HISTORY OF THAKEHAM
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Thakeham – which means ‘thatched homestead’ is an ancient village, dating back beyond theDomesday Book into Saxon times. Many artifacts including a crock of gold, which have been unearthed by accident, illustrate this fact. You have only to walk down the ancient ‘holloways’ and byways to get a feel for the antiquity of the surroundings.
A short walk to the east from the sports field on Storrington Road leads to Strawberry Lane, which is part of an old drover’s road that is believed to have connected Shoreham to Horsham. This old track predates the church and may have been the main Anglo-Saxon or possibly a Bronze Age route through our parish into the Weald.
Following this ancient track north, you will come to ‘The Street’, the main thoroughfare in the heart of the village, passing the church of St. Mary’s. The church, originally called St Peter and St Paul’s is of Saxon origin and once enjoyed the Royal patronage of King John (of Magna Carta fame). Progressing up The Street, there are a number of properties whose function has changed with the years. Two forges came and went and they are now private homes. The Old Post Office was once a School for Young Ladies. The Street is now part of a conservation area and contains many fine buildings that are both pleasing to the eye and represent a cross section of village life. These include the White Lion Pub which dates from the 15th Century and the village school which dates from 1875.
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Walking down the Storrington Road will take you through the deep cuttings and local legend has it that these were apparently carved out by French prisoners during the Napoleonic wars. On the green, just before Abingworth Hall pond is a stone from where William Penn, who lived for a while in the village, is reputed to have preached. He was a Quaker who was the founder member of the meetings at The Blue Idol, Oldhouse Lane, (where he worshipped) and as the founder of Pennsylvania, later gave his name to that colony in America. May Day was previously celebrated at Abingworth Hall with the village children dancing around the maypole. This tradition continues today with children from Thakeham First School who dance around the maypole on Village Day held on Chesswood Sports Field in June each year.
The outbreak of war in prevented one of Kenya's most famous sons Jomo Kenyatta from returning home. In 1940, he came down to Sussex where he found work at AG Linfield and Sons, market gardeners, at Thakeham. He was initially put to work in the tomato hot-houses. During this time he lived in the neighbouring village of Storrington, where he married a local girl, Edna Clarke. They had a son, Peter, who eventually went to live in Kenya. He was something of a novelty to the local people, who affectionately called him 'Jumbo'.
The notorious Oswald Mosley – founder of the fascist movement in the UK - lived at Abingworth Hall pre-World War II. These days, Abingworth Hall is a hotel hosting groups of walkers interested in exploring the rural surrounds of the South Downs and Weald. Other famous people connected with Thakeham include the poet Shelley who visited and stayed in Thakeham and the architect Sir Edwin Lutyens who designed Little Thakeham (now a private house again after a period as a hotel).
In 1841 the population of Thakeham was 494 and it was described as an ‘out of the way parish with no resident gentlemen’. More recently, in the 20th Century, houses were built in the Southern part of the Parish, including Crescent Rise and the Davis Estate. Following a parish boundary review in 2000, part of Heath Common formerly in Thakeham moved into the Parish of Washington. Today, Thakeham has a population of around 1,793 living in 723 houses.
