A Walk Along Lower Street, Pulborough

This walk was designed by the Pulborough Society as part of the 2023 Heritage Weekend. We hope you enjoy learning about Lower Street, but please take care, as the pavements are very narrow in places.

Lower Street is Pulborough’s main street and is almost a mile long. At the western end it starts at Swan Corner at the bottom of Church Hill on the A29, and at the eastern end it finishes at Mare Hill, just beyond the present United Reformed Church. Formerly known as Pot or Pott Street, it forms part of the A283, the main route from Milford to Shoreham via Petworth, Stopham, Storrington, Washington and Steyning. It lies to the north of the River Arun and runs nearly parallel to it. The main commercial centre of the village started to move down here from the area around St Mary’s Church (Upper Street) in late Mediaeval times.

The walk starts at Swan Corner, outside No1 Lower Street. This area is known as Swan Corner after the Swan Hotel which stood on the site, to the south west of the roundabout, for over 200 years before it was demolished and redeveloped at the beginning of this century. The hotel is shown here in the centre of the picture.

No 1 Lower Street, now a house, was built in the 18th century. Formerly an inn known as the Running Horse, it became a chemist’s shop in 1875. For over 100 years the business was run by three generations of the Corden family, until it moved to the site now occupied by the Pulborough Medical Group, off London Road (next to Tesco), in the early part of this century.

Continuing along the south side of Lower Street, the next property to be encountered is a single storey commercial building. This property was built in the 1960s on the site of what was formerly Stilwell’s bakery until the 1950s.

Looking across the mini-roundabout to the north west you will see a row of three timber-framed cottages, known as Saddlers, Horncroft and Old Timbers. The building (pictured here on the left) was originally a farmhouse and dates back to the sixteenth century. The chimney breast at the southern end of the building is thought to date from Tudor times. Saddlers gets its name from the saddler’s and harness maker’s business which operated from here in the nineteenth century.

To the north east of the roundabout is a modern bungalow, built on the site of a wooden structure which was known as the Coffee Tavern and Reading Room. At the end of the nineteenth century this was one of the social centres of the village, but it was closed down by the Rector around 1905, when he discovered that men were playing cards there for money.

Continuing along the south side of Lower Street you arrive at Templemead, a fine Georgian house. From 1789 until 1850 it was occupied by three generations of doctors, the Martins. The middle one, Dr Peter Martin (1786-1860) was a surgeon and a well-known geologist. His father, also Dr Peter Martin, built a small Water Pavilion in the form of a Doric Temple near the bank of the Arun. This is probably why the house acquired the name ‘Templemead’ since before this date it is understood that it was known as ‘Puddle Wharf’.

Beyond Templemead is a boarded-up building, which has been constructed side-on to the road. Formerly a dairy, it is known as Waterside. To the rear of the building, but not publicly accessible, is a Grade II listed lime kiln (pictured here). There also used to be a wharf here, where chalk from Amberley could be off-loaded for use in the kiln.

Between Waterside and Willow Cottage to the east, there was formerly a lane running down to the river. This is thought to have led to a wooden bridge across the river, which is shown on a map of Sussex drawn up in 1724.

Willow Cottage, constructed from Hythe sandstone and Pulborough stone rubble and also Grade II listed, is a small 17th Century timber-framed building with steps outside leading to an upstairs room.

No 21 Lower Street is known as Malt House Cottage, and it too has been built side-on to the road. The original house, another Grade II listed building, was built in 1720 and, as the name suggests, malt was produced here, from barley, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Passing a modern bungalow, you come next to a row of six houses built in 1906. The last of these, no 39, was formerly known as Arun Bank. In the early part of the twentieth century, Harry Price, a well-known psychic researcher lived here. He wrote a number of books and is buried in Pulborough churchyard.

Looking across the road you will see the East Glebe Field, formerly known as ‘Shepherd’s Meadow’, which is approached via a set of stone steps known as ‘Knight’s Steps’.

Continuing along the south side of the road you come to Allfrey’s Wharf, constructed on the site of a former builder’s yard owned by the Allfrey family. There used to be a lane here leading down to a wharf. The house on the corner, which dates from the 18th century, is known as Wharf House.

Further along is a development of flats and houses known as Skeyne Drive. It was built on the former site of a substantial Edwardian dwelling known as Skeyne House (shown left).
At no 57, the building now occupied by the estate agents Batchellor Monkhouse was formerly a purpose-built branch of Barclays Bank.

Passing the small parade of modern shops, this part of Lower Street is lined on both sides by buildings mainly dating from the late Victorian and Edwardian eras. Notable amongst these are: the Post Office Sorting Office, built in 1906 and for many years the home of Pulborough’s Post Office; no 30 (the pink house on the south side of the road), formerly known as Carpenters and before that an ale house known as the Carpenters Arms: the hill behind was known as Carpenters Hill and the field on the other side of the road was known as Carpenters Meadow; no 42 (two shop units with flats above), formerly a shop known as the Golden Boot – a boot and shoe shop – which got its name from the large gold-coloured wooden boot which was hung high on the outside wall and is now displayed in the Weald and Downland Museum in Singleton, West Sussex; and no.50, a Grade II listed building dating from the 17th century, which adjoins the property now occupied by Truffles Bakery.

To the east of the Post Office Sorting Office the timber-framed cottages at 73,75 and 79 Lower Street are known as the Wealden Cottages and were once a 15th century Wealden house. This area is known locally as Waterloo Square, named after the battle of that name in 1815.

Continuing onwards you reach Barn House Lane which now provides the main pedestrian access from the village to Pulborough Brooks.

To the east of Barn House Lane is Pulborough Stores, which occupies the ground floor of Carlyon House, built in the seventeenth century. There has been a convenience store at this spot (pictured right) for well over a century.

The site now occupied by Chase House formerly housed the Arun Hotel. Until its redevelopment in the early part of this century, there had been a hotel on this site since the early part of the 16th century.

The timber-framed building occupied by Guy Leonard & Co, known as Pulborough House, dates from the 17th century and is Grade II listed. it was used as a clock-makers shop during the 19th and early part of the 20th century.

Retracing your steps and crossing the road at the pelican crossing, no 52, on the north side of Lower Street is a Grade II listed residential property dating from the 17th century.
Here to your left is a lane running up the hill. Known as Potts Lane, it leads up to the area formerly known as Pots Common and to the former village school.

To your right is the butcher’s shop currently occupied by M J Suter. This is a former farm building, dating from the 17th century. You can still see the door to the hay loft on the eastern side. There has been a butcher’s shop on this site for over a century.

Proceeding eastwards, past the Flower Shop at no 56, you will come to London House, currently occupied by Hennings Wine Merchants. This is a fine Georgian Grade II listed property, which has housed various businesses since the 19th century, including Oliver Brothers Grocery and Drapery business.

No 60 Lower Street is a good example of the Art Deco style of architecture, dating from the 1920s and 30s. No 62 is a Grade II listed property dating from the early 19th century and formerly occupied by Lloyds Bank.

Willmer’s of Pulborough, at no 64, has been a family business since 1876. Initially it sold sheet music, gramophone records and musical instruments, whilst a gentleman’s hairdressing business operated from the rear of the premises.

Beyond Willmer’s is Walnut Tree House, another fine Grade II listed Georgian building, built into the hillside. It is named after the walnut tree that once stood in the garden.
Nos 68 and 68a Lower Street are a pair of Grade II listed eighteenth century cottages next to a footpath, Monkey Hill. This is an example of a “twitten”, an old Sussex dialectical word for a footpath, probably deriving its name from a Monkey Puzzle tree which once stood in the garden of Orange Tree Cottage, which is accessed from Rectory Lane to the north.

Crossing back to the south side of the road at this point and walking back towards the start of the walk, you reach a terrace of 17th century cottages, nos 103-111 Lower Street. Nos 103-107 have been much altered over the years but nos 109-111 still retain some of their original features, including slab roofs of Horsham stone. They are Grade II listed.

Next to 103 is a driveway, down which can be glimpsed the Moncrieff Barn. This is a Grade II listed 18th century building, faced with tarred weather-boarding on a brick base.

Passing the 20th century development of Kingfisher Court you reach the last property on this walk, the Oddfellows Arms. This Grade II listed building was originally a farmhouse and parts possibly originate from the 15th century. As was common with many farmhouses in the 16th – 18th centuries, the farmer is likely to have brewed beer and provided sustenance and overnight accommodation to passing drovers.

Your walk ends here, so why not pop into the Oddfellows for some well-earned refreshment.