Kirsty Warren
Lindfield history pages
Lindfield history pages

Lindfield History Project Group

Lindfield history pages

We launched a Lindfield History book in June 2024! Life in Lindfield is written and compiled by Lindfield History Project Group and published by us (Kipper Life/Lindfield Life). You can buy copies of the book here, via our online store. Otherwise, please read on…

Articles published in:

2023

  • Lindfield History Project Group received a parcel containing hundreds of invoices dated between 1834 and 1835, for shopping and services supplied to the Tuppen household. Click here to learn about shopping in Lindfield’s history.

  • What is the connection between a car company, the theory of flight, an English university, the laws of combat, the concept of quality management and Walstead Burial Ground? The answer is Frederick William Lanchester. Click here to read more.

  • On Lindfield High Street in 1914, there were five public houses all selling beer obtained from commercial breweries, mostly in Brighton and Lewes. But one hundred years earlier, the village’s pubs were either brewing their own beer or being supplied by The Lindfield Brewery. Click here to read more.

  • The 3rd June 1953 was declared Coronation Day. To organise the celebrations in Lindfield, an Executive Committee with eight members was established. Click here to read all about the celebrations around Lindfield.

  • How much has the High Street changed in 100 years? This article compares the High Street in 1923 with today.

  • The previous article compared the west side of the High Street in 1923 with 2023; in this article we journey down the eastern side. Click here to read on.

  • Read here, all about the WWII submarine that disappeared without a trace and its connection to Lindfield.


2022

  • Click here to find out all about when, In 1899, the Lindfield Parish Council decided to form a volunteer fire brigade to provide fire cover for the parish.

  • To help the poor, between 1563 and 1601 the Government enacted legislation that provided a framework for the provision of poor relief by parishes. Click here to find out how Lindfield helped its poorer residents.

  • How has Lindfield celebrated royal events in the past? Click here to learn all about them.

  • Click here to read a continuation of the history of Lindfield’s royal celebrations.

  • In late 1921, an enterprising woman, Gladys Van Weede established - as sole proprietor - The Rainbow Pottery Company, trading from an outbuilding behind Abbotts Pharmacy on the High Street. Click here to read all about it.

  • From 1680 or earlier, three generations of the Neale family were innkeepers of the White Lion inn in Lindfield; later renamed the Bent Arms. Click here to read more.

  • Click here to find out all about Lindfield’s almost railway station.

  • If you or a family member have lived in Lindfield for many years, it would not be surprising if tucked away at the bottom of a drawer, or in an old album, there is a photograph by William Marchant. Click here to learn all about him.


2021

  • Ever wondered what Lindfield pond looked like in 1865? Click here to see and learn a little about the photo.

  • Click here to find out all about when the censuses started and what can they tell us about our village in years past.

  • Click here to find out all about the piano factory that was thriving in Victorian Lindfield.

  • This article looks at Lindfield fair through history.

  • Where have the Lindfield clergy resided in centuries past? Click here to find out.

  • Click here to find out all about Lindfield’s connection to Friar Tuck of Robin Hood fame and how John Bent gave his name to The Bent Arms.

  • This article explores another of Lindfield’s black history connections. The story begins with Francis Smith senior in Nevis, an island in the Eastern Caribbean. Click here to read more.

2020

  • The war had a dramatic effect on every aspect of life on the Home Front, to learn about Lindfield during this time, click here.

  • It is said that a village pub is the heart of the community. Click here to learn all about the pubs of Lindfield.

  • Here is part two of an in depth look at the pubs of Lindfield and their history.

  • Lindfield has often been described as possessing an ‘historic High Street’, due to the attractive and varied architectural styles of buildings lining the road, but what is the history of the road itself? Find out more here.

  • In the first days of May 1945, there was great expectation that the war would soon be over. Click here to find out more.

  • Although Lindfield School was established in 1881, its lineage can be traced back to William Allen in 1825. Click here to read all about it.

  • This article looks at Lindfield School between 1900 and 2000.

  • Residents have shared their memories with us from their time at Lindfield Primary School. Click here to read all about them.

  • The meeting place is stated as, ‘Society shall meet at the House of Thomas Finch, at the sign of the Tiger in Lindfield Town’. To learn all about the society and The Tiger click here.

2019

  • Did you know Lindfield had a castle? This was surrounded by a broad moat which joined to the river through gaps in the outer earthworks. Outside a ditch linked to a stream entirely surrounded the castle. Click here to read more.

  • In common with much of Lindfield, its origins can be traced back to Saxon times, when the lands are first mentioned in the copy charter dated 765. Learn more here.

  • All Saints Church at the top of the High Street was built in the 1300s in the Perpendicular style. Click here to learn all about it.

  • Lindfield was once little more than a high street with a few roads. Read here, the amazing transformation over the years.

  • A grand house with its origins in Elizabethan times, is perhaps an unlikely location for the founding of a revolution in education. Read Bedales history here.

  • During the first three quarters of the last century horticultural businesses thrived in and around Lindfield providing much employment. Read all about it here.

  • Until the early part of the 19th century, burial facilities were mainly provided by the Church of England in parish churchyards. Click here to find out why Walstead has its own burial ground.

  • It could be said that Lindfield is defined by the Common and Pond. To learn about their history, click here.

  • In 1938, Cuckfield Urban District Council, the local authority responsible for Lindfield, commenced planning for an evacuation. Click here to learn all about the children and the local families that took them in.

  • Does any other community have a bakery that traded continuously from the same premises for 223 years? Click here to learn all about the history of Lindfield’s oldest bakery.

  • Learn all about the history of Christmas traditions and how they’ve changed by clicking here.

2018

  • For eight hundred years much of the land in and around Lindfield formed the Manor of South Malling. Read more to find out how King Henry VIII changed all this.

  • Today nothing exists of the West Common and you would be forgiven for thinking the area completely lacks historical interest. However, there is always more to the story…

  • The land east of the High Street demonstrates the change and growth over 120 years which has helped to create today’s thriving community. Click here for more information.

  • Gravelye Lane for centuries was merely a track providing access to a couple of farmsteads and Northlands Wood. Find out what changed here.

  • At the top of the village, stands the grandiose and private Old Place that is largely obscured from view. Perhaps in a strange way, the property goes almost unnoticed when passing by. Learn here what it’s all about.

  • From the mid 1800s until about 60 years ago Lindfield was virtually encircled by big houses and their grounds. This article looks at two of these houses.

  • Mention ‘The Bent’ in Lindfield and one immediately thinks of The Bent Arms, but who was Bent and where did he live? Find out more here.

  • Lindfield’s The Old Forge is today, the home of Happy Feet Boutique children’s shoe shop, but how old is old? Click here to find out.

  • Lindfield Women’s Institute was established in June 1917. Activities included instruction in cooking, food economy, growing food crops, sewing and renovating old clothes. All that and more made these lovely ladies a beacon in struggling times. Read on to remember them.

  • News of the Armistice, bringing to an end the fighting, took time to spread and was not widely received until the following day. People needed to read it to believe it was true. Read here to see how locals celebrated.

  • Initial thoughts on a memorial for the village, as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by local men, were first expressed in early 1919. Click here to learn more.

  • When did you last stand on Lindfield Bridge and look at the river? The dark, slow flowing water passes through private land with no public access, perhaps making it Lindfield’s hidden and forgotten river. Click here for more.

2017

  • Long before our smooth roads, horses had the hard job of pulling heavy carriages over all sorts of surfaces. Julius Guy, a Lindfield carriage builder, set about finding a way to improve the suspension and so much more. Read about this local hero today.

  • Worcester Sauce became popular in the 1840/50s and is still widely used. Today, instead of asking for Worcester sauce, you could have been asking for Lindfield Sauce had its makers had the business acumen of Mr Lea and Mr Perrin. Click here for more.

  • In the Mid Sussex Times in 1913 was: ‘As the result of a public reading at the Haywards Heath Corn Exchange, Dickens was able to hand £100 to the then Vicar of Lindfield ‘. But who wrote to the Times and why was Dickens handing over so much cash? Click here to find out.

  • Lindfield parish church had been in a poor state of repair for years. The problems stemmed from the church receiving very little money. Find out how Reverend Francis Hill Sewell saved the church.

  • A newspaper report in August 1861 commented that the school was ‘among the finest educational structures in Sussex.’ To find out more click here.

  • There were very few days during The Great War that determined how future land battles across the world would be fought; a son of Lindfield played a leading role in one such day. Please read on to find out more about our local hero.

  • Mention The Welkin to Lindfield residents today and it conjures up images of the houses with their neat gardens and well maintained grounds in the area behind the High Street and north of Hickmans Lane. Find out more here.

  • The name Finches does not derive from a Victorian country mansion. It is much older in origin dating back to a farm that existed in medieval times, with perhaps the land being farmed a thousand years ago. Click here for more.

  • This article explores the early history of the area and how Lindfield as we know it today came about. The first recorded reference to Lindfield is in a Saxon charter dated 765! Click here for more.

How Lindfield began

By Richard Bryant, Lindfield History Project Group

Previous articles have focused on people and building in recent centuries relative to Lindfield’s long history. This article explores the early history of the area and how Lindfield as we know it today came about.

The first recorded reference to Lindfield is in a Saxon charter dated 765, but what was happening here before that date? Unfortunately the archaeological record is rather sparse, but thanks to a survey prior to Barratt’s building The Limes, on farmland previously Luxford Farm, two important discoveries were made. Pieces of Bronze Age pottery were unearthed, indicating people were in the area some 3,000 years ago. It is most likely to have been the site of a seasonal camp, rather than a permanent dwelling site.

At that time and through the Iron Age (600BC – 50BC) and into the Roman period the area, in common with much of the lowland Weald, would have been wooded and criss-crossed with tracks. The High Street is believed to follows the line of an ancient north-south route that existed in the Iron Age. On land at Birchen Lane, an iron-smelting furnace of mid Iron Age date has been discovered, indicating exploitation of local resources.

Although there was no known Roman presence, the area was not isolated as a Roman road running from London towards the coast passed about a mile to the west, crossing land now Harlands Primary School. Two other Roman roads were only a few miles away. Local tracks connected with these roads. Some settlement, either seasonal or permanent, must have taken place during the Roman period, as the well respected historical geographer, Dr Peter Brandon, says that by the end of the Roman occupation the woodland on the Wealden margins, such as around Lindfield, had been cleared by the Romano-British villa economy and peasant grazing to create wooded pasture. These pastures, used primarily for cattle and also seasonal grazing of pigs, known as pannage, led to the creation of small and scattered communities.

This is supported by the second archaeological discovery made on The Limes site. Very old field ditches, that existed long before the field pattern of Luxford Farm, were uncovered, with one containing early Saxon pottery (circa 650) in the bottom. Evidence that land in Lindfield was being farmed.

The manorial system of landholding developed during Saxon times. In this part of Sussex the manorial centre was usually based on fertile arable land close to the coast, with outlying lands extending northwards. This is why if you look at an Ordnance Survey map of Sussex there are more roads running south to north than east – west. Several manors could hold land within the same area; thus in and around Lindfield manors with land included Stanmer, with the largest holding, Ditchling, Framfield, Plumpton Boscage, and Street. Each exercised control over their land through their own manorial courts, called Court Baron.

Returning to the Saxon charter of 765 mentioned earlier, this evidenced the granting of lands by Aeldwulf, one of the last kings of the South Saxons, to his earl, Hunlabe, for him to build and endow a minster church. These lands formed the Manor of Stanmer, comprised of separate parcels of land mainly in a line stretching from Stanmer north to Crawley Down, basically along the line of today’s B2112, with by far the largest parcel being in the centre at Lindfield. In the charter, Lindfield, meaning open land with lime trees, along with Walstead and Henfield (Scaynes Hill) were described as pig pastures.

There is much to support the belief that the minster church, which would have been a small and simple building, was built in Lindfield and that All Saints stands on the site. This indicates the area had a settled population of sufficient size to warrant building a church. The manor and church were held by the secular Canons of St Michael, South Malling. Sometime between 765 and Domesday, the manor passed to the ownership of the Archbishop of Canterbury but remained within the canon’s control. In 1150, Archbishop Theobald reorganised his Sussex peculiars, promoting St Michaels to a ‘College of Canons’ with a structure comprising a dean and three canons, respectively the chancellor, treasurer and precentor. The dean, an important and influential position, was the Rector of the Parish of Lindfield and together with the canons held sub manors in Lindfield from which they received an income. The dean was required to reside in Lindfield for 90 days a year and the canons 40 days. The Bower House was the dean’s residence.

The canons’, and especially the dean’s, influence on Lindfield was considerable, as collectively they were the ‘lords of the manor’. It was very much in their interest to ensure that those parts of the parish within their manorial holding, which included virtually all of Lindfield town, prospered. They were responsible for the growth and layout of properties down the main street, the extent of the town in medieval times. There were fields immediately behind the houses. Recognising Lindfield as an important and thriving community, King Edward III in 1343 granted a charter for two fairs on the feast days of St Philip and St James (both 1st May) and St James the Great (25th July), each lasting eight days, and a weekly market was held.

The Tiger

The five high status medieval houses built by the canons in the 14th and early 15th century, namely Bower House, The Tiger, Thatcher Cottage, Church Cottage and Clock House survive today. The width and line of today’s High Street has remained unchanged since that time. The street, from church to the Lewes Road junction, was lined with houses and workshops. The other timber-framed houses built in the 14th to the 16th century that still line the High Street underline the prosperity of Lindfield under the canons. This prosperity was primarily based on farming, the cloth trade and iron working. Our large and impressive parish church, dating mainly from the 14th century, in the perpendicular style, bears witness to its importance and the canons’ influence.

The 1530s and 1540s, with Henry VIII on the throne and seeking a divorce, the English Reformation and the establishment of the Church of England leading to the dissolution of religious houses, brought far reaching change to the country. Lindfield, with a population of about 400, having the College of Canons as lords of the manor was heading for a major change in its fortunes.

In March 1545, an order for the dissolution of the College of Canons was issued and subsequently all possessions, tithes and lands were granted by the Crown to Sir Thomas Palmer, a gentleman of the Privy Council. Over the next 300 years importance and prosperity gradually ebbed away. But Lindfield after the Reformation is another chapter in its long history.

First published December 2017 in Lindfield Life.

Who lived in that house? - Finches

By Richard Bryant, Lindfield History Project Group

The name Finches as in Finches Park Road, Finches Gardens and Finches Lane does not derive from a Victorian country mansion, like The Welkin as featured in last month’s article. It is much older in origin dating back to a farm that existed in medieval times, with perhaps the land being farmed a thousand years ago.

Finches Farm has appeared in the historic record since the 16th century when it was occupied by the Fairhall family, and its land ran southwards from Finches Lane. In 1583 Richard Fairhall was described as one of the ‘chiefest men’ of Lindfield. The farm must have been of sufficient importance as in 1723 it was one of the four properties in Lindfield parish shown by name on Budgen’s Sussex map. Described in 1829 as a ‘Messuage, barns and lands called Finches, Tilts and Cocks containing 32 acres’ it was held by Jane Knight. A Mr Riddle subsequently farmed the land, as a tenant of Edward Duke, and is recorded as operating a brickyard in the area of Kiln Wood and Town Wood; both woods still remain.

Around 1870 the farm was bought by James Proctor, a retired silk manufacturer from Manchester. He demolished the farmhouse and buildings that stood on the west side of Finches Lane, approximately where Arthur Bliss House is today. In their place he built a country mansion of brick and stone. An impression of the grandness and architectural style can be seen in the imposing range of estate office, coach house and stables he built further up Finches Lane; now attractive residences. To complete the estate, lodges were placed at the southern and northern end of Finches Lane, again both survive (see then/now photos here). The lower section of Finches Gardens follows the line of the drive.

Following his death in 1884 the estate was sold for £17,000 to Walter Savill. Finches became the main family home for Walter, his wife Matilda and their ten children. By the time of his death in 1911, most of their children had grown up and moved away, leaving the house to be lived in by his widow and their unmarried daughter Maud. They maintained it as their main residence until the beginning of WWII when it was requisitioned by the Army for officer accommodation.

Mrs Matilda Savill died in 1941. At the end of the war the house was returned to Maud Savill and in 1946 the entire estate was put up for sale. Sale particulars described the house as containing 12 principal bedrooms, seven staff bedrooms, five bathrooms, four reception rooms and
domestic offices, plus garages and stabling set in 45 acres of gardens and parkland. Also in the sale were the two lodges and four modern semi detached cottages, built for estate workers in Sunte Avenue.

The house with its grounds were acquired and converted into the County Hotel, opening in November 1947. It provided accommodation for 80 guests with a ‘Tudor Lounge and Buttery’ and ‘Georgian Restaurant’. Dinner dances were held on Saturday nights, which proved popular with guests and local residents alike.

As Lindfield started a major period of expansion in the decades following WWII there was considerable demand for building land. Between 1955 and 1961 parcels of Finches land were sold for building. This resulted in the first sections of Savill Road, Finches Park Road and the adjoining section of Hickmans Lane being built.

The hotel closed and was demolished in the early 1960s, with all remaining land being sold and built upon as we see today.

Today it is the Savills who are most closely associated with Finches. Who were they and what was their impact on Lindfield?

Walter Savill aged 15 joined Wallis Gann & Co, a firm of London shipbrokers, as a junior clerk in 1851. Seven years later together with a fellow employee, Robert Shaw, he left Wallis Gann and as partners set up their own shipping business, Shaw Savill & Co. Initially using chartered ships they specialised in carrying cargo, emigrants and Government mail to New Zealand. Through great courage, persistence, hard work and shrewdness the business prospered, owning 15 ships in 1865. It merged in 1882 with Albion, a competitor on the New Zealand route, to form Shaw Savill & Albion Co Ltd. In that year one of their ships carried the first refrigerated cargo of New Zealand lamb to Britain. Following this merger, Walter Savill established a fleet of sailing vessels under the Shaw Savill flag; one of these ships, a four mast steel barque, he named ‘Lindfield’.

Despite having lived in Lindfield for 27 years, Walter Savill took no active part in local affairs. He died aged 76 at Finches in May 1911, leaving over £1.5m, a vast fortune in those days. Early on the morning of the funeral, his oak coffin was conveyed to the parish church in an ivy- clad farm wagon drawn by three horses. After the service ‘the body rested in the church until the afternoon’ to allow ‘persons in all positions of life’ to pay their respects before being taken to Walstead for burial.

In contrast, his daughter Maud Savill, who lived in Lindfield until her death in 1962 aged 96, was an active participant and major benefactor in the village. She was at the forefront of supporting and giving to very many charitable good causes. For example, during the Great War Maud gave generously to the Red Cross Hospital in the King Edward Hall and funded the building of the miniature rifle range in Alma Lane. Throughout her life Maud Savill was a prominent member of the All Saints’ congregation.

Particularly noteworthy was her preservation of buildings that to this day enhance the High Street. Firstly, in 1917 she purchased dilapidated Barnlands with its two shops and restored it as two dwellings. Similarly in 1930, she purchased the ‘department store’ latterly run by Mr & Mrs Funnell converting it to housing and restored the adjoining cottage, today Truffle House, Caldicote and Limes Cottage. Priory Cottage followed in 1935, Maud Savill removed the shop extension that reached the pavement and restored it to solely residential purposes. Three years later she bought and renovated the Sewell Memorial Hall and St John’s Lodge, living in the latter during the war years before moving to St Lawrence on Blackhill.

After WWII, land in Hickmans Lane was given to the District Council for the building of the 12 semi-detached ‘St John’s Cottages’ for men who served in WWII and their families. It is Maud Savill that residents have to thank for also providing land to the District Council that subsequently became the Hickmans Lane Recreation Ground.

Whilst Finches has long disappeared, Maud Savill’s work to preserve and improve High Street properties, together with her kindness in facilitating a much enjoyed sports field and playground, are a commendable legacy.

First published in November 2017 of Lindfield Life.

Who lived in that house? - The Welkin

By Richard Bryant, Lindfield History Project Group

Mention The Welkin to Lindfield residents today and it conjures up images of the houses with their neat gardens and well maintained grounds in the area behind the High Street and north of Hickmans Lane. Some may recall the large house of that name. ‘The Welkin’, basically meaning Vault of Heaven, was the name given to the Rectory House built on the site by Reverend Francis Hill Sewell.

In the early 1850s, Rev Francis Sewell, in preparation for his return to Lindfield from Lancashire, planned the building of a grand Rectory House for himself and Mrs Sewell. The land required for the Rectory House and its grounds were obtained by his purchase of Townlands Farm together with a couple of pieces of adjoining land.
The land ran from the rear of Townlands Farmhouse and the High Street westward to Finches Lane and bounded by Hickmans Lane. It amounted to some 20 acres; a bit bigger than The Welkin site today. A fine Gothic style house in stone, complete with turret and spire, was designed by J Clark, architect, of 13 Stratford Place, Oxford Street, London. The builder, Mr Constable of Penshurst, started work in early 1856, and on 13th May 1856 the foundation stone was laid amid much ceremony by the Bishop of Chichester. Sewell
in his speech explained that the Bishop of Chichester considered ‘£1500 would not be a large sum for a Rectory House. The one proposed would cost £3000, of which sum he (Sewell) would present one-half. It would be the residence of all future ministers, if worth accepting, otherwise it must return to his own family’. That is to say, if the parish did not contribute the other half of the £3000 cost, the house would remain owned by the Sewell family.
In October 1857, on returning from Lancashire to Lindfield, Francis Sewell moved into the house, which was lit by Hansor’s Gas. This gas was manufactured in a small private plant and stored on site. Set in parkland and surrounded by formal gardens, the house was approached from the east by a lengthy carriage drive running from the High Street. The entrance, directly opposite The Tiger, and a section of the drive exists today; the stone pillars are inscribed The Welkin. A second carriage drive ran from the junction of Finches Lane with Hickmans Lane, and again the pillars remain today.

The house stood approximately halfway across (east/ west) the site, a short way in from the footpath that runs behind The Welkin’s northern boundary. In 1861, Sewell applied to the Lindfield Parish Vestry, the parish council of its day, for the ‘entire stopping up’ of a footpath track from ‘Lindfield Town’ (i.e. the High Street next to Bower House) that ‘ran westwards across his grounds, then southwards to emerge in Hackmans Lane’. The Vestry refused permission and the footpath still exists.

Rev Francis Sewell died, unexpectedly following a short illness, on 9th October 1862. At that time The Welkin remained in his ownership and had not been conveyed to the parish church. His wish to provide a rectory house for future incumbents did not come to fruition and pursuant to a decree of the High Court in Chancery in the case of Harrison v Trotter, the property was put up for sale by auction in September 1863.

The house was described in the auction advertisement as ‘containing principal and secondary bed chambers and dressing rooms, water-closet, porch entrance leading to a spacious entrance hall and wide stone staircase, back staircase, suite of reception rooms 12ft 6ins high, with southern aspect, consisting of drawing room 23ft 6ins by 15ft 9ins, dining room 22ft by 16ft 6ins, morning room, study, lavatory, water closet, complete servants’ offices’. The grounds comprised ‘beautiful lawns, pleasure and productive gardens and meadow land, the whole containing 21a 1r 6p and possessing a considerable building frontage’. It was purchased by a Mr Griffiths.

A later occupant, from around the turn of the century, was the Dowager Countess of Tankerville. Born Lady Olivia Montagu, daughter of the 6th Duke of Manchester, she had been involved in charitable works throughout her long life. One charitable venture was the establishment of laundries to provide work and a home for women in difficult circumstances who were struggling to regain their character by honest labour. While living at The Welkin, in 1902 she built such a laundry on land adjoining Gravelye Lane. The Mid Sussex Steam Laundry was run on charitable lines by a local committee, until taken over by the Salvation Army in 1912. The adjacent laundry home called ‘Quinta’ provided accommodation for thirty female workers. In 1922, the laundry became a commercial business and traded until closure in 1972.

After the Dowager Countess of Tankerville sold The Welkin it changed hands several times and the last to occupy it as a family home were Mr & Mrs Jourdain during the 1930s. At the start of World War Two, the property was requisitioned and used by the Army as an area headquarters. Military equipment was stored in the grounds.

In 1947, Mr Noel Cook acquired the property transferring his small but successful boys’ preparatory school from Angmering. It opened as The Welkin School, a boarding and day preparatory school for boys up to 13 years of age, in September 1948. The school could accommodate about sixty pupils with boarding facilities for about half that number. The classrooms were on the ground floor of the three-storey house, with dormitories and other facilities on the first floor. The remainder of the building was mainly occupied by Mr & Mrs Cook and staff who ‘lived in’.
The school made good use of The Welkin’s extensive grounds, with an excellent sports field for cricket, football and athletics plus a tennis court and small outdoor swimming pool near today’s Green Meadows.

After the school closed in 1960, the house and outbuildings were demolished and the grounds sold. A 1960s style high-rise development was proposed but after much opposition, leading to the formation of the Society for the Preservation of Lindfield, the plans were withdrawn. Some 170 dwellings now occupy the site, with the parkland character of the grounds being retained, resulting in The Welkin being designated an Area of Townscape Character within the Lindfield Neighbourhood Plan.

First published in the October 2017 Lindfield Life.

Fire-eating Legge: A Lindfield Hero

D company Officers prior to leaving for France in August 1916. Reginald Legge is first left, back row. Courtesy of The Tank Museum.

By Richard Bryant, Lindfield History Project Group

There were very few days during the Great War that determined how future land battles across the world would be fought; a son of Lindfield played a leading role in one such day – 15th September 1916. His heroism and sacrifice went unrecognised.

During 1915 the war on the Western Front had settled into an entrenched stalemate with neither side making and sustaining any significant gain. To help break this deadlock a new weapon was required; this resulted in Britain inventing the tank. Two prototypes were available by December 1915 and, following trials, the Army ordered 100. At this time the Somme offensive was being planned as a major breakthrough, and it was hoped the tanks and their crews would be available for the first day of the offensive on 1st July 1916. However, neither the crews nor the tanks were ready in sufficient numbers.
Being a new and untried weapon, the Army had to learn not only how to drive, operate and maintain tanks, but the tactics to be deployed for their use in battle. In spring 1916, officers and men were drafted into the newly formed Heavy Branch Machine Gun Corps and commenced training. Second Lieutenant Reginald Legge was one of those recruited to be a tank commander.

Reginald’s parents lived at ‘Greenwoods’, High Beeches Lane, Lindfield. After leaving Brighton Grammar School, he worked for a wholesale draper in Cannon Street, London before travelling the world as a merchant. A well travelled adventurer, he was working on the Gold Coast prior to the war. Returning to Lindfield in January 1915, Reginald joined the 2/1st Bucks Yeomanry (Royal Bucks Hussars) as a Trooper and was quickly identified as officer material.
On 4th March 1916 he attended a six week officer training course and, following being commissioned on 15th April 1916, aged 34, was posted to the Heavy Branch Machine Gun Corps and became one of the first officers to undergo tank training at Canada Farm, Elvenden, near Thetford.

Reginald was posted to France in August 1916, together with fellow officers, tank crews, mechanics and 60 tanks. However, due to mechanical breakdown, only 49 tanks were available for their first deployment into action at the Battle of Flers-Courcelette.
On the night of 13th September 1916, the crews fuelled the tanks, collected rations and ammunition ready for their debut. The following day, Reginald and his fellow officers received final instructions and reconnoitred the route to their front line start points. The terrain was extremely rough, heavily damaged by shell holes and cut by trenches making it difficult for the 28 ton monsters to traverse. That evening the tanks moved forward in readiness to take part in the Battle of Flers-Courcelette at zero hour on 15th September 1916. Along the battle front only 32 of the 49 tanks made it to their start points, the others had either got stuck or broken down.

Seven tanks supported the 41st Division, organised into four groups. Tank D6, commanded by Reginald, the only tank in C Group, was given the task of leading the attack on the defences around Flers, thus opening the way for the infantry assault.

From his start point Reginald’s tank supported the infantry advance and made good progress towards Flers, reaching the Division’s first objective. A British soldier described the tank as ‘lumbering past on my left, belching forth yellow flames from her machine gun and making a gap where the Flers road cut through the enemy trench!’ The tanks had a maximum speed of four mph on good ground and appreciably less over rough terrain. Interior conditions were absolutely appalling, extremely noisy with intense heat, noxious engine, violent motion and flying red hot metal splinters as bullets hit the exterior. Severe nausea could ensue after only short distances.

Regardless of the arduous conditions, Reginald continued turning D6 east and north to move down the eastern side of Flers. Once inside the village he helped the infantry clear out the Germans. As the assault continued towards the third objective northeast of the village, the role played by D6 was recognised by the Commanding Officer, 26th Royal Fusiliers, recording that ‘This tank was of the greatest material use and the party in charge of it distinguished themselves considerably’. Leading the advance, Reginald got ahead of the British infantry line and in danger from enemy artillery, he continued north towards his next objective. Aware that there was a German gun battery nearby, he went on the attack destroying one field gun but was fired upon by the remaining three guns. Receiving a direct hit, D6 burst into flames and burnt out.

One crewman died in the burning tank, two died from their wounds at the scene, three made it back to the British line and one was captured. There is some uncertainty regarding Reginald’s precise fate. A crew member saw him in a nearby shell hole, possibly suffering serious wounds. Reginald was posted missing in action by the British. He is thought to have been captured by the Germans and to have died of his wounds the next day. However, the Germans have no record of him being taken prisoner or of a grave. In 1917 Reginald’s identity disc and Will were sent from Germany by the Red Cross and were eventually received by his mother, confirming his death, over a year after going missing.

A review after the battle identified that, out of the 32 that started the attack, nine tanks broke down after a short distance, five bogged down on the battlefield and nine were ineffective as they failed to travel at sufficient speed to support the infantry attack. Only nine tanks played an active role in the advance. with tank D6, commanded by Reginald, making one, if not the greatest, contribution to the advance.

The first deployment of tanks into battle could hardly be regarded as a great success but their potential was proved and tanks were used to greater effect in future British advances during the Great War. Despite playing a major role in the advance and demonstrating the tanks’ potential, his brave actions and sacrifice received no official recognition. He is remembered on the Lindfield War Memorials.
After the war, a fellow tank commander at the battle commented ‘Dear old fire-eating Legge came very near to being great’.

First published in the September 2017 issue of Lindfield Life.

St John’s - Lindfield’s forgotten school

By Richard Bryant, Lindfield History Project Group

Last month’s article about Rev Francis Sewell explained that in the early 1850s, he developed a master plan to facilitate his return to Lindfield, from Lancashire, and to increase his influence and standing in the parish. One element of his plan was the building of a new church school and school master’s house.
Despite having been influential in establishing the National School on the Common in 1851, Sewell found its building objectionable, inadequate and remote from the parish church and the religious guidance questionable. He decided a new church school was needed to meet the religious education of local children, with good facilities close to the church. He clearly had a desire to exert his influence on the education of children from the labouring classes and additionally extend this to the middle classes.

His plan required sufficient land to build the school building and master’s house ‘contiguous to the church’, together with land for a rectory house. This was achieved by his purchase of Townlands Farm, in the first years of the 1850s. The farmyard, fronting onto the High Street almost opposite the northern churchyard, provided adequate space for the school buildings.

He commissioned the architect, J Clark of 13 Stratford Place, Oxford Street, London, to design both the school buildings and master’s house in the Gothic style. The school was required to provide space for 100 boys, 100 girls and 70 infants in separate rooms and be appointed with modern facilities.

The school buildings today - photo: Ashley Fabian

On 13th May 1856, the Bishop of Chichester, amid much ceremony, laid the foundation stones naming the school St John’s Parish School. Sewell explained the scheme was not ‘to earn to himself any reward, but to fix the affections of the children upon their God.’ The cost of the school building and master’s house was estimated at £1630. Sewell contributed £630 and provided the additional funding which was to be reimbursed by donations. Replacement of his funding would enable him ‘to convey them to the parish.’
Constructed in fine stone, by Mr Constable of Penshurst, the school was inaugurated on the 19th October 1856. The National School on the Common closed and some hundred children transferred to the new school. Under Sewell’s patronage, he wanted his school to be self-supporting and conducted on the principles of the Church of England, without the aid of the National or any other Society. In addition to being a day school for Lindfield and surrounding district, it also served as a Sunday school.

In spring 1857 the school buildings and master’s house were the first properties in Lindfield to be illuminated by gas. Sewell had installed a small Hansor’s Gas manufacturing plant and tank on his land. A newspaper report in August 1861 commented that the school was ‘among the finest educational structures in Sussex.’ It further noted, ‘at a merely nominal charge’ the education was ‘not only to the children of the poor, but also to those of the middle class. For this purpose a certificated master, of long experience in large schools, an infant mistress, a governess and a pupil teacher have been engaged.’ In addition to reading, writing and arithmetic, the curriculum included geography, surveying, drawing and bookkeeping.

Every year since the opening of the original National School and then St John’s Parish School, Sewell had organised and funded an elaborate school fete. Sewell was an enthusiastic attendee and participant with the children, even when living in Lancashire he would travel by train to Lindfield to attend. The fete in August 1861 was another similarly lavish event. 140 children marched through the village to a field, adjoining The Welkin, where ‘most plenteous sources of amusement were provided; kites, swings, traps, donkey riding, etc.’ Before tea, a ‘kite, life size, representing a Life Guardsman, was flown to a height of 300 yards,’ and repeatedly pulled a light carriage with a child on board across the fields! After tea, the children watched a ‘succession of electrical and galvanic experiments’ conducted by Sewell and as darkness fell the marquee was illuminated by gas lights. The event closed with the firing of the evening gun, ascent of fire balloons and the National Anthem.

Three months later in November 1861, an advertisement appeared for St John’s Middle- Class Grammar and Mathematical School under the supervision and control of the officiating Minister of St John’s Church, Lindfield. The boarding house with home comforts was in a ‘commodious private residence’, and pupils were to be prepared for ‘the Middle-Class Oxford, Cambridge, and the Civil Service Examinations’. Annual fees for boarders were £32 and non-boarders £8 - £12. Sewell was clearly moving the school upmarket with the aims of the original National School to educate the ’labouring, manufacturing and other poor classes of the parish of Lindfield’ no longer fitting his vision. Presumably he intended to leave their education to others.

Sewell retained ownership of the school buildings and never conveyed them to the parish as his stated intentions, presumably because the desired contributions from residents to replace his initial funding were not forthcoming. After a short illness, Sewell died in October 1862 and shortly afterwards the school closed and never reopened.

On the instructions of the High Court in Chancery, the buildings were put up for sale by auction in September 1863. They were advertised as, ‘Lots 3 and 4. The newly- built premises, St John School, consisting of boys’ and girls’ lofty school rooms, infant school rooms, offices, and schoolmaster’s cottage and garden’.

What became of the school building? Mrs Julia Sewell, acquired the buildings and in 1866, they were recorded as ‘now possessed by Mrs Sewell, the widow, and used on Sundays by Dissenters’. The Sunday school run by Miss Trevatt resumed meeting there in the mornings and afternoons, and in the evening the London City Mission conducted preaching services. The building became known as St John’s Mission.

Upon Mrs Julia Sewell’s death the property passed to her close relative, Miss Dent, and she subsequently offered the building to the London City Mission, but they were not allowed to own property outside London. Miss Dent approached the Country Towns’ Mission, and on their agreeing to send a resident missioner to Lindfield, she endowed the local mission, and it became the Sewell Memorial Mission in October 1909.

By 1937, the Country Towns’ Mission had become increasingly uncomfortable with their premises being directly opposite the parish church. It was decided to sell and use the money for the erection of a more suitable mission building in Lewes Road; this is today the Lindfield Evangelical Free Church. The old mission site was purchased in July 1937 by the parish church authorities with the intention of erecting a vicarage. However, after three separate sets of plans were prepared, it was found that the premises were not suitable either for demolition or conversion. Miss Maud Savill of Finches purchased the buildings in 1938.

During World War II the premises were used by evacuees and the military. Today all the buildings are occupied as private dwellings.

First published in the August 2017 Lindfield Life.

Reverend Francis Hill Sewell and Lindfield Parish Church

Lindfield History by Richard Bryant of the Lindfield History Project Group

During the 18th century Lindfield parish church had been in decline and in a poor state of repair. This continued into the 19th century. By the 1830s not only was the building unsound but, in the absence of a resident minster, services were occasionally not held and burials delayed. Without going into detail, the problems stemmed from the church receiving very little money, due to the tithes being in lay ownership. Further decline was inevitable unless a saviour could be found.

This arrived in the form of Rev Francis Sewell, who having graduated from Cambridge was ordained in 1839. Without doubt he possessed ‘the ardent zeal of a sincere Christian and Churchman’ with a desire to do good, so typical of Victorian times. He was born in India in 1815, the second son of Major General Robert and Eliza Sewell. Over the previous 100 years the Sewell dynasty had became influential and wealthy, initially from the law and subsequently through military service, politics and landownership. This notable and high achieving family further prospered through many ‘good marriages’ and, for some, from plantations in the West Indies.
Shortly after arriving in Lindfield, his elder brother died, which gave Francis Sewell ‘possession of a moderate fortune’. In Sewell terms this meant benefiting from many tens of thousands of pounds and an estate bordering Ashdown Forest comprising several farms totalling some 600 acres and a large house at Twyford.

In 1841 Francis Sewell married Julia Dent, of an old and wealthy Westmorland family, and set up home at Pear Tree Cottage (junction of High Street and Lewes Road). Sewell immediately set about re-establishing the church and repairing the building, firstly by repairing the windows. He instigated a restoration in 1848, which sought a return to the 14th century style favoured at that time. This project saw the introduction of Sewell’s approach to funding; in essence he would make a donation to get a project started then expect residents to contribute the remainder. He donated £650 towards the estimated restoration cost of £2,000, the work was completed in 1850 but it took nearly ten years for the church to clear the debt.

Having set the restoration in hand, in August 1849 Sewell left Lindfield to accept the position of Vicar of Cockerham, Lancashire, a living in the gift of his brother- in-law worth £700 per annum. This compared with £30 the Lindfield church received, although Sewell had not drawn his stipend.

However, Sewell retained his position as the incumbent of Lindfield parish and paid for the employment of an assistant minister. Despite living away he remained closely involved with the parish and pursued his good works, returning on many occasions. His first good work for the village was to instigate the building of a National School, promoting the Anglican faith. This opened on the Common in 1851. At that time the village had a thriving non-conformist school, but Sewell wished to have a school through which to extend the influence of the Church of England on children of the labouring classes.

During the early 1850s, Sewell appears to have devised a master plan to facilitate his return to reside in Lindfield. A core element of his plan was to purchase the Tithes out of lay ownership. The aim was to use the money provided by the tithes to fund his good works for the village. In August 1854, the Brighton Gazette carried an announcement that Sewell had entered into an agreement to purchase the Tithes, worth £600 per year, using his own money. A Tithes Restoration Fund was established to receive contributions, and when the purchase price had been raised he ‘would hand over the amount of Tithes so purchased to the use for ever hereafter of the resident and officiating Rector of the Parish’. Two years later, the paper announced the redemption of the Tithes by Sewell. However, despite his belief he had acquired the Tithes, the transfer to his ownership never took place and they remain in lay ownership.

Notwithstanding the confused position with regard to the Tithes, Sewell pressed on with the other parts of his plan. These were to close the recently built National School on the Common and transfer the pupils to a new school under his control, close to the church. In addition to building the school with a master’s house, the plan also included building a fine rectory as his residence. By 1854, Sewell had purchased Townlands farmhouse, in the High Street, and its accompanying lands to provide the land for his planned buildings.

Construction work commenced in May 1856 on his new St John’s Parish School and Master’s House, being built on land previously Townland’s farmyard (to the north of the house). Sewell funded the construction and sought contributions to repay his outlay, to enable him ‘to convey them to the parish’. Work also started on his Rectory House (later named The Welkin), to which similar funding arrangements applied.

Sewell of his own volition, and seemingly without consultation, enthusiastically initiated these projects ‘for the benefit of the parish’ despite not having secured the Tithes required for the funding. Throughout this time, while exerting his influence on Lindfield, Sewell remained resident in Lancashire as Vicar of Cockerham.

The newly built St John’s Parish School and Master’s House opened in October 1856; his Rectory House was completed a short time later. They were the first buildings in the village to be equipped with gas lighting. The gas was manufactured in a private gas making plant and stored in a tank in his grounds. Subsequently Sewell arranged for Phinehas Jupp, the village blacksmith, to run a pipe under the High Street to take gas to the church, and to install the pipework for gas lighting.

In May 1857, ‘a good sprinkle of the principal inhabitants’ assembled at St John’s School to see the trial of Mr Hansor’s recently discovered olefiant gas (ethylene) installed by Sewell. The school buildings were the first in Lindfield to be lit by gas. It was reported ‘The exhibition afforded a brilliant display, reflecting the highest credit on the scientific abilities of the patentee, Mr Hansor, who was present’. Impressed by what they had seen the gathering adjourned to the Red Lion to discuss lighting the village with Hansor’s gas. It was subsequently agreed to proceed, resulting in the Lindfield Gas Company being formed in June 1857 to manufacture and distribute the gas, thus bringing gas to the village.

Francis Sewell returned to live in Lindfield in October 1857 taking up residence at his partially finished Rectory House. Sadly following a short illness Sewell died on 9th October 1862, aged 47 years. The family swiftly removed his body from Lindfield for burial, on 29th October 1862, at All Saints, Kensal Green, London. This action appears to have been met with some disquiet in the village.

At the time of his death, all the properties built by Sewell remained in his ownership, as he had not received sufficient contributions to enable their transfers to the parish. On the instructions of the High Court in Chancery, in the case of Trotter v Harrison, all the properties and his land in Lindfield, were put up for sale by auction on 21st September 1863. Trotter was an in- law relative of Francis Sewell and an executor of his Will.

Francis Sewell’s vision of lasting benevolence to the parish came to nothing, although he can take the credit for introducing gas to Lindfield.

First published in the July 2017 Lindfield Life.

Charles Dickins and the Lindfield connection

By Richard Bryant, Lindfield History Project Group

Helena Hall in her 1959 book Lindfield, Past and Present says: ‘Dr Richard Tuppen was a great friend of Charles Dickens, a frequent visitor to “Froyles”, where he sometimes stayed as well as at The Chalet with the brothers Arthur and Albert Smith, of Egyptian Hall fame’. This implies Dickens’ visits to Tuppen and the Smiths in Lindfield were at more or less the same time; however the visits were many years apart. This and other aspects of Charles Dickens’ connections with Lindfield merit a closer look.

Helena Hall appears to have based her statements on the recollections of Mrs Elizabeth Anscombe, nee Woodgate, that were published in several newspapers, following interviews when she was in her nineties. Looking first at Dickens’ visits to Dr Richard Stapley Tuppen at Froyles in the High Street. Richard Tuppen was baptised in Lindfield in May 1780, the son of Henry and Sarah Tuppen, who had purchased Froyles in that year. His mother was a member of the well established Stapley family whose seat was Hickstead Place. In 1806, Froyles was inherited by Richard Tuppen; together with his sister he lived in the property until his death on 21st March 1840, aged 59.

Mrs Elizabeth Anscombe, born in 1826, was aged 13 years when she entered service at Froyles as a waiting maid in 1839. Praised by reporters for her ‘wonderful memory’, Elizabeth Anscombe vividly recalled meeting Charles Dickens when he frequently visited Richard Tuppen. Similarly she recalled that Tuppen and Dickens went to church on Sundays, but Dickens found it difficult to keep awake during the long sermons of those days. When he was awake Dickens made sketches of the congregation, chiefly caricatures, on the walls or on a pillar.

Dickens must have been in Lindfield during 1839 and possibly early 1840, as Richard Tuppen died in the March of that year. Among Mrs Anscombe’s most treasured possessions was a signed copy of a Dickens’ book, reported as, ‘A Christmas Carol’, given as ‘a token of regard’. However, it would appear this book was first published in December 1843, so perhaps the gift was a pre-publication edition or Dickens gave the book on a later visit to Miss Tuppen; Elizabeth Anscombe remained in her employ until June 1848.

More challenging to explain is the friendship between Charles Dickens and Richard Tuppen, they were aged about 28 and 59 respectively in 1839. How they met and became great friends is a mystery, as throughout most of the 1830s, Dickens had been pursuing a career in journalism predominantly in London. It was only after 1836, that he had become known through the publication in instalments, of Pickwick Papers.
At this time Richard Tuppen was the village doctor in Lindfield, which had been his home since birth and he had been ‘apprenticed’ to a local surgeon. Similarly the background and social standing of their respective families makes a family connection implausible. The Dickens family background is well documented and Lindfield does not feature.

In contrast, Charles Dickens’ friendship with Arthur Smith and consequently Lindfield is strongly evidenced. However, the Smiths could not be the link between Tuppen and Dickens, as Richard Tuppen had died almost a decade prior to Smith’s connection with Lindfield.

Arthur Smith, born 1825, and with his older brother Albert, were famous as the first Englishmen to climb Mont Blanc in 1851. Albert followed a career as a journalist, humorist, writer and playwright in parallel with Dickens. They had both worked for Bentley’s Miscellany and Albert Smith had adapted some of Dickens’ writings for the stage. During the 1850s, Arthur Smith managed the Egyptian Hall in London and with his brother gave performances recounting their exploits on Mont Blanc. Both the brothers knew Dickens.

Various studies of Dickens describe Arthur Smith as his friend and manager. He handled the booking for readings by Dickens, who is reported to have said: ‘I got hold of Arthur Smith as the best man of business I know’. Without doubt they had a friendly and trusting relationship.

How were the Smiths linked with Lindfield? Arthur Smith, when in his twenties, married Jane May Crawfurd, the daughter of William Board Edward Gibbs Crawfurd of Paxhill, Lindfield. On land adjacent to the Ardingly Road, within the Paxhill estate, Arthur with his brother built The Chalet in the first years of the 1850s. It is said, by Helena Hall in Lindfield Past and Present, that Dickens helped by ‘carrying windows and door frames’. However, the basis for this statement is unknown, but it is reasonable to assume Dickens visited Arthur Smith and his wife at The Chalet during the 1850s.

Helena Hall also makes the assertion, again drawn from the recollections of Elizabeth Anscombe, that Dickens ‘did many kindly things for Lindfield. He helped to raise funds to build the school on the Common. He took part in entertainments at the Assembly Rooms [Bent Hotel, Lindfield], and, as the result of public readings of his works at the Corn Exchange, Haywards Heath, he gave £100 to our Vicar, Mr Sewell, to help restore the Church’. However, on reading the various articles on Elizabeth Anscombe’s memories, some of Helena Hall’s assertions may be questionable. One of the more detailed articles on Elizabeth Anscombe’s memories, published in the Mid Sussex Times in 1913, said: ‘That as the result of a public reading at the Haywards Heath Corn Exchange, Dickens was able to hand £100 to the then Vicar of Lindfield – the Rev. E. Johnson’ and ‘That the money was used by him to help meet the cost of erecting the present Lindfield Reading Room, the builder of which was Mrs Anscombe’s husband’.

As explained in a recent Lindfield Life article, the Reading Room started life as the National School, built on the Common in 1851. This date aligns with Arthur Smith’s marriage, the building of The Chalet and Rev. Johnson being the vicar. Therefore the reading was most likely arranged courtesy of Mr and Mrs Smith. Dickens may have done other entertainments and readings in Lindfield or Haywards Heath but supporting evidence is lacking.

It is pleasing that Lindfield has one enduring legacy of Charles Dickens’ connection with the village.

First published in the June 2017 issue of Lindfield Life.

Julius Guy, inventor and local activist

By Richard Bryant, Lindfield History Project Group

Today our cars with their independent suspension on all four wheels give a smooth ride, despite the occasional pothole and bumps in the roads. Likewise all roads have smooth hard surfaces. It was not always that way. Pity the traveller in the nineteenth century, when the roads at best were of variable quality and horse-drawn carriages gave their occupants a bumpy ride.

Elliptical springs that had traditionally been fitted to carriages in the 1800s did little to improve the ride for passengers. Julius Guy, a Lindfield carriage builder, set about finding a way to improve this crude form of suspension. In 1885, after trying various possible improvements, Julius Guy discovered that the attachment of India rubber cushion blocks to the springs considerably enhanced their performance. He patented his invention as the Climax Combination Spring.

This simple but effective device received great acclaim. His invention was exhibited at the Anglo- Danish Exhibition of 1888, where it was awarded a gold medal and diploma of honour. The Exhibitors Journal described Mr Guy’s invention as ‘One of the best and greatest improvements’ to carriage suspension, saying ‘the unpleasant jarring is considerably reduced’. It further explained ‘Another advantage is that the liability of breaking either springs or axles, and the wear of the carriage is very considerably reduced; the oscillation and extra strain on other parts of the carriage is also obviated’.

Julius Guy was enrolled a Member of the Institute of British Carriage Manufacturers and his patent was taken up by very many carriage builders. It was also applied to the carriages belonging to the British Royal Family and the King of Belgium. A testimonial written by Lord Suffield, relating to the rubber blocks fitted to the carriages of Queen Victoria and the Prince of Wales, said they were ‘found to very much enhance the comfort’. Praise indeed for a village coachbuilder.

Who was Julius Guy? He was born in 1831 at Chiddingly and after being apprenticed to his father, went to London and gained coach-building experience at some of the leading workshops before opening his own business. His wife’s health was affected by the foul London air and he decided to move to Lindfield in 1859, acquiring the business of Mr H Packham. Julius Guy’s home, workshop and yard were at the northern end of the Bent Arms, adjacent to Brushes Lane.

His business thrived, and with the introduction of the motorcar he transferred his skills from carriage building to being a motor body builder and repairer. Julius Guy was also one of the first agents for the Car and General Insurance Corporation, the insurance company that pioneered the comprehensive motor policy.
In addition to his business, Julius Guy played an active role in the life of the village, holding several roles, such as Parish Constable, Churchwarden and member of the School Board. He held a keen interest in national and local politics, and with regard to the latter was a staunch opponent of the old Lindfield Local Board (the parish council). The Board comprised eleven members and their monthly meetings were held behind closed doors, with the boast that business was completed in quarter of an hour. Every year they nominated and re-elected themselves.

Julius Guy led a group of residents in revolt against these practices and demanded open public elections. To pacify him, the Board members offered to elect him onto the Board... he declined, but which prompted him to take legal action against the Board for not conducting the elections according to the law. This resulted in the Local Lindfield Board being dissolved. As a consequence, Lindfield, for a time, lost the right of self-government and came under the jurisdiction of the Rural Authority.

Julius Guy died on 28th April 1913, aged 82.

First published in the April 2017 issue of Lindfield Life

Lindfield's old sauce to rival Lee and Perrins

By Richard Bryant, Lindfield History Project Group

Lea & Perrin’s Worcester Sauce is perhaps one of the world’s best known sauces. First marketed in 1837, it became popular in the 1840/50s and is now widely used in cooking, as a condiment and, of course, an essential part of a Bloody Mary. Today, instead of asking for Worcester sauce you could have been asking for Lindfield Sauce had its makers had the business acumen of Mr Lea and Mr Perrin.

According to a Lindfield Sauce bottle label dated about 1880, it was:

  • Prepared by the late Charles Mills

  • Used at the Coronation Banquet of George IV held on 19th July 1821

  • Currently being made by Mrs Mills of Lindfield

  • A flavouring for chops, steak, poultry, fish cold meat, etc.

  • ‘Pronounced by Savans and Epicures to be the Best English Sauce extant’

These claims warrant further investigation. The recipe for Lindfield Sauce still exists and is held by a descendant of the Mills family. The main ingredients included are vinegar, onions, sugar, soy sauce, cayenne pepper and spices. It has to be matured in casks for at least two years before being usable, and is said to be similar in character to Worcestershire sauce.

Who were the Mills family and what was their connection with Lindfield? In the latter part of the 1700s, George Mills, a blacksmith and cooper in Lindfield, had a son named Simon. It appears Simon Mills joined the army as a young man, serving in the Peninsular War, being present at the battle of Oporto in May 1809, as a sergeant in the 24th Regiment of Foot Guards. He is next found in 1815 in Pembroke, with his wife Ann where she gave birth to a son, Charles, and later a second son, Simon.

The first identified record of Simon Mills, Senior, returning to Lindfield is an entry in the 30th April 1831 Poor Tax return. The entry identifies Simon Mills as the owner of the Red Lion, which at that time was located in the house today called ‘Porters’. However, in 1833, Simon Mills moved the Red Lion next door to the newly built and current Red Lion building. Following his death in 1839, the property passed to his widow Ann Mills and on her death to their sons, Charles and Simon, inherited the inn. During the early years of the 1850s, Charles Mills took over as the innkeeper, a role he held until selling the Red Lion in 1869. He then moved with his second wife, Mary, and their children down the High Street, to the middle cottage of what are today known as Bank Cottages (near the junction with Lewes Road).
The 1880 label refers to it being prepared by ‘the late Charles Mills’ so presumably during the 1850s and 1860s he was making Lindfield Sauce at the Red Lion and storing it in the cellar until matured. However, other than the label, no written evidence has been found specifically linking Charles Mills or the Red Lion with the manufacture of the sauce. It is reasonable to believe Charles Mills was making the sauce at the cottage prior to his death in 1873, when ownership of the ‘brand’ and preparation passed to his widow. Mrs Mary Mills is listed in the 1881 Census as a widow aged 49 years; with the occupation ‘Sauce Proprietor’. She continued living at the cottage until her death.

Looking at the claim regarding its use, as a matured sauce it would have been suitable to add to meats and fish for extra flavour. The statement being ‘Pronounced by Savans and Epicures to be the Best English Sauce extant’, sounds flowery and extravagant but it is reflective of the advertising language used in Victorian times. Adverts for a similar rich matured sauce, Thorn’s Tally Ho Sauce, likewise proclaimed ‘So long patronised by Epicures .... pronounced it exquisite’. However the Lindfield Sauce pronouncement is not without foundation, as the sauce was not merely sold in the village but supplied to fashionable addresses in London and presumably elsewhere in the country.

One eminent regular purchaser, between 1882 and 1888, was Wilkie Collins, the famous Victorian author. He was well known for his fondness of food and good living. A letter written under his own hand from Portman Square, London, in November 1882, acknowledging safe delivery of a supply, says ‘we will do all we can to recommend it’. In another letter that year, Wilkie Collins asks Mrs Mills to send a very old friend ‘at your convenience - with account, half a dozen bottles, of your sauce, which he likes very much’. In placing an order for six bottles in June 1888, Wilkie Collins refers to it as ‘her excellent sauce’.

Similarly, there are orders for 6 and 18 bottles at a time from a purchaser, with an unreadable signature, living at Cavendish Square, London. Certainly during the 1880s, Mrs Mills had a thriving mail order business for Lindfield Sauce and her claim for it being regarded by ‘Epicures’ does not seem farfetched.

The reference to Lindfield Sauce being used at the Coronation Banquet of George IV is more problematic. An enquiry to the Royal Archive elicited the response that hundreds of dishes were served at the vast banquet and it is possible Lindfield Sauce was used as an ingredient in one of the hot or cold dishes, but they do not have the recipes. They further said, ‘sauce boats were used at the banquet but unfortunately it does not say what the sauces were – perhaps one of them was Lindfield Sauce’.

So was the claim that the sauce was used at the royal banquet true or just a clever piece of Victorian marketing for a sauce invented by Charles Mills after selling the Red Lion? If it is indeed true, then Lindfield Sauce predates the similar Worcestershire sauce by many years. It also raises the questions, what are its origins, who was making it in 1821 and where? Could it have been Simon Mills, Senior, but he was not known to have been in Lindfield in the 1820s. Perhaps we will never know the truth.

What we do know is that the production of Lindfield Sauce in the village had ceased by the early 1890s and Mary Mills died in March 1895.

If readers have any information that will help solve this mystery please get in touch.

First published in May 2017 Lindfield Life.

An 81 year old mystery solved - HMS Triumph

By Richard Bryant, Lindfield History Project Group

You may have seen newspaper articles and television news pieces in mid-June, reporting a 25-year search has finally brought to the end an 81 year old World War II submarine mystery, without realising the story had a connection with Lindfield. In All Saints church, there is a brass plaque mounted on the southern wall that reads:
Remember in Love
JOHN SYMONS HUDDART LIEUTENANT ROYAL NAVY H.M. SUBMARINE TRIUMPH WHO WITH HIS OFFICERS AND MEN WAS KILLED IN ACTION JANUARY 1942
The Lord of Hosts is with us

HMS Triumph

Lt. John Symons Huddart, known as Tommy, was 31 years old, living with his parents George and Clare Huddart at Froyls in the High Street. He joined the Royal Navy, Submarine Service in January 1934, completing his Commanding Officers course in April 1940. The command of several submarines followed before joining HMS Triumph in November 1940; a T-class 1,300 tonne submarine, 275ft long with a company of about 60 men that had been in the Mediterranean for 12 months patrolling and undertaking special covert operations.

On 20th November 1940, the submarine departed from Alexandria, Egypt for her 20th war patrol in the Aegean, which included special operational executive missions, returning to port on 11th December 1941. The crew were greeted with the news that the Triumph was to return home for crew leave and a refit. Joy was short lived as Triumph, being the only available operational submarine, was ordered to undertake her 21st mission. She was tasked with urgently landing 5,000 kilos of supplies including radios, weapons and possibly money for the Greek Resistance. The drop was to be made at Antipros, an isolated location where the supplies could be rowed ashore in a small boat. The few remaining Commonwealth servicemen that had evaded capture and were waiting at Antipros had expected to be evacuated after the unloading.

Telegram Triumph

However, Triumph had only just started her patrol and it appears that this had not been advised to the servicemen. Lt. Huddart decided not to have a debate on the beach about air consumption and food and water supplies, all of which were limited and restricted operational capabilities. Instead he simply quoted a change of orders preventing him from taking on board passengers, but promised he would return in 10 days to pick them up on his return to Alexandria. Triumph signalled Naval Command confirming successful completion of the deliveries and this was the last communication.

Triumph departed and was not seen or heard from again. She failed to show up at the promised rendezvous at Antipros on 9th January. On 21st January 1942, C & C Mediterranean reported to the Admiralty ‘Regret in absence of further news HMS Triumph must now be considered lost’. The circumstances and location of the disappearance of the submarine and what happened to the crew have remained a mystery ever since, but it was assumed that all crew perished. There is no German record of a submarine having been engaged.

In June 2023, it was announced that following years of searching Triumph had now been found in the Aegean Sea off the coast of Greece, lying 660ft below the surface. Images from a remotely operated submersible show her hull almost intact, although some damage to the stern is visible, possibly caused by an underwater explosion. Importantly, the images reveal that all the escape hatches and gun hatches were sealed closed indicating the crew are entombed inside. In that depth of water, crew were doomed as escape would have been impossible. Triumph was probably at a deep dive depth when the disaster struck.
The exact location of the submarine has yet to be disclosed as it must be treated with the respect of a maritime war grave. Protected by the strict archaeology laws of Greece.

This discovery brings to a close the 81 year old mystery and the location of the men’s grave. You can see a video clip of the submarine lying on the seabed here.

Lindfield's changing High Street - Part 2

The Bent Arms & The Cot

By John Mills and Richard Bryant, Lindfield History Project Group

The previous article compared the west side of the High Street in 1923 with 2023; in this article we journey down the eastern side. Starting at the top of the High Street, from the ornate Lindfield sign down to All Saints Church is residential today, as it was in 1923. After the church, the Tiger had ceased being an Inn in 1916, becoming the parish church house and has continued to be ever since.

After the passageway, 1 Tiger Cottages – No 120 – was a sweet shop called The Little Shop. Evidence of this past use can be seen in the remains of a shop front. After these cottages, Tallow Cottage, built in 1975, is the newest house in the High Street. It stands on the site of a wide entrance to the backyard and slaughterhouse of Wickham’s butcher’s shop and family home, which was situated in Oakley House (No 112). From this point down to the corner of Brushes Lane today is all residential - the exception in 1923 being Spongs, on the corner, which was Alfred Carey’s house and had his ironmonger’s shop attached. The large shop window is still evident, as is the old forge to the rear.

Brushes Lane was little more than a bridleway until 1957, when it was widened to provide access to the Dukes Road development. This necessitated the demolition of a building known as The Cot (see photo above) that had been built in the 1860s adjacent to the Bent Arms. Over the years it had had many uses, from railway company offices to storage to a dwelling and even, it is said, the Musical and Literacy Institute. To the rear of the Bent Arms is 96 High Street.

Previously the coach house and stables of the inn, it is now in mixed use. Today, from this point down to Boarsland on the corner of Alma Road is all residential. This was not the case a hundred years ago. Priory Cottage, No 86 - which was originally a medieval hall house - Crosskeys, No 76, and Boarsland, No 72, all had shop extension build-outs in their front gardens out to the pavement. Priory Cottage was a stationers and newspaper shop run by Ernest Welfare. Crosskeys, 76 High Street, also dating from medieval times, was divided into two cottages with the southern part having the front extension, which was the fishmonger’s and poulterer’s shop of Jacob Driver. Boarsland was Thomas Charman’s baker’s shop with the bake house behind.

Crossing over Alma Road, South Down Cellars wine merchants was, in 1923, H P Martin’s corn and coal merchant. A short mid-Victorian terrace known as Albert Terrace follows, today containing Ounce, Jackson-Stops, Somers café and Mathilda Rose. Respectively these were Mrs Helen Hodson’s confectioners, Rice Brothers’ saddlery and harness makers, Herbert Caffyn’s tobacconist and confectioners and finally at 1 Albert Terrace, John Holman’s Cycle and Motor Cycle Depot; until December 1922 it had been a cycle and gramophone shop.

Below the Red Lion stands Porters, a residential property that was previously Dr Hay’s surgery and family home. The private housing continues down to the United Reformed Church, originally the Congregational Chapel.

The next area was devoted to the Box family businesses. They ran a nursery that stretched parallel with Lewes Road and up Luxford Road. Interestingly, one of only a few shops to have continued the same trade over the period is Paul’s greengrocer’s. This had been James Box’s greengrocer shop. Next door was their florists, today Mark Revill & Co. Again, continuing the same trade is Cottenham’s, which was the Box butcher’s shop. Behind was Box’s storage and preparation rooms, today occupied by Nova Medispa – which recently moved from beside the Co-op.

In competition with Lloyds Bank across the road, Barclays had a sub branch in the first cottage, No 38. The neighbouring cottage was the home of John Sharman, Assistant Clerk to the Parish Council. This was followed by the Post Office and its adjoining sorting room, later extended into the Post Office and now Truffles Bakery.

Crossing Lewes Road and after Pear Tree House and the King Edward Hall in 1923 (and until recent times) was the White Horse Inn, now converted into Tamasha Indian restaurant. Slake Coffee Shop is housed in the inn’s stables. The private house – No 18 – did not exist in 1923 as this was the site of Lindfield Motor Garage owned by Messrs Boggis & Franklin. At Nos 14 and 16, the front shop extension, which is today the home of the Lindfield Barbers, was, a hundred years ago, a fishmongers and fish and chip shop run by Hubert Ellis. In later years it became the Pond Shop. Beyond this point the High Street remains residential, with the last property on the east side being Pelham House.

The big question is how does the High Street today compare with 1923? The answer in a few words is very favourably, with both serving the needs, trends and their communities of the time. There were a few more shops a hundred years ago but several in the same trade and presumably in competition. Missing today are drapers and ironmongers, but this a national trend. That said, it is probably fair to say, today’s shops collectively have a far greater range of goods than their earlier counterparts. Lindfield is fortunate to have such a vibrant High Street and long may this continue.

Contact via https://lindfieldhistoryproject.group/ or 01444 482136.

Lindfield's changing High Street - Part 1

Simmonds & Pranklins

By John Mills and Richard Bryant

How much has the High Street, which runs from the Black Hill mini roundabout northwards to the top of Town Hill, just beyond All Saints Church, changed in 100 years? This article compares the High Street in 1923 with today.

Starting on the western side of the street, the section from Black Hill roundabout along to the pond is little changed. The exception being Pondcroft, on the corner of Pondcroft Road, which had at the front an ironmonger’s and office of Anscombe and Sons. Their builder’s yard and workshop, now a private house, was a short distance up Pondcroft Road. The houses around the pond are unchanged.

The section from the northern end of the pond to Denmans Lane has seen the most dramatic change. Whilst the townscape of the High Street has remained largely visually unchanged and immediately identifiable, this area has changed beyond recognition with No 31 not being built until 1924. All the original buildings were demolished in 1964 and eventually replaced by the shops seen today, Selbys, Co-op and Nova Medispa. In 1923, this area was the site of Masters grocery and drapers shop regarded locally as Lindfield’s ‘department store’, and next door was Downs House, the Masters family home.

Masters

Across Denmans Lane, the corner premises currently, Corner Hairdressing was Wood’s Cycle Store. Next door a confectioners and tobacconist shop, was run by George Mighall; soon to be the Black Duck coffee shop. Previously the neighbouring business was Capital and Counties Bank which had opened a branch in 1910. The bank became part of Lloyds Bank in 1918 and the branch remained open until 2000. The premises were then acquired by Stand Up Inn and became part of the inn. When occupied by the bank, Mary Newton, lived and had a dressmaker’s business on the premises.

Standing back from the pavement, The Old Brewery and Brewery Cottage, Nos 49 and 51, were once part of Lindfield Brewery that stopped brewing in 1906 and was subsequently used for storage in 1923.

The fine medieval building, today Lindfield Eye Care Practice and Mansell McTaggart, was in 1923 the longstanding location of Durrant’s grocers, china and drapers emporium. Nos 55-57 High Street, Lindfield Medical Centre, was the site of the former Assembly Rooms but used in 1923 as storage by Durrant’s shop.

Adjacent to the walkway was Miss Simmons, stationer and newsagent, now Tufnells Home. Mounted at first floor level and difficult to see on the neighbouring building, is a nameplate reading Prospect House, the home of Hamilton Stone Design, kitchen designers and installer. A hundred years ago it was the popular shoe and boot shop run by Joseph Pranklin.

The adjacent private house was the home of Richard Humphrey, who with his father ran the eponymous Humphrey’s bakery. In recent years it was Lindfield’s best-known shop, having been a bakers since 1796. Sadly, it closed a couple of years ago and awaits a new purpose. Behind stood the bake house now repurposed as the soon to be new home of Doodie Stark, a ladies fashionable boutique.

In the mid 1800s, a short terrace of three storey properties was built called 1 – 4 Victoria Terrace, but now formally numbered 67-73 High Street. The first property is currently the Limes Thai Kitchen, until the late 1920s it was a private residence, before becoming the Lindfield Telephone Exchange, following the electrification of the High Street. Alongside was the home and business of T W Heasman, a house, land and insurance agent. Today, it is Caragon Boutique, a ladies’ clothes shop. Wilfred Capon’s ladies’ and gentleman’s outfitters and general drapery shop traded next door, today the home and business premises of Peter Voigt, a violin restorer. Just as it was in 1923, No 4 remains a private residence.

Known as ‘Poplars’, Nos 75 and 77 High Street are today Tufnells, and Denziloe Hair Design was Joseph Whall’s hairdresser and Poplars Laundry run by Miss May Brown. Kieron James Toys next door was an annexe to the laundry.

In 1923, Wigelsworth Tailors had a branch under the management of George Blunt in the premises now occupied by Martins Newsagents and Lindfield Post Office. Pleasingly, Abbott’s name has remained unchanged serving as a chemists for Lindfield for well over a century, although the owners have changed. The outbuilding in the backyard was Rainbow Pottery.

The fine dwellings, Manor House and Nash House, have always been residential and whilst the adjoining timber framed Well House and Barnlands give a similar impression, they had previously been a poulterers and greengrocers shop. Maud Savill of Finches with her desire to beautify the High Street, purchased the property and converted the shop and cottages into the two houses as seen today.

Looking towards Wrattans

On the northern side of Hickmans Lane, stands a retail unit that, in many years past, was a Toll Cottage for the Newchapel to Brighton Turnpike Road. In 1923, it was the business of Clifford Featherstone, a watch and clock maker. Until recently the home to Doodie Stark, and the last retail unit before the street becomes wholly residential. This was not the case a century ago.

Adjoining was Wratten’s grocers and drapers shop; evidence of this past retail use can be seen by the blank plaque on the facade below the roof line, which once carried the shop’s name. At Doone House, No 111, David Davies ran a tailoring business and his wife, Helen a costumier’s. In the yard at No 115 was the coal and wood merchants owned by James Scutt - the family lived in the house. A little further up the street lived the Misses Wells who were milliners.

Evidence of past trade use can also be seen on the southern side wall of No 129. The now painted over trade sign read, ‘George Mason Fly and Cab Proprietor. Carriages of Every Description For Hire’. While in the right section of the property, Romany Cottage, a shop window still remains in the northern front corner. This part was occupied by Joseph ‘Daddy’ Clough, a boot and shoe maker.

The Bower House, built in medieval times and widely regarded as one of the three oldest surviving houses in Lindfield, surprisingly was in 1923 divided into two cottages. The southern end was home to John Wingham, a builder, and his family. The other half was the home of Herbert Scutt and family - his occupation was motor carman; a carrier of goods by motor van.

Beyond this point has always been residential with Lindfield Place providing the full stop to the High Street. This ends the journey up the western side of the High Street. Next month’s article will return down the east side.

Contact via https://lindfieldhistoryproject.group/ or 01444 482136.

Click here for Lindfield’s changing High Street - Part 2

The 1953 Coronation in Lindfield

By Richard Bryant, Lindfield History Project Group

Following Elizabeth’s accession to the throne on 6th February 1952, thoughts nationally turned to the Coronation and how it should be celebrated. The 3rd June 1953 was declared Coronation Day. To organise the celebrations in Lindfield, an Executive Committee with eight members was established supported by a 39 strong General Committee. A souvenir brochure was produced and sold for one shilling.

On Coronation morning, the Lindfield Coronation Committee sent the following telegram message to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace, ‘With humble respect, congratulations to Your Majesty, from your loyal subjects of Lindfield, Sussex’.

The Mid Sussex Times reported ‘Lindfield had put on its gayest attire’ with the main centre of the decorative scheme being the pond, with flags, banners and shields on poles along the water’s edge. An archway spanned the road at both ends. Contractors undertook the decorations and illuminations. All the shops decorated their windows. Many houses were also dressed for the occasion and numerous Union flags hung from windows and improvised flag poles. The Lindfield Horticultural Society gave a prize to the best decorated house; the winner being 35 Luxford Road.

Coronation Day celebrations started at 9am with the pealing of the church bells by the Lindfield Church Bell Ringing Society. Unfortunately the weather did not match the joyous pealing of the bells; it remained grey with showers and chilly all day.

For those able to afford a television, the ceremony was broadcast from Westminster Abbey. Fortunate owners invited family, friends and neighbours to watch the ceremony. Many more listened on the radio. Women and men over 60 and 65 respectively were invited to the King Edward Hall to watch a specially installed television rigged to project onto a large screen. About 260 attended, many seeing television for the first time. The sound broadcast was relayed to the Common.

The Firing of the Anvils at 2pm in the High Street, near the Lewes Road junction, heralded the start of the day’s events on the Common and pond. The first event was the Fancy Dress procession organised by the Lindfield Dramatic Club, with 60 entrants parading from Pondcroft Road to Lewes Road and onto the Common for judging. This was followed by an Empire Tableau arranged by Mr Porter and Miss Anscombe of Lindfield School. The children performed an explanation of the Royal Coat of Arms painted on shields.

A short open air inter-dominational religious service followed, conducted by the three village churches. On Coronation Sunday, 31st May, the churches had held a Special Order of Service.

At 3.20pm, the presentation of ‘awards to Our Birthday Guests’ was made to the eight residents of the parish whose birthdays fell on Coronation Day. Each received an iced birthday cake.

Amid much excitement, the focus then turned to ‘Aquatic Sports’ on the pond organised by Lindfield Men’s Club. These comprised of swimming races for men and women together with novelty events such as a beer barrel race, mop fight, greasy pole and a Miller v Sweep contest. The two contestants, one armed with a bag of soot and the other with flour, sat astride a pole over the pond, with the loser being the first to be knocked into the water.

There was also a demonstration by Horace Putman of his radio controlled model liner.

The watching crowds returned to the Common for the start of the sports organised by the village sports clubs, the majority of which were for children. In addition to running events, less serious races were held including a balloon race, dog and child race, slow bicycle race, skipping and obstacle races. Adults were not ignored with a variety of competitions such as, men and ladies’ tug-of-war, ladies’ over 50 years egg and spoon race and a ladies’ and gentlemen’s cigarette race.

While the sports were proceeding, an ‘Old Folks High Tea’ was served by the Women’s Institute with catering by the Bent Arms in the Social Centre, now part of Old School Court, Lewes Road. Children of all ages lined up to receive souvenir mugs, emblems and a packed tea. In the early evening the Lindfield Conservative Association organised a Treasure Hunt on the Common.

At 9pm, the Coronation Dance commenced in King Edward Hall with music by the Harmonists Band, the dancing continuing until after midnight. As darkness fell a torchlight procession from Pondcroft Road proceeded via Denmans Lane, Compton Road and High Street onto the Common for a giant bonfire and a spectacular firework display. Illuminations were turned on and the church steeple floodlit, bringing to a close this memorable day.

Contact via https://lindfieldhistoryproject.group/or 01444 482136.

The Lindfield Brewery

The Stand Up at 47 High Street

By John Mills, Lindfield History Project Group

On Lindfield High Street in 1914, there were five public houses: The Bent Arms, The Red Lion, The Stand Up Inn, The Tiger Inn and The White Horse, all selling beer obtained from commercial breweries, mostly in Brighton and Lewes. But one hundred years earlier, the village’s pubs were either brewing their own beer or being supplied by The Lindfield Brewery.

Beer was produced from barley, sugar, hops, yeast and water (known as ‘liquor’ in the industry). The barley was made into malt in a malthouse by soaking it, allowing the seeds to sprout, and then drying it in a kiln to stop the sprouting. The malt, once ground, was mixed with hot water to convert the starch to sugar, and the now-sweet liquid (the wort) was boiled with dried hops, cooled, and passed into a fermenting vessel. Yeast was added, which, feeding on the sugar as fermentation proceeded, converted the sugar to alcohol. After a few days, excess yeast was removed and the resulting beer was left to mature before being put into casks or bottles.

In the 1700s, Lindfield had a malthouse, where the United Reformed Church now stands, and at one time a hop kiln, much later replaced by the house at 78 High Street. Some houses had brewhouses (or brewing rooms), for home brewing from malt, but most brewing in Lindfield village would have been carried out in the outbuildings of its inns.

Wholesale commercial brewing arrived in Lindfield after 1784, when a Brighton brewer, Richard Lemmon Whichelo, bought Malling Priory, a private house. On part of its large garden, between The Bent Arms and the back of the house, he erected brewery buildings around three sides of a yard. The distinctive half-H-shaped configuration of the buildings appears on a map of 1792. Later, only part of Malling Priory was used by the brewery, and the remainder was let to other tenants. In the early 1800s it was known as the Brew House..

Whichelo’s main residence and brewery remained in Brighton. From 1800, he first tried to sell, then let his Lindfield brewery, with two pubs attached; he also owned The White Lion (now Bent Arms) and Ryecroft (52 High Street) – the first site of the Red Lion.

In 1801, the brewery was advertised as the only one within 12 miles of the village, “with a new-erected malthouse, convenient store-rooms, vault, stabling (and) large yard…..The business of the brewery is done with little expense; the work being done by a horse mill, where the malt is ground, the liquor is pumped up, and the worts into the copper (boiling vessel), all at one time.” In this mill, or ‘horse gin (engine)’, a horse walked in a circle, pulling a timber arm linked to gearing which operated the pumps and grindstones.

Henry Clerk, brewer, rented the brewery in 1803, in 1806 selling the remainder of his lease and the contents of the house and buildings, including ‘old beer, porter, malt, hops, vats and casks, two draught horses’.

Hughes and Co., partners in the Storrington Brewery, were the new tenants, and ran both breweries until 1815, when they went bankrupt. An Eastbourne coal merchant and brewer, Richard Buckley Stone, who lived for a time in Lindfield, became tenant from 1815, using the brewery also for his coal business. In 1819, he also went bankrupt.

Whichelo, still the owner, died in 1818, leaving The White Lion and brewery to his son Matthew, a wine merchant. He promptly, but unsuccessfully, put them on the market, then let them in 1819, advertising that ‘there are a great number of free Public Houses in the neighbourhood of Lindfield, with which considerable (brewery) business has been done’.

A new partnership, (William) Durrant and (Thomas) Wileman, then rented the brewery, both local men, ‘common- (commercial wholesale) brewers and maltsters’. Between 1824 and 1827,John Bent, a gentleman, bought several houses in Lindfield, the brewery and The White Lion, changing the pub’s name to The Bent Arms.

Wileman and another partner had left the partnership by 1825. William Durrant, who also had a High Street grocer’s and draper’s (cloth) shop, where the Co-op now stands, continued the brewery on his own. During his occupancy, part of the Brew House was let to his niece Miss Ann Baker for her boarding school for young ladies.

In 1833-34, William Durrant too went bankrupt, having to sell his properties, but kept the tenancy of his shop. Bent let the brewery to Gosling Philp and Richard Philp, common-brewers and partners, but when the first dropped out and the second was bankrupted in 1838, the brewery was again left untenanted.

From 1839, Henry Adolphus Baber briefly rented the brewery, he and all subsequent tenants until 1885 describing themselves as maltsters, rather than brewers. Apparently, brewing at the ‘Old Brewery’ had ended.

Baber was also a corn and coal merchant; the buildings and yard continued for coal merchant’s stores, and presumably the malthouse for malting. The Bent family properties were put up for sale in 1885, and the brewery demolished in 1886, to be replaced in 1890 by the present semi-detached houses, 92-94 High Street.

William Durrant may have seen a gap in the local brewing market appearing around 1839-40, buying a house and butcher’s shop (known as ‘Morlands’) at 53-55 High Street (Eye Care Practice and Mansell McTaggart). In 1840-41 he again described himself as a brewer, together with his son Edward, and by 1842 had built a small brick-built brewery behind Morlands (now converted into two cottages, Old Brewery and Old Brewery Cottage, 49-51 High Street). Morlands became William Durrant’s new grocer’s and linen draper’s shop.

William died in 1848. In 1845, Edward Durrant was running the ‘new’ Lindfield Brewery and did so until the end of his life (1902). After the redevelopment in 1854 of the corner of Denmans Lane with five terraced houses (41-47 High Street, pictured), Edward leased the northernmost house and opened it as the Brewery Tap beer shop, under William Barlow, also a boot and shoe maker. The beer shop proprietor was licensed to sell beer and cider only, for consumption on or off the premises.

The ground floor premises of the early beer shop were small (The Stand Up now occupies three of the five houses in the terrace). The story goes that Edward Durrant considered that if workmen had a glass of beer standing up, they returned to work, but if they sat down over it there was no knowing when they would return; and so the beerhouse, without chairs, became known as The Stand Up Inn.

In 1879, the brewery offered a Family Bitter Ale for one shilling (1s/ 5p) per gallon (8 pints), and in the 1880s home-brewed ale from eightpence (8d/ 3½p) to 1s 6d per gallon, a Light Dinner Ale and London porter, stout and double stout. Later, prices were 2d to 8d a quart (two pints), the cheaper beer being known familiarly as ‘apron washings’ (slang for porter).

Behind Morlands, where the Durrant family continued their grocery shop until the 1970s, there was another horse gin under an octagonal roof, which was used for the brewery’s pumping and machinery.

When Edward Durrant died, the Lindfield Brewery carried on under his widow and son, Fanny Sara and Bartley Durrant, until 1906, when it closed. Her name, and Licensed Brewer, can still be seen on a timber beam in The Stand Up. In 1909 Ballard & Co., of the Southover Brewery, Lewes, bought the brewery, but besides supplying the beerhouse with their 1910 Premier Ale and Coronation Ale, did not restart brewing there.

After being damaged in the 1987 great storm, the horse gin eventually collapsed, but thanks to the Durrant family and by dint of strong co-operative local efforts, the gin was re-erected behind The Red Lion in 1995.

Contact 01444 482136 or via https://lindfieldhistoryproject.group/

Frederick William Lanchester

By Richard Bryant, Lindfield History Project Group

What is the connection between a car company, the theory of flight, an English university, the laws of combat, the concept of quality management and Walstead Burial Ground? The answer is Frederick William Lanchester.

At Walstead Burial Ground, Frederick is commemorated on a stone tablet at the base of his parents’ - Henry Jones Lanchester and Octavia Lanchester - gravestone, along with his sister, Mary, and brother, Vaughan. The ashes of Frederick, together with those of his brother and sister, are buried in this grave.

Henry and Octavia Lanchester died in 1914 and 1916 respectively, having lived at ‘Southlea’, Sunte Avenue, Lindfield for a number of years. He was an architect, as was his son Henry (Vaughan) Lanchester, who was eminent in the profession.

Frederick William Lanchester was born in Lewisham on 23rd October 1868. He studied engineering and science and attended the Royal College of Science but did not graduate. However, in recognition of his contribution to aerodynamics and engineering, in 1920 he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Birmingham. In the years that followed, he was accorded numerous other prestigious honours, including Fellowship of the Royal Society.

His early years were as an employed engineer at the Forward Gas Engine Company in Birmingham, developing gasoline engines. In 1893, Frederick set up his own workshop and built his first engine. The following year this was fitted to a boat, creating the first all-British powerboat. In 1895, he produced the first four-wheeled gasoline car in England. This led to the setting up of the Lanchester Engine Company and subsequently the Lanchester Car Company being established. The cars were highly regarded for the quality of their engineering. Frederick resigned from the company in 1910. Many years later, the business was acquired by Daimler.

Frederick, a visionary genius, was responsible for many significant inventions in automobile engineering, including disc type brakes, an ‘automatic’ transmission system, power steering, four-wheel drive, fuel injection, the dynamic balancing of engines and low voltage ignition. In his life, he filed 426 patents, ranging from components for reproducing music to a colour photographic process.

However, his overwhelming interest was aerodynamics and powered flights. He was the foremost proponent on the theory of flight based on the vortex theory. This remains the foundation for flight to this day, although he was initially persuaded to delay the publication of his theory, which was so advanced for its time that it might have damaged his reputation as an engineer.

Many other papers followed, culminating in his two-volume treatise in 1907 on aerodynamics, entitled ‘Aerial Flight’. This was followed by further valuable contributions to the literature on aeronautics such as ‘Flying Machine from an Engineering Standpoint’.

Upon the outbreak of the Great War, Frederick became convinced of the need for a mathematical analysis of the relative strengths of opposing battlefield forces to describe the effectiveness of aircraft. Resulting from quantitative studies of casualties in land, sea and air battles, he developed the two Lanchester Laws – the Linear Law of Combat and the N-Squared Law of Combat. These were published in 1916 as his seminal work, ‘Aircraft in Warfare – the Dawn of the Fourth Arm’.

His work in aeronautics continued into the 1920s and 1930s, with papers on the counter-rotating propellers, rocket-assisted flight and other technical topics. In 1931, Frederick received the Daniel Guggenheim Medal for his ‘Contribution to the Fundamental Theory of Aerodynamics’. Five years earlier, the Royal Aeronautical Society had bestowed its gold medal upon him.

However, at this time Frederick was becoming increasingly absorbed in musical reproduction, leading to many significant developments in the design and manufacture of advanced speakers, microphones and amplifiers.

Following the start of World War Two, the US military started to study the Lanchester Laws of Combat. These were successfully applied in US military strategy in the later stages of the war, including operations in the central Pacific. To this day the Lanchester principles are taught in military colleges. Frederick’s extensive writings on military subjects, including logistics, became a founding element in the science of Operational Research.

Frederick died on 8th March 1946 with little wealth. His life of invention and visionary theories had not translated into a personal fortune. He had spent most of his adult life in the Midlands.

Dr W Edward Deming, an American helping with the reconstruction of Japan, introduced Frederick’s work on Operational Research to that country in 1952. This resulted in Lanchester being regarded as one of the four founders of the concept of Quality Management, which became the cornerstone of Japanese industrial success. To this day, Kaisen continuous improvement is practiced by organisations across the world, from Toyota to the Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust.

Subsequent research by the Japanese produced a reworking of the Lanchester Laws of Combat into strategies for corporate competition. In 1962, the theories were further refined by Dr Taoko as the Lanchester Strategy of Sales and Marketing. Briefly this provides rules for selecting a strategy depending upon whether a company was attacking a new market or defending an existing market position. These have since been widely applied by Japanese corporations with over two million books on the subject sold in Japan.

Many regard the application of Lanchester’s theories as being, in part, responsible for the Japanese focus on competitive advantage and market share resulting in their county’s economic success. Arguably, his name is better known and more highly regarded in Japan than in Britain, particularly since the university named in his honour has been renamed the University of Coventry.

Lindfield should be proud to have an engineer and polymath of the eminence of Frederick William Lanchester resting in Walstead Burial Ground.

Shopping in Lindfield in 1834 and 1835

By Richard Bryant and Rosemary Davies, Lindfield History Project Group

A couple of years ago, a website message was received enquiring if the group would like some old documents relating to the village. It appeared a gentleman in Ewell, Surrey had purchased, at auction, a box of old documents relating to that area and, to his surprise, at the bottom were Lindfield papers. A parcel duly arrived containing hundreds of invoices dated between 1835 and 1845, for shopping and services supplied to the Tuppen household.

After extensive research a comprehensive analysis of purchases was completed and each trader identified. This gives an intriguing insight into shopping by a wellto-do household and the commercial life in Lindfield during the early to mid 1800s. In those days, virtually all needs were supplied by traders in Lindfield village and the wider parish. Unlike today, residents did not have the benefit of supermarkets in Haywards Heath, Burgess Hill nor online shopping. Neither was there refrigeration, frozen foods or canned goods. Also, if something was broken, repair took precedent over replacement. Life was much simpler.

Who were the Tuppens? – Dr Richard Stapley Tuppen lived with his sister, Sarah Tuppen, at Froyls in the High Street, having inherited the house from their father Dr Henry Tuppen, upon his death in 1814. Their mother Mrs Sarah Tuppen, nee Stapley, was a member of the wellconnected and wealthy Stapley family, whose seat was at Hickstead Place, Twineham. Dr Richard Tuppen died in 1840, aged 59. Froyls passed to his sister Sarah and she continued to live there as a spinster, until her death in 1857 aged 72 years.

Throughout the Tuppens’ time at Froyls, they maintained a household of three live-in servants and at least one outside staff. They were typical of the more comfortably off residents living in Lindfield at the time. Their spending power with local traders was therefore in excess of the working population and this is reflected in their purchases, which were all made ‘on account’.

The most perishable food purchased was raw meat, which was bought two or three times a week from either Comber Turner, butchers, who traded from an open fronted booth type shop where Tallow Cottage stands today or George Jenner, butchers, also in the High Street. In February 1834 the Tuppens purchased in total 28lb of beef including steak, 3lb mutton chops and a 7lb leg of mutton from the two butchers.

Pork does not appear to have been bought from the butchers but purchased direct from farmers as either a half fat pig or a whole hog. The former cost £2.15s.9d (£2.73). How such quantities of meat were kept edible is not known. It is also thought the Tuppens kept a pig or two in their back garden, as there is a reference to a repair of a ‘hog pound’ among the invoices. Similarly, chickens were kept for eggs. No invoices exist for vegetables and fruit so presumably these were also home grown by the gardener. Milk was delivered daily to the door.

Butter was bought direct from farmers in large quantities of at least 15 pounds in weight a month and on occasions 30 pounds with custom regularly given to Thomas Bannister, Beech Farm, Cuckfield. Additionally, on occasions two pound butter pats were purchased from village grocers.

A grocer favoured by the Tuppens was P. Caffyn, situated to the rear of the churchyard. Regular purchases included cheese, currants, peel, sugar and tea. Flour was purchased in bulk at one bushel every month or so, from John Coomber, farmer and miller at Cockhaise Farm and also Freshfield Mill and East Mascalls Mill. Similarly, sugar was purchased in bulk from grocers. More specialist provisions such as Souchong Chinese black tea, Green tea, Caraway seeds and surprisingly, yellow soap, were purchased from J. Collard, believed to have traded in Lewes.

Copious quantities of beer were purchased at the rate of six gallons every two or three weeks, from William and Edward Durrant, grocers, brewer and general store, at Morelands (today Lindfield Eye Centre and Mansell McTaggart). Intriguingly, gin was bought from Mr. B. Beckett, a brick maker and victualler, with two gallons being purchased in April 1834 and again in February 1835. In June 1834, Mr. Beckett supplied 200 bricks – an odd combination!

Throughout 1834 and 1835, one and a half bushels (90lbs) of malt (germinated grain) was purchased each month from Samuel Molineaux, a maltster at Boltro Farm, Haywards Heath. Hops were also bought suggesting beer was also being brewed.

Turning to household purchases and repairs local traders met most of the Tuppens needs. During 1834, Edward Batchelor, with a smithy in the High Street, provided a new rake, spade and shovel, a bell for the gate and fixed a plate to the fire range, all at a cost of 18 shillings. In the following year, a sewer grate, chimney bar and fastenings to the hog pound were made and fitted. Repairs to saddles, reins, bridle straps, dog chain and even a carpet broom, were provided by Abel Brown of Viking Cottage. Repairs to barrels with new hoops were undertaken by Edward Dann, Cooper, of Back Lane, Cuckfield.

John Harland, draper and tailor, at today’s 103-105 High Street, supplied 28 yards of sheeting and 27 yards of ‘homebid’ binding totalling £1.13s.5½d., suggesting that bed sheets were made and not purchased ready-made.

To fire the kitchen range and heat the house, hundreds of faggots (bunch of sticks tied for burning) and wood were purchased from Henry Morley at Nether Walstead. Henry Morley also provided stakes, bean sticks and pea boxes for the garden. Hedging plants were purchased from Henry Pierces, woodsman and plantsman of Bedales Hill. In later years, coal by the ton was supplied by George Saxby from his yard by the Ouse; however, coal invoices for 1834-35 appear to be missing.

Boot and shoe repairs, including servants’ shoes, were carried out by Henry Wells, a shoemaker, at Froyls Cottage, today Chantry Cottage. While Charles Bish, a fellmonger (dealer in hides) and breeches maker provided new gaiters and repairs to breeches for the Tuppens’ groom.

A significant number of invoices from local builders exist for building work, such as repairs to windows and doors in the house, stables and outbuildings plus household repairs ranging from tables and chairs, to beds and even tea caddies, presumably all carpentry tasks. Like with food, specialist items such as cut glass, fine china and Japanese lacquered waiter (small table) and tray were purchased from retailers in Lewes.

The Tuppen papers do not include any invoices for clothing but, as with other items, would mainly have been purchased from Lindfield’s tailors, dressmakers, glovers, milliners and shoemakers.

The invoices illustrate that life in the 1830s was much simpler than today. Even for the well-to-do, food shopping was largely limited to the basic ingredients from which a meal could be prepared. Lindfield village and its parish was a self-sustaining community. It had to be, and it was not until long after the coming of the railway in 1841 that Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill started to grow into towns. Although close by Cuckfield had similar facilities to Lindfield. The closest large town and easiest journey was Lewes, but this was only available to those fortunate residents with their own horses and carriage, and then for only occasional trips.

Contact https://lindfieldhistoryproject.group/ or 01444 482136.

The Lindfield Photographer - William Marchant

By Richard Bryant & Janet Bishop, Lindfield History Project Group

If you or a family member have lived in Lindfield for many years, it would not be surprising if tucked away at the bottom of a drawer, or in an old album, there is a photograph by William Marchant. His photographs have provided a rich legacy of life, events and people in Lindfield during the first half of the last century. They are recognisable by his signature or embossed name.

By Richard Bryant & Janet Bishop, Lindfield History Project Group If you or a family member have lived in Lindfield for many years, it would not be surprising if tucked away at the bottom of a drawer, or in an old album, there is a photograph by William Marchant. His photographs have provided a rich legacy of life, events and people in Lindfield during the first half of the last century. They are recognisable by his signature or embossed name.

His work included studio portraiture, composed outdoor photographs and events. Generally, only limited numbers of scenic postcards were produced.

William Marchant started his business in 1911 and among his earliest work was a series of cards capturing the village celebrating the 1911 Coronation. He advertised in the Mid Sussex Times: “Have your decorations, your house, garden etc. photographed, for post cards on Coronation Day.” Perhaps his bestknown photo is his impressive image of the Army airship ‘Gamma’, which landed on the Common while on a training exercise in April 1912. Fifteen hundred photographs were sold, with cards at one penny each and mounted photographs at one shilling. The Great War provided a rich source for him, with postcards from the Royal Army Medical Corps billeted in the village to the Welcome Home celebrations and the unveiling of the War Memorial.

As his career progressed, the quality of his work was recognised with Marchant’s appointment as the Scientific Photographer to Sir Arthur Woodward, the eminent geologist who was famously fooled by the Piltdown Man ‘missing link’ fraud. William Marchant could also claim that he took one of the first photographs to appear in the Mid Sussex Times - that of Mrs Neville Chamberlain opening a hospital ward in Cuckfield.

The opening of his studio at 6 Luxford Road (old numbering) allowed portraiture of individuals and families. This line of work took off with the Great War, when every family and sweetheart wanted a picture of their ‘man in uniform’ before he left Lindfield for an uncertain future. Family celebrations, weddings and gatherings were also much in demand throughout his career. Also popular were photographs of cast members in productions at King Edward Hall, sports teams and posed outdoor subjects.

His later works included photos for the Haywards Heath, Cuckfield and Lindfield Guide, published by the local Chamber of Commerce and the All Saints Church Guide, written by Helena Hall.

Who was William Marchant? He was born on 21st August 1886 to his parents John and Elizabeth Marchant, who lived at Somerset Cottages, adjacent to the Common. William was one of six children. After leaving school, he trained and worked as a printer at Charles Clarke Ltd. William Marchant married Myra Hookway, a Lady’s Maid for the Sturdy family at Paxhill, in August 1912 at Lindfield Parish Church and they set up home at 6 Luxford Road, where he opened his first studio. He continued living at Luxford Road until moving to Sunte Avenue (today number 77) in 1924, where he built a studio and small printing works in the rear garden.
William Marchant worked until late in his life, dying aged 79 years in 1965.

Contact 01444 482136 or via https://lindfieldhistoryproject.group/

Lindfield almost had a railway station

By Richard Bryant and John Mills, Lindfield History Project Group

Lindfield nearly had a railway station north of the church - at the bottom of Town Hill (north of the High Street, close to Ardingly Road). It was planned to be the first stop on the Ouse Valley line. The proposed line ran from Skew Bridge, just north of Haywards Heath, and a little way south of the impressive Ouse Valley Viaduct on the main London to Brighton line. The line was to be built in sections, with the stretch from the Brighton line to Uckfield being called Ouse Valley No. 1 and that from Uckfield to Hailsham called Ouse Valley No. 2. A third section was planned to St Leonards.

There were to be further stations at Fletching, Newick, Uckfield junction, East Hoathly, Hailsham and ultimately additional stations to St Leonards. Stops serving Scaynes Hill, Framfield and Chiddingly were proposed.

The reason for the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSC) wanting to build the line was not due to heavy passenger or freight demand from Haywards Heath to Hailsham and beyond. The origins of the desire to build the line were myriad in railway politics of the 1850s and early 1860s. The relationship between LBSC and the rival South Eastern Railway could briefly be described as competitive and far from harmonious.

The LBSC wanted to extend its routes and influence eastward from the Brighton line, while the South Eastern and the London, Chatham and Dover Railways were equally keen to expand westward into LBSC territory and even to Brighton itself. The Ouse Valley line was seen as a means of countering such moves and to create a shorter route to Eastbourne and Hastings. The first and second sections – No.1 and No.2 – were sanctioned by Parliament with the passing of the London Brighton South Coast Act on 23rd June 1864. Further sections were sanctioned the following year.

Construction work was put out to tender and the contract secured by W&J Pickering, railway contractors of Blackfriars, London, under the supervision of William Pickering. Preparatory work was put in hand and the Brighton Gazette reported: “Near the Ardingly Road a novelty has sprung up in a marvellously short time in the shape of a considerable village with ‘Tommy’ shops and workshops, stabling, offices and a complete street of neat and substantial dwellings for the workmen, erected by the contractors.”

The ‘first sod’ was cut on 17th May 1866 and celebrated with a dinner in the Bent Arms. The railway company had established a local office in a building (demolished c.1958) adjacent to the inn.

At its starting point at Skew Bridge, the brick abutments carrying the London to Brighton line were widened and this brickwork can still be seen today. From here the track bed travelled east along a large embankment, through a 57 foot deep cutting and across Copyhold Lane. It then skirted the northern edge of today’s Haywards Heath Golf Club, before entering a deep cutting to pass under High Beech Lane. A shallow cutting followed as it neared Kenwards farmhouse and continued with two cottages in its path being demolished. Spoil from cuttings was run out along trolley lines and tipped to create the embankments.

After Kenwards, a short tunnel was planned but never dug, emerging into another cutting before running onto an embankment and across Spring Lane. The track continued on an embankment crossing the B2028 Lindfield to Ardingly road on a bridge. This embankment and bridge abutments remain visible at the bottom of Town Hill.

The embankment continued for a short distance on the eastern side, requiring the demolition of two old cottages that LBSC had purchased in 1866. The railway company replaced these with two small semi-detached cottages, known as Town Hill Cottages, situated immediately downhill of the eastern bridge abutment. Perhaps they were intended to house LBSC workers? The railway company owned the cottages for many years before being sold and becoming part of the Old Place Estate; they were demolished around 1936. After this short embankment, the track bed runs into a cutting at Hangmans Acre.

The contractors were making good progress despite the difficulties caused by a hard winter, several fatal accidents and being successfully sued by the Newchapel to Brighton Turnpike Trust for damage to the road by carts.

Work was starting to head eastward out of Lindfield when construction stopped abruptly in February 1867. Building of Lindfield station had yet to start. The reason for stopping at this point will be explained shortly.

There has been much speculation as to the actual proposed site of Lindfield station; was it to be constructed to the east or west of the B2028? The topography and available space to the east would have been tight for platforms, station buildings, and forecourt and road entrance. Whereas the western side offered plenty of space with Spring Lane providing road access, but would require considerable earth works. This would probably have been the most likely location, although we will never know for certain as no plans appear to exist.

On 21st February 1867, the LBSC decided to suspend construction of the line and a telegram was sent to Pickering to halt all work. Some 500 men were ‘paid off’ and the many cart horses sold at auction. The work never resumed, leaving a partially completed track bed; no rails had been laid. The Ouse Valley line was formally abandoned by an Act in 1868.

The seeds for the cessation of work had been sown within days of the commencement of construction work when in May 1866, the London bill discounting and banking house, Overend, Gurney and Company Ltd, collapsed. The LBSC was not directly affected by the bank’s collapse but the London, Chatham & Dover Railway was greatly affected. This resulted in their withdrawal from planned lines to Brighton and the South Eastern railway could not continue with these alone and also withdrew. This removed the route threat to LBSC, who were also financially strained, and negated the need for their strategic Ouse Valley line. The banking credit problems signalled the end of the railway boom of the early 1860s.

The banking collapse brought to an end the competition and antagonism between LBSC and South Eastern, when it was realised by the former that the continued pursuance of strategic routes was placing strain on their own finances. Discussions with South Eastern commenced, resulting in a new agreement regarding territory and lines in September 1867.

Lindfield never obtained a rail connection nor a railway station, but could at least boast two ‘railway cottages’!

Contact via https://lindfieldhistoryproject.group/ or 01444 482136.

Please note the abandoned track is on private land and not accessible.

Tale of an innkeeper - Richard Gordon

By John Mills, Lindfield History Project Group

From 1680 or earlier, three generations of the Neale family were innkeepers of the White Lion inn in Lindfield; later renamed the Bent Arms.

In 1752, victualler (person licensed to sell alcohol) George Neale, aged 63, made his Will, leaving the freehold of the White Lion not to his relatives but to his ‘late servant, Sarah Bashford of Lindfield’. Sarah, who never married, remained owner and innkeeper, and died in April 1791, aged 60 or more. In her own Will - made in 1790 - she asked to be buried within the parish church of Lindfield, ‘in the same grave with my late Master George Neale which is properly prepared to the purpose’.

Sarah’s origins are not known; possibly she was one of the Bashfords who had settled in Cuckfield in the early 1700s. The White Lion that George Neale and Sarah knew no longer exists, replaced (or largely rebuilt) in Victorian times by the right-hand house of the two houses that make up today’s Bent Arms, 98 High Street.

Sarah the innkeeper was also a businesswoman, loaning money at interest as a mortgagee to several Lindfield house owners, and in the 1780s rebuilding two old houses on Lindfield High Street that she had bought, Tinkers and Brushes.

In 1783, Sarah pulled down Tinkers and replaced it. ‘Sarah Bashford for her new house’, as entered in local taxation records. The new house was not today’s Tinkers, High Street (built in 1933), but the front range of Wickham House and Romany Cottage, 129 and 131 High Street, under their distinctive new-style gambrel roof, designed as a cheap way to achieve good headroom in the attic

In 1785, Sarah demolished Brushes, building another new house on the corner of Brushes Lane, now the lefthand building of the Bent Arms. In addition, a cottage, named Pebble Cottage in the 1920s, behind the new house and with its roof gable end-on to the lane, was built around that time.

The first floor of the new house was a single spacious, high-ceilinged room with a fireplace, large front windows overlooking the High Street, and an elegant Venetian window overlooking the lane. It was opened by Sarah in January 1786 as an Assembly Room, with a notice in the Sussex Advertiser: ‘The LINDFIELD and CUCKFIELD ASSEMBLY, To be at the NEW-ROOM, WHITE-LION, LINDFIELD, on the 10th of January. There will be a Supper.’ Further monthly assemblies (by subscription) were to be held at the Ball Room or at the King’s Head, Cuckfield.

In the 18th century, assembly rooms were amongst the few public places where gentlemen and gentlewomen could meet respectably outside the home, to converse, drink tea, have supper, play cards or dance. The Lindfield Assembly Room became better known locally as the Ball Room.

In her Will, Sarah made only one brief reference to a deceased relative, instead bequeathing Wickham/Romany as a life ownership only to Joseph Muggeridge, an elderly man living with her, and the White Lion and the Ball Room to him outright. After Joseph’s decease, Sarah required that Wickham/ Romany should be bequeathed, in the language of her time, ‘unto Richard Gordon son of George Gordon, a Negro now living with me, his Heirs and Assigns for ever’.

Richard Gordon, probably in his teens, was also to have £20 to pay for a 7-year apprenticeship, in an occupation of his choice, within six months of her death, and £100 (at least £12,700 today). This sum was to be invested by trustees on his behalf until he had successfully finished his Apprenticeship, and then paid to him to set him up in trade. The interest from investing the £100 was to pay for his clothing.

Joseph Muggeridge and Richard Gordon, in Sarah’s household, may have been her servants at the inn, Richard perhaps a kitchen boy or pot boy (drinks waiter). Guardians were appointed for Richard until he was 21 years old: Sarah’s great friends Richard Harland, a tailor and shopkeeper, and Edward Colbran, a blacksmith - both Lindfield men, who were also to be Trustees of her Will. Joseph, her executor, was to pay the £20 and £100 to the Trustees.

Where was Richard from? There were hundreds of Afro-Caribbean Gordons on the British colonial slave plantations in the West Indies, especially in Jamaica. Neither Richard nor his father George are found in surviving Sussex parish registers, but a George Gordon, ‘a native of Jamaica said to be 18 years of age’ and conceivably Afro-Caribbean, was baptised at Holborn, next to the City of London, in 1773, and would have been old enough to have had an adolescent son Richard living in 1790.

In October 1791, just over the stipulated six months after Sarah’s death, a certain Richard Gordon was newly apprenticed for seven years and for £25 to John Middleton of St Sepulchre’s parish, London, pencil maker. Might he have been Richard Gordon of Lindfield? Turning to Joseph Muggeridge, when he died in 1803, Wickham/Romany was still in his possession. The property is not mentioned in Joseph’s own Will of 1802, but that would have been quite usual for a lifetime ownership only, as it was not his to bequeath. Besides money bequests to relatives, Joseph left all the residue of his estate to his nephew Richard Muggeridge, a carpenter in Sutton, Surrey.

Taxation and other records from the early 1800s show Richard Muggeridge to be the new owner of Wickham/ Romany, not Richard Gordon. When Richard Muggeridge died in 1817, by his Will he left Wickham/Romany to his wife; she died in 1836 and the property was then sold at public auction. No mention in available records is made of Richard Gordon having held ownership, as bequeathed by Sarah Bashford.

Edward Colbran, still living in 1803, might by then no longer have been Richard’s guardian, if Richard were now of age. He would still have been Trustee of Sarah’s Will, and responsible until the end of Richard’s apprenticeship for continued investment of the £100.

What happened to Richard Gordon in later life? Had he died before 1803? Whether he ever became owner of Wickham/Romany in 1803 as Sarah Bashford intended, remains a puzzle to be solved.

Returning to the White Lion and the Ball Room, these were inherited by Joseph Muggeridge on Sarah’s death in 1791. By 1793 he had sold them to a Brighton brewer, Richard Lemmon Whichelo. Visitor numbers may have declined after then, for in 1802 Whichelo decided to sell the Ball Room, whilst keeping the White Lion.

In 1805, John Shelley became the new owner of the Ball Room, letting the ground floor rooms as a shop to a chair maker, James Murrell. In 1810, Shelley obtained a certificate to use the Ball Room as a nonconformist Christian place of worship. For three years, the early flock of what was later the Lindfield Congregational church used the Ball Room as a meeting house, before moving to a newly converted chapel next to Ryecroft, High Street. This chapel was replaced in 1857 by today’s Congregational Church building.

The Ball Room was still used as a Meeting House in 1825, perhaps by another congregation, before it was bought by John Bent, new owner of the White Lion, and re-opened in 1829 as an Assembly Room, this time permanently, ‘having undergone very important and expensive alterations. The party assembled on the occasion were of the most genteel order, including several families from Brighton, among whom were noticed some French Ladies of most fashionable manners and appearance,’ as reported by the Sussex Advertiser.

Today the Ball Room remains a single large room, serving as the Bent Arms Function Room.

Contact via https://lindfieldhistoryproject.group/ or 01444 482136.

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