This article was first published in the West Sussex Gazette on October 16th 1997.

A Sussex family's fascinating background came to light when I spoke to Miss Elizabeth Goatcher of Worthing, for it evolved that her ancestors had come over from Normandy shortly after the Conquest some 900 years ago to take over the upkeep of some of the land.

More recently, around 100 years ago, her father, Raymond Goatcher, had been a market gardener at Rock, Washington, an area where members of the family still operate, at Rock Nurseries.

It transpires that Raymond kept an intriguing diary of his day-to-day life in the late 19th century.

Dipping into the diary and glimpsing interesting notes he made during the 1890s, we discover a hard working, kindly, family man, whose life revolved around his love of the land.

Cultivating vegetables, soft fruit and salad crops, as well as growing apple and plum trees, aided by excessive helpings of dung transported by various firms including Mitchell's and Hammond's but mainly Stent's of Worthing, the produce was regularly taken to market by horse and cart by either an employee or a family member working in the business. Not always the same market, sometimes it was Worthing but other times it could be Brighton or Shoreham.

Miss Goatcher recalled that when her father was asked why he called it dung and not manure, he replied that that what it's called in the Bible and that's good enough for me!

Raymond's usual routine included frequent evening visits to a club at the Storrington Lodge, Sunday church attendances with his wife, Marie, as well as the annual Harvest Festival that was always a rather special event.

After church it was his habit to visit his local, The Red Lion at Ashington, for an hour or so between 7.30 pm and 9.30 pm. There's no doubt that he enjoyed the outdoor life, for he was a keen cyclist, a typical entry being 'Bike ride to Worthing via Houghton and Bury with Charlie Goatcher (roads good).'

On Wednesday 6th June 1894 he was to make an incredible journey to London, incredible because it was on a penny-farthing bicycle - oh how he must have felt the bumps on those rough roads. Together with his brother Fred he left home at 6.30 in the morning but got caught up in traffic jams in Surrey. Delayed by traffic to the Derby, they had to walk nearly half way from Epsom to London. Finally they rode over Westminster Bridge at 2.30 pm before starting back home.

Problems were encountered on the return journey too: it was particularly hard work negotiating the many tram lines apparently. Not until 4 pm did they get through Croydon, reaching Redhill an hour later and Crawley by 6.30, thence via Horsham and Dial Post to arrive back home at ten.

The diary entry also stated that they were 'muddied up' and wet through from about 4.45 pm, and revealed that they had started out for the Derby but changed their minds!

Read about more of Raymond Goatcher's Victorian antics in the next edition of this column, and of 'green fingers' being handed down through the family.