Covid-19 Mutual Aid UK supports Lindfield neighbours

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Covid-19 Neighbour Support flyer

Flyers have been put through doors in Lindfield, Cuckfield and Haywards Heath and in the last few days. It reads:

Hello Neighbour,

Are you unable to leave your home because of Covid 19/Coronavirus? We’re here for you.

We are a group of local residents who would like to support the community that we live in and ensure that nobody is left isolated. We don’t ask for anything in return, we just believe in helping each other in a time of difficulty.

We are your local neighbours and not a professional body but are supported by the council.

How they can help…

• Arranging deliveries

• Picking up Shopping & Medication

• A friendly phone call

• Posting Mail

• Urgent supplies

• Help topping up electric or gas key

If you could like to speak to us, or want to ask for help, please call 01444 635002 or email haywardsneedhelp@gmail.com

GIVE SUPPORT: Please email haywardsvolunteers@gmail.com to join the group (or call the number above).

Oathall students return from The Gambia

Two Lindfield students from Oathall Community College recently returned from a school trip to The Gambia. Theo Billson and Ella Tingley were part of the group of 37 led by their teacher, Annie Murray, who spent just over a week based at The Gunjur Project in Gunjur. Here we catch up with them following their return home and find out what the experience was like…

Had you ever been anywhere near West Africa before?
ET: Nope! I’d never been anywhere in Africa before this trip, so it was a very new experience for me.

What surprised you most about The Gambia?
TB: That the children ALL wanted an education and enjoyed learning at school.
ET: One thing that stood out to me was all of the animals everywhere: wherever we went, there were goats, chickens and dogs just wandering around. A couple of times there was even a cow on the football pitch!

What did you learn about life in that part of the world?
ET: Everyone shares everything (even though they have very little); people refer to each other as ‘brother’ and ‘sister’ all the time. To them, it doesn’t matter who you are, or what you look like, you’re treated like one of the family.
TB: Yes, me too, it is very community and family orientated.

What similarities did you find to life here in Sussex? Any?
TB: There were plenty of mobile phones being used!
ET: There weren’t many similarities, but I must say that the sense of community is strong both here and there.

What was your accommodation like?
ET: It was lovely! The staff there were incredibly friendly too!
TB: We stayed in rooms of four sharing in the lodge. The accommodation was appropriate for the climate with a swimming pool and mainly outside shaded areas for group activity and eating.

Were you there to ‘work’ in the community? If so, what sort of activities did you get involved in? Which did you enjoy most?
ET: Yes, we helped out in the women’s garden, ran activities for schoolchildren and led sports sessions. We also bought food for some families who were struggling and delivered it to their homes. That was really moving, and we could all tell what a huge difference it would make to their lives.

What was the best recreational activity you did out there?
TB: Playing football with the local children.
ET: For me, probably visiting the market in a nearby town. It was really busy and nothing like I’ve ever seen before!

You both took supplies to give to the local community. What did you take and what difference do you think they will make?
TB: I took over twenty tennis racquets, plus clothing and tennis balls, which were donated by my tennis club. They were given to a local sports committee who were very excited to receive tennis equipment for the first time!
ET: I raised some money and used some of it to buy supplies to take with me. I took a range of things: clothes, books, tea towels and sanitary products, just to name a few! I also gave the headteacher 250 ‘Lindfield Life’ pencils.

Presenting the school in Gunjur with Lindfield Life pencils

What was the most challenging moment of the trip?
TB: The heat! It reached 42 degrees on the last day!
ET: Although this sounds cheesy - probably going home. It was very fulfilling, waking up every morning knowing that I would make people’s lives better that day.

Since returning home, is there one thing that you have personally taken away from your experience in Gunjur?
TB: To be grateful for what I have and realise how privileged I am.
ET: Yes, the people out there don’t have anywhere near as much as we do here, yet they’re still all really happy – especially the children.

Harry Potters Toy of the Year has link to Lindfield

Mark Gasson, toy inventor

Former Lindfield resident and Oathall school pupil Mark Gasson was celebrating recently as the toy he had invented scooped Toy of the Year Award for Innovation at the 2020 New York Toy Fair.

Mark, who works with UK-based toy manufacturer Wow! Stuff and in partnership with Warner Brothers and J.K. Rowling’s own team of ‘Wizarding World’ experts, has been developing the idea for a Harry Potter Invisibility Cloak for over two years before release.

“It was such an honour to have received this award,” Mark explained. The accolade is presented and organised by The Toy Association and is known as the ‘Oscars’ of the toy industry.

“We really didn’t expect to win against the giants of the toy industry, so the look of surprise on our faces would have been real!”

Mark, who now lives in Los Angeles, studied control engineering at Reading University and graduated with a PhD in Neuroscience and Engineering. He worked in academia researching implantable medical devices before moving on to bring innovation to the toy industry in 2010.

His first success came after he started a company which produced an animated toy monkey called Dave that can sit on a shoulder and talks to people. Mark said: “You may think that robot monkeys and medical brain implants have nothing in common but they are both examples of how people and technology connect and interact with each other. This is an area that I find very interesting.”

The Invisibility Cloak - which works by using a phone camera and app, combining the old photography trick of ‘double exposure’ and TV technique of ‘green screen’ to create the illusion of invisibility – was launched in time for Christmas 2019.

A new version out this year is the Junior Invisibility Cloak and retails at nearly half the price of its predecessor.

No Lindfield Arts Festival in 2020

Following the very successful tenth anniversary of Lindfield Arts Festival last year and in light of the present uncertainty regarding the global coronavirus pandemic, the trustees of Lindfield Arts Festival have taken the difficult decision that they will not be holding a festival in September.

Instead, the plan is to return in September 2021 with a bigger and better festival than ever. Chair of Trustees Geoff Heath said: “We are a small charity with limited funds and so have decided it would be better to not commit the required upfront costs in such an uncertain period but instead use the money more productively for next year’s festival.

“However, if the Coronavirus situation develops positively over the coming months, we may hold some smaller pop-up events in September 2020, so watch this space!”

In the meantime, the LAF organising team are taking the opportunity to refresh and regroup the volunteer management team to develop new ideas and welcome new volunteers. If you would like to be part of Lindfield Arts Festival in 2021 please feel free to contact them at: enquiries@lindfieldartsfestival.com.

Lindfield Primary County Runners-Up

By James Smyth

Members of Lindfield Primary Academy’s Year 5/6 athletics team were celebrating last month when they were silver medalists at the Sportshall Athletics County Final at K2 in Crawley. After winning the Mid-Sussex event in January the children were hopeful of continuing their success at county level and they did not disappoint. Events included a variety of relays, vertical jump, long jump, javelin and speed bounce, with 24 disciplines in total.

It was an extremely close finish, with the winning school (Thomas A Becket) scoring just ten points more than Lindfield over the entire morning of athletics.

Lindfield has had a history of success at this event and has now finished either winners or runners up three times over the last four years. The academy is extremely proud of all the efforts of the children involved, who have given up dozens of lunchtimes to practise over the last six months. Sophie Russell, who took part in the obstacle relay, speed bounce and six lap parluf said: “We did so well because we worked really hard as a team and did not stop practising. It was so much fun and I haven’t taken my medal off yet!”

Village People - Jerry Bradley

In a doctor’s office at Southampton Hospital in 2009 Jerry Bradley was given the devastating news that Irene, his wife of 25 years and the love of his life, was suffering from dementia.
It was a bolt from the blue. “Irene had been unwell for some time but dementia never entered my head,” he said. “We thought she was suffering with severe depression.”

Driving home later that day Jerry made what was to become a life changing decision. “I vowed that I would start writing my memoirs so that if I ever became ill with dementia my memories would still be there for me.”
Over the following years, while caring for Irene, Jerry completed his life story and, since her death in 2015, has gone on to publish two novels to raise money for Dementia UK. He is currently writing a third.

Now living in Lindfield with daughter Hannah and son in law Pete, Jerry recalls his journey from racing car mechanic, market trader and locksmith to full time carer, and describes how his newly discovered passion for writing and raising awareness of dementia brought him back to life.

Continue reading the full and amazing story in this month’s (March) Lindfield Life Magazine.

Lindfield Primary

The spring term is another busy one at Lindfield Primary Academy where the pupils are enjoying lots of different activities.

We have this year launched our ‘Community Crew’,
a group of children, who, throughout the year, will be visiting local places of worship and other organisations in Lindfield and Haywards Heath (charities, etc). After each visit, the Community Crew create an assembly to feedback what they found out to the rest of the school.

Their first trip was to St Paul’s Catholic Church, where they met the church deacon. This term, the group visited Haywards Heath Mosque. They spoke to the Imam, who told them about the different parts of the building and they found out several interesting facts.

A group of children from Years 4, 5 & 6 went to Oathall Community College to attend a food tech masterclass. The children all had a great time making low sugar cookies, using the ovens and then the best part - tasting and evaluating their cookies! The children even had to wash up and clean down their workstations when they had finished! Valuable life skills were learnt.

Year 4 children travelled back through the ages to enjoy an all-day interactive ‘Stone Age’ workshop to tie in with their topic work this term. They had the opportunity to handle artefacts and experience stone age food. They tried on costumes and watched an arrow being shot across the school field!

Year 6 children visited Warner Brothers Studio in Hertfordshire and were blown away by the ‘magic’ behind the magic of the Harry Potter films. They spent the day walking around the studio and reading about the great films, seeing costumes and sets that were in the stories. The children are now using everything they saw and experienced to help them create some magic of their own in their creative writing.

Children from all year groups have enjoyed a huge variety of sporting events so far this term, many
trying new sports for the first time. Activities have included: sportshall athletics, archery, cross country, netball, new age kurling, boccia, hockey, basketball and badminton. Many of these have been organised by local sport provider Mid Sussex Active.

Climate change film screening

Fairer World Lindfield, in partnership with Earth Cinema, is screening the film ‘2040’ later this month at King Edward Hall.

The film provides ‘a refreshing outlook on climate change’ and has been directed by award winning director Damon Gameau. He embarks on a journey to explore what the future could look like by the year 2040, if we simply embraced the best solutions already available to improve our planet.

Structured as a visual letter to his four year old daughter, Damon blends traditional documentary with dramatised sequences of how these solutions could regenerate the world for future generations.

A trailer of the film can be seen here:
https://youtu.be/p-rTQ443akE

2040 will be shown at King Edward Hall on Saturday 14th March at 7.30pm. This event is free, but it is essential to book by email: fairerworldlindfield@gmail.com.

Celebrating Fairtrade Fortnight

By Peter Desmond, Fairtrade Lindfield Steering Group

Matt Askey, Co-op Manager, outside the Co-op with Chris Lee of Fairtrade Lindfield

Lindfield is one of over 600 towns and villages across the UK which is accredited as Fairtrade. Lindfield village was given Fairtrade status in 2018 and has been re- accredited until 2021.

What does it mean to be a Fairtrade village? It means that some of our shops, cafes, offices, churches, schools and community groups use or sell Fairtrade products.

The Fairtrade label gives a better deal for farmers and workers in developing countries to secure sustainable livelihoods. As consumers we can support this by buying Fairtrade products such as bananas, wine, chocolate, coffee, orange juice, flowers etc. It is a simple way to support the people who grow some of our everyday foods yet live thousands of miles away. Many of these products are available at our own Co-operative food store.

To promote Fairtrade Fortnight (24th February to 8th March), Matt Askey, Manager of Lindfield Co-op, is supporting Fairtrade Lindfield by kindly donating Fairtrade chocolate to businesses in the High Street. Matt said: “I believe stocking Fairtrade products is the right thing to do, to help growers have a chance of a better life.”

In Lindfield we are also very fortunate to have retailers and cafes with a heart for trading fairly as well as sourcing their products from the local area. They are great examples of how individual businesses can make a difference through their supply chains.

If you would like to know more about Fairtrade please take a look at: www.fairtrade.org.uk/What-is-Fairtrade

Lindfield book makes local bestseller

By Claire Cooper

An updated handbook about Lindfield past and present has been flying off the shelves of a Haywards Heath gift shop.

Simply titled ‘Lindfield’, the book, written and illustrated by local author Jane Reid, was one of the season’s bestsellers at Calliope gift shop in The Orchards, with the entire first batch snapped up in time for Christmas.

But there’s good news for those who missed out, as Jane recently hand delivered a new supply for 2020!

Calliope gift shop

Jane, who has since written novels,
wrote the first version of ‘Lindfield’ in
1983, after being approached by a local
book seller while drawing in the village. “I
had been working in the High Street and
Alison Stevenson, who had just opened
a bookshop, noticed me,” Jane recalled.
“She asked me if I had ever considered
writing a guide to Lindfield, as she was often asked if such a book existed. I thought I would have a try and got the book in print later that year.”

The handbook proved to be so popular that Jane has produced several updated versions as the village has evolved. The last update was in 2008.

This latest and fifth version contains additional information about the Lindfield Preservation Society and famous former resident Helena Hall and, says Jane, is the best yet!

“I retyped the whole book from start to finish on my laptop so was able to update and correct lots of small details as I went along, such as the disappearance of swans from the village pond,” said Jane. “I’m so grateful to my friend Melvyn Walmsley for proofreading and helping to compile a much improved index. I’m delighted with both the content and quality of this new edition.”

Jane’s book, described on the Calliope store website as: ‘The perfect gift for everybody who knows and loves Lindfield’, ‘packed with delightful line illustrations’ and ‘a treasure trove of historical facts’, costs £5.

Jane, who has now published three novels – The Book of the Randalls, Family Gatherings and Rain in the Winter Garden, is now busy working on her latest book The Oakenfield Chronicles.

An Honour for Paul

By Claire Cooper

Paul Ramsbottom

When an official looking envelope, complete with Royal crest, dropped through the letterbox at Paul Ramsbottom’s home in Appledore Gardens he didn’t rush to open it.

“I assumed I’d got a speeding ticket,” said Paul. “My wife Karen was in hospital at the time, so I was distracted and didn’t really give it much thought.”

But, much to Paul’s surprise, the letter brought the news that he had been awarded an OBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours List.

“It was a bolt from the blue,” said Paul. “I was surprised, shocked but deeply honoured. It’s a great way to start the New Year.”

Paul, who is Chief Executive of the
Wolfson Foundation, has been given the
honour for services to charity. The Wolfson Foundation is an independent grant making charity which provides funding programmes
and activities to improve the civic health of society though education and research.

As well as his Chief Executive role at the Wolfson Foundation, and its sister charity the Wolfson Family Charitable Trust, until recently Paul also chaired the Foundation Forum, a network for CEOs of trusts and foundations.

Outside of his professional life he has an interest in international development. For over a decade he has been the Chair of the Savannah Education Trust – a charity that he helped found – which provides Christian schools in the villages of northern Ghana. He is also a Trustee of Mercy Ships UK, an organisation that deploys hospital ships to some of the poorest countries in the world.

“I see the honour very much as a reflection on the outstanding teamwork of the wonderful staff and trustees at the Wolfson Foundation,” said Paul.

“I feel privileged to be part of the charity sector and to work closely with a wide range of inspiring organisations.”

After receiving the news in November, Paul had
to keep it secret until the official announcement in December. “Karen and I shared the news with our two older daughters, Lily and Ella, when the letter arrived, and we just about managed to keep it secret,” said Paul. “We told the younger children Phoebe and Annie a few days before the announcement.

“All the girls are really excited, particularly when they discovered that my OBE entitles them to get married in St Paul’s Cathedral!”

Paul, who began working at the Foundation as a Grants Assistant in 1998, working his way up to Chief Executive, is now waiting for the date of his visit to the Palace. “Karen is definitely coming with me,” said Paul. “And, if I can take a further two guests, my parents will be coming too.”

He’s also looking forward to rubbing shoulders with other recipients. “I saw there were a few England cricketers on the honours list, so I’m hoping I might to get to meet some of them too!”

Clean cars for Cancer Research

Staff at Scaynes Hill Service Station will once again open their car wash on 13th February to raise money for Cancer Research UK.

Scaynes Hill Service Station

But this year’s event will be
particularly poignant as they
remember Jay Patel, who lost
his battle with cancer last year.
Jay owned the service station
with his brother Gunvant and
the pair started the annual
fundraiser in 2009. Since then
they have raised over £11,000 for the charity.

Last year saw the most successful event yet, with more than 250 washes sold and staff working extra-long shifts to cope with demand. Along with proceeds from a raffle, the event raised £3,150, smashing the target of £3,000.

This year the garage will be open for car washes between 6am and 11pm on Thursday 13th February.

Throughout the day customers are invited to ‘buy’ a car wash ticket by making a donation to charity. Tickets

are valid for 30 days, giving customers the option to return over the next few days. There is also the chance to buy raffle tickets in-store too. All the money raised goes directly to Cancer Research UK.

Clough's Deli in Lindfield - Behind the Counter

By Mary Collins

Much has changed since Albert Clough founded his laundry on Sunte Avenue in 1934. Not only has the area changed significantly but, through a series of reincarnations, the laundry became a general store, competing with the likes of Tremaine’s in Lindfield. It later added a Post Office and evolved into a delicatessen and, more recently, a wholefood store. Whatever its guise, it has been a cornerstone of village life for 85 years.

Mark Clough, Albert’s grandson, is now in charge, having taken over the business in 2012 from his father David. Now in his 80s, David still helps out in the shop a few times a week. Mark says of his father: “He is remarkable and after 55 years he still loves being here – he will never give up and I will never be able to catch him up!”

Amiably chipping in on this interview, David is full of wonderful anecdotes about the shop’s former days under his own father’s management and when he ran the shop with his friends Ernie and Norman, and recalls: “My father was so hard up he only ever had very limited stock so dotted one of each can on shelves around the shop.”

Chatting more about the shop’s history, Mark says: “It certainly had a colourful past and has long been a wonderful hub for the community. My grandfather and father built up the business by delivering food to residents around the area – the business thrived and by the 90s they were making 400 deliveries a week – they were like the Ocado of their day!”

[full article printed in December 2019 Lindfield Life issue]

Oathall's partnership with local gym

The fitness professionals behind Haywards Heath’s Switch Gym are launching a new joint health and fitness initiative with Oathall Community College.

Switch has kitted out a new £40,000 fitness facility at the college, complete with the very latest gym equipment, as part of its drive to introduce fitness to the lives of the local community. Pupils will be able to use the gym equipment during the school day as part of their physical education lessons with programmes designed by Switch coaches and PE teachers.

The installation from Switch Gym is a continuation of a package of support for the college, which recently included a £2,000 donation towards the new maths and science blocks.

Switch Academy director Chris Patch said: “We are delighted to announce our partnership with Oathall Community College. Providing professional gym equipment to the students is very much in line with our mission to get a positive health and fitness message out to the community.

“To be able to provide young people with the knowledge of how to look after their physical health from such an early age and take that into adulthood is very much part of our commitment to health and fitness education in the wider community. We are extremely proud to open our facility at such a centre of educational excellence.”

Well done to Blackthorns' boys

By Karl Luckhurst, Leader of Physical Education

Pupils from Blackthorns Community Primary Academy have had an extremely sporty start to the school year by taking part in seven events run by Mid Sussex Active. Our most successful event came in the form of the Blackthorns Year 6 football team and a visit to Harlands Primary to take part in the Haywards Heath area ESFA 7-a-side boys football tournament. The team beat Bolnore Village 3-1, drew 0-0 against Harlands and lost to St Joseph’s 3-1 finishing second in the group (qualifying on goals scored!).

A tense semi-final followed against Lindfield Primary in which Lindfield won by the solitary goal. Congratulations to Lindfield and Holy Trinity teams which qualified for the Mid Sussex final.

Blackthorns pupils look forward to more sporting events coming up later this month, including: the girls football tournament, a dance troupe performance at Clair Hall, Indoor Athletics and Cross Country competitions.

Lindfield Arts Festival 2019 - round-up

By Ayesha Gilani

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Lindfield Arts Festival 2019

Lindfield Arts Festival celebrated its tenth anniversary with a record number of visitors. More than 5,000 people descended on the village to enjoy the arts.

From Monday 16th to Sunday 22nd September Lindfield opened its doors to celebrate and showcase local artists and performers of all ages.

During the week highlights included a sell-out comedy night and performances from award-winning musicians Aynsley Lister and Liane Carroll.

On Saturday festivalgoers basked in glorious sunshine. The High Street and Common buzzed with bumper crowds enjoying live theatre, circus skills, visual arts, dance, classic cars, flowers, literary and drawing workshops, food and music from local DJs.

Village People: Adam Stone

When Adam Stone was just four years old his parents bought him a shiny new Raleigh Drifter bicycle.

“I remember being so excited as all my mates had bikes,” said Adam. “From that day my parents could hardly keep me off it.”

The bike sparked a passion for cycling that has seen Adam taking part some of the country’s most challenging rides, from Coast to Coast to London to Brighton.

But last month Adam faced his biggest and most emotional journey yet - riding 979 miles over ten days from Lands End to John O’Groats with 13 inspirational team mates, including two who are living with terminal cancer.

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By Claire Cooper

Born in Switzerland, Adam experienced travel from a very early age, moving to Uganda at the age of two. “My father worked in banking as a modern linguist, so we moved around a lot,” he said. “In Uganda we lived four doors down from Idi Amin, and I can remember seeing him go past the house accompanied by his burly armed guards!”

At the age of four Adam moved with his family to Belgium and acquired his first bike. “We lived in a little village, so everyone cycled everywhere!” he said. “It was a great place to learn to ride.”

By age 11 the family had been posted to Montreal in Canada and Adam began to cycle longer distances.

“When I was 14 I would cycle across Montreal, from one end to the other, on the Trans Canada highway,” he recalled.

“When we later moved to Holland I would head to the coast so I could cycle up and down the dunes.”

It was while studying at Imperial College in London that Adam began to enjoy cycling as part of a group.

“In the late 80s and 90s we cycled all over London,” he said. “I was told by a cycle courier that if you didn’t get knocked off your bike within the first three months cycling in London you never will! I didn’t and so far have managed to stay in the saddle. I’ve been knocked off in Haywards Heath but never in London!”

After graduating Adam moved to a village outside Cambridge where his parents were living, cycling 16 miles a day to and from work and with friends at weekends. “In 1996 I moved to London and, for a while, swapped my cycle for the tube. I also met and married my wife Claire.”

A move to Sussex in April 2005 saw Adam get back in the saddle.

“Claire was offered a job at the Body Shop headquarters in Littlehampton, so we began to look for a house in Sussex,” Adam recalled. “We picked five houses to view, including one in Scaynes Hill. The owners told they were moving to Lindfield, which we had never heard of. As they were the second people who had mentioned the village we thought it must have something going for it so we’d take a look.

[Full story in the November 2019 issue of Lindfield Life]

Pauline awarded for poppies work

A Lindfield resident who has run the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal in the village for the past 20 years has been honoured with a special Community Award.

Pauline Parkyns, whose responsibilities have ranged from distributing over 6,000 poppies and ordering commemorative wreaths to co-ordinating the team of collectors and counting the cash, was nominated by Branch Chairman Val Upton.

“It was such a lovely surprise to be invited to Shoreham Airport by the RBL Fundraising Officer of West Sussex,” said Pauline. “I received a very attractive certificate mounted in a frame, which has pride of place on my wall.”

“When I became a poppy collector in 1982 I had no idea how passionate I would become about raising money for the Poppy Appeal,” added Pauline, who began by taking part in sponsored walks for the Appeal when she was younger.

“It has been a privilege to be the Poppy Appeal Organiser for Lindfield during the last 20 years. Although it could be hard work at this time of year, it is very rewarding knowing how the money raised helps our brave Servicemen and women cope with their injuries, both physical and mental. It is also a very humbling experience.”

Pauline has handed over her role to Val’s husband Gordon Upton. “I wish Gordon every success in his first year as organiser, but I am not going away as I am still a collector and will still sell my plants for the Poppy Appeal,” said Pauline.

“I’d like to thank the residents and organisations of Lindfield for all the support they have given to me over the years, and particularly the school teachers and pupils who have been wonderful. I will really miss them.”

The Bent Arms' lucky charm

The Bent Arms’ Howard Collins and Charlie Fairhead

Ireland has given the world many things – Guinness, Primark, the invention of colour photography, the world’s first armoured tank and even the cure for leprosy. While the country might not have a culinary reputation to rival the French or the Italians, it is certainly well-known for good food and, specifically, good bread, just like our next interviewee and manager of The Bent Arms, Howard Collins.

By Joe Wayte

After a string of failed attempts to make a profit out of The Bent Arms in the late 90s and early 2000s, Howard Collins stepped up to the plate in 2003 and has successfully managed the establishment ever since.

In the beginning the business had few customers but lots of potential. “I stood outside, looked through the window and saw the Rotary Club meeting,” Howard remembered. “I thought to myself – if nothing else, at least I’ve got 20-30 people coming to eat every week and decided to give it my best shot.”

[Full article printed in the October 2019 issue of Lindfield Life]

The history of Humphrey's Bakery in Lindfield

Humphrey’s Bakery, Lindfield - Richard Humphrey outside his shop

By Richard Bryant with Janet Bishop and John Mills, Lindfield History Project Group

The August local history article in Lindfield Life explained that the Common and Pond uniquely defined Lindfield and challenged that similar features could not be identified elsewhere in the country. It would be remiss not to pay tribute to another Lindfield icon, Humphrey’s Bakery, about which a similar claim could be made. Namely, does any other community have a bakery that traded continuously from the same premises for 223 years?

At 65 High Street, Humphrey’s shop front proudly proclaims the bakery was ‘Established 1796’. Perhaps equally remarkable, it has been run by only three families since that date. Having regard to the bakery’s history, it is appropriately located in one of Lindfield’s oldest medieval buildings; Humphrey’s, Bower House and Carriers were all constructed between 1300 and 1343. Its age is evidenced by the massive arched timber framing on the building’s northern side, into which, rather quirkily, three tiny windows have been cut.

When viewed from the street it will be seen that Humphrey’s shop is the cross wing of No 63 High Street, known as Wyncote. This is also of medieval date, although its age is not apparent having been re-fronted.

The early history of the building is yet to be fully discovered. However, a receipt document dated 1453, found during redecoration in the late 1940s, states the property was then occupied by ‘Thomas atte Ree’, probably a farmer.

He was paying rent of seven marks per quarter to his Lord of the Manor, the Dean of the College of Canons, South Malling. A mark was a unit of currency with a value of about 67p.

Returning to the bakery business, John Meads (1759–1826), a baker, first appeared in Lindfield parish records in December 1791, when with his wife, Ann, their daughter, Mary Ann, was baptised at the parish church.

In 1793, he took on a William Murrell as his apprentice. John Meads appears again in the Poor Rate records as a ratepayer from 1797 at Humphrey’s, which he rented from Thomas Blaker, a cordwainer. Accordingly, the claim that the bakery business at 65 High Street was established in 1796 is fully justified.

[An excerpt from the full article printed in Lindfield Life, October 2019]