DESECRATION OF PAVEMENT HERITAGE AND FOYLE'S WAR SET BY TOWN HALL VANDALS

Suddenly out of the blue workmen turned up outside Church Cottage last year and made far reaching alterations to the historic pavement, putting in pale modern slabs and chucking away in a skip - so onlookers report - the centuries old cobbles for which this Tudor town is famous. Unwittingly they were also damaging a film set used by Greenlit Rights in their production of the world-famous series of Foyle's War starring Michael Kitchen and Honeysuckle Weeks. Greenlit filmed part of Series 5 here in 2006.

Greenlit returned on April 27th to film Series 7 and chose the courtyard between the parish church and Church Cottage for a scene which they filmed in pouring rain. Fortunately, the scarred pavement wasn't in the scene.

A Foyle's War fan, a lady from Midhurst in South Australia, visiting Church Hill in March, remarked with amazement to the Editor of Midhurst Pages, that she was totally appalled; and astonished we took so little pride in our priceless heritage.

Belatedly, questions are now being asked just how this blight got passed the watchdogs whose job it is to protect us from the mindless bureaucrats in Town Hall.

A great deal of trouble was taken by English Heritage to source the right crumbly sandstone from a Fittleworth Quarry for the Cowdray Castle Causeway. Yet, seemingly, getting suitable stone, and preserving most of the cobbles, for the Church Cottage pavement was too difficult for West Sussex County Council.