I received my latest eBay purchase yesterday, it was yet another old picture postcard, and a bit of an impulse buy. As you can see below, it is captioned Chilgrove from the Downs and of course I have ancestors from Chilgrove (near Chichester, Sussex) but what really appealed to me was that it was such a nice view, the flat countryside stretching for miles, with what looked like more of the (South) Downs on the horizon to the right.
Chilgrove from the Downs
I was pretty certain that it wasn’t my ancestor’s home on the postcard, they were actually on the Downs, but I wasn’t sure exactly where this view was.
I started with my Ordnance Survey Explorer map of the area and tried to pinpoint the buildings in the photo, Chilgrove doesn’t have many buildings so I didn’t think it would be too hard.
With the help of Google Maps aerial view I was able to identify the buildings, and then search for more details on the building and even a photo. It turns out that the building in the centre of the card is the White Horse Inn.
Great I thought, when I am walking the Downs and visiting West Dean I can pop over the hill and stop off at the pub (just to check I have the correct place you understand!) where perhaps my ancestor’s once drank.
However, all links now seem to point to The Fish House, a rather posh looking new restaurant, that neither my ancestors nor me would be at home in, especially after a hard days working (or walking) the fields.
I will still try and visit the same hill as the photographer (a W. Smith of Gosport) did and check if I am correct, before wandering off elsewhere in search of a ploughman’s lunch.
