AhistoryoftheSanctuary

A Centur y of the Sanctuar y, Storrington

By Professor Clive Webb of the University of Sussex

For anyone in search of how the past shaped our present world, road names can be an important clue. That is certainly true of Sanctuary Lane and Vera’s Walk at Heath Common near Storrington. The story behind these names is told in a small memorial that stands where the two routes meet. This, reveals a wooden plaque, was once the location of a radical experiment in alternative living led by a Christian mystic who wanted to create a world free of poverty and war. All that remains of that history is the tile-roofed cottage a few yards from the memorial. It was one hundred years ago this winter that the woman whose name adorns the nearby road sign moved into the cottage and from there founded her new community, the Sanctuary. Born in 1896, Vera Pragnell was the daughter of a wealthy textile manufacturer. Her experience as a Red Cross Nurse during the First World War had instilled in her a strong aversion towards military conflict. She had also become disillusioned with contemporary urban life, having worked for a time as a social worker in the slums of East London. Steeped in the Christian socialist movement that emerged during the nineteenth century, Pragnell aspired to create a rural arcadia where people could return to a simpler life free of the avarice and violence of the modern world. Pragnell set up a small refuge on Kingsley Green near Haslemere. Ambition then led her to invest £850 of her inheritance in 27 acres of land at Heath Common. Here in the chalky soil of the South Downs she opened the Sanctuary, advertising a free halfacre allotment to anyone who wanted to join the settlement. Pragnell placed a large crucifix on top of Longbury Hill as a beacon calling out to the world.

Others soon answered her call. The Sanctuary was a magnet for mavericks and misfits who had lost or never found their place in mainstream society. Residents and regular visitors included a poet who claimed black magician Aleister Crowley once turned him into a cam- Vera Pragnell el, an anarchist veteran of the Mexican Revolution, and a fiddle-playing monk who turned out to be a wanted felon. The Sanctuary also hosted summer camps for everyone from the British Communist Party to the Girl Guides. For a time the community flourished. Pragnell married one of the residents, Royal Academy trained artist Dennis Earle. Together with fellow artist William Heaton Cooper, Earle led a revival of traditional arts and crafts, creating an array of bespoke products inspired by what his wife described as ‘a love of the lovely’. The Sanctuary also established a school, staged theatre productions and taught classes in folk dancing and hand looming. A small chalet offered dainty teas to curious visitors. Then the dream soured. There had long been scandal surrounding the Sanctuary because of the unconventional behaviour of its residents. Rumours, not all unsubstantiated, circulated of nudism, free love and pagan worship. Pragnell was unphased. ‘The prudes, the humbugs and the dense,’ she told one reporter, ‘bless them!’ Ironically it was the residents themselves who brought about the demise of the Sanctuary, demanding the legal deeds to the supposedly open land they shared. The competitiveness and property ownership of the outside world had intruded on the rural idyll conceived by Pragnell. A decade after founding the Sanctuary, she sold the land. After traveling overseas for several years she and her family resettled in the area, converting it into a more conventional estate. One hundred years later it is easy to dismiss Pragnell as a naïve idealist. Her concerns about urban poverty, the preservation of rural heritage and nature conservations nonetheless retain a powerCrucifix - possibly now in the refectory of Storrington priory ful contemporary resonance. As the road sign suggests, the spirit of Vera still walks among us.

Legacy Planning

By Will Writer Emma Wells MIPW

Firstly, let me take this o p p o r t u n i t y to wish you all a Happy New Year. As we go from 22 to 23, no doubt there are a number of you that have made some resolutions or goals for the coming 12 months, there may even be a few of you, like me, that have failed miserably already. Christmas is often a time when we get together with loved ones, whether that’s old friends, new friends or family members. It’s a chance to catch up, eat too much and even grab an afternoon nap. The New Year tends to bring with it a new energy, we plan, we dream and we start booking up our social calendars. January is a busy time for us too. It’s noticeable that people reflect on what’s important over the festive period and so we see an increase in enquiries for Will Writing and Legacy Planning. We have a very strong belief that making your Will isn’t and shouldn’t feel like a morbid experience. You’re not planning death, you’re planning what happens to your belongings, assets and estate when the inevitable time comes. It’s about taking control and being able to make those important decisions in a relaxed and stress-free environment. It still surprises me that so many of our clients say that “getting it done” has been on their to-do list for a number of years. Writing your Will obviously isn’t one of those impulse purchases and rightfully so, it should be well considered and we are huge advocates of discussing your plans with your nearest and dearest first, maybe just not at Christmas! So, if planning how to leave your legacy is on the agenda this year, feel free to give us a call or drop us an email to see how we can help. We promise to make it an enjoyable experience. Please do get in touch on 01903 821010 or email emma.cohen@nsure.co.uk

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