The Residents’ Society
The Warninglid Residents' Society was formed in 1959 to represent the interests of the village.
There is still availability to join the Committee and we would love to hear from you if you feel you can give a couple of hours of your time each month for meetings and any support for promoting events.
Please send any articles for the newsletter to the WRS on warninglid.residents@gmail.com
The Warninglid Residents’ Society was formed in 1959 starting with only 40 members. It has been a success and over the last 64 years it has made a significant improvement to the lives of those that have lived here before and to those who live in Warninglid now.
The WRS set out a constitution which was to enhance the village and preserve what it already had, as well as to lobby for and represent the village where it could. It has achieved a lot since 1959 and one of the first issues that it dealt with was smartening up the village.
In those days there were open gutters in front of all the houses on both sides of The Street. There was a lot of litter and a forest of electricity and telephone poles. Where the pond is now was a turkey farm and a pig farm was at the end of The Street – there were a lot of smells! There were no litter bins in the village and rubbish was only collected every two weeks (we have reverted to that now though!) and there was no recycling.
Within the first decade the WRS had built a bus shelter, provided the street lights, the litter baskets, planted shrubs and trees and then designed and installed a village sign (in 1967).
In 1963 the WRS persuaded the district council to build 21 houses and flats in Lister’s field (kindly donated by Major J J Lister of The Grange). The Listers development started in 1963 but took five years to complete and was finally officially opened in January 1968.
In 1966 the WRS was granted permission to build a cricket pavilion on the Recreation ground. The building of the pavilion had been refused a grant so much fund-raising had to take place. As it was built where most of the village children used to play, Lady Inman of Portways donated an old farming wagon as an “adventure play frame”. This undoubtedly would not be allowed today!
The WRS then persuaded (and mostly funded) the Southern Electricity Board to take down and bury the “hideous maze of poles and tangle of wires” that marred the village.
Images top (clockwise).
The Open Ditches around the village
George Backhouse formally opens the bus shelter
The official opening of Listers by two local Councillors, George Backhouse and residents.
The village signed is showcased
Images bottom (clockwise)
The construction of the Cricket Pavilion on the Recreation Ground. (Church Flats on the right)
Wires went in every direction! Taking them down to go underground
The beautification of the village prompted entry into the Best Kept Village competition which Warninglid won several times This was greatly helped by the demolition of the 1896 farm buildings on The Street and in their place, an elegant pond, bridge and entrance to Lydhurst was built. That same year, 1965, the Lydhurst estate demolished numbers 1 to 5 The Street which stood opposite The Half Moon.
The loss of these historic houses prompted the WRS to fight for the designation of a conservation area. This was finally achieved in 1969 and became the first in Mid Sussex.
The WRS committee was also working hard on road safety. Over the course of several years, the WRS had appealed to the local council and County Highways to have the dog-leg crossroads aligned in the interests of safety. This meant demolishing a shop and two cottages that used to stand in front of Rose Cottage at the crossroads and this eventually happened. The priority was also changed from East/West to North/South, this being the direction of less traffic and therefore safer.
In the next decade, the WRS put further pressure on the district and county councils to construct the fly-over on the A23. There used to be three lanes that crossed over where the flyover exists now. It was called Five Ways. Land for the project had been bought in 1930 but work had never started. Pressure was put on the council and work started in 1972. What a difference the flyover made to the village drivers in terms of safety.
Images (clockwise).
The village stores and two cottages were demolished. Rose Cottage still stands.
Cars queuing to cross the A23 before the flyover was built.
The Presentation proposing the Warninglid Conservation Area.
The Allotments
In 1976 an official allotment was obtained through the Parish Council although it only consisted of 6 allotments. In the 1980s further land was sought for the allotments taking the total to fifteen. It has increased since then to the current 19 plots.
If you wish to have a plot, some are still available to lease through Slaugham Parish Council.
The 21st century
The 1980s and 1990s were busy mostly repairing, enhancing and updating what had already been established and what already existed.
The 21st century saw the WRS draw up plans for a new children’s play area on the recreation ground which, through Slaugham Parish Council, came to fruition. Also, a school safety zone was implemented. Sadly Warninglid Primary School closed its doors in July 2021. The WRS spent a lot of time in the planning office fighting off the development of 6 homes in the garden of The Half Moon. It took a lot of work and pressure and thankfully we retained it as a pub – with a garden! We also bought the public toilets behind the pub. They were due to be demolished and without them, we would not have been able to continue to use the Cricket Pavilion, which was built without toilets.
In the last decade, we have planned and built a car park behind St Andrews Church for the Church Flats residents and also for users of the recreation ground, the allotments and users of Seaforth Hall. The car park was officially opened by Sir Nicholas Soames.
The Warninglid Residents’ Society is currently subscription-based. The annual subscriptions are used to pay for the upkeep of the Pavilion, the toilets and the bus shelter. Also, the not-insignificant insurance covers these buildings as well as the liability insurance for the society in general and also for the society to hold events.
The WRS has provided a village newsletter 10 times a year since 1959 and continues to do so. The latest newsletter for March 2023 is Edition No. 626. Until 10 years ago it was printed and delivered exclusively by hand and the photo (top right) is of the Distribution team at the time!
WRS uses its volunteers and framework to promote and ensure any village event, or celebration, is safeguarded, legal and insured. In the early years of the WRS, many summer parties took place and a street party was held in Listers for the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in 1977.
In 2002 we held the Queens’ Golden Jubilee party on the Recreation ground with games, a band, a balloon race and also two of the three Prisoners of War that were in the village in WWII were invited. They attended with their wives. They met up with the families they were billeted with and visited the farms they worked at. George Mohring wrote a book about his time living in Warninglid called “Freedom in Captivity”.
Images (clockwise).
WRS village newsletter distribution team.
The Jubilee party on the Recreation ground.
Balloon Race.
Albrecht and George with the Bastaples
The Royal Wedding
In 2011 we held a street party on The Street for the Royal Wedding of William and Kate. We were given the opportunity to use the Lydhurst gardens for the races and games and there was great fun choosing the best Prince and Princess fancy dress and the best cake and cup-cake competition!
Diamond Jubilee
For the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012, a party was held on the recreation ground, with Zumba and line-dancing displays, many games, two bands and some wonderful acrobats!
Platinum Jubilee
The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebration in 2022 was a street party on The Street attended by 240 villagers. It was a picnic with everyone bringing their own food. There was a festive beer and Pimms bar, some live music and the children played the National Anthem.
There was also a Nostalgia Evening held in the Seaforth Hall displaying the WRS archives as well as personal memorabilia of the village from Peter Benner, a long-term resident. And a very popular Car Meet was held at the Pub with a coffee van for refreshments.
The Coronation of King Charles
The celebration for the Coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla in 2023 was held on the recreation ground on the 7th May 2023 as a “Coronation Picnic in the Park”. As usual all these events, though backed and organised, and insured by the WRS, are open to the whole village.