One morning in September 1888, Mrs Mary Torry left her bedroom at the Diplocks Hotel in Eastbourne and went downstairs for breakfast. She left her bedroom door unlocked and when she returned she noticed that money and jewellery were missing from her handbag. Suspicion fell on the young, well-dressed chap in the adjacent room. He…
Known to millions but now forgotten
When the Reverend Power died in Eastbourne in 1899 the press said that his name was ‘a household word’ and he was ‘known in millions of homes around the world’, but today he is virtually unknown. Philip Bennett Power was born in Waterford, Ireland in 1822. He was educated at Trinity College Dublin where he…
Pew Openers and Pew Rent Problems
George Paul (1837-1920) was the last ‘Pew-Opener’ at St Mary’s Church, Eastbourne. This task was basically the role of a church usher. In Victorian times about two-thirds of the church were reserved for the gentry who paid pew-rents, not only for themselves but for their servants. The pew-opener would know who sat where and move on…
Lullington & Lost Keys
A few years ago my wife and I were on holiday in Italy and spent a wonderful day at the beautiful walled town of Lucca a few miles north of Pisa. Enjoying my history, I just had to take in the Cathedral and a few of the churches (but only after we had stopped for a…
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…
A Sussex Sailor who fought with Nelson
In the churchyard to the north of St. Leonards church Seaford is a large box tomb decorated with anchors. This is the last resting place of Admiral James Walker who had an adventurous life on the high seas. Walker was born in Scotland in 1764 and joined the Navy at the tender age of twelve….
Did My Parents see White 4?
Although I was born 12 years after the end of the Second World War, it was fresh in many people’s minds and there was still physical evidence to be seen in the form ‘bomb-sites’; I particularly remember the gaps, like missing teeth, in the smart terraces of The Avenue in Eastbourne and also old Home…
A Cricketing Copper
An old police friend, ex Inspector Bill Tee of the BTP from Crewe, has sent me a photo of his great-great uncle, former Sussex policeman George Berry. As I enjoy my local history, I said I would try to find out more. George was born at Woolbeeding, West Sussex on 17th January 1840. His parents were…
Crypt-ic clues to Lost Names
Family Roots (The Eastbourne Family History Society) have published the Monumental Inscriptions (MI) for many locations but I am particularly interested in those for St Mary’s Church, Eastbourne as I live close by. Over the years many of the memorials have eroded and are now impossible to read. One of these is a cream-coloured marble ledger…
Brighton’s Bent Cops
I knew a bent cop once. His name was Derek Ridgewell who was a British Transport Police (BTP) Detective Sergeant. He seemed to have a haughty arrogance about him and certainly looked down on me, a mere uniform PC. Ridgewell was the head of the ‘Dip Squad’ responsible for arresting travelling pickpockets, particularly on the underground….
Quirky Sussex History by Kevin Gordon 