Louis-Philippe of France had a troublesome life; his father had initially supported the Revolution but when Louis-Phillipe escaped to exile he called for his execution. There can’t be many people whose own father wanted them dead! After the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815 the monarchy was restored to France and on 9th August…
Month: December 2018
The Hidden Frescoes of Alfriston
John Mason Neale (1818 – 1866) was the Warden of Sackville College, a large group of Almshouses in East Grinstead. He was an avid writer of hymns and carols, his most famous work being the evergreen Christmas Carol ‘Good King Wenceslas’. John loved visiting churches and certainly visited St Andrews Church in Alfriston. In 1843…
Eastbourne’s Blind Busker
Busking is an ancient occupation and late Victorian Eastbourne with its crush of visitors would have been a draw to musicians trying to eek a living during the summer. James Collins was Irish but on 15th February 1861,when he was 20 years old, he was blinded by a shooting accident in Newry. He travelled around…
Good from Evil
Is it possible that good can come from evil? – well yes it is and there is proof in Alfriston! During the War the Nazis used naval mines to attack allied shipping in the channel. The naval mine was probably a German invention as during the Schleswig Holsten War of 1848, Kiel harbour was protected…
The First Sussex Railway Police
On 25th January 1837 a public meeting was held in Brighton to discuss building a railway between London and the South Coast. Several schemes were discussed but the consensus was to use the scheme proposed by Mr John Urpeth Rastrick (1780-1856) for a railway line from Elephant and Castle, London to Church Street, Brighton (much…
The Martello Towers WEST of Seaford!
Seaford’s Martello Tower was not only the last to be built but also most westerly of the south coast towers. But that was not always the plan. In 1798 Thomas Reynolds, a Major in the 30th Foot Regiment, made a report to the War Office on the defences of the South Coast. The 30th Foot…
Quirky Sussex History by Kevin Gordon 