and back in the 1960s, on the whim and invitation of a friend.
He married Pamela, a nurse who cared for Winston Churchill during a period of illness during WWII, and although Pamela is no longer with us, it’s clear that they spent many happy years at the cottage.
The books
Having amassed hundreds of books about Sussex during his decades long love affair with the county, Alan wanted them to go somewhere they would be loved and read by many. With the help of his friends the Underwoods, the books eventually found a home at Tottington Manor near Henfield, at the foot of the South Downs.
This is where I met Alan and his friends, along with the owners of Tottington for the first time. On meeting them all, it was clear a deep bond had formed between them, and it was one of those moments that feels a privilege to witness. You can visit, read and borrow the books at Tottington Manor and it was there, we hatched a plan to revisit the cottage.
The custodian of the garden
Some months after our first meeting, we arrived unannounced at Alan’s former home. Having not lived here or visited for many years, Alan was expecting only a cursory glance over the wall. However, much to our delight, as we stood taking in the moment and reflecting on lives lived, around the corner came the custodian of the garden, Stuart. Stuart has his own fascinating story to tell, that started in the coal mines of Yorkshire but led him to spend the last 30 odd years tending to the beautiful garden at the cottage. His memory and affection for Alan were tangible as the two men shook hands at the garden gate, and there was a sense that the cottage has been in safe hands all these years. They talked about some of the amazing dinner parties that had been held in the cottage, the intriguing guests, summers on the lawn, a childhood in the cottage. Suddenly, it was possible to envisage two elderly aunts leaning out of the cottage windows waving, and Alan as a boy, walking into Arundel and playing freely in the lanes and fields.
Please step forward Sis and Nel
It feels like I have met this story near its end, and now I must try to go back to the beginning to see if we can’t encourage the great aunts, Nel and Sis, to step forward from the mists of history. We know that they had worked on the Duke of Norfolk’s Estate and that Sis Cutler’s husband had died during WWI. Was it his war pension that they went to collect? Nel Pennicott was Alan’s family connection. Was Nel actually Ellen Pennicott, born in 1875 and living in Warningcamp in 1911 as a spinster with her widowed mother and siblings? I have more research to do.
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