Replacement windows in Small Dole, between Henfield and Upper Beeding
Small Dole is a village of mostly twentieth-century homes strung along the A2037, about two miles south of Henfield, with the scarp of the Downs filling the view to the south.
It is an odd one administratively. The civil parish is Upper Beeding, while the church parish moved to Henfield in the late 1970s, and the two parish councils work together on Small Dole under a memorandum of understanding signed in 2017. Its housing is a mix: terraces, semi-detached and detached houses, bungalows, flats, and social and affordable homes, according to the joint focus group report for the two neighbourhood plans. Mackley's industrial site sits in the middle of the village, and the old Horton landfill to the south has been closed and landscaped.
Small Dole has a small claim to architectural history. In 1936 Le Corbusier drew up a house here for an English friend, and the planning authority refused it because it did not want a modern house in the village.
What suits the houses here
Because almost nothing in Small Dole is old, there is no conservation area and no period pattern to copy. That makes it a straightforward place for aluminium, which gives slimmer frames and more glass, or a good uPVC casement where budget matters more. On a bungalow with a long south-facing front, slim frames make the most of the view to the Downs.
The village is closely tied to the National Park and partly within it, and the whole village can be seen from the Downs. For a house within the Park boundary, planning goes to the National Park Authority; for the rest, Horsham District Council. Ordinary like-for-like window replacements on a house usually need no application either way.
Woods Mill, the restored mill that houses the Sussex Wildlife Trust, is just north of the village and is listed. If you are in one of the few older cottages near it, check the listing before ordering.
For a Small Dole survey, call 01903 948046, or send your details.
Background: Small Dole on Wikipedia.