John William Hills was born at the Police House in Glynde, East Sussex on 5th February 1891. His father (also John) was the village policeman. In 1912, John moved to East Dean when his father was transferred there and they lived in the Police House facing the village green near Dennetts Stores. During the Great War, John served…
Category: Sussex Archaeology
The Sussex Man who never was.
The graveyard attached to St John Sub-Castro (under the castle) Church in Lewes is full of interesting gravestones. Yesterday I visited the sloping grounds with two old schoolfriends and pointed out some graves of interest. Many years ago, when we lived in Lewes, my wife and I ‘adopted’ three graves to look after, but much of…
The Long Man & Bluebell the Cow
I have always had an affinity for the Long Man of Wilmington. It has been a constant part of my life, and I know that my family, particularly my grandmother, Bessie adored it too. The Long Man was even on my school badge. (Willingdon County Secondary School as it was then) The Wilmington Giant stands tall…
The Downland Shepherd-Archaeologist
Stephen Blackmore was born on 1st February 1832 in Falmer, the son of an agricultural labourer. As a young boy he worked at Stanmer House near Falmer in the service the Duke of Newcastle. But it seems he was keen to be outside on the land and soon was working as a labourer on nearby…
The Trouble with Seaford…
My last post about the preparations for the Dieppe and D-Landings were from an account by Seaford postman George Martin (1908-1976). He was interviewed by members of Seaford Museum in June 1974. The follow account is what he remembered about the town and its people… There were four trains an hour in the 1930s. The…
The Father of Sussex History
In 1835 a young man published a book, the title of which left no question as to its contents. It was called “Sussex: Being an Historical, Topographical and General Description of every Rape, Hundred, River, Town, Borough, Parish, Village, Hamlet, Castle, Monastery and Gentleman’s Seat in that County, alphabetically arranged with the population of each…
A relic miles from home.
Eastbourne has a poor, lost and overlooked refugee. Hidden behind a noticeboard in the churchyard of St Mary’s Church, Eastbourne is an unusual but brilliantly decorated ‘Cornish Cross’. The cross was kidnapped from its home and brought to Sussex exactly 200 years ago. The culprit was Davies Giddy who lived at Tredrea, St Erth near…
How Exceat was discovered
Today marks the 100th Anniversary of the death of Maurice Lawrance of West Dean. The summer of 1913 was dry and hot and Maurice Theodore Lawrance, the 15 year old son of the rector of West Dean Church, was in the fields above the Cuckmere River when he spotted some indentations in the field which…
Quirky Sussex History by Kevin Gordon 