West Sussex accommodation on the South Downs, England
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
The accommodation;is set overlooking the South Downs National Park within the beautiful Sussex Countryside which we intend to preserve & we are strongly committed to protecting the environment in every aspect of our business. We have introduced as many environment practises within the business as possible and are constantly striving to maintain improve our eco-friendly measures. Our commitment to the environment is long term to demonstrate this we joined the hospitality auditor The Green tourism Business Scheme in 2007.
Environmental practise here include recycling tins, plastic, paper, glass, surplus garden waste and cardboard. Water conservation is achieved by only using energy water saving dishwasher and washing machine when full and only using low temperature washes, also we have a laundry policy for guests giving them the option of using towels for longer. Rain water harvesting is used for plants and vegetables. All toilets are saving 1 litre of water each time they are flushed by the use of dual flush systems or hippos. All waste water is recycled using the newest technology of a Biotec treatment plant thus naturally processing the waste protecting environment.
Cleaning and washing products are eco friendly. All bathroom toiletries are made especially for us using organic essential oils and natural ingredients. All toilet paper is recycled paper.
Energy saving is achieved by using 95% low energy bulbs - with a dimmer on the main reception room lights for guests comfort, outside LED lights have pir sensors. Loft insulation has been upgraded to 10 inches, cavity insulation installed and double glazing throughout. Heating is all fully controlled and zoned allowing us to reduce heating in rooms not in use. All appliances when replaced are chosen for their efficiency by ‘A’ rated symbol. All our equipment – boiler, electrics are regularly serviced to ensure maximum efficiency. We also buy our energy from Eco-tricity - New Energy Plus ensuring that our energy quota is from a sustainable source. Future intentions are to look into installing solar energy for water heating and even a wind turbine for electricity production.
Habitat for wildlife is paramount to us especially as we are custodians of an ancient woodland providing a haven for birds, deer, foxes, badgers and of course rabbits that we take pride in maintaining & enhancing! We also have a small pond for wildlife. A local farmer keeps her sheep in our paddock – a natural way to cut the grass. All gardening is organic to protect all wildlife and our water courses.
The management of wildlife is a continuing process requiring constant vigilance, and we are keen to play our part in encouraging the local flora and fauna to prosper. We have an active programme of woodland management paying attention to diseased trees, and leaving those that have fallen to provide habitats for insects and fungi. Due to the restricted and fragile nature of the woodland we are unable to give general access but this has attracted three roe deer on a regular basis.
Community
Purchasing policy supports local businesses where possible such as local Farmers markets, farm shops small local business persons that will in turn support local business. This also ensures we are minimising the food miles. All plastic bags are kept to the minimum as we use reusable boxes and shopping bags for our shopping. Supporting the local community is important and we are active members of the local Steyning and District Community Partnership group. We support local artist’s by displaying their pictures. We also grow our own produce such as salad, soft fruits and vegetables using organic methods our own compost made from the garden and kitchen waste. Nestling in the South Downs National Park we have some of the best walking & cycling routes and offer a range of local maps, information & free flask filling service – and we have joined the Cyclist and Walkers Welcome Scheme. We also encourage the minimal use of your car and details of a local bicycle hire.
Landscape
The house now named Nash Manor lies in the parish of Steyning in the historic county of Sussex. The parish lies mostly north of the South Downs National Park, in low rolling country just west of the river Adur. The old market town of Steyning, with its attractive medieval High Street and Norman church, is the nearest urban centre to Nash which is to the north of the town. The landscape and its underlying geology are very varied. The southern part stretches up to the crest of the Downs over 600 ft high. Steyning town lies mainly on the chalk, but Nash and its former farmlands take in a mixture of clay and sandstone. The house itself is built on one of the several beds of sandstone that outcrop in Sussex (here it is the Folkestone Beds) and the former farm buildings gather around the house, mainly to the south-west, on the edge of a band of sticky Gault clay. The old Roman Road, often known as the Greensand Way, runs west/east from Pulborough to Hassocks only a quarter of a mile to the north. An arm of what was once a sea estuary, tidal as far as Steyning and beyond Henfield, is less than a quarter of a mile to the south-east of Nash. The Ordinance Survey Map of Sussex dated 1813 shows a through road running from Nash to Greenfields Farm and on to King’s Barn, now part of eastern Steyning, where the arm of the former sea estuary lies, the river Adur marking the main channel.
Nash is a very old name and derives from the word for ash tree. For instance a farm might reasonably be named from a nearby tree which was unusually tall or had some other outstanding physical characteristic the commonest types of tree mentioned in settlement – names are oak, ash, birch, alder, elm. What we believe happened at Nash, is that once upon a time there was probably a fine ash tree standing at this site that gave its name to a family who settled here. Neighbouring place names such as Ashurst and Ashington indicate there were plenty of ash trees in this locality.
An archaeological excavation might reveal even earlier settlement. Nash lies very near the northern border of Steyning Hundred, one of the many county subdivisions that came into being from the tenth century onwards. The hundreds had military, judicial and administrative functions, some of which they retained well into the modern period. In the late Angelo-Saxon period hundreds probably consisted of 100 hides, a unit of taxation. Their names were taken from their original meeting places, which were often marked by a stone, tree or tumulus.
The Nash family therefore lived at a special place. They were not, however, living in the present house. Theirs has long gone, but part of its footprint may remain. Families usually clung tenaciously to their house sites, which had been chosen with care by their earliest builders. Situated on the free draining sandstone, with a spring nearby the placing of Nash at this spot was no accident. The views, then as now, are very lovely. The house looks out over rolling countryside to the South Downs National Park, partially shielded from the north winds and taking full advantage of its southern aspect. Part of the original seventeenth century Nash farmhouse remains embedded in the northern range of the present build, the southern additions being Victorian and twentieth century.
'The poetry of history lies in the quasi-miraculous fact that once, on this earth, once, on this familiar spot of ground, walked other men and women, as actual as we are today, thinking their own thoughts, swayed by their own passions but now all gone, one generation vanishing after another, gone as utterly as we ourselves shall shortly be gone, like ghosts at cock-crow.' - G. M. Trevlyan
