The use of the church door as a lovers’ meeting-place, common in most small towns, has become so marked at Cuckfield (England) parish church that Mr Lewin, one of the sidesmen, made it a subject of complaint on behalf of elderly parishioners it the Easter vestry meeting. The young women duly attend evening service, but the lads, absenting themselves, assemble around the door just before the Benediction.

‘Puffing their cigarettes, they intently scrutinise the departing congregation to pick out their sweethearts, and the laughing and chatting which ensue when the lovers meet betoken scant reverence for be sacred place.’ They obstruct the pathway, making it difficult for the congregation to disperse. Appeals having been useless, the police have been asked to stop ‘the nuisance’.

Sources

The Express and Telegraph (Adelaide, South Australia), 11 May 1907, Page 5

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/208954796?searchTerm=Cuckfield

Painting: Church-going orphan-girls from Amsterdam by N. v.d. Waay, 1870 - 1936. Wikimedia public domain image.

Contributed by Malcolm Davison.