- from sowing the seed and harvesting then milling the flour to baking the bread, one Shoreham family provided the full service.

Henry Adams was born on the 22nd October 1798 at Barcombe, Sussex and came from a long line of farming folk in and around mid Sussex. He married Phoebe Avery from another ancient mid Sussex family, ten years his junior and born in Plumpton. Henry was a master miller and baker and owned a fine farmhouse in Plumpton Lane. He married Phoebe at Plumpton on 21st April 1829 and their first child, also Henry, was born there on 9th March 1830. 

Henry’s subsequent offspring are all shown to have been born in New Shoreham which indicates that the family were first there in 1833 when the second child was born. The family lived at 46 High Street (of course, not numbered then) which he rented from Messrs Bradleys, next door to Miles Adams, his brother, who owned and occupied number 44 – Miles married Mary Egden and first appears at the latter address in 1831. 

By 1841 business was booming and Henry had taken on 16 year old Henry Diplock as an apprentice and 15 year old Fanny Parsons as a servant. Furthermore, he had also taken under his wing Egden Adams 12 now an orphan after both his parents (Miles and Mary) had died. Another orphan and presumably Egden’s brother, Thomas Adams was with Thomas Carver, a miller and his family in Buckingham Street.

It may sound uneconomical to imagine that corn was transported from Henry’s Plumpton farm bearing in mind the distance involved but using his own produce and possibly his own carts meant that he only had to bear the production costs. The journey may have been slow and ponderous but the 12 miles or so from Plumpton was nothing compared to the distances that dry cereals were even then transported all over the world. By 1841 Henry had purchased the mill in Mill Lane from H.C.Bridger and it was here he ground his grain for flour - he also built a large granary in John Street which still stands but even then still needed to rent the Marlipins to store his corn as well. 

By 1851 the family were still at the same address and Henry’s two eldest sons and nephew are now working for him and the household, already large, has increased to twelve:-
Henry Adams               52 Miller & Baker employing three hands b.Barcombe
Phoebe Adams             43 wife b. Barcombe
Henry Adams               21 son, baker b.Barcombe
Amos Adams               18 son, baker b.New Shoreham
William Percy Adams  17 son b.New Shoreham (a mistake by the census taker perhaps and should be William Avery)
Phoebe Ann Adams     16 dr. b.New Shoreham
John Adams                 14 son scholar b.New Shoreham
Mary Jane Adams        12 dr. scholar b.New Shoreham
Gabriel Adams             10 son scholar b.New Shoreham
Elizabeth Charity Adams 7 dr.scholar b.New Shoreham 
Egden Adams               21 nephew, baker b.New Shoreham
Mary Ann Grooms       17 house servant b.Steyning  

Henry senior died at 8.15 am on the 16th February 1854 and Phoebe at 9.50 am on the 9th July 1858 so did not reach great ages being 55 and 50 respectively. Eldest son Henry junior, still single, inherited the business and kept the bakery going employing his brothers Amos and Gabriel with his sister Mary as housekeeper. Thirteen year old Ellen Clark was their domestic.

The bakery business continued to thrive and having been enriched by the majority of his father’s estate Henry moved  to Victoria Road , invested in the shipping business becoming a ship owner and purchased the neighbouring houses and shops from 46 High Street up to and including no.52 on the corner with John Street. In 1880 at the age of 50, Henry married 24 year old Ada Gates from Brighton and in doing so not only gained a young wife but also married into what one of the largest ship owning families in the area.
By coincidence their housekeeper was Mary Winton, sister of William Winton who was to become the celebrated organiser of Shoreham’s regattas and carnivals.

Henry had already become known to and involved with the Gates family through his ship owning ventures and we know of two vessels that he owned. The first was the ‘Agricola’ a 600 ton ship built by Messrs. Balley for Henry Adams & Co and christened at the launching ceremony by Miss E. Adams ‘the sister of one of the owners.’ This was Henry’s sister Elizabeth Charity Adams. These details have been gleaned from ‘The Ships & Mariners of Shoreham’ as has the following concerning the other record of Henry’s ships which is repeated here verbatim:-

“A fatal collision occurred off Shields on Wednesday 5th April 1865. About midnight the ‘Hedley Vicars,’ brig of Shoreham laden with coals homeward bound, was proceeding down the Tyne in tow of the steam tug ‘J.P.Almond’ when about a mile ahead a steamer was seen approaching from the sea. The helms of the tug and the ‘Hedley Vicars’ were ported and the steamer hailed to alter her course. Although every effort to avoid a collision was made by the ‘Hedley Vicars’ the screw of the steamer which proved to be the ‘Berwick’ and which was under full steam, struck her with a tremendous blow on the port bow cutting the vessel down to the waters edge. The damage was so extensive that the brig immediately began to sink and a few minutes after the collision went down. The crew, with the exception of a lad who was in the cabin, escaped. The latter, a youth of about nineteen belonging to London, went down into the forecastle to get a drink just before the collision and it is probable that when the screw struck the brig he was killed; the crew called to him to come up but no answer was returned. The remainder of the crew landed at Shields and on the application of the master of the ‘Hedley Vicars’ the Tyne Commissioners’ diver went down and recovered about £8 and a quantity of clothing. The diver reported that the decks were breaking up and the port bow nearly out but he could discover nothing of the youth that was missing. At the time of the disaster the captain’s dog was in the jolly boat on the deck and when the ship sank the boat floated away with the dog in it. The animal was rescued by his master and the boat secured and taken ashore.

Messrs English, Adams & Horrocks were the owners of the ‘Hedley Vicars’ and Messrs Henry & Amos Adams of Shoreham claimed on the owners of the ‘Berwick’ for the loss of the ship. The case was heard in the Admiralty Court on Friday 28th July 1865 and after consultation with the Trinity Masters the court decided that the steamer was to blame and pronounced for the damage.”

Henry was now in partnership with the big business names of the town;- The Englishes ran the rope and sail making business in West Street and William Horrocks was another ship owner who lived at the house now numbered 28 Church Street. Amos was of course Henry’s brother.

 In 1891 the family were still in Victoria Road and Henry appears as a full of vitality 61 year old father of children Henry John 9, Charles 8, William 4, Ada 2, and Ernest 7months. Two more children, Reginald and Frederick followed before they all moved in 1900 to a new house next to their mill in Mill Lane. One of a pair of semi-detached houses, Mill House was especially commisioned to be built for him and the original coloured architect’s drawings still exist in Adur Council’s Planning Department along with a plan of the houses and the windmill next door. Henry eventually died on 14th October 1916 at the good age of 86 and is buried in the New Shoreham Municipal Cemetery. His wife Ada also enjoyed a long life and died at the age 87 at Mill House in 1944.

 Back to 1861- brother John is next door to 46 High Street with his wife Mary Ann as a Master Tailor employing two men and cousin Egden (the orphan) now married to Amelia is in 1, East Street, on the south-west corner with the High Street, as a Master Baker in his own right. They remained here until the 1880’s but never seemed to have any children.  Egden’s bakery, next to the Ferry Arms pub, had two fronts, one for the door on the High Street and the other in East Street. It was later absorbed into the pub itself and the old shop front removed during the 20th century sometime after 1921.

Egden Adams’ bakery in East Street was the shop on the left. It has since been absorbed into the Ferry Arms which at the time of this photo was on the right hand side of the building.

The remaining brother William set himself up as a builder and on the 26th January 1857 married Elizabeth Patching at Preston Manor church near Brighton. Returning to Shoreham William and his wife set up home at first in the High Street, probably 46 with other of Williams brothers and sisters, where their first child Laura Elizabeth was born on the 19th November 1857. Perhaps due to some overcrowding at no.46 Henry may have arranged for William and his family to move on to John Street where they are recorded in 1861 having increased their number by one more child:-

William Adams 25 Builder b.Shoreham
Elizabeth 24 wife, milliner b.Henfield
Laura 3 dr. scholar b.Shoreham
Kathleen 1 dr. b.Shoreham
Catherine Leech 13 domestic b.Brighton
Philip Rose 23 mariner b.Brightlingsea, Essex (presumably a lodger)
Eliza Rose 24 wife b.Steyning

Their house, owned by Henry, adjoined the front of the large granary store previously mentioned which Henry had built and which still stands on the south side of the pathway that runs alongside the Baptist Chapel where the garages are now. 

The 1871 census shows Amos Adams is now living at 72 High Street with, and working for, his brother in law Frederick Wood and his wife Mary, Amos’ sister. Frederick, then a baker, later turned his hand to run an apparently successful contractor and haulier’s  business and remained in that house until his death in 1929. Amos returned the compliment and himself married Wood’s sister and lived for a while with Frederick at his house in the High Street.

By now William Adams had managed to improve his circumstances and moved to a somewhat better residence at 8, Church Street:-
William Adams 34 House Carpenter b. New Shoreham
Elizabeth 32 wife b.Henfield
Kathleen 11 dr. scholar b. New Shoreham
Alfred 8 son b.New Shoreham
George 4 son b.Southwick


Sadly, William died some eight years later of ‘epilepsy coma’ at the young age of 44 at the Union Workhouse on the 27th April 1879. This does not necessarily mean that William had been there some time as an inmate as workhouses then were for most the only means of medical care. As an ongoing development of this service most workhouses throughout the country evolved into hospitals by the 1930’s. However, perhaps as a consequence by 1881 his wife Elizabeth moved with her offspring to the Lower Road (now Brighton Road) on the river front. This was a small collection of what appears to be poorer houses just round the corner from East Street where the garage now stands that have since been demolished for road widening.
.
Elizabeth Adams 43 widow, milliner b.Henfield
Kathleen Adams  21 dr. b.Shoreham
Alfred Adams 18 son, brewer’s cellarman b.Shoreham
George Adams 14 son, newspaper boy b.Fishersgate
John T. English 47 widower, lodger, gardener b.Shoreham

George had become a postman by 1891 but yearned for a better life and after marrying Ellen Rhoades from Buckingham Road is believed to have emigrated to New Zealand taking his wife and mother with him.

Laura Adams as a young woman circa 1880

William’s daughter Laura first worked as a general servant for the Hedgthorne family at 27, Church Street. The poor girl was only thirteen and although that was not so unusual for the time it emphasises an entirely different way of life then when children had to grow up early. James Hedgthorne was an oyster merchant from Brightlingsea. Laura continued her domestic work during her teenage years and as she grew up would have realised that marriage was the only hope of escape from a life of drudgery in servitude. Her hopes for a better life looked brighter when she met and married William Finch who later became head attendant for the somewhat tactlessly titled ‘Metropolitan District Asylum for Imbeciles’ at Caterham in Surrey. One of their subsequent offspring was later to return to the area setting up a successful laundry business at nearby Portslade in the 1920’s.

Roger Bateman
Shoreham
March 2004

During the 18th and 19th centuries one of the Customs & Excise’s main south coast administrative offices was located at Shoreham in Church Street up to 1830 then in the High Street building that later became the Town Hall before it moved to Southwick. In addition the town once had its own Coast Guard Station.

The Coastguard Service evolved from the old Blockade (or “Preventative”) Service, the latter of which was created in 1817 following the country’s huge loss of revenue due to what was then considered by some to be a lack of success by the Customs and Revenue Services in coping with the smuggling problem. It is perhaps unfair to lay the blame for this entirely upon them as, amongst other things, we know that manpower was short compared with the smuggling gangs they came up against; pay was poor and even the ships they used were invariably slower and less well armed than the smugglers’ own vessels. Run along Naval lines the new service provided employment for the considerable number of service men that were otherwise no longer required following the end of the Napoleonic Wars.

Buildings such as the Napoleonic Martello Towers along our southern coasts, barracks and forts were utilised. These were known as Coast Blockade Stations or “Watch” houses and many existing houses were also converted for this purpose or were newly built. However, none of the houses were fortified as such being intended only as lookout posts (or “watch” houses) and for housing the officer’s and rating’s own families – something of a first in providing facilities for employees! During the period of the Blockade (1817 – 1831) the areas were reorganised from time to time and some watch houses abandoned in favour of better sites.

 The Victoria History of the County of Sussex (vol.VI. part 1, 1980) states that a coastguard station was built at South Lancing c.1820, and perhaps this was the station known by the Blockade Service as ‘West Shoreham’ (Copperas Gap as far east as Portslade was known as East Shoreham station) but, confusingly, Shoreham Beach was generally regarded then as belonging to Lancing. Another was recorded at Shoreham Beach on the 1851 census returns and another was built at Kingston (where a pilot’s watch house existed) “to replace the one at Shoreham Beach in 1900.”(1)

Two surveys of Shoreham Harbour dated 1829 and 1844 (Mss.20,107 and 20,109) both show a “Preventative Service Watch House” at the same location as shown on the 1860 Ordnance Survey map, although the one at Copperas Gap is depicted further west, at Fishersgate, in 1844. C & J Greenwood’s 1 inch to 1 mile survey published in 1825 however shows two “watch houses” (not “Block” houses – the Navy never referred to them as such) on the shingle spit west of the harbour outlet, the most westerly one roughly where the 1860 one is shown, although it is difficult to be absolutely certain on such a small scale map.(2) All the foregoing is prior to 1857 and cannot be confused with the Shoreham Fort as this is sited at the harbour mouth and upon which work did not begin until that year and finished in June.(3)

 There is little doubt therefore that if not the earliest original site, the Watch House or Coastguard Station as it later became is clearly shown on the 1860 map at a point at the sea end of where Ferry Road now is, on it’s south-western corner and where it almost certainly stood from at least 1829 in one form or another and possibly earlier.

 The plan of the 1860’s building gives us an idea of its’ shape, a long ‘L’ with numerous smaller extensions (sheds or water closets for the families?) protruding from it at regular intervals and around its grounds other outbuildings and a flagstaff. If the station was moved to Southwick in 1900 it is probable that the building was demolished during the development of ‘Bungalow Town’ on the Beach during the first half of the 20th century.

As regards the individual Shoreham blockade men and coastguards we do have records of some of them. The New Shoreham Parish Records provide the following names entered by a diligent parish clerk who also included their occupations:-

George Shirley, Preventative Service 1823
William Hyatt of Lancing Blockade Service 1828
Charles Entisell, Blockade Service 1829
Thomas Dipper, Blockade man 1830
Matthew Hodge, Blockade Service of Shoreham Watch House 1831
Richard Rowland Turner, Coastguard of Shoreham Watch House 1831 & 1833
William Barrett, Coastguard of Coastguard Station House 1834 &1836
James Clark, Coastguard of the Stationhouse on the beach 1836
George Canning of the Station House 1837

The censuses also provide us with:-
Thomas White born at Cowes on the Isle of Wight living in Ship Street, 45years old, Superannuated Coast Guard 1841 and again in 1851
William Newell born at Selsey living in St.John Street, 67 years old, Superannuated Coastguard 1851
Richard Gill born at Mevagissy, Cornwall living in East Street, 61 years old, Superannuated Coastguard 1851
Thomas Butler, a Shoreham man by birth living in the High Street, 53 years old, Superannuated Coastguard Boatman 1851

Whilst the Coastguards named in1841 and 1851 are mostly past active service age they nevertheless indicate a likelihood that they were once serving in Shoreham and perhaps even as Blockade men before they were transferred to the Coastguard Service.

(Official references to the Blockade Service ceased in favour of the Coastguard during 1831 and the Watch House became the Station House.)

Some later coastguard personnel are also recorded in the parish records:-
Jonathan Dale, Coastguard 1857
Thomas Billett, Coastguard 1862
William Rocketts, Coastguard 1863
Edward Cord, Coastguard 1866
William Slaven, Coastguard 1869 (lived at Lancing and perhaps stationed there)
James Brunnen, Coastguard 1870
Henry Popham, Coastguard 1871
William Hines, Coastguard 1871, Rodney P.Jones, Coastguard 1871, Joseph Henry Hicks, Coastguard 1873 are all recorded as living in Lancing and again could have been stationed there.
R.P.Jones, Coastguard 1873
Thomas Fuller, Coastguard 1873
John Stephens, Coastguard 1880 (another Lancing resident)

 We know what Blockade Able Seamen (probably including the likes of some of those named above) would have dressed like as an1825 muster shows us that the uniforms provided to them included:- three blue jackets and trousers, 6 shirts, 2 pairs of shoes, 1 duck frock, 3 pairs of stockings, 3 flannel waistcoats, 2 black hats (these were round with a flat top and brim made of leather or japanned canvas) and around their necks they wore a black kerchief.

What of the individuals themselves and how were they received in the town? Run along Naval lines the discipline of its’ own men was tough enough (flogging was still a common feature of punishment) and these were, in any case, men already hardened by life at sea during the Napoleonic Wars. As a result the Service was a hard and at times ruthless force, purposely intended as such to provide a more effective method of countering the smuggling problem.

On the other hand, many townsfolk were themselves involved in the smuggling trade, if not directly then certainly by way of passive or implied support as there were few Shoreham inhabitants that did not benefit through the cheap purchase of silks, liquor, tea tobacco, etc.,.  Hitherto, although the Customs and Revenue men had some limited success and were generally to be avoided, enough goods nevertheless got through to satisfy most people’s needs but the new Service seemed to provide a far greater threat!

Consequentially, relationships generally with local Customs men had not been altogether healthy then became far worse with the arrival of the Blockade men particularly in the earlier years of the Service - a situation that was to cause as many problems for the Service as it was for the smugglers themselves. There are many instances throughout the country then where smugglers that had actually been caught red handed with contraband goods or captured having maimed and wounded blockade men were nevertheless set free by a completely unsympathetic legal system!

Shoreham was no exception. On the 7th December 1825 Lieutenant Henry Leworthy of the West Worthing Blockade Station had seen a cutter with a boat in tow hovering off the beach. As soon as it became dark he launched his galley and quietly laid alongside the cutter unseen by the crew until the last moment and six men and 92 tubs of spirits were taken as well as the cutter – the Mayflower of Brighton. The men were subsequently prosecuted in the Shoreham Court before magistrate John Wakefield. Five of the six were convicted and given light fines but John Wilkinson, who admitted to owning the illicit cargo and being on board the Mayflower at the time was freed because he claimed to suffer from fits!

Wilkinson, a Shoreham man well known to everyone as smuggler, was examined physically prior to the court hearing by Mr.Peins, Blockade Surgeon, and pronounced fit for naval service. In his defence Wilkinson produced nothing by way of medical evidence to show he was epileptic but did have letters from nine citizens of Shoreham. Eight of these were dismissed by the Blockade report as being “… all brothers in the trade.”- the one exception being Mrs. Anro landlady of the Royal George but, according to the report, that hostelry was “nothing more than a pot house in a nest of smugglers.” Word of Wilkinson’s release soon spread around the town and magistrate John Wakefield was cheered round the streets.

Despite these demoralising setbacks the success of the Coast Blockade by 1830, whilst limited, did have some effect on smuggling added to which local magistrates had by now adopted a more sympathetic response resulting in far more successful convictions of captured smugglers. In the same year the number of land stations in the Sussex Blockade Service were West Division 15, Centre 21 and East 31. Shoreham West’s complement was 2 officers, 3 petty officers and 20 men so that even though not all of them may have had wives and families the Watch House must have been quite crowded. Shoreham West was the first station in the Western Division that stretched to Chichester – the so called Shoreham East at Copperas Gap was in the Centre Division. Neither Shoreham stations appear to have had semaphore signal capabilities although Hurd’s 1812 Admiralty Chart shows that there was one up on Slonk Hill behind the town (see 6b in Historic Maps of Shoreham on shoregambysea.com web site).

The Blockade’s days were numbered however as it had been an expensive campaign and was now under scrutiny following the Duke of Wellington’s replacement as Prime Minister by Lord Grey and a new First Lord in the Admiralty – by 1831 it was disbanded. As a campaign, like the Customs before it, the Blockade only achieved a limited measure of success although no armed force in the country at that time could have actually stopped huge flow of illicit contraband. Essentially, it was a war of attrition where armed service discipline and determination gradually turned the pattern of smuggling away from armed gangs fighting on the shores to concealment on vessels.

 Many of the watch houses had long been provisioned with mortars for firing lines on to ships in distress as well as other life saving equipment and had been responsible for saving lives themselves as well as promptly reporting floundering vessels in order to muster aid promptly.

The Coastguard Service that had already been in existence for a few years by then was also involved in anti smuggling duties but besides continuing this after 1831 (under the control of the Board of Customs) also started to take on more of a life saving role. Men from the disbanded Blockade Service were either stood down (with pensions if they were lucky) or transferred to the Coastguards and many of the watch houses such as Shoreham were taken over.

Concealed smuggling continued in a big way for a few years but a most effective deterrent virtually eradicated large scale smuggling in 1841 when Prime Minister Robert Peel amended the country’s duty tariffs. Many duties of customs and excise were reduced and compensated by the reintroduction of income tax so that for the smuggler there was no longer any profit or not sufficient to support a commercial venture.



Roger Bateman
Shoreham
April 2003
(revised March 2010)

Sources:- generally, from ‘The Coast Blockade 1817 - 1831’ by Roy Philp. Compton Press;(1) & (2)West Sussex Record Office; (3)John Goodwin’s “The Military Defence of West Sussex” (Middleton Press 1985) NB This has been written without any reference to the records at Kew which may provide further information.

Following the commencement of hostilities Lord Kitchener was appointed Secretary of War and it was he that laid the format for the organisation of four separate armies. Shoreham with a railhead, seaport and airport in a strategic position on the south coast became the location for forming the 24th Division, part of Kitcheners Third Army or K3 as it was known.

The sign of the 24th Division

    Almost before the ink was dry on the recruiting posters men started arriving by rail at Shoreham and local territorial soldiers began creating a tented camp on the Oxen Field to the north of Mill Lane. The close proximity of the railway station to the field meant that heavy equipment could more easily be hauled there. Initially, there were no instructors to train the new recruits nor uniforms or small arms. The flood of men was so great that the churches and townsfolk were needed to assist with providing temporary housing and food for them. As new recruits continued to arrive it was not long before Buckingham Park was also being used as a tented army camp with a field kitchen and latrines dug to provide a modicum of hygiene. The local Territorial soldiers were engaged to set up the spacing for tentage and supervise raw recruits by organising swimming parties on the Beach and holding basic roll calls to keep unsworn trainees busy.

The occupation of time to prevent the onset of boredom became a priority and a large parade ground with a hard surface was set up on land at Mill Hill.  The building of wooden offices to house the Headquarters Staff and Quartermasters stores were built adjacent to the square. As time progressed wooden buildings to house the Medical Officer and staff were erected and it wasn't long before recruits were being taught basic drill and how to march in line of route. The volume of mail at Shoreham post office increased so much that eventually an army post office was opened at the Mill Hill camp. A sanitation unit was provided but as this did not include a laundry the army posted a request in the local paper with a tariff of charges asking for laundering services which was responded to by many Shoreham housewives.

Regular servicemen returning to ‘Blighty’ from India found themselves posted to Shoreham Mill Hill in order to pass on their military skills to the new recruits. Early rifle shooting training without bullets used indoor Hill-Siffken landscape targets which were used in areas where space was restricted and to save ammunition. The ground floor of Marlipins Museum was set up with these targets as were two large greenhouses at East Worthing near to what is now Onslow Court on the sea front.

It is understood that the inflow of new recruits was so rapid that by late 1914 Mill Hill camp was almost entirely tented but around 20,000 men were still in civilian clothing. Even the gate guards had no rifles and carried just a swagger stick each. Uniforms did not arrive until May the following year and the whole Division only had two rifles that had been borrowed from the Lancing College Officer Training Corps.
 
Following the winter of 1914/1915 which caused huge mud slides in the camp the tents were replaced by wooden billets that accommodated 20 men each and included a Corporal who was in charge of the hut. Drill purpose rifles were issued initially and replaced later by veteran Lee Metford long single action rifles which had been in use since the Boer War. Once basic drilling skills had been learned, uniforms were issued which came complete with a kitbag and large and side packs. Working parties were organised to assist with the construction of the billets which were built by local contractors and the Army Procurement Executive.

The basis of early training was to provide discipline, the ability to take orders, security of manpower, exercise and an ‘early to bed/early to rise’ routine. The civilian population living near to the camp soon became used to the army bugle calls of ‘reveille,’ ‘cookhouse’ and ‘lights out.’  A popular day for every soldier was pay day when all ranks paraded to salute and sign for their weekly pay. This was always given to soldiers in alphabetical order of their surnames so that those with names beginning with ‘W’ often had to stand patiently for an hour or more to receive their money.

As winter turned to spring and the weather improved an outdoor rifle range was set up at distances of 25, 50, 100, 150, and 200 yards on the open downland above the camp. Army chaplains and Church Army bible readers were drafted into Shoreham to cater for the men’s spiritual needs.  Canteens were built but did not then involve the NAAFI (Navy, Army & Air Force Institute) which was not founded until 1919. Red Shield Clubs run by the Salvation Army provided tea, light snacks and board games with the Young Men’s Christian Association providing similar facilities. The army did supply a ‘wet’ canteen but soldiers on basic training were confined to the camp and the partaking of alcoholic drink was strictly forbidden. Horse-drawn transport for the regular instructors though was laid on for social trips into Brighton.

After seven weeks when the initial training had been completed further instruction in field craft, route marches, the use of machine guns and trench mortars took place. The area above Buckingham Park and Slonk Hill was transformed to create a realistic battleground where trenches were dug and barbed wire laid before them. The golf clubhouse on the Downs above Southlands Hospital was commandeered to become an officer’s mess. Shoreham had then two distinct camps, Mill Hill for recruits and Slonk Hill for learning advanced soldiering. Soldiers who had elected to serve in the Corps ie the Medical Corps, Pay Corps, Artillery and Signalling left Shoreham after basic training to go on to Aldershot and other regimental depots to complete their training.

The army of 1914 was fairly self supporting providing its own facilities such as barbers and boot repairers. The Veterinary Corps manpower included veterinary surgeons, blacksmiths and facilities for kennelling dogs with men trained in grooming and feeding horses. The 24th Infantry Division was formed out of men trained at Shoreham and possessed an ammunition train comprising some 500 horses used mainly to pull artillery field gun limbers. At places like the Shoreham camp local blacksmiths were also employed in order to cope with the huge number of horses used in training.

 

In June 1915 rifles were eventually issued to all soldiers and the 24th Division by then comprising 35,000 men was posted to Aldershot during 19th to 23rd June where Earl Kitchener and King George subsequently inspected them. On 19th August orders were received to move to France and a few days later the Division went into action at Loos in Flanders where an appalling 4,178 casualties were incurred for little or no gain. During the period September 1915 to November 1918, the total number of casualties was put at 35,362, including those killed, missing and wounded.

Training continued at Shoreham where facilities gradually improved as the camp became a wooden town with a number of shops for the troops run by local traders such as William Winton’s stationery store and the Burfoot brothers who provided vegetable produce grown at their Middle Road nurseries. In all, five Divisions trained at the camp and left an indelible memory on the residents of the town. A memorial in the St Georges Chapel of St Mary's church is virtually all that remains of the once huge training base that existed in Shoreham.

Gerald White

June 2010     

Reference Sources:-
‘The Long Trail’ internet website www.1914-1918.net
‘Peter Jackson Cigar Merchant’ by Gilbert Frankau – although a book of fiction much is based on fact concerning the Shoreham camp.
Family reminiscences – handed down from my Shoreham forebears who had first-hand knowledge of the events at the time.

SWISS GARDENS - A HOLIDAY RESORT:

It may even surprise many local inhabitants to learn that throughout the second half of the last century humble Shoreham-by-Sea in West Sussex was a veritable mecca for many thousands of people. They came from all age groups, from all walks of life, from near and from far; and all intent upon one thing - pleasure:

Daily, hundreds, even thousands of visitors would arrive by train and tram, by boat and bus, aboard coach or carriage, on bicycles and on foot. It has been said that on occasions as many as five thousand 'pleasure seekers' spent the day in Shoreham. This is all the more remarkable when records reveal that at the tine in question this figure was equivalent to twice the residential population of the town.

How was it that this modest harbour township was chosen as their destination by such a large number of those who embarked upon pilgrimages to the many shrines of pleasure situated along the south coast? Why did people from as far away as Portsmouth and London descend on Shoreham rather than say, Brighton or Worthing? What was the attraction that caused these Victorians to come in droves on their 'cheapday' excursions, their Sunday school treats, their family picnics, their firms' outings, or even their clandestine appointments?

It is, of course, true that Shoreham, in common with many other small towns, has had an interesting and on occasions even a glorious past. Without doubt, en the national scale, Shoreham's past status certainly would outshine that of its present. Any town, whatever its amenities, will naturally hold different attractions for different people and be capable of sustaining a steady throughput of casual visitors.  However, for over half a century the vast army of 'day trippers' which flocked to Shoreham, came eager to sample the delights of a single emporium renowned throughout the South of England for its entertainments - namely the 'Swiss Gardens'.

The Swiss Gardens were opened in 1838, the year of Queen Victoria's coronation, by a local shipbuilder and dignitary by the name of James Britton Balley (who, incidentally, is occasionally incorrectly referred to as 'J B Bailey' in some works of reference). The Gardens quickly became popular with local people who would frequently gather there for a dinner or luncheon to mark or celebrate some important event, such as the ceremonial launching, earlier in the day, of a new ship from one of the builders' yards - perhaps even from one of Balley's own. On such occasions it became usual to round off a day of festivities with a gala-ball in the magnificicant ballroom which the Gardens boasted. Henry Cheal, the revered Shoreham chronicler and historian, considered that the ballroom, which had a floor area of over eight thousand square feet, was probably the finest on the South Coast.

Some years before his death in 1863, J B Balley sold the Gardens to a Mr Edward Goodchild, for what at the time was reported to be 'a very large sum'. Under the new management of Mr Goodchild, aided by his wife, the Gardens went from strength to strength. The Goodchilds' greatly improved the facilities and ran the Gardens very successfully as a family concern for many years.

THE GARDENS:

The Swiss Gardens Lake (of which only a small section remains to give pleasure to the residential ducks and visiting Venture Scouts) boasted a little steam-boat called the 'Basilisk' of about half a horse-power which was capable of carrying up to ten 'Trippers' at a time.  In addition, at various times, there have been several other forms of floating craft, albeit mostly man-powered, such as punts, rowing boats and Indian canoes. Naturally a hire charge was usually made for some of these boating pleasures, but a Railway Poster dated 1856 clearly shows that patrons of the day could obtain really good value for their money at the Gardens. Similarly, an old photograph shows a plaque on the outside of the Swiss Garden advertising that:  "No charge is made for any of the amusements in the Gardens except a small one for: Billiards, Rifle Shooting and American Bowls,' and 'Admission One Shilling, Children under ten years 6d.'.

Included in the price of admission, in addition to the lovely ornamental lake and tastefully laid out and well kept gardens themselves, were the facilities for such diverse pastimes as fishing in the lake and dancing the gavotte to a Prussian Band. Around the ornamental trees and shrubs of the gardens freely strutted the equally ornamental peacocks. An aviary containing many exotic and colourful birds from all over the world was well placed among the flower beds and trees. There were many paths for both young and old to follow between the boughs and blooms, with delightful arbours and little summer-houses to offer rest to the eldery, privacy to the- young at heart, and playgrounds for the juvenile. There were well kept mazes to provide additional interest for al] age groups, together with the furniture and fittings without which any self-respecting recreation ground would be incomplete, namely:  swings, roundabouts, seesaws, slides and countless other sickness - and shriek-provoking apparatus. Not only were these provided in the 'Children's corner', but being the Victorian era, they were also available to the 'grown-ups';  separate Ladies' and Gentlemen's swings were available for those who desired them, naturally.

The catalogue of free amusements available in the Gardens at one time or another is almost unbelievable by the financially orientated standards of the British Amusement Park Industry of to-day. In his 'History of Brighton and Environs, 1871', Alderman Henry Martin said that:  ' ... the Swiss Gardens ... presented as great a variety of amusements as could be met with in any other place of its kind in England'.

A Grotto containing a Chalybeate Spring surrounded by fragrant roses and overflowing with sweet smelling Honeysuckle and other odouriferous plants and shrubs lay in a secluded part of the garden, the entrance to the grotto being guarded by large stone effigies of those legendary British giants, Gog and Magog;  cleverly apt perhaps, as these huge guardians of the overgrown entrance of this 'magic cave' were supposed to be the wicked draughters of the Emperor Diocletian, who were captured and kept hidden and chained by Brute. However, if the visitor baulked at the thought of entering the grotto it could at least be externally viewed to some extent from the safe distance of the picturesque 'Bridge of Steps' spanning the stream. Close by, those who wished could pass through a low door covered with more mystical characters, to consult with the discreet and esoteric 'Lady of the Temple of the Oracle' - but only between 11.00 a.m. and 1.00 p.m. and 2.00 p.m. and 6.00 p.m.:

A battery of six carronades, a kind of ship's cannon, would occasionally sound off to start an event on the sports field such as a balloon ascent, or the beginning of a firework display; or simply as an additional entertainment for the crowds.

The whole Gardens and surrounding area could be viewed from the top of an observatory which took the form of a high observation tower shaped rather like a lighthouse, and with just as many steps to climb to the top.

To cater for the sporting types there was a bowling green, an archery field and a cricket pitch, where, in addition to the playing of matches, the previously mentioned firework displays and balloon ascents took place.

Indoor  Entertainments:

We are told that even during the winter months the Gardens were well attended. At weekends, large numbers of both sexes would gather at the lakeside, in order to partake of the 'healthful and agreeable exercise' of skating on the frozen lakes. However, whatever the season, if the weather was unkind or the patrons were disposed to occupying their tine more sedately, the many indoor facilities provided may have been more to their taste.

Dotted around the grounds there were various small pavilions in which young and old could sit sheltered from the elements. Then there was the famous 'Main Pavilion¹, in which a visitor might choose to 'take tea' or simply 'be seen' with his many like minded companions. This Pavilion is reported to have been able to seat a thousand people.

Two museums were advertised. One contained a gallery exhibiting photographs taken by Mr W Lane (who, it is believed, was also in business at 213 Western Road, Brighton, during this period).  Copies of the photographs on show were available for sale;  or should the customer prefer, Mr Lane or his assistant, would execute a postcard sized photographic portrait of the subject, at the modest price of one shilling.

In another pavilion Kr George Ruff, a local watercolour artist, showed 'Dioramas, Cosmoramas and Panoramas'. The Dioramas consisted of a series of spectacular paintings exhibited in a darkened room with light thrown onto the pictures in such a way as to produce an optical effect which gave appearance. of reality. The forerunner of the three-dimensional cinema perhaps? Without the necessity of wearing special eyeglasses! The effects could be varied so as to represent both day and night scenes. One popular exhibit by Mr Ruff was entitled:  'The Castle of Falkenstien^’. This was probably a series of scenes aimed at recreating those spine chilling sensations which the Victorian viewer may have experienced when reading of the more famous 'Frankenstien' of Mrs Shelley.

Also showing were Panoramas consisting of continuous scene pictures projected around the inner walls of a circular room, which were viewed from the centre by a promanading audience, (a for« of entertainment still able to draw the crowds a century or so later to the Lawns in nearby Hove).

The Cosmaramas or "Fairy Chromatropes' showing in yet another pavilion (not necessarily at the sametime), were a constantly varied presentation. They seem to have consisted basically of coloured slides projected onto a large screen, the most popular subjects being dissolving views of scenes of the 'Holy Land' and other well known 'wonders' of the world. Other cosmaramas frequently shown were slides of Houses and Gardens, such as: Chatsworth House, Derbyshire, and other Stately Homes, which are still much in demand by the holidaying public of the present, although nowadays they actually drive through the wrought iron gateways in person. Other highly revered places visited daily on screen by the humble populace included such splendors as the twelfth century Abbeys of Kirkstall in Yorkshire, and of Dryburgh, Scotland, thus adding an ecclesiastical flavour to the proceedings ensuring its respectability; especially for Sunday afternoon performances. At other times the cosmaramas mlight show the night skies, with the relative positions of the stars and planets - a sort of early Planetarium} Whatever was shown would be accompanied by an 'interesting and entertaining diologue' spoken by Mr Ruff. In addition to coloured slides, the chromatropes employed various and diverse paraphernalia to obtain special optical effects, including that of a fountain 'playing real water¹.

A Library and Reading Room containing 'scrap books and albums' for the visitors perusal, was housed in yet another pavilion. Here there were also provided (all free of charge): "many seated tables' with chess sets draughtsmen and boards, for those who cared to use them, with an adjacent saloon containing facilities for bagatelle and Chinese billiards, and other "scientific games'.

The Theatre at the Swiss Gardens was said by a reporter to the Illustrated Times in September 1858, to be: 'Both neat and commodious'. It contained private boxes, a pit and a large gallery. Other than the boxes there were no reserved seats and 'first come first served' was the rule of the House.

The first performance daily on stage began at two o'clock in the afternoon. This usually took the form of a 'Vocal and Instrumental Concert', frequently including items known to be popular with the regular clientele such as: 'The Smirking Maid', featuring 'The Garden's very own, Mrs W Cooke!' At three o'clock, a "laughable farce” was presented. Between four and five in the afternoon coloured slides; (of the type previously mentioned! were invariably shown on a large screen, while musicians played in accompaniment.

The Ballroom, the immenseness of which has already been referred to, was probably (especially in the later years of the Gardens history) the roost famous of the pavilions.  It was about one hundred and fifty feet long and over fifty feet in breadth and was renowned for its tasteful appointments. There one could dance the night away to a "Quadrille Band' under the direction of the resident 'Master of Ceremonies, Mr E Marshall'.

Local organisations such as the Brighton Mechanics Institute, would organise a 'Fete and Days Outing' to the Swiss Gardens, followed by a •Grand Ball¹ in the evening. George Moore's novel, 'Easter Waters', part of which is set in and around Shoreham, was first published in 1894, and in its early chapters the Swiss Gardens are referred to several times simply as:  ' ... the Gardens ...' or ' ... the Pleasure Ground ...'.  In the book, one character says:' ... Ah, she must have gone to the Gardens.  ... those Gardens, ... Dancing-Hail, theatre, sorcerers - every blessed thing. ... the jollifications culminated in a servants' ball ... a great number had come from West Brighton, and Lancing, and Worthing »• altogether between two and three hundred ... '. References of this kind tend to imply that the Gardens were solely the haunt of the 'lower orders'. Whilst that might have been increasingly so in the 1890's, when the Gardens were gaining a reputation of becoming the favourite gathering place of a somewhat rough element, it was definitely not the case forty or fifty years earlier when the Grounds were catering for thousands of visitors daily.

Sadly, in the early nineties, the Gardens quickly became considered a place at which it was not 'the thing^’ to be seen. They survived a few years more, but the knell was tolled, and at length this popular entertainment centre was closed. From time to time the theatre was re—opened for concerts and entertainments by local amateur groups, but never again did it throng with the noisy joyful masses as it once had done.  Ultimately the entire Gardens were closed to the public, and for a time Mother Nature had her own way there. Some have said that at that time the Gardens were even more beautiful than when tended and manicured by a multitude of gardeners. Gradually though the brambles grew over the pavilions, windows were smashed, and roofs caved in. Thus, the spirit of the place seemed determined to survive for as long as possible, being even in its ruined state a paradise playground for the local urchins. Then came the Council School and the property developer ......

The Swiss Gardens Public House still stands at the original entrance to the Gardens and is at the time of writing (1982) having a 'face lift';  the pond has been dredged and restocked with fish and its surrounds landscaped. Although the Gardens can be but a shadow of their former self, it is pleasing to know that they continue to be a pleasure resort nearly one hundred and fifty years from their conception.

By Roy Sharp