The Historical Circular Route

An historical circular route - about 4 miles long that takes in British and American history, from the to teh 20th Century. From the founding of a US Stae to the Second World War. All in the vicinity of Horsham, West Sussex

Its a break from the history of aviation the pioneers but still concerns aviation.

Info avialble from Horsham Museum - https://horshammuseum.org/learn/heritage-trails/trails/new-beginnings-heritage-trail

Transcript

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Hello and welcome to another podcast episode. This one follows or covers the history, American history and aviation history, via a circular route you can do, not far from where I live in West Sussex. West Sussex itself has very interesting history from Romans and Normans and Tudors and everything up to the present day, even including American history, which we'll find out later. This circular route has information provided by Horsham Museum. It's titled New Beginnings. It starts and ends at the Celsius and goes for about four miles. I did it over two days due to the weather. So it's not quite circular the way I did it. But if you went on to the website for Horsham Museum, www.horshamuseum.org, you will see the route is of a circular nature. Leaving the South Seyons, you cross the road and continue for a mile along A272. And at the first corner you turn left and you come down to the Blue Idol Quaker Meeting House. That's probably half a mile down that private road. And it on your left, set back. The building was built in 1580 and was originally called Little Slatters. The House and Land. The House and Land was subsequently purchased by William Penn and others. There's a Quaker meeting house more than 300 years ago. Why named the boo idol? Possibly because it was painted with a blue wash and left empty or idle from 1793 to 1869. William Penn is famous for five for founding the city of Philadelphia in the state that became Pennsylvania. William Penn lived for a while at Warminghurst Place near Ashington, and he wrote The Democratic Principles for the Pennsylvania frame of government in 1682. And this served as inspiration for the Constitution of the United States, signed 1787. There are information boards scattered around the garden of the Blue Idol, and there's even a small graveyard. There is actual fact, about 200 yards to the northwest, a Quaker graveyard that's no longer used, but still of historical interest. Carry on down Old House Lane. You come to a track which can be overgrown and easily missed, but it bears off to the left. Be careful too, because it can get waterlogged and muddy, as I found out. This lane brings you up to and through Sprouts Farm, which brings you onto Sprouts Lane, which eventually leads to a crossroads. On the B 2139, Tacom Road, go straight across and you come to Sorcerlands Lane. And about 20 yards in on the left is a gate. This is at the bottom end of the North House runway of Coolom Airfield, one of many Chempley Airfields, or advanced landing rounds, as they were known, built on the southeast, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, and Hampshire, ready to assist with the D-Day landings and invasion of Europe in May 1944. At this bottom end of the field, there is a brick structure which sits above the fuel tanks for the airfield. And as such, the farmer has chosen not to farm this particular area. The building itself is quite nondescript, but it's suspected that it was where the pumping mechanism for the fuel was housed. A few hundred yards along Swordslands Lane, you come to farmhouse farm. There are three styles in quick succession that you encounter. The first is to the right before the entrance to the farm, then walk across the field for 50 yards, and the second style is on the left. The third style is then ahead. You now encounter some low-lying houses, which were actually an early 20th century piggery. And during the war, they were converted to become a prison of war camp for Italian prisoners. Some space was actually made available for the accommodation of the M operating out of Culum, as generally the accommodation was just on the canvas. The larger building beside these ones was said to be a factory or a mill. And during the war, it had a gun emplacement mounted on the roof. Follow the path behind and then through the buildings, then follow the driveway just beyond, and bend and follow the bridleway signs to the left, edging the field to the gate in the corner, across a small bridge to the edge of Coolim Airfield. Follow this path up, and you come to the eastern end of the east-west runway. Edges have been planted across what would have been the runway. So you don't get necessarily a full perspective of the long strip of grass the pilots used to have to land on. Some imagination may have to be a bit further on, and really on the edge of the airfield. There's a path that leads you back towards the South Sea Arms. But along it, there are 15 oak trees planted and with memorial plaques beside them for the 15 airmen, not necessaril, who lost their lives while serving at Coulomb. The majority of the pilots were from Poland, but you also had Commonwealth pilots. And in fact, the Americans were the first and last aircraft ever to land at Coulomb during the war. As you walk past these oak trees on your left-hand side, again there are some information boards along the fences. But you come again to the B2139 Tacum Road, you turn right, you walk your way up to the Celsius Arms, which is a matter of 50 yards away or so, and there's a memorial in the front garden to the airmen who served and who subsequently lost their lives. But it's well kept, and they've even put a mock-up spitfire, even though the aircraft that was operated mostly was the Mustang. The Celsiums pub serves refreshments, but also has mementos from the airfield and also mementos from times of smugglers, like a spinning wheel, to allocate who gets the contraband. And an unusual thing of a turnspit dog wheel, where, as the name suggests, a dog would sit in this wheel and run like a hamster. And the wheel would be linked to a chain to turn spits over the fire. It is said that William Penn wife Hannah wrote to England asking for one of her turn spits in America. Apart from the Memorial Garden, has many artifacts from the airfield and from older times, such as Smuggler's Spinners Wheel, where they would spin to allocate the contraband. And above the the nook in the fireplace is a turnspit dog wheel. And as the name suggests, a dog would run in this wheel like a hamster, and the wheels linked by a chain to a spit over the fire to turn whatever they were cooking. And it is said that William Penn's wife Hannah wrote to England from Pennsylvania asking for such a thing to be sent to her.