68-609: Cocking Lime Works and its associated chalk quarry are abandoned industrial sites in the South Downs of England. They are to the south of the village of Cocking, West Sussex , close to the South Downs Way . The works are on land owned by the Cowdray Estate and are not open to the public. Cocking was the source of lime used for the manufacture of Midhurst White bricks and for agricultural purposes. The lime kilns are beside
136-502: A book called The Invisible Man in 1898, and in it says "He fled to South Down". Amberley, West Sussex Amberley is a village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex , England. It is situated at the foot of the South Downs , 4 miles (6 km) north of Arundel . Its neighbours are Storrington and West Chiltington . The village is noted for its thatched cottages . A house named "The Thatched House"
204-428: A campaign tried to prevent the despoliation of Amberley by the erection of pylons and overhead power cables , looking at the financing of the alternative scheme of laying low tension underground cables. Frank Pepper had regular correspondence with Arthur Rackham who had lived nearby, and John Galsworthy from Bury, West Sussex regarding the campaign to save Bury Coombe. Letters between 1926 and 1959 document claims to
272-419: A charging platform which extended across all eight surmounted by a railway line. At the south-east of the site, with its top about 16 m (50 ft) above the level of the base of the kilns, is the primary chalk crusher. This was accessible to the lorries bringing chalk down from the chalk pit. The crusher was electrically driven, and was fed from a hopper into the rotating teeth. The crusher discharged onto
340-448: A conveyor belt which transferred the chalk to the intermediate chalk crusher. The intermediate chalk crusher is about 40 m (130 ft) north, with its top about 7 m (20 ft) above the level of the base of the kilns. This comprised a sequence of crushing machines and ball mills connected by conveyor belts in a steel-framed, asbestos-clad building. The crushed chalk was then either discharged onto lorries for transport off
408-613: A distance of up to 7 mi (11 km) southwards. Viewed from high points further north in the High Weald and on the North Downs, the scarp of the South Downs presents itself as a steep wall that bounds the horizon, with its grassland heights punctuated with clumps of trees (such as Chanctonbury Ring ). In the west, the chalk ridge of the South Downs merges with the North Downs to form
476-509: A large population, particularly during Romano-British times. There is a rich heritage of historical features and archaeological remains, including defensive sites, burial mounds and field boundaries. Within the South Downs Environmentally Sensitive Area there are thirty-seven Sites of Special Scientific Interest , including large areas of chalk grassland. The grazing of sheep on the thin, well-drained chalk soils of
544-674: A lowland grassland on the west and south facing scarp slopes of the Meon valley; and Beacon Hill, a high quality chalk grassland 5 km west of Old Winchester Hill. In 1923 the Society of Sussex Downsmen (now the South Downs Society) was formed with the aim of protecting the area's unique landscape. The South Downs are a popular area for ramblers with a network of over 2,000 mi (3,200 km) of well-managed, well-signed and easily accessible trails. The principal bridleway, and longest of them,
612-654: A poem "On the South Downs". The South Downs have been home to several writers, including Jane Austen who lived at Chawton on the edge of the Downs in Hampshire. The Bloomsbury Group often visited Monk's House in Rodmell , the home of Virginia Woolf in the Ouse valley. Alfred, Lord Tennyson , had a second home at Aldworth, on Blackdown ; geologically part of the Weald , Blackdown lies north of
680-482: A result there are many winterbournes along the northern edge. The South Downs are a long chalk escarpment that stretches for over 110 km (68 mi), rising from the valley of the River Itchen near Winchester, Hampshire , in the west to Beachy Head near Eastbourne , East Sussex , in the east. Behind the steep north-facing scarp slope, the gently inclined dip slope of undulating chalk downland extends for
748-695: A thin band of cream-coloured nodular chalk known as the Melbourn Rock marking the boundary between the Lower and Middle units. The strata of southeast England, including the Chalk, were gently folded during a phase of the Alpine Orogeny to produce the Weald-Artois Anticline , a dome-like structure with a long east-west axis. Erosion has removed the central part of the dome, leaving the north-facing escarpment of
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#1733085675312816-461: Is about a case that Holmes solves whilst living there. The author Graham Greene 's first published novel, The Man Within (1929), is set largely on and around the South Downs. The book's principal character, Andrews, travels by foot across the Downs to reach Lewes and attend the Assizes. Greene provides a detailed description of both the landscape and its 'feel'. The author H. G. Wells published
884-639: Is also a war memorial , The Chattri , dedicated to Indian soldiers who died in the Brighton area, having been brought there for treatment after being injured fighting on the Western Front in the First World War . Rudyard Kipling who lived in Rottingdean described the South Downs as "Our blunt, bow-headed whale-backed Downs". Writing in 1920 in his poem The South Country , poet Hilaire Belloc describes
952-451: Is from Old English dūn , meaning 'hill'. The word acquired the sense of 'elevated rolling grassland' around the 14th century. These hills are prefixed 'south' to distinguish them from another chalk escarpment , the North Downs , which runs roughly parallel to them about 30 mi (48 km) away on the northern edge of the Weald. The South Downs are formed from a thick band of chalk which
1020-515: Is known for its wildfowl . Amberley Castle is now a hotel. The castle was a fortified manor house next to which is the Norman St Michael's Church. William Champion Streatfeild , who became Bishop of Lewes was vicar of Amberley with Houghton from 1897 to 1902. His daughter, the children's novelist Noel Streatfeild , spent part of her childhood there. These may have been the happiest years of her childhood. Arnold Bennett 's stay in
1088-408: Is noted for his rural scenes, many sketched close to Amberley. His monument has a bust on top carved by the sculptor Francis Derwent Wood . Wood's grave is marked with one of his own works, a pietà bas-relief in bronze. Inside the church is a semi-circular stained-glass window to Stott, designed by Robert Anning Bell . Other windows have inscriptions by Eric Gill and his assistant Joseph Cribb . In
1156-409: Is one of the four main areas of chalk downland in southern England . The South Downs are relatively less populated compared to South East England as a whole, although there has been large-scale urban encroachment onto the chalk downland by major seaside resorts, including most notably Brighton and Hove . The South Downs have been inhabited since ancient times and at periods the area has supported
1224-528: Is one of the village's few non-thatched houses. One of the attractions is Amberley Working Museum . Amberley has a railway station on the Arun Valley Line , with regular services to Bognor Regis , Portsmouth and London . To the north of the village is the tidal plain of the River Arun , known as Amberley Wild Brooks . The wetland is a Site of Special Scientific Interest which floods in winter and
1292-427: Is rectangular (4.5 m (14.8 ft) x 5.0 m (16.4 ft) in dimension) with a pot 2.1 m (6 ft 11 in) in diameter at the top. This kiln has a separate furnace chamber connected to it by a flue. The eastern kiln (inscribed 1958) was the last to be built. This is similar in size to the original six although at a slight angle and was built with concrete outer walls with no buttresses. The kilns had
1360-525: Is the South Downs Way . The Monarch's Way , having originated at Worcester , crosses the South Downs and ends at Shoreham-by-Sea . Sports undertaken on the Downs include paragliding , mountain-biking , horse riding and walking . The popular Beachy Head Marathon (formerly Seven Sisters Marathon ), a hilly cross-country marathon, takes place each autumn on the eastern Downs, starting and finishing in Eastbourne. The South Downs Trail Marathon starts in
1428-471: The A286 about 0.5 km (0.3 mi) south of the village of Cocking . They are in a small chalk pit, now heavily overgrown, at grid reference SU87751715 and occupy a site of approximately 3 ha (7 acres). This area is known as "The Butts", having been used for archery practice in the 12th century. The chalk quarry is about 500 m (1,640 ft) south-east at grid reference SU88251677 just to
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#17330856753121496-561: The Greensand Ridge on the Weald 's western margins. A list of those points on the South Downs above 700 ft (210 m), going from west to east, is given below. Archaeological evidence has revealed that the Downs have been inhabited and utilised for thousands of years. Neolithic flint mines such as Cissbury , burial mounds such as the Devil's Jumps and Devil's Humps , and hill forts like Chanctonbury Ring are strong features in
1564-644: The Hampshire Downs . In the east, the escarpment terminates at the English Channel coast between Seaford and Eastbourne , where it produces the spectacular white cliffs of Seaford Head , the cross-section of dry valleys known as the Seven Sisters and Beachy Head , the highest chalk sea cliff in Britain at 162 m (531 ft) above sea level. The South Downs may be said to have three main component parts:
1632-738: The Wealden Greensand , the Low Weald and the Pevensey Levels to the north and the South Hampshire Lowlands and South Coast Plain to the south. The downland is a highly popular recreational destination, particularly for walkers, horseriders and mountain bikers. A long distance footpath and bridleway , the South Downs Way , follows the entire length of the chalk ridge from Winchester to Eastbourne, complemented by many interconnecting public footpaths and bridleways. The term 'downs'
1700-474: The Cowdray Estate from 1768 shows a chalk pit on Cocking Hill, while the tithe map of 1842 shows the chalk pit as being assigned to Rev. Thomas Valentine, the incumbent at Cocking Church. In 1830, the estate map showed further lime kilns at Wolverstone Farm, at the southern edge of the parish. In September 1833, William Marshall was killed by an earthquake in a chalk pit at Cocking. The 1861 Census includes
1768-574: The Downs over many centuries, and browsing by rabbits, resulted in the fine, short, springy turf, known as old chalk grassland , that has come to epitomise the South Downs today. Until the middle of the 20th century, an agricultural system operated by downland farmers known as 'sheep-and-corn farming' underpinned this: the sheep (most famously the Southdown breed) of villagers would be systematically confined to certain corn fields to improve their fertility with their droppings and then they would be let out onto
1836-645: The East Hampshire Downs, the Western Downs and the Eastern Downs, together with the river valleys that cut across them and the land immediately below them, the scarpfoot . The Western and Eastern Downs are often collectively referred to as the Sussex Downs . The Western Downs, lying west of the River Arun , are much more wooded, particularly on the scarp face, than the Eastern Downs. The bare Eastern Downs –
1904-417: The South Downs along its southern margin with the south-facing chalk escarpment of the North Downs as its counterpart on the northern side, as shown on the diagram. Between these two escarpments the anticline has been subject to differential erosion so that geologically distinct areas of hills and vales lie in roughly concentric circles towards the centre; these comprise the Greensand Ridge , most prominent on
1972-509: The South Downs as "the great hills of the South Country". In On The South Coast , poet Algernon Charles Swinburne describes the South Downs as "the green smooth-swelling unending downs". The naturalist-writer William Henry Hudson wrote that "during the whole fifty-three mile length from Beachy Head to Harting the ground never rises above a height of 850 feet, but we feel on top of the world". Poet Francis William Bourdillon also wrote
2040-473: The South Downs but is included in the South Downs National Park. In the introduction to Arthur Conan Doyle 's short story collection His Last Bow , Dr. Watson states that Sherlock Holmes has retired to a small farm upon the Downs near Eastbourne. In the story "His Last Bow" itself, Holmes states that he "lives and keeps bees upon the South Downs". Furthermore, the short story " The Lion's Mane "
2108-597: The Staircase has a character named Amberley. Arthur Rackham is commemorated in a wall plaque in the churchyard. The lettercutting is by John Skelton . Rackham and his artist wife Edyth lived at Houghton House on the other side of the valley throughout the 1920s. In 1932, the film The Man from Toronto starring Jessie Matthews and Ian Hunter was filmed here. There is a memorial in the churchyard to Edward Stott ARA who lived in Amberley from 1889 until he died in 1918. He
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2176-529: The bank of lime kilns. South Downs The South Downs are a range of chalk hills in the south-eastern coastal counties of England that extends for about 260 sq mi (670 km ) across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head , in the Eastbourne Downland Estate , East Sussex, in the east. The Downs are bounded on
2244-412: The bottom which are 1.6 m (5 ft 3 in) x 0.8 m (2 ft 7 in) in dimension. The draw hole grates support raking irons in the bottom of each kiln. At the front of each kiln, there are semi-circular draw arches. The kilns at each end are later additions. The kiln at the western (left) end is set forward and is a free standing structure identical in height to the main bank of six. It
2312-425: The centre of the works is the bank of eight lime kilns. The original six kilns were draw kilns with a continuous retaining wall 6.3 m (20.7 ft) high along the front, with concrete buttresses between each kiln. The kilns extend to a further 2.9 m (9 ft 6 in) above the retaining wall. The kiln pots are about 3.0 m (9.8 ft) in diameter at the top and taper down to rectangular draw holes at
2380-465: The chalk from the end of the overhead ropeway to the kilns, and also to move coal from the store and transfer the lime into the lime grinding plant. The draw kilns in the south battery were also converted to flare kilns; this was to ensure that the lime was clean enough for use in the manufacture of the Midhurst White bricks; also, the draw kilns were more labour-intensive and used more fuel. In 1938,
2448-465: The chalk pit and the lime kilns. In 1985, the production of lime for bricks ceased following the cessation of trading at the Midhurst Brick & Lime Company, after which all production was for agricultural purposes; as well as "Calco", the company also produced "Nurslim", for use on gardens and nurseries. The last building to be erected was the primary chalk crusher, which was installed in 1985. At
2516-495: The chassis of a truck. This kiln was still extant in the 1930s, although derelict. Following the acquisition by Robert Dunning in 1924, the works were considerably expanded to provide supplies to the Midhurst Brickworks . By this time, the chalk was being extracted solely from the upper chalk pit and an overhead ropeway was constructed to speed up the transport of chalk from the chalk pit to the kilns. This ropeway ran just to
2584-569: The church, south of the chancel arch are 12th or 13th century wall-paintings, depicting scenes from the Passion Cycle. Amberley Working Museum was used as a set location for the James Bond film A View to a Kill as "Mainstrike Mine". The Pepper Papers (1899–1978) give an insight into Amberley's history as a producer of Lime, with 1904 correspondence between Peppers and companies interested in shipping Amberley chalk to North America. In 1929–35,
2652-455: The company were requested by the Ministry of Agriculture to produce lime for agricultural purposes, following which the intermediate chalk crushing plant was installed. The company marketed a product called "Calco", a mixture of powdered chalk and lime, and also contracted with farmers to spread this material on their fields. The large storage shed to the western end of the remaining battery of kilns
2720-453: The crane, the kilns were loaded using a dragline excavator placed on the higher ground to the south and unloaded by a portable conveyor belt pushed into the draw holes. In the late-1950s, the overhead ropeway was dismantled and chalk was delivered from the quarry by use of either the lane from Hill Barn or the A286 road. In 1962, a new embanked roadway was built to provide a direct connection between
2788-458: The downland to graze. However, starting in 1940 with government measures during the Second World War to increase domestic food production – which continued into the 1950s - much grassland was ploughed up for arable farming, fundamentally changing the landscape and ecology, with the loss of much biodiversity. As a result, while old chalk grassland accounted for 40-50% of the eastern Downs before
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2856-587: The enquiry process a number of boundary questions were considered, so that the National Park contains areas not in the former AONBs, and vice versa. The South Downs contain a number of national nature reserves (NNRs). The NNRs on the Sussex Downs comprise Kingley Vale , near Chichester , said by Natural England to contain one of the finest yew forests in Europe, including a grove of ancient trees which are among
2924-412: The entry "James Bennett, a tramp, slept in lime kiln" under Cocking, although there is no indication of the precise location. The same census describes Henry Farley, of Wolverstone Farm as a "Limeburner and timber merchant". The 1874 Ordnance Survey 25" scale map shows three lime kilns in the parish: one was near the head of Sun Combe and has been lost in later quarry excavations, while the others were in
2992-483: The government announced its decision to make the South Downs a national park on 31 March 2009. The South Downs National Park finally came into operation on 1 April 2011. Within its boundary are included not only the South Downs proper but also part of the western Weald , a geologically and ecologically quite different district. The South Downs National Park has replaced two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)s : East Hampshire AONB and Sussex Downs AONB . During
3060-404: The granting of the lease to Pepper and Sons from Amberley . By 1914, a 2 ft gauge tramway had been built between the lower chalk pit and the lime kiln at grid reference SU87751704 . This was shown on the 1914 edition of the six-inch Ordnance Survey map and was still shown on later six-inch maps up to the 1970s. There remain traces of this tramway on the site, including sections of rail and
3128-412: The landscape. It has been estimated that the tree cover of the Downs was cleared over 3000 years ago, and the present closely grazed turf is the result of continual grazing by sheep. Proposals to create a national park for the South Downs date back to the 1940s. However, it was not until 1999 that the idea received firm government support. After a public enquiry that took place between 2003 and 2009,
3196-449: The lower pit closer to the village, one on the site of the later kilns and the other a few yards higher, now covered by trees. These kilns were probably small wood-fired flare kilns producing grey hydraulic lime . The chalk pits and lime kilns were leased by the Cowdray Estate to various people over the years. In 1906, a lease was granted to Pepper and Sons from Amberley in respect of two lime kilns, "one in good working order". In 1921,
3264-418: The north of the later roadway with the upper "terminus" being situated at grid reference SU881169 . At about this time, six new draw kilns were built, which are now the centre of the south battery. The site continued to be developed throughout the 1920s and 1930s, including the erection of a further battery of four flare kilns to the north of the original battery. An overhead crane was installed to transfer
3332-464: The north side of the Weald, where it includes Leith Hill , the highest hill in south-east England, the low-lying clay vales of the Low Weald, formed of less resistant Weald Clay , and finally the more highly resistant sandstones of the High Weald at the centre of the anticline, whose elevated forest ridge includes most notably Ashdown Forest . The chalk, being porous, allows water to soak through; as
3400-480: The northern fringe of Friston Forest north-west of Eastbourne, one of the largest areas of chalk heath in Britain. The NNRs on the East Hampshire Downs comprise Butser Hill , near Petersfield, a large area of chalk grassland on the highest point in the South Downs (a large area is also designated as a scheduled monument reflecting its historical significance, particularly in the Bronze and Iron Ages); Old Winchester Hill ,
3468-498: The northern side by a steep escarpment , from whose crest there are extensive views northwards across the Weald . The South Downs National Park forms a much larger area than the chalk range of the South Downs, and includes large parts of the Weald. The South Downs are characterised by rolling chalk downland with close-cropped turf and dry valleys , and are recognised as one of the most important chalk landscapes in England. The range
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#17330856753123536-406: The oldest living things in Britain (the reserve is also one of the most important archaeological sites in southern England, with 14 scheduled monuments ); Castle Hill , between Brighton and Lewes, an important example of ancient, traditionally managed grassland; Lewes Downs ( Mount Caburn ), a traditionally managed chalk downland (and also an important archaeological site); and Lullington Heath , on
3604-429: The only part of the chalk escarpment to which, until the late 19th century, the term "South Downs" was usually applied – have come to epitomise, in literature and art, the South Downs as a whole and which have been the subject matter of such celebrated writers and artists as Rudyard Kipling (the "blunt, bow-headed, whale-backed downs") and Eric Ravilious . Four river valleys cut through the South Downs, namely those of
3672-466: The owner of the Midhurst Brick & Lime Company, thus also acquiring the works at Cocking. In 1993, the site was acquired by the Dudman Group of Companies who owned it until 1999, when all work ceased at both sites, since when the works have been abandoned. The earliest chalk pits were dug by hand with the lime kilns close by. As the chalk pits became deeper, workmen would be suspended with ropes from
3740-531: The rivers Arun, Adur , Ouse and Cuckmere , providing a contrasting landscape. Chalk aquifers and to a lesser extent winterbourne streams supply much of the water required by the surrounding settlements. Dew ponds , artificial ponds for watering livestock, are a characteristic feature on the downland. The highest point on the South Downs is Butser Hill , whose summit is 271 m (889 ft) above sea level. The plateau-like top of this irregularly shaped hill, which lies just south of Petersfield, Hampshire ,
3808-501: The site was leased to Frederick Searle; this lease was later assigned to his brother, Eli. In 1924, Eli entered into partnership with Robert Dunning, who agreed to "build new flare kilns on the site of old wood flare kilns". The following year, Dunning acquired the Midhurst Brickworks which had been producing bricks made from sand and lime since 1913 from a site close to the former Midhurst (LSWR) railway station . In 1926, Benjamin Cloke became
3876-427: The site, or by conveyor belt to the final screening plant. The final screening plant was in a two-storey building attached to the west of the intermediate chalk crusher to which it is connected by two high-level conveyor belts. The upper floor housed two sets of "Niagara" vibrating screens to sort the crushed chalk. The screening plant discharged into road transport or into a storage building alongside. The chalk pit
3944-406: The south battery in the 1940s, which was used to dry chalk with the eighth kiln being added at the opposite end in 1958. By the end of the 1950s, the north battery had been demolished and only the eastern end wall now remains. Following the demolition of the north battery, the overhead crane was also dismantled and the south battery was enlarged and converted to draw kilns. Following the dismantling of
4012-462: The south of Sun Combe, at an elevation about 80 m (260 ft) above the site of the kilns, and cover an area of approximately 6 ha (15 acres). The two sites are linked by an embanked roadway, built in 1962 to allow lorries to transport chalk direct from the quarry to the kilns. The earliest known mention of lime workings in the parish of Cocking is in 1715, when Cowdray Estate documents refer to two isolated lime kilns being in use. A map of
4080-412: The top of the cliff, breaking the chalk by hand. It was not until the 1940s that explosives were used to break the chalk out of the quarry face. Blasting took place two or three times per week, often on Sunday mornings and provoked regular complaints from the residents of Cocking village, particularly regarding cracked ceilings and broken windows. The expansion of the lime works commenced in 1906 following
4148-499: The village for eight weeks in 1926 is documented in his journals. During May–June 1926, he wrote the last two thirds of The Vanguard in 44 days, noting I have never worked more easily than in the last six weeks . He also met John Cowper Powys who walked over the Downs from Burpham to visit him. Frank Swinnerton lived in Cranleigh and had links with Bennett, subsequently selecting and editing his journals. Swinnerton's 1914 novel On
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#17330856753124216-712: The village of Slindon (near Arundel) and ends at the Queen Elizabeth Country Park (to the south of Petersfield.) Longer events that take in the South Downs Way include a 100-mile running 'ultramarathon' and mountain biking 75 mile night time race from Beachy Head to Queen Elizabeth Country Park. Three of the landmarks on the Downs are the Long Man of Wilmington and the Litlington White Horse being chalk carved hill figures , and Clayton Windmills . There
4284-471: The war, only 3-4% survives. This and development pressures from the surrounding population centres ultimately led to the decision to create the South Downs National Park , which came into full operation on 1 April 2011, to protect and restore the Downs. The South Downs have also been designated as a National Character Area (NCA 125) by Natural England . It is bordered by the Hampshire Downs ,
4352-433: Was abandoned in 1999, although chalk is occasionally extracted for local use. The quarry remains the property of the Cowdray Estate, who manage it as part of their pheasant shooting. The estate has 18 drives on 3,500 acres at Cocking, with the chalk pit being described as the estate's "signature drive". In May 2011, Cowdray Estate applied for planning permission to use the chalk pit as an inert landfill site. The application
4420-464: Was deposited during the Cretaceous Period between 100 and 66 million years ago within a shallow sea which extended across much of northwest Europe. The rock is composed of the microscopic skeletons of plankton which lived in the sea, hence its colour. The chalk has many fossils , and bands of flint occur throughout the formation. The Chalk is divided into the Lower, Middle and Upper Chalk,
4488-417: Was in regular use through prehistory. It has been designated as a national nature reserve . Within the boundary of the South Downs National Park, which includes parts of the western Weald to the north of the South Downs, the highest point is Blackdown , West Sussex, which rises to 280 m (919 ft) above sea level. However, Blackdown geologically is not part of the South Downs but instead forms part of
4556-399: Was rejected by West Sussex County Council. In 2012, Cowdray Estate published proposals to redevelop the site of the lime works "to provide overnight camping facilities for walkers and cyclists using the South Downs Way , together with a visitor facility for the industrial archaeology of the lime works". This proposal would necessitate the demolition of all the buildings on the site other than
4624-454: Was used to store the Calco. Between 1926 and 1938, the company excavated approximately 3,200 tons of chalk annually from the chalk pit, all of which was used for brick production. From 1938 on, the amount of chalk processed increased substantially, reaching a peak of 36,000 tons in 1955 with agricultural lime accounting for all the additional output. A seventh kiln was erected at the western end of
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