French ‘twins’ visit West Sussex village: Horsted Keynes welcomes guests from Cahagnes in Normandy

Lawrence Smith
By Lawrence Smith
Published 30th Apr 2024, 13:09 BST
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Horsted Keynes welcomed its French ‘twins’ from the village of Cahagnes in Normandy at the weekend.

The Horsted Keynes Twinning Society hosted the successful visit from Thursday to Sunday, April 25-28.

Society chairman Robert Record said the committee organised a programme of events that started with words of welcome from Year 5s and 6s from St Giles C Of E Primary School, as well as Mid Sussex MP Mims Davies.

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Robert said: “It is culturally enriching having a thriving twinning society in Horsted Keynes and Cahagnes and we look forward to strengthening our bonds.”

Horsted Keynes welcomed its French ‘twins’ from the village of Cahagnes in Normandy from Thursday to Sunday, April 25-28Horsted Keynes welcomed its French ‘twins’ from the village of Cahagnes in Normandy from Thursday to Sunday, April 25-28
Horsted Keynes welcomed its French ‘twins’ from the village of Cahagnes in Normandy from Thursday to Sunday, April 25-28

He said: “As a mark of respect we flew the French tricolore on the village flag pole during their stay. The programme included a trip to Portsmouth to see HMS Mary Rose and a journey on the Bluebell Railway. Finally, there was a nautical themed gala dinner held in the village hall before their departure.”

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The society said the two villages have been twinned by charter since May 15, 1971, and yearly exchange visits have taken place in April or May since then. Horsted Keynes’ and Cahagnes’ joint history dates back to the Norman Conquest of 1066. King William gave the High Weald parish to the knight Guillaume de Cahaignes, who had fought with him at the Battle of Hastings. Horstede, which means The Place of Horses in Saxon, became Horstede de Cahaignes, which eventually turned into Horsted Keynes.

The Twinning Oath says its aim is to ‘maintain permanent bonds between our two municipalities, to promote exchanges of all kinds between their inhabitants with the aim of fostering, through greater mutual understanding, the true spirit of European brotherhood’.