General

Please note that Café Connect will be closed on 7 May 2026 due to the election.

Out of curiosity I called in at the new build site, previously known as Lowlands, when it was a glasshouse nursery off the road between North Mundham and Hunston. As it is in sight of our church, and I had followed the planning application reports, I was interested in finding out what names had been applied to the roadways

Way back, when the Parish Council had been hearing applications, I had been asked to suggest names based on the history of our area. Delighted, I found that the entrance from the main road is called “Merricks” Way, which is taken from the family of that name farmers of a large estate based round Runcton Manor in the late 18th and early 19th century, of which a Richard, was a churchwarden at St Stephen’s Church.

The second family name is that of “Fairs”, a family at the other end of the social scale, led by the vicar’s coachman, but after emigration to Perth in Australia in the early 20th century his son, Jimmy born in North Mundham, had accidentally shot his sister dead when he was just 16 years old. He managed to join the army and fought on the Somme in France, but was killed while carrying out heroic colleague rescues from no man’s land. This surname is used several times.

The third name of historic note is “Moat”, based on the small stretch of remaining water evident from the Church estate history back in the 9th-ish century and is close to the southern rear of the housing site. Although I can’t claim any credit, another name is “Blackberry”. I wonder what names will be given to the second phase of housing roads due to be built next year behind Hawthorn Grove nearer to church year!

Have a look at the churches’ website at the bottom for more information about Stephen’s Church history.

David Coward