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A rich history and a regenerative future at Furnace Brook
We are fortunate to live in a particularly beautiful and tranquil part of Sussex. It is a surprise for many of our visitors to find out the depth of human history within the High Weald and discover how during a period around four centuries ago Furnace Brook was anything but peaceful and tranquil. Today, the... Read more
5th May
Bow bells mile markers explained
If you’ve ever walked or driven along the A271 through Horsebridge you might have seen this interesting ‘Bow Bells’ mile post marker on the north side of the road on the river bridge near to the Flour Mill. Made of locally produced iron and Grade 2 listed, it’s one of a series along the C18th... Read more
24th March
The fascinating history of stoolball and the locals who played
I remember well the stoolball games I played at school mainly because the bat was so wide, it gave me some hope of hitting the ball! But did you know it began as a medieval courting game? Stoolball originated in the Kent, Sussex and Surrey area and began in the C15th. It was played by... Read more
8th June
Who is the special link between Cross-in-Hand, Waldron and Harrods?
Did you know that Cross-in-Hand and Waldron have a link with the luxury London department store Harrods? Charles Digby Harrod was born in Whitechapel in 1841. His father Charles Henry Harrod was a grocer and tea dealer and had opened a Harrod’s shop in Stepney but later speculatively rented premises in the up and coming... Read more
15th April
Disney blockbuster Mary Poppins was written in Mayfield cottage
This week’s interesting life with a local link is author Pamela Lyndon Travers OBE who wrote the ‘Mary Poppins’ books at her home in Pound Cottage near Mayfield during the Winter of 1933/34. Born Helen Lyndon Goff in Queensland, Australia in 1899 to wealthy parents, Helen was the eldest of three daughters. Her father died... Read more
2nd December
Brave Dallington resident who worked undercover against the Gestapo
This week, I am glimpsing into the life of Arthur Breen – husband of french resistance fighter Michele Breen, who I wrote about before, having seen their interesting gravestone in Dallington churchyard. I say glimpsing because in World War Two, Arthur was a member of the SOE – the Special Operations Executive – and information... Read more
12th November
The diminutive heroine buried in Dallington
The epitaph on a fairly recent gravestone in Dallington Churchyard has always interested me and I knew it would make a great research project – the brief detail hinted at such an amazing life. Claude Michele Wattebled de Ducla was born outside Bordeaux in 1922. When France was occupied in 1940, Michele was being educated... Read more
4th November
Incredible story of intrepid explorer buried in Brightling
On a recent trip to Brightling Church, I came across the ‘leaping board’ grave of Benjamin Leigh-Smith. The line ‘Five times he sailed the Arctic Sea and for his Country’s good, braved countless hardships and perils’ caught my eye. And so it was interesting to discover that ‘He was one of the most intrepid explorers... Read more
7th October
