The Sanctuary: Secrets of a Sussex village and the utopian community that was open to all

Hidden away in a Sussex village is a place called Sanctuary, a special place which walkers often stumble upon on their travels over National Trust land at Warren Hill and to Sandgate Country Park.
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This fascinating little residential estate near Storrington is an area known by many as Sleepy Hollow but it was originally called Sanctuary, a utopian community founded in 1923 which attracted worldwide interest.

A lovely little shelter on the corner of Sanctuary Lane and Vera's Walk reveals the history. The small settlement grew up around a young girl who believed the Sermon on the Mount, ‘ask and it shall be given’, was practical politics and in an effort to set her own house in order, gave away land for free.

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Vera Pragnell felt that land was a basic necessity and it should be owned by the people. She inherited a fortune from her father, Sir George Pragnell, and used it to buy 50 acres at Heath Common and gave away plots to anyone interested in settling there. Writer Laurie Lee lived in a caravan there and H.G. Wells and Aleister Crowley are known to have been friends.

Sanctuary Cottage, where Vera Pragnell livedSanctuary Cottage, where Vera Pragnell lived
Sanctuary Cottage, where Vera Pragnell lived

At The Sanctuary, she and her settlers led a simple life close to nature, spinning, weaving, sandal making, tending their lifestock, like goats and hens, and growing food. They made their own amusements, singing round the campfire, staging theatre shows, giving poetry readings, encouraging discussions on a wide range of subjects, camping on the Downs, folk dancing on the village green and generally keeping open house to all and sundry.

Two little cottages by the Post Office were knocked into one to be used as a free guesthouse, with a room for wayfarers attached. A figure with open arms was gifted to Vera when she was lecturing in London, as a symbol of the open door she offered as part of her faith.

The building on the other side of the Post Office formed stabling for Vera's donkey and pony, and beyond that was Sanctuary Cottage, where Vera lived.

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As electricity and mains water were introduced, most of the settlers began asking for legal rights and as their primitive huts became potential desirable properties, they were inclined to sell them and move on.

Dennis Earle built this shelter to give tired pedestrians a place to rest and to serve as a lasting reminder of his wife's sanctuaryDennis Earle built this shelter to give tired pedestrians a place to rest and to serve as a lasting reminder of his wife's sanctuary
Dennis Earle built this shelter to give tired pedestrians a place to rest and to serve as a lasting reminder of his wife's sanctuary

Vera, who died in 1968, gave her remaining land to her husband, the Royal Academy trained artist Dennis Earle, and he began to develop the Longbury Hill residential estate. He built the shelter to give tired pedestrians a place to rest and to serve as a lasting reminder of Vera's sanctuary.

Storrington Museum is always keen to learn more of the history of the area and would welcome submissions of photographs, documents and historical facts from the past 100 years.

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