The Sussex Border Walk - Part Three: The Ruins of Heene Chapel and Others

I am working my way around the border of the county of Sussex, starting from Worthing and walking westwards. In this episode I explore the ruined chapel of ease at Heene, Old St Botolph's, the closed cemetery that supports wildlife and the Canadian War Memorial.
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[@leighlawson4854]

I am one of the bellringers at St Botolph's Heene. The brick building you can see behind the chapel ruins is an old air-raid shelter. It was open to the public at a summer fete a few years ago. One of our ringers has been researching the names of those buried in the cemetery and her findings are published in the parish magazine each month. The Friends of Heene Cemetery have an informative website. They have occasional open days but are restricted at present of course. I enjoyed the video, thanks Richard.

[@Stringtrees]

Thanks, I spotted that and was wondering what the building was.

[@stuartclarke8044]

Slow progress but very entertaining! Youu should finish this series in about 5 years, but worth the investment. Should you get to cover Courtlands in Goring, I have several recent pictures both inside and out, if needed. Great work Mr V.

[@RichardVobes]

Thanks Stuart. I am sure it will be slow, but jolly fun I hope.

[@michaelthornley]

I am enjoying this new series as well Richard. Recently I have been doing some binge watching of some of your older videos too. :) And with each video now I also open up google maps to see exactly where you are.... keep on walking, walking, walking ;)

[@RichardVobes]

You must be sick of the sight of me now!

[@michaelthornley]

@@RichardVobes No psychotherapy required to recover from 'Bald exploring' JUST yet ;) hehe.... all good my friend. Keep up the great work!

[@johnbyrne2756]

17 minutes of sheer delight Richard, all expertly produced as usual... DIVINE DESTINATIONS (part of) So quaint the little Saxon church that stood midst weathered stones A thousand summers come and gone by countless salt winds blown. JB14

[@RichardVobes]

Thanks, John. I am sure they won't all be that good.

[@johnbyrne2756]

Oh forgot to mention: 247 km around the county and a massive 12,429 km around the British Isles, just nipped out to measure!

[@MrNas42]

Tremendous! I learnt lots from you in this one, particularly about Heene and the origins of Rowlands Rd. This is the project that keeps on giving. BTW, part of the grand plan for the end of Grand Avenue was to be a second pier (where the Canadian memorial now is)!

[@ramibu239]

I'm so enjoying this Richard! I've told you this before, but I love maps & Atlases so being able to follow along where you are & seeing where you are going next is right up my alley!!!😁 Throw in history, travel, & architecture & I'm just over the moon!😄

[@RichardVobes]

So pleased you are enjoying it, Lisa. Have I bumped into any of your English family yet? :)

[@ramibu239]

@@RichardVobes not yet!😁 You obviously know me well though, as I was just thinking that I needed to look up my Buckman family line & remind myself where in Sussex they were from so if you came close I could let you know!!!😅😉 I think their story is interesting in the fact that they were Quakers & came to America w/ William Penn on his ship The Welcome. Update: The Buckman's were from Billingshurst - so not going to be on your border walk!😕 The Rowland's were from Haughley. They all (multiple generations) sailed w/ William Penn on his ship The Welcome from Deal. Which also, unfortunately, will not be anywhere close to the Kent border when you eventually make it over to that side. Of coarse, there are so many branches from the Braose line, that who all knows just where in Sussex I could be connected?!?!😅😅😅

[@johnshandley318]

Very good new series, Richard. The pace is perfect, not tortoise like.

[@RichardVobes]

I have put the tortoise on speed! :)

[@briaredpath9386]

🤣🙌

[@briaredpath9386]

🤣🙌

[@briaredpath9386]

Thanks Richard for the great information and great series,very enjoyable indeed.Best of luck for a happy 2021 🙏

[@kezzaba1]

Thank you Richard, this is an interesting series and I feel I am getting to know Worthing quite well. In my pursuit of my family history I have visited a few different graveyards and often they are very beautiful and full of wildlife. Very peaceful places.

[@RichardVobes]

So pleased you are enjoying the series, Kerry.

[@katherinekinnaird4408]

Thank for a wonderful walk in Sussex and by the beach. Old graveyards and headstones are interesting. Good health and Happy Thanksgiving.

[@PortsladeBySea]

Lovely to see the ruins of Heene Chapel. I must have a look at them the next time I’m in that area. It would be great if you can explore, and film, in the cemetery. These areas have now become ecological oasis in our urban areas where wildlife can thankfully thrive. Sadly since 1970 60% of the world’s wildlife has become extinct. We must all do what we can to protect what’s left! 🪲🐝🦋

[@RichardVobes]

I have been invited to return in the spring, Mike. Looking forward to it.

[@janerobertson8950]

So interesting! I am mystified as to how you appear without carrying any photographic equipment but you obviously have at least a tripod and camera somewhere? So well done!

[@cogidubnus1953]

I assume the camera and stand are set down to record the images of Richard that you're viewing, and so are behind the shot...

[@juniajosh3858]

I've got a wooly poppy and I love it!! The mystery of ruins, it's wonderful and some of those the houses are so elegant. Blooming enclosures!!! Blooming developers!!!

[@RichardVobes]

Seems to be the same story all over - the rich just are never satisfied.

[@juniajosh3858]

@@RichardVobes yep seems so!

[@welshmanjasonpatrick8607]

Very old church by new church very interested border walk i enjoy watching this Richard

[@Stringtrees]

Very interesting. I love that graveyard (odd thing to say I know) but as you say, a little oasis for wildlife and it looked like a large upright Yew tree.

[@RichardVobes]

These are very important sites because the soil hasn't changed for hundreds of years and contain seeds from old species.

[@caileanocadhla3912]

Richard, I am a retired Canadian Army officer and I did not know the connection with Worthing. The Dieppe raid is a somewhat infamous incident in Canadian military history; I am glad to see that there was something much more positive, that being the connection with Worthing. Very interesting. Keep it up, you have my wife and I hooked on your border walk.

[@RichardVobes]

Lovely to hear from you - and thrilled you are following in my steps. Thanks for watching.

[@wendylawrie7239]

Really enjoying this new series Richard. Thank you

[@RichardVobes]

Glad you enjoy it - thanks for the encouragement.

[@historyhardy5529]

Love this series. One of your best yet. Keep safe. Thanks.👍🏼♥️🇨🇦

[@RichardVobes]

Thanks so much

[@MrGreatplum]

Very enjoyable - I love that a bit of the old church remains. I can’t for the life of me work out why you’d keep a cemetery locked like that - surely there are still relatives who would want to visit?

[@ivorcurtis3586]

In normal times, the Cemetery is open on Tuesday and Saturday afternoons, for the public to pop in. There are also open days, throughout the year. But, sadly, not this year. If you Google 'Friends of Heene Cemetery' you can find information about the Cemetery, and the work that the volunteers do there. As to why it's locked up... well, vandalism, and to provide a proper sanctuary for hedgehogs, foxes, slow worms, birds, a range of wild plants etc. Hopefully we will be open properly, next year!

[@jonathanfox1355]

Absolutely amazing video. I Iive in Durrington in an area with a number of Canadian road names. I understand that the troops camped in this area, and that their HQ was Castle Goring.

[@nagram503917]

i worked in Grand Prom back in the 70's at the top end running a car repair workshop. Now long gone. My youth walked these streets, time passes the world moves on.

[@RichardVobes]

That is so true - many have walked before us and many will do likewise after.

[@shirleylynch4420]

So interesting. Great music with your flog.love the old brick work. Amazing. Thank you

[@RichardVobes]

My pleasure, Shirley.

[@CharlieCooper3101]

How fascinating that some of the old chapel still remains, it's good that there is now a nature reserve there but a shame you couldnt go in to look at the nature. A lovely tribute to the Canadian soldiers aswell. Very good episode Richard. I love old history like that, I really am learning so much about your part of the county Richard your doing a great job,

[@RichardVobes]

The old chapel seemed so tiny against the newer one.

[@andrewnorris1]

Another great episode. I appreciate you adding some historical details. I loved the church ruin. It is extraordinary how such fragments survive, tucked away as they are. On a slight technical note the music sometimes comes across as a bit too loud but that might be my phone or my sensitive ears. Much enjoying this series and the pace for me is perfect. Thanks again.

[@RichardVobes]

Thanks Andrew. You have mentioned the music before being loud. I mix it on my PC with good speakers, but I do think phone compress and normalize the sound, making it hard to make a mix for all players. It's a pain.

[@andrewnorris1]

@@RichardVobes since I developed a mild case of tinnitus my hearing has become, ironically, much sharper or rather more sensitive to sounds and noises. It could be my phone as well. I do like your new selection of pieces though. 👍🏻

[@thierrybilson9634]

Once again, England at its finest. Thank you Richard

[@RichardVobes]

Thanks so much - it is a lovely country.

[@oliverjh1281]

Excellent series this loving it 👌 nice to see the ruins of the older church still there , some lovely properties in that area lovely prices I imagine too ! Busy boys them Canadians 👏👏👏 fabulous monument to them fair play 👍

[@RichardVobes]

I bet the properties are well beyond anything I could afford too. :)

[@OriginalPoppinus]

A superb video, I really enjoyed it, I hope you manage to return in Spring to that lovely walled Cemetery, the mature trees looked beautiful and I can imagine it would be amazing for Spring bulbs xx

[@RichardVobes]

I believe I have been given the opportunity to film there in the spring, so it is very exciting.

[@zoeschofield]

Really enjoyed this interesting video! Lovely streets leading down to the seafront too.

[@RichardVobes]

It's a very peaceful area, and quite lovely in the summer time.

[@wattck]

Very enjoyable, well done. Reminded of earlier this year and first lockdown, this is a good format.

[@RichardVobes]

Thanks, Dan. Glad you enjoy it.

[@bullettube9863]

Only in England would somebody come up with the name "clunch" to describe a form of limestone! Those little round holes come from the iron spikes driven into the soft stone to hold a lime rendering in place. So the interior must have been quite beautiful with possibly murals painted on the walls. I like investigating old cemeteries, you can find all kinds of information about an area by reading the tombstones. It's humbling to realize that most of the people buried there once walked the same routes as you have, shopped in the same stores, or lived in the houses you pass by.

[@RichardVobes]

I love the name clunch! Yes, we are all sharing the Earth and walking in the steps of others. Often we don't think of it. Hopefully we suffer less of the pains of life's ills today as they did yesterday.

[@butch907]

Excellent Video real first class quality

[@tallpojjy]

Very nice video. I like the music that plays when you are looking at the old St Botolph's Chapel: what is it?

[@RichardVobes]

It is a piece of music by Ian Post - but it is library music.

[@tallpojjy]

@@RichardVobes Thank you very much for the reply

[@delphinium5555]

Ahh my stomping ground. Thank you, Richard. How many times did I run bare footed around the corner from Ariadne Road/Bath Road choosing either Heene Road or Seaview Road to get to the beach. In those days I was able to run over the flints to the sea without a flinch!

[@bobbyk531]

Excellent!

[@geoffmandy5784]

We enjoy your productions, As soon as there is a new one available, we look forward to watching you. Love it :) Just a bit concerned that you are tiring yourself out. Stay safe, "Vobey" and look forward to seeing lot's more. Ps, we watch you on the tv!

[@RichardVobes]

Thanks, Geoff. I will probably only do five episodes of the Border Walk a week, with a day off. :)

[@aclark903]

It's the feast of #StBotolph today! Nice vid. Used to live in the parish, my dad's funeral was at that church, God rest him. Worth remembering #Boston in #Lincolnshire (& thus the one in America also) is named after good ol' St Bot! There is also a St Botolphs in #Aldgate, central London if anyone is interested..

[@merietgenealogy]

My cousin Peter was one such child of a Canadian soldier, it is unknown if the soldier survived his role in D-Day, both Peter & his mother are deceased.

[@RichardVobes]

I hope he survived and had a good life.

[@merietgenealogy]

@@RichardVobes Yes, you would want to think so.

[@annenewton5403]

Love it ,thank you.

[@RichardVobes]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@AlannahRyane]

I had to like everyone's comments because I agree with them another great series! The pace is perfect because I start my morning with your vids before I catch up on the alternative news. Very interesting about our Canadian grandfathers.

[@RichardVobes]

Thank you so much. I hope you will continue to enjoy the things I find out along the way.

[@jeanblemings5352]

Love the little secret chapel tucked away. Who would have known it was there. Maybe you should call your series QF for quite fascinating ( a riff on QI!! )

[@RichardVobes]

Great title. Glad you liked the chapel, Jean.

[@michaelwhite8031]

That ADT guy was so shocked to see you he dropped his tools while you were walking down Manor Road. Great video as always and great presentation.

[@RichardVobes]

I laughed at that time and again when editing the sequence.

[@andyfrearson2299]

Very interesting first three videos Richard. Look forward to the rest of them. 👍🏻

[@RichardVobes]

Glad you like them, Andy. A shame not to be walking past your neck of the woods, but I will have turned northwards before then.

[@andyfrearson2299]

I did think you’ll be getting pretty close to me, Richard. Looks like Hermitage and Rowlands Castle are on the Hampshire/Sussex border. Good luck with it all and i look forward to watching your progress. It’ll take a bit of time, but nobody is chasing you!! Best wishes Richard.👍🏻

[@paulliebenberg3410]

Good stuff Richard! Perfect pace and content. I watch you on one screen and try to follow you on Google Earth in another screen.

[@RichardVobes]

What a splendid way to watch. You can see everything I miss that way! :)

[@denniskavanagh3075]

Thank you Richard, for the interesting views of the chapel ruins in the grounds of St Botolphs Church. Am I correct in thinking that the Brick Built structure with the concrete roof on the West side visible during your walk around the chapel ruins is in fact a relic dating from from the 1940s, a WW2 Air Raid shelter? Of course I am quite prepared to be corrected! It may just be a cycle shed for the clergy!!

[@RichardVobes]

Well observed, Dennis. I am afraid I do not know. I was so preoccupied with filming and attempting to get the facts right, I didn't take in much else.

[@denniskavanagh3075]

@@RichardVobes No problem Richard, I quite understand. Maybe some one else can enlighten us.

[@MrNas42]

I think the structure is the back of the garages for the flats beyond Dennis.

[@denniskavanagh3075]

@@MrNas42 I note that Leigh Lawson (see blow) has confirmed that the brick structure is indeed an old air raid shelter.

[@tensils]

Loved it

[@RichardVobes]

Thanks so much

[@digvijayparmar8349]

Happy Thanksgiving,from parmar family from Charlotte NC,my favorite food is samosas, youget,,plz do trying. It my midnights smack plz trying.

[@RichardVobes]

Happy holidays!

[@darrenrobertdendy9478]

Vobes at his best Brilliant new series of vids

[@RichardVobes]

Thanks so much Darren.

[@leighlawson4854]

The font from the old chapel was kept in the garden of a farmhouse nearby. Later the bowl was replaced in the ruins of the chapel.

[@RichardVobes]

Sadly, the bowl from the font looks like it was just dumped there.

[@mrtiabrown]

Go Camping in a Tent instead of your Van for a Night would be interesting

[@RichardVobes]

It would, but not so much in the cold winter.

[@mrtiabrown]

@@RichardVobes Best time to go people would be interested am enjoying your walk around Sussex

[@lindakane4717]

Great video today with interesting facts. Thankyou. Two friends of mine are involved in researching and recording the graves in the graveyard . The cemetary plan and graves are searchable on the website www.heenecemetery.org.uk/ I've visited on a few of the open days and it is lovingly cared for now. I'm surprised you didn't comment on the 1950s block attached to the large building with ornate roof line at 15:45!! The building was started in c1900 and was intended to be the Hotel Metropole close to the proposed pier at the bottom of Grand Avenue ( where the memorial is). Ran out of money and never completed . Later opened as flats called The Towers in 1923 and Renamed Dolphin Lodge in 1972.

[@RichardVobes]

Thanks for that Linda. I didn't know about the Dolphin Lodge and thought better than to risk making something up in case people thought I had consulted Philip Mercer's 'A Brief Guide to Olde Worthing' from 1834.