New local history book gives fascinating insight into long-lost landmarks in Southwick

Queries about places she had never heard and others she knew about led Southwick Society chairman Mary Candy to start questioning locals about their memories.

Her new book, More Southwick Enigmas, will be officially launched by the Southwick Society at Manor Cottage Heritage Centre, Southwick Street, on Saturday, July 11, from 10.30am to 12.30pm. It is a follow-up to Southwick Enigmas, published in August 2018.

Mary said: “This book is a further exploration of some of the long-lost places often referred to by locals. Where was Southwick Windmill and what happened to it? Where were the Railway Cottages? What is the history of the embankments in Southwick Recreation Ground and who was Henry Smith, whose charity owned much of Southwick for very nearly 400 years?

“The Coastguard Cottages may still be standing but hidden behind a block of 1920s maisonettes, they are easily overlooked. Which famous face once lived there?”

It was a chance email from someone wanting to find a suitable home for The Windmill Inn dartboard that set the ball rolling. It was an original, saved by his grandmother when the pub closed in 1934.

Mary said: “That led me to wondering where Southwick Windmill had stood and what happened to it. Another email asking if I had any information about the Railway Cottages, which I had not even heard of until then, led me to several past residents who kindly described the cottages and shared some photographs.

“West Sussex Record Office holds documents showing indentures relating to Eastbrook Farm as far back as 1682 and the Coastguard Cottages still stand, although the station closed down nearly 100 years ago.”

Drawing on extensive research, as well as personal memories of Southwick residents, written records and photographs, Mary has pulled together a picture of what these places once looked like and how they have left their legacy on the town.

Southwick Enigmas costs £7 and all profits go to support the work of the Southwick Society. The book can then be purchased from Manor Cottage Heritage Centre, in Southwick Street, which is open every Saturday morning from 10.30am to 12.30pm until August 29. Copies can also be obtained by emailing [email protected]

Mary has also written Southwick’s Miraculous Escape about the crash of a Valiant jet on Southwick Recreation ground in 1956.