Dog Lane
If you turned left down the footpath after Newham on your right you will note the house with cream render. This was the site of the former office of Frank Duke’s builders and a reminder of a man who contributed much to Steyning; his researches into the past resulted in a delightful book on Steyning and he always built in sympathy with the character of the town.
Down this pleasant grassy path you would once have passed under a little wooden bridge connecting the two parts of Newham’s gardens but this has now gone together with Duke’s Yard, where new development has taken place.
At the bottom turn left into the lower part of the ell of Dog Lane. Maybe its dog-leg shape gave this lane its name but it was more likely from the kennelling of dogs used to draw carts, possibly for the Royal Mail or perhaps for Hobbs the tinsmith of No. 70 High Street who certainly used dog carts to deliver his pots and pans.
Note another mounting block on the left at the bottom of the first part of Dog Lane.
The beautiful flint wall on your left is worth noting, with its brick string course. It contains, the occasional piece of stone some of which may have come from the church when, according to records, it went through a period of ‘decaye and ruyne’ in the 16th. century. Other examples have been found of stones believed to have come from the church and used in local buildings.
The water course along the left hand side of Dog Lane is all that is left of the old Singwell Stream which used to run across the road where it joined the High Street and which here was once called Singwell Street. A well hereabouts, protected by a shingled roof was called the Shingled Well, later corrupted to Singwell and now perpetuated as Springwells, the name on the fine Georgian house on the corner and which you have now reached on the left.
Pause here for a moment and look to your right. On the opposite corner is Rosewell House, once part of Michell’s Brewery which was in Dog Lane and for which water was supplied from the Singwell Stream. Next to it is Charlton House, another excellent Queen Anne building and once the home of the brewing families.
Click here for an interesting video tour of Dog Lane done by the Bald Explorer.
Across the road the buildings on the corner of Jarvis Lane were once part of the Gates Brewery complex and the Three Tuns Hotel which has been converted into residential use.
Although we have not included details of Jarvis Lane in this circular tour it has been dealt with separately. Please refer to the Jarvis Lane page within the Menu.
Please now turn left into the High Street and then press Next.