Lurgashall village

Jacquie lives in the village of Lurgashall, in Sussex, England. Most of the scenes, characters and animals for her cards are taken from the village, or indeed from her own picture-perfect period cottage.

The name Lurgashall is probably Saxon in origin, dating from the period following the Saxon invasion circa 500AD when a roving band of marauders may well have travelled along the Roman road from Chichester to London and settled on the site. Although the village is not mentioned in the Domesday Book, situated as it was in the dense forest of Wealden which was then considered to be of little value, Lurgashall was included in the fruits of victory which William the Conqueror handed out to his greedy henchmen.

Lurgashall is a now small but thriving village of around 700 inhabitants, and it boasts a pub (of course), a Saxon church, a shop, and a cricket green. The cricket pavilion (which can be seen clearly in the "Snowdog" Christmas card) is notable for the clock tower which was erected in 2000 in memory of Jacquie's late husband Roger, who was for many years captain of the village cricket team.

If you're ever passing through, be sure to call in at the Noah's Ark Inn, where Henry and Amy will be happy to serve you a pint of their best Greene King IPA!

St. Laurence's Church

Although nothing remains of the original wooden Saxon building, the present Church shows clear signs of later Saxon architecture. The Tower, with its pointed arch, is Norman. The Cloister was added in the 16th century, so that parishioners from some distance away could rest & eat between morning and evening services. Remains can be seen of an early font which was smashed by the Puritans in the Civil War. This bears signs of a lock to prevent the theft of Holy Water for superstitious purposes. Beneath is a 'Resurrection Stone' of immense weight which was hired out to prevent newly buried corpses from being stolen! The present font, of Sussex Marble, was first used on Lady Day, 1662, when the restored Charles II had reintroduced the Prayer Book and the ceremony of Baptism. The Lectern was presented in 1897 in memory of Alfred Lord Tennyson who lived nearby and was a regular worshipper at St. Laurence's.