House and Garden 
uneven mortar joint with small pieces of 
black ironstone stuck into the mortar. 
Sussex was once famous for its iron-work, 
and ironstone is found in plenty near the 
surface of the ground in this district. “ Gallet- 
ing ” dates back to Jacobean times, and is 
not to be found in sixteenth century work. 
Sussex houses are usually whitewashed 
and have thatched roofs, except when Hor¬ 
sham stone is 
used. This 
stone easily 
f 1 a k e s into 
plates like 
thick slates,and 
forms large 
gray flat slabs 
on which “the 
weather works 
like a great art¬ 
ist in harmonies 
of moss lichen 
and stain. No 
roofing so com¬ 
bines dignity 
and homeli¬ 
ness, and no 
roofing except 
possibly thatch 
(which, how¬ 
ever, is short-lived) so surely passes into the 
landscape.” 6 It is to be regretted that this 
stone is no longer used for roofing. The 
slabs are somewhat thick and heavy, and 
modern rafters are not adapted to bear their 
weight. If you want to have a roof of 
Horsham stone, you can only accomplish 
your purpose by pulling down an old house 
and carrying off the slabs. Perhaps the 
small Cotswold stone slabs are even more 
beautiful. Old Lancashire and Yorkshire 
cottages have heavy stone roofs which some¬ 
what resemble those fashioned with Hor¬ 
sham slabs. 
You will notice that the pitch of the Hor¬ 
sham slated roofs is unusually flat. The 
builders and masons of our country cottages 
6 “ Highways and Byways in Sussex,” by F. Griggs. 
were cunning men, and adapted their designs 
to their materials. They observed that when 
the sides of the roof were deeply sloping 
the heavy stone slates strained and dragged 
at the pegs and laths, and fell and injured 
the roof. Hence they determined to make 
the slope less. Unfortunately the rain did 
not then run off well, and in order to pre¬ 
vent the water penetrating into the house 
they were ob¬ 
liged to adopt 
additional pre- 
cautions. 
Therefore they 
cemented their 
roofs and stop¬ 
ped them with 
mortar. 
Sometimes 
in these south¬ 
ern houses we 
find stone mix¬ 
ed with brick 
in the construc- 
tion of the 
walls. At Bins- 
combe there are 
cottages built 
of rough Bar- 
gate stone with 
brick dressings. Elsewhere in the neigh¬ 
borhood of Petworth you will see brick 
used for the label-mouldings and strings and 
arches, while the walls and mullions and 
doorways are constructed of stone. 
Very lovely are these south country cot¬ 
tages: peaceful,picturesque,pleasant, with their 
graceful gables and jutting eaves, altogether 
delightful. Well sang a loyal Sussex poet: 
“If I ever become a rich man. 
Or if ever I grow to be old, 
I will build a house with deep thatch 
To shelter me from the cold ; 
And there shall the Sussex songs be sung 
And the story of Sussex told. 
“ I will hold my house in the high nook. 
Within a walk of the sea. 
And the men who were boys when I was a boy 
Shall sit and drink with me.” 
BRICKWORK AT WESTHOUGHTON HALL, LANCASHIRE 
12 3 
