Slindon - Village

Village

St Mary's 12th century parish church contains a memorial to Stephen Langton (c1150–1228), the Archbishop of Canterbury who attended the signing of Magna Carta. In the Middle Ages Slindon House (now Slindon College) was the site of one of the Archbishop's residences. In 1330 Thomas de Natindon, who was a legal representative of the Pope, was sent to Slindon to serve a writ on the archbishop. His party were not well received by the archbishop's servants who stripped and bound them, then threw cold water over them, apparently with the archbishop's consent. Natindon escaped and was pursued over the hills to Petworth where he was caught and held in prison for three days.

The writer Hilaire Belloc (1870–1953) lived in the village.

In the mid-18th century, Slindon Cricket Club achieved fame through the excellence of its team which featured Richard Newland (1718–91), whose memorial is also in the church.

Slindon post office was closed by Royal Mail in 2008, and the nearest post office is at Walberton, 1.9 miles (3.1 km) away; the local shop and pub have also closed.

In May 2012, the process began of renovating and converting the old village forge into a shop, cafe and information centre.

The village has been called the "pumpkin capital of Britain", and an annual display of pumpkins attracts tourists to the village.

A short walk from the village is Nore Folly (aka Slindon Folly), a structure built during the 18th Century by the Newburgh Family whose seat was at Slindon. The Folly resembles a gateway but leads to nowhere.