Key landmarks of Patching

The most prominent sight in the village is the 13th century Church of St John the Divine. The church was restored in 1888, and is praised for its somewhat obscure architecture and beautiful spire that proudly overlooks the Sussex countryside.

The village is host to Michelgrove Park, home of the renowned Shelley family, also known as the Shelley Baronets because some members of the family were peers of the realm. Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein, lived here, and it’s where Sir William Shelley once entertained Henry VIII.

Michelgrove Park is crossed by Monarch’s Way, a winding walk that is said to have been the route taken by Charles II when he fled for France during the Civil War.

The village is close to the Neolithic flint mines of the Downs, which you’ll find just a mild ramble away to the northwest of the village. Today, they are represented by mounds and hollows.

Useful links

Voluntary run website to serve the community: https://www.claphamandpatching-westsussex.org.uk/

Patching is just one of the places covered by the free Sussex Local magazine delivered by hand, by local people, every month.