Stop 7: Flint Cottage-Information
Courtlands Farm can be dated back to 1677 but this property, once the farmhouse, was built circa 1760. It is now considerably enlarged but it was once one building, comprising two semi-detached houses. It is the oldest building in Bowes Hill, then called Bulls Hill.
As early as 1840, Courtlands Farm was probably incorporated into Woodhouse Acres. The farm then consisted of three fields along Bulls Hill and three or four fields along Finchdean Road. The flint house has sometimes been known as “Little Woodhouse”.
One of the properties on Finchdean Road is still called “Courtlands” (number 127 Finchdean Road) as it was built on a Courtland field and indeed the railway arches are called “Courtlands Arches” after the land of this farm.
It isn’t known why Bulls Hill was re-named “Bowes Hill” and there is no certainty as to why it was called “Bulls Hill”. Archery, however, was incredibly important in the Middle Ages and archery training was even written into the law.
England established the first mediaeval archery law in 1252, requiring all men between the ages of 15 and 60 to be trained in archery. This was not just a kind of physical training, but it also successfully defended the English troops in wars. Because of such legislative safeguards, the English army was able to achieve good results in conflicts. A noteworthy example is the Battle of Crecy in 1346, when longbow archers killed a total of 2,000 French soldiers and officials, while the English army lost just 50 fatalities.
It is thought that the land here was used for Archery Practice and so the “Bulls” referred to Archery not livestock. I find it disappointing that road names that recall our ancient Heritage like Dirty Lane and Bulls Hill have been replaced with more grand titles, but I suppose it reflects the gentrification of Rowlands Castle taking place at the end of the Nineteenth Century.