This is my first post, so forgive me if I blather!
St Roche's Hill - better known locally as The Trundle - north of Chichester, West Sussex, where the former chapel of St Roche was situated on top of the hill.
The French saint (patron saint of healing), born in 1295 in Montpelier, gained a legendary reputation as a protector from the plague in northern Italy. He was himself stricken with the disease at Piacenza and recovered in a cave with the aid of a dog that brought him bread. He returned home, but was unrecognised and imprisoned as an impostor, dying shortly afterwards. One of the most popular saints in France, Spain and Italy.
A small chapel dedicated to St Roche existed on the site of the former iron-age fort above Chichester until the mid 18th century. Pilgrims making their way to the shrine of St Richard in Chichester Cathedral would pass by this chapel.
The Trundle was the name originally given to the embankments of a stone age fortress or hill fort around the crown of the hill, though its name, meaning a circle, is actually a misnomer as the fort is built of several straight sections.
Dating from about 2000 BC, the fortress enclosed a tribal city that was a forerunner of Chichester. There are spectacular panoramic views from here and on a clear day, not only of Chichester and the surrounding area, but even to the Isle of Wight.
Similar stone age and iron age hill forts exist close to St Roche's hill, including Whitehawk down, near Brighton, and Cissbury ring, near Worthing.
Like many other hill forts in Sussex, Trundle Hill has a piece of folklore connected to it relating to buried treasure. The item in question in this case is a Golden Calf, which can also be found at Highdown Hill to the east.
There have been a number of reports of UFO activity around this area. One recent sighting including a low level UFO described as a large fluorescent green upright cylinder with 3 spindly legs travelling north at speed of 20 - 40 mph at height of approx 100 ft steadily and noiselessly.
The Weald & Downland Open Air Museum, England's leading museum of historic buildings is situated at the foot of the hill. Some of these buildings are reputed to be haunted.
I can't find any mention of any mysterious UBB's, but you can find lots of weird stuff relating to Trundle Hill and other mysterious places around Sussex on this URL:
http: //www.homeusers.prestel.co.uk/aspen/sussex/
Link is dead. See post below for current access to the linked content.
Oh, I would be extremely interested to hear if anyone has experienced any strange occurrences along the South Downs Way, or for that matter anywhere in the Sussex area. I've turned a bit fanatical after something scary happened to me near Chanctonbury Ring!!! I'll try and explain in a later post.
