A ghostly visit
When the new housing estate was built in Patcham in the early 1930s, my family moved from London and lived there for three years, from 1935 to 1938. The existing Patcham elementary school could not house the influx of children from the estate, so Patcham Place was used as classrooms. One day a group of spiritualists came and the school was closed for half a day. They wanted to conduct a séance to try to contact the ghost of Anthony Stapely who bought the house in 1620. Stapely, who is buried in Patcham, was one of the people who signed the death warrant of Charles I and it is claimed his ghost haunts Patcham Place. Whether the visit was successful was a matter for speculation, but we all enjoyed the half day off.
Do you have any Patcham memories? Please leave a comment below to share them with us.
Happy childhood remembrances
I remember the large entrance hall, freezing in winter, where a fire was lit in the huge fireplace. We had our morning milk break there, drinking the milk from small glass bottles through straws which really were hollow straw. Some of the boys used to light them from the fire, and try to smoke them. The South Downs bordered the housing estate, and we spent many happy hours hiking to Devil’s Dyke to see an intact windmill that stood nearby. We also hiked to see The Chattri. My childhood memories would not be complete without these happy remembrances of Patcham.
Comments about this page
I was at Patcham Infants’ School from 1956 to 1959. My first teacher was Mrs Witten in Class 5. I remember the fire drill when a huge siren went off – the event of the year. I loved some of the classes – playing with water and sand, and making Christmas scenes with flour and water, glitter and colour water paints – sublime days.
Add a comment about this page