The Brodie Family and a tale of two portraits. I enjoy visiting the Old Parsonage at Eastbourne for a coffee on a Thursday morning. You will always get a warm welcome at his ancient half-timbered building – and usually home-made cake too! The room is dominated by two portraits, the severe, glowering portrait of the Reverend…
Category: Women
Alone with the Doodlebugs
My grandmother Bessie Gordon was in her early 40s during the Second World War. Her husband Alex, had been seriously wounded in the Great War and it is likely that he suffered from ‘shell-shock’. Alex and their 9 year old son Roger, had been evacuated to Dursley in Gloucestershire along with his sister Dorothy (Dolly)….
The Constable and the Chicken Leg
Luther Constable (1849-1936) was born and died in Barcombe. He was a bricklayer and was my great-great-great Uncle. In June 1893 Luther was a victim of crime when one of his chickens was stolen from the coop at the family home in Hamsey Road, Barcombe. At 2/6d the chicken was quite valuable and Luther suspected the…
The Great Storm of 14th November 1875.
On the morning of Sunday 14th November 1875 the good people of Seaford braved stormy weather to attend church. The town was already on alert as high tide was expected at midday and, although seawalls had been built, the area of land between the sea and the town, (the Beamlands), regularly flooded during the winter…
On Top of the World !
I recently saw a small report in a 1903 newspaper that related to ‘Mademoiselle Florence the Globe Walker’. Considering the attitudes of the time, It would have been amazing for a woman to have walked around the world in 1903 so I tried to find out more. Actually Florence, an 18-year-old from New Jersey in the…
A Hidden Sussex Church
My visit to St John’s Church was short and rather muddy but it is a delightful little building hidden away on the edge of Ashdown Forest between Withyham and Crowborough. It is not a church that you would stumble across by chance and sadly is usually locked due to the theft of some of the…
A unique Sussex Church
St Mary-in-the Castle in Hastings is one of the finest English churches I have visited and although it is now a thriving performance venue it is full of ecclesiastical interest. Strangely the best place to get a good view of the exterior of the church is on Google Maps as it is set back into…
The Duke who loved Skittles
Spencer Cavendish, the 8th Duke of Devonshire (1833-1908) was rather revered in Eastbourne for his financial support to improve the town. Outside of Sussex he was generally known as the ‘Marquess of Hartington’. Although a Liberal politician he opposed his party’s opposition to Home Rule for Ireland and afterwards became quite conservative. During a long…
An International Sussex Woman
To commemorate International Women’s Day I thought I would tell you about an international shark-catching Sussex heroine! Ethelwyn Wilkinson was born in Seaford in 1887, the daughter of William and Ada Wilkinson. Her father was a builder and they lived in the High Street. Ethelwyn married a New Zealand adventurer at St Leonard’s Church, Seaford on…
A Colourful Sussex Lawyer
St Helen’s Church in Hangleton, to the north-west of Brighton, has a remarkable grave. It is covered in brightly coloured stones set into the grave-slab in the form of a mosaic cross. The grave is that of an Irishman, Edward Kenealy. He was a lawyer who was as colourful as his grave. Edward Vaughan Hyde…
Quirky Sussex History by Kevin Gordon 