Bramber then and now

This postcard of Bramber shows how little the centre of the village has changed in the last hundred years.  The remains of the castle can be seen in the background.

The village, which was named for the broom which once must have covered this area, was the centre of the rape of Bramber which William the Conqueror gave to William de Braose after the Norman Conquest.  The Braose family built the church of St Nicholas as well as the castle which is on the site of an earlier Saxon stronghold.  The castle was badly damaged in the 17th century during the civil war and little remains of it today.

The parish is closely connected with the nearby settlement of Botolphs and has been since the 16th century.

Parish registers date from 1601, the bishops transcripts from 1591.  They can be seen at the West Sussex Record Office.

Too many children!

Jan 19th [1800] Emma Moon [buried].  Died in Child Bed.  This Woman had four Children in the space of a Year and two Weeks

This burial is recorded in the Frant registers and that Emma had four children in such a short space of time is confirmed in the baptism register.

May 19 [1799] John Son of John & Emma Moon.  twin
May 19 [1799] Joseph Son of John & Emma Moon. twin
March 2 [1800] Emma and Mary Daughters of John and Emma Moon.  Twins

There is only 9 months and 11 days between the two baptisms; it is likely that Emma and Mary were born on the 19th January 1800 meaning that John and Joseph were born early in January 1799.  John Moon had married Emma Adams in Wadhurst on the 21st October 1798, which is about two months before they were born.  Emma must have been pregnant most of her short marriage.

Sadly mum Emma's death was followed by that of daughter Emma who was buried on the 7th May 1800 and Mary who was buried on the 6th May 1801.  Both John and Joseph appear to have survived childhood.

Daddy Long Legs

Daddy Long Legs, or as it was properly known Pioneer, was the oddest pier ever to have existed.  It was built as an extension to the electric railway which ran along the Brighton coast from the Aquarium to the Chain Pier; it was difficult to  continue the line along the coast so Magnus Volk, the designer, decided to run it though the sea.  So in November 1896 it became possible to board the Pioneer at Paston Place and travel along a railway line through the sea to a pier at Rottingdean.
Pioneer sat on 24ft pier-like legs, could carry a maximum of 150 people at a time but travelled at just 8 mph when the weather was good meaning it took an hour and a half to travel to Rottingdean and back.  It was a effectively a slow moving section of pier.

The line was plagued with problems - just a week after it opened Pioneer and the pier at Paston Place were badly damaged in the same storm which destroyed the Chain Pier, the service did not restart until July the following year.  The rebuilt Pioneer was now 26ft high but  breakdowns were frequent and it could not operate in bad weather.  Not only was it expensive to build and maintain it was also expensive to ride costing 6d each way so it was only our better off ancestors who could afford to take a ride on it.  Despite that the crowds came to try out this unique and unusual method of travel.
In 1900 the service was suspended whilst work was undertaken to prevent further erosion of the cliffs but the new groynes extended out beyond the route of the railway so the line was closed.  There were plans for a new route further out but the cost was prohibitive and instead the inshore railway was extended to Black Rock.

Volks railway is the oldest electric railway and it is still in operation during the summer months.  For more details see the website.
For more information on the railway line and Daddy Long Legs see the Volks Electric Railway Association website.

"Lewes through Time"

Lewes Through Time by Bob Cairns
published by Amberley Publishing - available from all good bookshops from £14.99

Books comprised of old photographs of towns and villages are very popular but this one of Lewes has not only the old photograph but the modern equivalent, which serves to show how much this individual and pretty town has changed over the last hundred years.

Some buildings have stood the test of time, the prison and Priory Crescent appear little changed whilst others are clearly the same although their function may have changed such as the Maltings which was part of a brewery and is now the record office or the Lewes Infirmary which is now the NatWest bank.  Other buildings have gone completely, in some cases whole streets have disappeared in the name of progress, half of Little East Street was demolished to make way for a dual carriageway and much of North Street has gone although some of that is a result of bombing during World War 2.

This is a useful book for anyone with ancestors who lived in Lewes and for anyone who has lived in the area themselves, reminding us as it does of a time now largely forgotten.  

The Keep

The Keep is the name of the new East Sussex archive which is currently being built near Falmer, just outside Brighton.  It will replace the current record office which is at the Maltings in Lewes.  It won't be open for another year (at the earliest) but I got to see around it earlier this week and its looking good!



The main entrance (hidden by scaffolding)

Shelving in the repository - there will be 6 miles of shelving in total!














More shelving - this time for maps













and much more shelving













The walls of the repository are thick to help maintain the temperature inside in order to protect the documents.

The hallway - the entrance to the search room is on the right.

There should be seating here so that you can eat lunch and have a drink. 

This will be the searchroom - to the left of the photo is the same space again separated by glass to make a more secure search area for viewing original documents.








There is a lot of shiny stuff which will run the building, helping to keep the repository at optimum temperature - there is also a separate building with a bio mass boiler.

This is the room which is of particular interest for me.  This is where the library for the Sussex Family History Group will be located, just off the search room.
(apologies for the photo quality)

For more information on The Keep see the East Sussex Record Office website.

Charles John Burchett 1892-1919

The war memorial in Herstmonceux church lists the men of Herstmonceux who died  fighting in the First World War.  It is an alphabetical list but at the bottom another name was added - that of C J Burchett of the Royal Sussex Regiment.

Charles John Burchett was born on the 20th April 1892 in Herstmonceux, one of the children born to David  Robert Burchett and Harriet (nee Hunnisett).  His family can be traced back in Herstmonceux for many generations and he was a cousin of William Henry Burchett who is also listed on the war memorial (Charles's father was a brother of William's mother).  He attended the local school and then worked as a gardener before he began making trugs (a local industry Herstmonceux is well known for).

Colonel Lowther of Herstmonceux Castle got permission, soon after the start of the First World War, to raise a battalion of local men; over a thousand men signed up in the first few days including Charles Burchett and his cousin William Henry Burchett.  Having joined the Southdowns Battalion Charles was transferred to the Royal West Kent, although when and why is unknown.  His cousin William was killed on the 3rd September 1916 on the Somme and is buried at Ancre British Cemetery and is also remembered on his parents gravestone in Herstmonceux graveyard.

Charles survived the fighting and returned home to Herstmonceux where his mother had been widowed two years previously.  He took up work as a trug maker but died on the 21st December 1919 from pulmonary tuberculosis (TB), little more than year after the end of the war.  TB is an infectious disease which had only been recognised as a contagious illness in the late 19th century and as an airbourne disease it passed quickly amongst soldiers living in close proximity whose immune systems were already weakened as a result of living in trenches in less than sanitary conditions.

Charles was buried in Herstmonceux graveyard on Christmas eve 1919, the parish magazine of February 1920 reported that "Mrs Burchett wishes to thank all kind friends for their sympathy in her bereavement and also for the beautiful flowers which were sent to her".

Charles John Burchett may not be one of those who officially died in the First World War but there can be little doubt that he died as a direct result of the war.

With thanks to David Lester - see his website for more information on the Southdown Batallions

Bonfire night in Sussex

Bonfire night is something which is taken quite seriously in Sussex especially in Lewes which is known as the bonfire capital of the world.

Bonfire night is the night the country celebrates the failure of Guy Fawkes and his companions to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1606, although after 400 years it has evolved into more of a social occasion with a fireworks display.

In Sussex bonfire night also commemorates events nearly a hundred years earlier during the reign of Queen Mary.  Henry VIII had set in motion the change from the Catholic religion to a Protestant one, his son Edward VI had taken the reforms further so that when he died in 1553 we were no longer a Catholic country.  Edward's sister Mary who now became queen, however, was Catholic, and she set about returning the country to that religion.   In her attempt to do that she executed, mostly by burning, about 283 Protestants including bishops and the archbishop of Canterbury.  This action only made Protestants more stubborn and fed their dislike and distrust of Catholics; those who were executed became martyrs.

Seventeen of those martyrs were burnt on the High Street in Lewes  outside the Star Inn (now the Town Hall) so bonfire night doesn't just celebrate the failure of another Catholic plot it also remembers those seventeen martyrs and there is still an anti-Catholic feeling to the event with the annual burning of the pope (the pope of 1605 rather than the current pope) and Cliffe Bonfire Societies "No Popery" banner.  A burning cross for each of the martyrs is carried through Lewes on the night of the 5th November.   The Mayfield bonfire night commemorates two local residents who were burnt in Lewes and another four who were executed in the village itself.

Initially events were random and unorganised but in the 19th century Bonfire Societies were set up in many towns in Sussex; Lewes currently has six Bonfire Societies and there are 30 others around the county.  Because of the large number of societies it is not possible for them all to hold their events on the 5th November so the bonfire season begins in September in Uckfield and ends late in November in Robertsbridge and Barcombe.  The parades through towns tend to be very noisy and colourful, with torches, traditional costumes and fancy dress, bangers, bands and burning tar barrels, all of the Bonfire Societies attend each other's parade and the events can go on until late in the night.  Quite why bonfire night has become as important as it has in Lewes and Sussex is not clear but there is a lot of history involved as well as current issues which usually influence the effigies burnt on the night and often cause controversy - George Bush and British Transport Police were burnt in 2006, 'fat cat' bankers in 2009, Firle burnt an effigy a gypsy caravan complete with occupants in 2003 (arrests were made for inciting racism), Cliffe Bonfire Society had an effigy of a seagull in 2007 (objecting to the building of the new Brighton & Hove football stadium on land designated as an area of outstanding natural beauty) and others burnt include Osama bin Laden, Condoleezza Rice, Ulrika Jonsson, Steve Irwin, Tony Blair and Saddam Hussein.

This is a description of bonfire night in Forest Row in 1912(1):

Bonfire Carnival - The village of Forest

Row was en fete on Wednesday on the occasion of

the Bonfire Carnival.  Crowds of people from East

Grinstead and the surrounding district flocked to

the village to enjoy the revelries and the pro-

cedings were of a boisterous, good humoured

nature.  A procession was formed outside the

Brambletye Hotel and consisted of a very motley

throng.  A Chinaman led the way, followed by a

cowboy, Dick Turpin and what was evidently

intended to be a foreign officer of some description,

each on horseback.  Then came the Forest Row

Band, while in its wake followed soldiers, police-

men, clowns, cowboys, Indians and other characters

galore.  There were several original dresses

including "Black and White Whiskey", "Bass",

"Winter Billards", "Father time" &c.  The route

taken was to the Vicarage and past the church,

along the Hartfield road and from thence back to

the Brambletye.  The procession, lighted by torches

and coloured fire, presented a very pretty appear-

ance, although the rather heavy atmosphere caused

a considerable amount of pungent smoke to

accumulate.  Despite the presence of a number of

local policemen, fireworks were surreptitiously

discharged in the streets.  On the return of the

processionists to the Brambletye Hotel the fancy

costunes were judged the Mrs McGuiness...

A large bonfire was afterwards lighted

at the rear of the Brambletye Hotel, while a

splendid firework display was also given, including

the sending up of four fire balloons.

 Images from the procession in Mayfield in 2010

(1) Horsham Times and West Sussex Courier - 9th November 1912