Cowfold Village History Society

A painting of the centre of Cowfold in the late 1800s, showing Sprinks’ Stores on the left and the Red Lion on the right, by Ellen Davis Browell, daughter of Rev. James Browell, Vicar of Cowfold from 1873 to 1891 (by kind permission of the West Sussex County Library)

Cowfold Village History Society was formed in 2009 with the aim of bringing together like-minded people who are interested in local history through meetings, publications and research projects.

Since its inception, the Society has published two books, organised three village history exhibitions and set up a website, which is used to share much of the information gathered on the history of the village. A number of important research projects have also been conducted on various aspects of Cowfold’s past and a Heritage Trail has been developed that includes most of the important historical sites in the centre of the village.

An important part of our activities was the hosting of four talks a year for our members. After COVID, however, the numbers of attendees failed to return to pre-epidemic levels and we have, reluctantly, had to discontinue these. The Society remains very active, however, and we are focussing our energies on adding more material from our archives onto the website so that it is available to residents and others interested in our history. Where possible, we are willing to help with enquiries from those who are researching families and local history.

We are always grateful to hear from those who are interested in Cowfold history and anyone who would like to share photos, memories, postcards and memorabilia.