The 1914 edition of the 6 inches/mile OS map shows the extent of the flood plain around Houghton with ‘Liable to Floods’ repeated across the fields alongside the Arun.

Navigation, particularly through the historic stone bridges such as Stopham Bridge, is often constrained by both flooding and drought. River crossings in the lower valley often have ancient causeways supporting the approaches to minimise the effect of flooding on travel.

The fertile land produced a better yield of hay which was cut in the summer months for winter feed. Livestock could then graze the meadows until the flood season from October to April. Cattle were generally preferred as they compact and stabilise the soil. The hay meadows and ditches benefited biodiversity by providing a range of habitats for animals and plants.

Complex drainage systems of ditches and sluices evolved to enable water levels to be managed to ensure maximum retention of moisture during dry periods. Much of this traditional approach was impacted by the raising of the Arun's banks in the 1960s in an attempt to mitigate flooding of habitation and roads. There are now plans to return the river to a more natural state and reverse some of the previous actions.

The Arun valley, like most river valleys, has feast or famine when it comes to water supply with regular winter flooding and summer drought. The former is generally more obvious and has more dramatic impact. The flood cycle was important to allow these fields to benefit from the fertile silt in flood water washed down from surrounding higher land. Several feet of water was allowed to remain on them for some time to allow suspended material to be deposited.

Published by Travers of Brighton, this card shows the winter flooding of the fields on both sides of the river, with the route still visible by the raised banks. The presence of the steam crane on the wharf to the right of the bridge suggests that the picture was taken before 1914. A train is standing at Amberley Station in the foreground.

This card was previously in the collection of the late Rendell Williams, author of the Sussex Postcards website.

The back of the card led to some careful detective work in genealogy records to try and identify the persons mentioned. The first clue was from the headline ‘Malt House, Amberley’. Census records show that the residents in the early 1900s were the Dunk family, including a daughter Chloe (born 1894) which is the name of the card's sender.

Eric, mentioned in the text, was one of Chloe’s brothers. Her mother was born Agnes Bendall, so Auntie May was probably Agnes’ sister, Rosa May Bendall. It is likely that Uncle Jack was Rosa’s brother, John Ranson Granville Bendall, a postman. They lived on Brook Farm, Rattlesden, Suffolk, which was the family’s poultry farm.

The date of sending the card is thought to be before 1921, when Chloe Dunk was married and had moved away from Malt House.