December 2008 (issue 116) - Sussex Archaeological Society

NUMBER 116 DECEM BER 2008
Tom Paine in Lewes
Oral History at Phoenix Foundry
Work starts on Lewes Castle
Beedings Excavation
www.romansinsussex.co.uk Sussex Past & Present December 2008 1

Membership Matters
Lorna’s Notebook
A round-up of all that’s new in the membership department
Welcome to the autumn edition
of Sussex Past and Present.
2009 Subscription Renewal
Many of you will be due to renew
your subscription at the start of the
year, and it would help the Society if
you would check your membership
card now, and if due for renewal
on January 1, arrange for payment
straightaway. This will save us the
cost of sending out reminder notices,
usually in late January.
Of course, if you pay by direct
debit, no further action is needed.
You will shortly receive, or may
already have done so, a letter notifying
the amount and date of collection.
If you wish to switch to this
method, (the most cost-effective
for the Society) you may download
a copy of the direct debit mandate
from the Membership section of our
website www.sussexpast.co.uk,
or I can post a form to you on request.
If you are not prepared to
pay by direct debit, please choose
from the following methods:
— cheque, payable to “Sussex
Past” and sent to the address
below
— online at www.sussexpastshop.co.uk
(select ‘membership’
followed by ‘subscription renewal’
and then the appropriate category)
— by credit card over the phone
(number as shown).
I am pleased to say that subscription
rates are unchanged for
MEMBERSHIP
2009. The amounts due are shown
in the box below – simply check
your subscription type as shown
on your membership card to verify
the amount you need to pay. If the
subs type shown on your card is
followed by +B or +POST (or both),
you need to add the extra amount(s)
shown to the applicable rate. If
you want to make any changes to
your subscription type, or simply to
check your renewal details, do call
me and I will be pleased to help.
Membership contact
over the winter
As many of you know, I am based at
Barbican House, which will be largely
closed over much of the winter while
building and improvement works
take place both at the Museum
and Lewes Castle. Inevitably, there
will be some disruption as we all
move around to accommodate
the works, and unfortunately I will
be most affected in January, when
many of you will be renewing your
subscriptions (another good reason
to renew early!). After Christmas
I will be available but not always
so accessible as usual, so please
be patient. Use the normal ofce
number initially, but if you cannot
reach me on the landline, try the
temporary mobile number I have
arranged as a fallback. The number
is 07982 830645. I hope to keep
disruption to a minimum over this
period, and normal service should
resume in the spring!
Subscription Type & Description Cost
O Standard Individual £30
J Joint: 2 adults living at same address £42
F1 Family (1 adult + children) £35
F2 Family (2 adults + children) £45
S Student £14
AFF Afliated Society £30
+B Hardback copy SAC Add £5 to above
+POST Overseas postage Add £10 to above
Autumn Conference
Our 2008 Conference People and
Place: Landscape and Identity
through Time was very successful,
and although some members found
Chichester a long way to go, the
feedback was very positive. The
posters from the conference will
be displayed at Fishbourne Roman
Palace until the end of February,
so if you have the chance, do go
and have a look. We are starting
to plan next year’s conference, for
which we will return to Falmer, and
the topic is rural change and the
Sussex landscape. More details
will be available in the April edition
of SP&P, and on our website.
Noticeboard/Events
In order to give members advance
notice of forthcoming events, run
not just by us but by other local
organisations, we will now post
the Noticeboard on our website as
soon as the newsletter is ready for
printing. You can nd it as a ‘pdf’
document on the Members’ events
page of the Membership section.
Lorna Gartside
Membership Secretary
For all membership enquiries
and to apply, please contact
MEMBERSHIP
DEPARTMENT
Barbican House,
169 High Street
Lewes, Sussex BN7 1YE
Tues-Fri 10.00am-3.00pm
Answering machine facility
outside these hours
01273 405737
Email:
members@sussexpast.co.uk
SUSSEX
Past &
Present
The Sussex Archaeological
Society Newsletter
NUMBER 116
N O V E M BER 2008
Contents
2 Membership matters
3 Opening lines
4 Tom Paine in Lewes
5 Baxter’s Printworks
6 Autumn Conference
7 Fishbourne News
8 Phoenix Project
9 Lewes Castle
10 Archaeology Round-up
11 History & Library News
12 Beedings excavation
13 Brighton Museum
14 Book reviews
16 Snippets
Published by the Sussex
Archaeological Society, Bull
House, Lewes, E Sussex, BN71XH
Tel: 01273 486260
Fax: 01273 486990
Email: admin@sussexpast.co.uk
Editor: Sarah Hanna
Email: spp@sussexpast.co.uk
Technical Editors:
John Manley, Luke Barber
Technical Support:
Penelope Parker
ISSN 1357-7417
Cover: Ermin Street Guards at Fishbourne
Roman Palace, September. Photo: P Parker
OPENING LINES
Opening Lines
Future Prospects
New developments and strategic plans
Over the past several months the refurbishment work on Bull House,
Lewes, has been completed. The much needed work on repairs at
Anne of Cleves House, Southover, has commenced. The major project for
the refurbishment of Lewes Castle and Barbican House is well under way,
and works are budgeted to be in excess of £1 million. These works will
cause some disruption and result in part of the properties being closed
from time to time. However we trust that, being over the winter months,
this will not create too much inconvenience to members and to the public.
Although all of these projects are grant-aided, the Society will bear
some proportion of the expenditure, and we are most grateful to those
members who have also made a contribution towards raising funds.
The Society’s Events (which are publicised on our website) have generally
been well supported this year. In particular the Autumn Conference
held at Chichester University in September was very well attended, with
various informative presentations on Landscape and Identity through
Time, followed by eld trips to Kingley Vale and Fishbourne Harbour.
The summer months have not seen the best of weather and as result
visitor numbers were lower than in previous years, producing a considerable
shortfall in income from our properties. In addition, at the time of
writing, with the recent turbulence in the International Finance markets,
(in common with other organisations) the Society has to anticipate further
reductions in income for the rest of this year. Against this background, the
Trustees are looking at ways in which the Society can protect its nances,
and reduce running costs, to ensure that the Society does not incur a
signicant annual loss. I am pleased to be able to say that, although the
recent Stock Market losses have affected the Society’s investments (although
to a lesser extent than might have been expected) this has been
well managed, and none of the Society’s funds were invested in banks
that have experienced solvency problems.
The Strategy Working Party (consisting of some of the Trustees) has
prepared a report to Council, and its ndings and recommendations will
be considered with a view to presenting a new Strategy for the Society
for the next ve years. This is to be discussed with Staff and Members
before implementation, and I hope to be able to report on this in more
detail early in 2009.
On behalf of all the Trustees I would like to wish all our Members a very
happy and peaceful Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
Peter Sangster
Chairman of Council
2 Sussex Past & Present December 2008 www.sussexpast.co.uk www.romansinsussex.co.uk Sussex Past & Present December 2008 3

Feature
THOMAS PAINE CENTENARY
Tom Paine and Bull House
The revolutionary writer’s Lewes connection
Two hundred and forty years
have passed since Tom Paine
rst rode into Lewes, East Sussex
to take up lodgings in Bull House.
An Outrider with the Excise, he
was to make it his home for the
next six years, the quiet centre
of the life of the man described
by George Washington as “the
godfather of our independence”;
by Michael Foot as “the greatest
exile ever to leave these shores”;
and dismissed, slanderously, by
Theodore Roosevelt as “that lthy
little atheist” – but that is another
story...
Early influences
In 1768 there was little to
mark Paine out as an ‘agent
of revolution’ (Edmund Burke),
though his background provided
a clue to what he was to become.
Born in Norfolk in 1737, the son
of a Quaker, Paine served his
apprenticeship as a corset maker
with his father before moving to
London in 1757. The exposure of
his Quaker sensibilities to the ‘city
of dreadful night’, to the contrast
between the extravagances of the
aristocracy and the poverty of the
‘mobbocracy’ (a word which only
came into use in the eighteenth
century) horried Paine. The times,
however, were growing restless.
In America there was mounting
clamour from the Thirteen
Colonies for independence. In
France the philosophes – amongst
them Voltaire and Rousseau – were
challenging the authority of the
ancien regime, whilst in England
‘that devil Wilkes’ was leading the
charge to determine whether ‘the
freeborn Englishman’s liberty be
reality or shadow.’ For a man who
boasted that he learned something
new every day, the mid-eighteenth
century was alive with portents of
Portrait of Thomas Paine by A Milliere, 1880.
National Portrait Gallery
things to come, and it was in Lewes
that Paine began to formulate the
ideas that helped turn the world
upside down. Not that so much
was apparent during those early
days in the town. He had other business
to hand. In 1769 his landlord,
Samuel Olive died, and in March,
1771 Paine married his daughter
Elizabeth, to take a hand in running
the family’s business which traded
out of Bull House. ‘Every article of
Grocery stocked – TEA excepted.’
Headstrong Club &
Excise Pamphlet
The exception was signicant,
revealing, as it did, Paine’s support
for the Colonists’ opposition to
paying a tax on tea imposed by
London, a position he may well
have developed at meetings of the
Headstrong Club. There is no record
as to when Paine rst joined the
Club. One thing is certain however,
the Headstrong provided him with
a platform to develop his critique
of society, for which he was to be
awarded The Headstrong book, or
Original Book of Obstinacy, and
crowned in mock eulogy:
‘Immortal PAINE! While mighty
reasons jar
We crown thee General of the
Headstrong War...’
The Club’s members were not
the only ones to appreciate Paine.
Altogether more signicantly, he was
invited by his fellow Excise ofcers
to draft a pamphlet – The Case of
the Officers of Excise – representing
their demands for an increase
in pay. Written in Bull House, and
published in 1772, it captures the
penetrating, unadorned, and steelhard
brilliance of Paine’s prose style:
“The rich in ease and afuence may
think I have drawn an unnatural
portrait, but could they descend
into the cold regions of want, the
circle of polar poverty, they would
nd their opinions changing with
the climate.”
Farewell to Lewes
The rst of Paine’s major
publications, the pamphlet was to
cost him his post with the Excise.
On April 8, 1774, he received notice
to quit the service, whilst within
the week the entire Bull House
stock was sold at auction to pay
off the business’ escalating debts.
Seemingly the small world of Lewes
was collapsing about him, and on
June 4 he formally separated from
Elizabeth, and rode out of town
for the last time, his revolutionary
apprenticeship complete.
David Powell
The Headstrong Club, Lewes
Tom Paine died in New York on
June 8 1809. The bicentenary of
his death is to be marked by the
Thomas Paine Society with events
including a conference in Lewes.
Bull House will also be opened to
the public for pre-booked parties at
weekends.
EXCAVATION IN LEWES
Excavation
Baxter’s Printworks, Lewes
Simon Stevens reports on excavations at the site
View of Baxter’s site, Lewes. Photo: S Stevens
The Baxter’s Printworks in St
Nicholas Lane, Lewes closed
its doors in 2002, ending two
centuries of the family’s business
association with the town. The majority
of the factory complex was
demolished in 2006, in advance
of new residential development.
Given its location in the heart of
the historic town, a condition was
placed on planning permission
for the development requiring a
programme of archaeological work
at the site. Following some preliminary
investigations, a team from
Archaeology South-East began
large-scale excavations at the site
in August 2006, and although most
of the on-site archaeological work
was completed that year, parts of
the site were not available at the
time. Small-scale excavations and
monitoring visits continued until
December 2007, by which time the
entire site had been examined, and
nearly 400 archaeological features
had been identied, excavated and
recorded.
Occupation history
There were hints of prehistoric and
Roman occupation in the vicinity,
including tiles dated to the 1st
century AD, indicating the distinct
possibility of a Roman building
nearby. However the rst proven
activity at the site dates from the
Anglo-Saxon period. The town’s
status as a burh (fortied town) from
the 9th century onwards is wellknown
from historical sources but
archaeological remains from this
date have proved elusive. However,
the Baxter’s site contained an
embarrassment-of-riches from the
9th to 11th centuries including
a stretch of the defensive ditch
marking the edge of the burh
(the rst physical evidence of this
feature), and a hoard of seventeen
silver pennies from the reign of
Edward the Elder, 899-924 AD.
Other nds from this era included
pottery, large quantities of animal
and sh bone and a group of
loom-weights.
Occupation of the area continued
beyond the Norman Conquest,
with at least one building fronting
onto St Nicholas Lane in the 12th
century, and a variety of pits,
cess-pits and wells to the rear. It
appears that the burh ditch was
also backlled at this time. The
evidence was somewhat thinner
for activity from the 13th to 15th
centuries; however the site clearly
continued to be used for rubbish
disposal in pits, and for some industrial
processes. Relatively little
material was deposited at the site
during the 16th and 17th centuries,
but impressive assemblages of late
18th and 19th century artefacts
were recovered from wells, cellars
and pits. The story of the site was
brought almost up-to-date by the
discovery of elements of the printing-presses
housed at the site in
more recent years, some bearing
the scars of a re which destroyed
much of the factory in the 1950s.
Finds analysis
The range of artefacts recovered
from the Anglo-Saxon and medieval
deposits was impressive. Although
there was little imported pottery,
the assemblages were large and
varied in origin of manufacture. The
animal and sh bones included the
usual meat-bearing species and
domestic animals, as well as some
more exotic specimens, including
part of the collarbone of a minke
whale. Some bones had been
made into tools. The metalwork
assemblage was particularly striking,
and included keys, knives,
buckles, brooches, pins and a barrel
padlock. There was a variety of
other medieval nds including tiles,
building stone and more ‘domestic’
items such as quernstones and
spindle whorls. A piece of medieval
window glass was also recovered.
Nineteenth century bottles. Photo: S Stevens
Post-medieval assemblages
included a range of pottery, tiles,
glass, animal bones, clay pipes
and other ‘everyday’ artefacts (see
above photo), as well as evidence
of various industrial processes,
including printing. Analysis of the
artefacts from the Baxter’s site is
now in process. When studied in
conjunction with material from other
sites in Lewes, such as the library
site, and the on-going excavation
at Walwers Lane, a fuller picture of
Lewes’s past will emerge, with full
publication in due course.
4 Sussex Past & Present December 2008 www.sussexpast.co.uk www.romansinsussex.co.uk Sussex Past & Present December 2008 5

Conference
AUTUMN CONFERENCE
Looking at Landscape
Report from the Society’s Autumn Conference
September’s Conference, People
and Place: Landscape and
Identity through Time, proved to be
a resounding success. It was jointly
organised with the Universities of
Nottingham and Chichester (hosts),
and also became a sponsored event
on the Landscape and Environment
programme (www.landscape.
ac.uk), a multi-million pound project
funded by the Arts and Humanities
Research Council (AHRC). We
were privileged to have Professor
Stephen Daniels, Programme
Director, to give an opening speech
on the programme’s current work
and future expectations. Many
thanks to Stephen and the AHRC
for providing valuable funding. The
central theme of Landscape attracted
speakers who delivered papers
on current archaeological research,
ranging from the Palaeolithic to
today, within Sussex and beyond.
The keynote speaker, Professor
Matthew Johnson (Southampton
University), provided an essential
and thoroughly engaging talk on
how landscape is viewed by people
in diverse ways. Importantly,
Matthew introduced a theoretically
complicated subject in very understandable
terms.
Prehistoric to early Roman
The rst two papers, by Royal
Holloway’s Caroline Juby and
Danielle Shreve, focused on the
Palaeolithic, discussing how
the archaeological record is
currently used to reconstruct past
environments. These gave an
opportunity to view the world before
modern humans; landscapes very
different to today. Caroline’s paper
was especially insightful in revealing
how much our understanding is
based upon the work of nineteenth
century antiquarians and reevaluating
their accounts. Following
that was my chance to showcase
ideas which have developed from
my research on animal bones at
Fishbourne. I aimed to show how
changes in animal management,
across the Iron Age/Romano-
British transition, were embedded
within local environments. As the
political situation altered, these
changes inuenced how people of
different social backgrounds moved
through and understood their own
landscape.
Medieval to modern
Lunch gave people time to view
and vote on the posters, of which
we had sixteen presentations
from archaeologists, historians,
geographers and anthropologists,
from as far away as New Zealand.
Congratulations to Richard
Haddlesey (Winchester University),
Robin Kim (London School of
Economics) and Ramona Usher
(Nottingham Trent University) for
taking the top prizes. We are now
planning to redisplay these posters
at Fishbourne for anyone who
missed the conference: details will
soon be on the Sussexpast website
(and see p2, this issue).
The third paper session was a
medieval monopoly with, most
notably, Richard Jones (Leicester
University) returning to the Society
where he spent ve years as research
ofcer. Richard’s paper on
eldnames (not place-names!) of
the late Middle Ages showed how
peasants made their mark on a
landscape which we generally associate
with the nobility. The nal
session was a light-hearted affair,
with Chris Lewis giving a drily humourous
account of house-names
in Goring-on-Sea. The association
of this area with the seaside is clear:
but house-names such as ‘Florida’
are a reminder that people’s perception
of the landscape can be
Fishbourne harbour walk: discussing the
Southern Garden. Photo: E van Breemen
rather different to the reality. Finally,
Professor Brian Short’s (Sussex
University) closing address rounded
off the day, suggesting future conferences
could aim, as this event
did, to be more outward-looking.
Field Trips
The Sunday eldtrips were also
successful, adding an extra
dimension to the conference. Many
thanks to James Kenny (Chichester
District Council) and Matthew
Pope (University College, London)
who gave an inspiring account of
the landscape, past and present,
from Kingley Vale. The Fishbourne
Harbour trip, with gratitude to David
Rudkin, also provided fascinating
discussion (see photo), plus
interest from local cows! We hope
these trips will become a feature of
future conferences. On behalf of the
organising committee, Naomi Sykes
(Nottingham), Mandy Richardson
(Chichester), Lorna Gartside (SAS),
Caroline Juby and myself, I would
like to thank everyone who attended
the conference — you made it an
event to remember.
Martyn Allen
FISHBOURNE ROMAN PALACE
Order out of Chaos
Managing the Fishbourne Collections
Fishbourne Roman Palace has had a full time curator for nearly three
years now, and the collections are starting to feel the benet. Of
course, there is (and always will be!) a lot more work to do, but the
3500 boxes that make up the collection are at last stored and labelled
according to site, material and context number. This will undoubtedly
maximize the research potential of the material, exemplied by the fact
that since it opened in 2006 the Collections Discovery Centre (CDC)
has attracted over eighty separate projects. Work on the catalogue is
proceeding, and ultimately all nds from the Fishbourne collecting area
will be installed on a database using the MODES for Windows system.
The database has been rened for use as a research tool to enable
comparisons between types of material found within features, across a
particular site as a whole, and between sites within the collecting area.
This project is likely to take ve to seven years to complete, but the
potential for the collections as a whole is self explanatory.
New procedures
With the practical tasks going so well, it has been possible to turn our
attention to aspects of collections management policy and procedure. Not
least, we have nally produced a document specifying the requirements
that must be fullled by anybody wishing to deposit archaeological
material in the CDC. This manual, sent out to all archaeological units
working in the area, describes every stage of a deposition. This will
ensure that boxes are packed to our exact requirements and that they
are labelled with the relevant Fishbourne accession number. A charge
is levied for every box deposited. Most importantly, it will mean that
no material can be deposited without transferring the legal title to us.
These procedures place the onus on the depositor to ensure that any
deposition meets our requirements, and will signicantly cut down on
work and expense incurred by the Society.
Professionalisation
Implementing such a policy brings us in line with other museums and
can be seen as part of the ongoing process of professionalisation of
the collections at Fishbourne. Another aspect of this is the production
of a procedural manual. Written in collaboration with Chichester District
Museum, this describes detailed processes such as accessioning
an object into our collections, how it should be catalogued, how to
process a loan, and dealing with research or visitor enquiries. It is hardly
a riveting read, but it unquestionably will be a great asset. It means
that procedures can be standardised and will be understood by any
staff member, rather than being accessible to the curator alone. It will
create continuity within the organisation and will signicantly improve
the quality of service that we provide to visitors.
Museums frequently enjoy the reputation of being old-fashioned and
even arcane. However, we hope that this recent work at Fishbourne
has shown us to be dynamic, modern, professional and proactive.
Rob Symmons & Gordon Hayden
Collections Discovery Centre, Fishbourne Roman Palace
Research
Bognor Regis
Warrior Burial
Skeleton and associated metalwork. Photo: TVAS
E xcavations conducted by
Thames Valley Archaeology
Services at North Bersted, near
Bognor Regis, West Sussex, in
June 2008 revealed an accompanied
adult male inhumation burial
of Late Iron Age date. The man
appears to have been buried in a
large cofn or chamber within a
small rectilinear ditched Iron Age
enclosure. Three large pots were
placed at the head of the grave
and two small pottery vessels
were situated near the grave foot.
By the body’s left side were found
a copper alloy shield boss, iron
shears/re dogs, a copper alloy
suspension ring, and a copper alloy
helmet of possible continental design
(see above). Associated with
the shield boss were two crescentshaped
or semicircular thin copper
alloy decorated openwork panels.
Mark Taylor, West Sussex County
Archaeologist has suggested this
style of metalwork may be unique
in the UK.
Elsewhere on the site, a small
hoard of ve Middle Bronze Age
copper alloy palstaves was recovered
from the topsoil.
6 Sussex Past & Present December 2008 www.sussexpast.co.uk www.romansinsussex.co.uk Sussex Past & Present December 2008 7

Research
PHOENIX FOUNDRY HISTORY
Phoenix Oral History Project
Sarah Hitchings talks to former Foundry workers in Lewes
The Lewes Phoenix project,
which was recently awarded a
Heritage Lottery Fund grant, is the
creation of locally based Artemis
Arts Ltd. They will be working with
members of the community, from
schoolchildren to elderly residents,
to add to the existing historical
records by capturing stories and
images of the former iron foundry
and engineering company, the site
of which is likely to form part of a
major town centre redevelopment.
Established by John Every in 1832,
the nal remnant of the once vast
works closed in 1986, making the
last four employees redundant.
The Every name can be found on
the ironwork at Lewes Station, all
along Brighton Seafront, drain covers
and streetlamps to name but
a few of the extraordinary range
of cast items made there. The engineering
department worked on
many complex projects including a
set of gangways for Hong Kong’s
Kowloon Wharf. Despite once employing
over ve hundred people
in its heyday, and occupying a site
that stretched between the re station
in North Street, the tree outside
Waitrose and the river Ouse, the
history of the Phoenix Ironworks is
little known in today’s Lewes. There
is a scarcity of company records
mainly due to a re which devastated
the company ofces in 1948.
Oral Histories
In order to add substantially to the
existing historical records Artemis
Arts have decided to employ Sarah
Hitchings, an oral historian, to
record the memories of previous
employees and their families. The
interviews will be deposited in the
East Sussex Record Ofce,and the
work was generously supported by
a Sussex Archaeological Society
Margary Research Grant. Publicity
about the project to date has led
Working on sewage steelworks at Phoenix Foundry. Photo: E Reeves
to contact with many contributors
covering a wide range of trades.
The Margary Grant has enabled
key interviews to take place with
an apprentice pattern maker, a tool
cutter and grinder in the machine
shop, two of the very few women
who worked at the foundry as core
makers, a fettler, and a labourer in
the foundry. These interviews are
rich in experiential details of working
conditions and provide information
about what was made there and
the complex skills involved. One of
the interviewees mentions lorries
that occasionally arrived incognito
from Portsmouth, containing giant
bearings from warships stationed
there. The Phoenix was the only
engineering company in the South
of England that could handle the
necessary repairs, and employees
in the machine shop would be
required to work twenty four hour
shifts until they were nished.
Restoration work
The interviewees also provide a
link to the more distant past, and
it seems there are strong family
connections with the rm over
generations. In the early 1950s the
pattern store contained hundreds
of wooden patterns from previous
castings including the original lamp
column patterns from Brighton
seafront. The pattern makers’
apprentices would refurbish these
patterns when replacements were
necessary. They would also be
required to perform the dangerous
job of maintaining the Brighton
piers during the winter months. This
involved going down onto a lower
platform at the end of the pier, with
nothing to stop them falling in, and
making drawings of the metalwork
that was broken.
Several interviewees have been
able to provide new photographs
and documents for the archives
and Artemis Arts would welcome
any new information, documents
or artefacts. They also welcome
anyone who would like to get
involved with any aspect of the
project. Please contact Artemis
Arts on 01273 486595/01273
470376, or email artemis-arts@
macdream.net.
LEWES PROPERTIES
Development
Developments in Lewes
Work begins at Lewes Castle and Anne of Cleves House
By the time you are reading this
the Castle will have closed
and work on our Heritage Lottery
funded project will have begun on
site. I am not sure whether excitement
or trepidation is uppermost
in the minds of Lewes staff. We all
think the project is a fantastic opportunity
to improve the way we
present the site but getting through
the next six months calmly will be
a challenge. When we re-open next
year you will hear our combined
sighs of relief from either end of
the County. Thank goodness for
the contractors and experts who
are working to make this project a
success.
Please be patient with us. The
Castle will be closed for six months
from October 13, but we will do our
best to keep part of Barbican House
open at all times. Until the end of
this year the front part of the ground
oor will be closed to visitors but
the Library, Gift and Book Shops
will be open. We do not know how
much, if any, of the Museum will be
accessible in the New Year. We will
have no Ofce Administrator for
the next six months so the front of
house staff will cover her work as
well as their own. Some staff may
be relocated to Bull House, or work
from home. We will try to answer
phones and deal with enquiries
but it may take longer than usual
to respond to messages, so keep
an eye on the website for regular
updates on progress for access to
the Library, Museum and Shops.
A great deal of preparatory work
has been done on the interpretation.
Text is being written, edited,
re-written and generally polished,
images sourced or created and
we have the rst draft of the new
audiovisual show. Barbara Alcock
has been creating a photographic
record of everything as it now is.
Lewes Castle in August 2008 before the start of work. Photo: B Alcock
Fundraising
We have raised £120,000 towards
our total of £177,000 including
£1000 from Lewes Town Council
and £1000 from the Lewes Rotary
Carnival. Pupils at Dorothy Stringer
School in Brighton have been
raising money for us and hope to
sponsor a step. Fundraising is
winding down, as we can’t apply
for grants once work has started.
However, it is certainly not too late
to make a contribution, however
large or small. You have until the
end of December to sponsor a step
and have your generosity recorded
with an inscribed brick, and every
pound helps so that we don’t have
to dip so far into the Society’s
reserves. If you can gift aid it, better
still. You can donate in person, by
post or through the website.
Following an advisory visit by
people with visual impairments I
am now seeking grants to help pay
for a specially recorded guided tour,
and tape or MP3 players. This is
not part of the main project, but an
extra we would really like to do. An
unexpected bonus came when the
Sussex Gardens Trust invited us to
consider applying for a grant, and
subject to certain conditions, they
have offered £400 for plants for the
upper garden, to provide colour
and scent while also standing up
to strong winds, poor soil and lack
of water. Once all the other work
is completed, Peter, our gardener
should be able to make a huge difference
to the Castle garden.
Anne of Cleves House
As if this is not enough I have
learned from Richard Akhurst that
the long-awaited repairs to Anne of
Cleves House are to run at the same
time as the Lewes Castle works.
This may sound like poor planning,
but the timing is driven by the fact
that we cannot have scaffolding at
Anne of Cleves House during the
wedding season. Once again the
workmen will have to do everything
during the worst weather. Since
they will be replacing all the gutters
and down pipes and working on
the roof and windows, I am hoping
for a warm, dry winter with only the
softest of breezes. Please keep
your ngers crossed!
8 Sussex Past & Present December 2008 www.sussexpast.co.uk www.romansinsussex.co.uk Sussex Past & Present December 2008 9
Sally White

Excavations
ARCHAEOLOGY ROUND-UP HISTORY and LIBRARY NEWS
What’s Going on in Sussex?
Round-up of archaeological work July to September 2008
Due to pressure on space in the
newsletter the archaeology
round-up will now feature in the
spring issue each year. However,
full summaries will continue to
appear three/four times a year on
the Research pages of the website,
so readers are advised to check
there for up to date information
on activities and volunteer
opportunities (www.sussexpast.
co.uk). For information on particular
sites please contact the responsible
body (abbreviated in brackets at
the end of the report) whose details
are given on the web-pages, where
the key to the abbreviations is also
to be found. If you do not have
access to the web then you should
contact me on 01273-405733 or
research@sussexpast.co.uk.
Luke Barber
Research Officer
East Sussex
*Arlington: Roman ‘Small Town’
Excavation continued all summer focusing
on roadside activity. Iron smelting
activity was identified in a furnace
base and related deep pit. Evidence for
construction of a road ditch (and road)
between 45-65AD was found, with
evidence of a side road and later pit
concentrations. (ESCC/BHAS/ENHAS/
MSFAT). Contact Greg Chuter (Gregory.
Chuter@eastsussex.gov.uk).
Ashburnham: Kitchenham Farm A
Roman habitation layer was uncovered
with ditches, pits and possible iron
production area. Numerous Roman
finds, including a Bronze Age copper
alloy socketed spearhead fragment.
(HAARG).
Barcombe Roman Villa The 2008
season located a substantial bath
house, which had been systematically
demolished and rebuilt on smaller
scale. (CCE/MSFAT).
*Bishopstone Tidemills The
stationmaster’s cottage was excavated
and recorded, a complex structure
with two main phases of construction.
Work is beginning on two agricultural
buildings to the south-east as well
Stationmaster’s cottage, Tidemills. Photo: L Barber
as a probable WW2 air-raid shelter.
Volunteers welcome, please contact
Luke Barber on research@sussexpast.
co.uk (SAS).
Groombridge to Langton Green
Pipeline Trial trenching revealed evidence
for post-medieval farm complex.
(Network Archaeology).
Hailsham: Welbury Farm Survey
in advance of housing development
identified a possible moated site, ring
ditches and field boundaries. (OA).
Lewes: Lewes House residential
excavation The archaeology consisted
of a large number of deep medieval
pits (12th-14th century), some possible
small-scale quarrying activity and
wells. Iron Age ditches were located
with residual Roman and Saxon artefacts
from across the site. (ASE).
Ovingdean The south/west corner
wall of the medieval manor house was
exposed with a flint cobble floor, and
13th century cellar floor about 1.4m
deeper. No trace of a kitchen found, but
large rectangular post holes indicate a
possible earlier timber framed building
within the enclosure banks. (BHAS/C.
White/Uni of Sussex).
Wivelsfield: Theobalds Road Two
main phases of archaeological features
were identified during evaluation:
shallow ditches and pits of Late Iron
Age/Early Roman period, possibly part
of an enclosure immediately south of
the prehistoric ridgeway route; and
medieval enclosure ditches of 13th-
14th century date. (ASE).
West Sussex
*Alfoldean Fieldwalking around village
is to continue, with geophysical and
non-intrusive investigations. (Richard
P Symonds/ WAS. Tel: 01403 273479).
Beedings, near Pulborough See
report p12. (Matt Pope (UCL)/Caroline
Wells with WAS/BHAS/CDAS).
Bersted: Land at North Bersted See
report and picture p7. (TVAS).
Bognor Regis Community College,
Westloats Lane Excavations in two
areas revealed linear ditches, probably
part of a Later Bronze Age field system;
possible LBA round house eaves-drip
gully, and LBA pits and post-holes.
Romano-British ditches to north-west
of the site may be linked to RB field
system, partly revealed in 1998. (ASE).
Chichester: Tower Street Excavations
for Chichester District Council on site of
Roman public bath-house re-exposed
remains of the hypocaust and ‘cistern’,
in reasonable condition. (ASE).
*Eartham: Selhurst Park The District
Council’s annual community archaeological
excavation opened a large
area, revealing complex of Iron Age
and Roman enclosures and features
including pits and postholes. A ditch
containing later C1st to early C2nd
Roman pottery produced part of the
cheek-piece from a Roman infantry helmet
of mid first century date. (CDC).
Lancing: 67, Manor Road Evaluation
adjacent to the parish church has
revealed medieval occupation of later
12th to mid 14th century date and a
probable property boundary parallel
to Manor Road, the ancient main
street of Lancing village. (C. Butler
Archaeological Services).
Lyminster: St Mary Magdalene’s
CE church, Church Road Watching
brief on building extension recorded
an inhumation burial accompanied by
an iron knife – possibly Anglo-Saxon.
(ASE).
*Worthing: Land at Lower Northbrook
Farm, Titnore Lane Excavation and
recording in advance of construction
for the new St Barnabas Hospice,
including 2-week “Community
Archaeological Excavation” area directed
by WAS. Initial work revealed
linear features, pits and post-holes of
Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman date.
(AOC Archaeology & WAS).
History Round-up
T his autumn a well known Sussex
country house caught the attention
of the national press, when
the family of the 6th Lord Hampden
who lived at Glynde House east
of Lewes, sold The Apotheosis
of James First. This is a preparatory
sketch in oil by Rubens, for a
canvas in the Banqueting House
in London. It was bought for the
nation in October for £6million and
will go to the Tate.
Several local web sites and
publications refer to the cost of
building Ovingdean Place (now
Hall), built by Nathaniel Kemp for
himself, some stating the estimate
is ‘at the Victoria and Albert
Museum’. We are back to churches
again, for Nathaniel Kemp was the
father of CE Kempe (who added
an ‘e’ to the family name). Kempe
lived in Lindeld for many years,
and his stained glass adorns many
church windows in the county.
The estimate for Ovingdean Hall
is in the CE Kempe Archives, held
by the V&A but with no catalogue
reference. Another item indicates
that CE Kempe did not donate the
cost of painting the very attractive
chancel ceiling in Ovingdean
church, done by him when GM
Hills undertook restoration of the
church; by then the Kemp/e family
had left the parish.
There are some fascinating
research projects under way in
Sussex:
• Dr Gillian Draper is running a
group research project on early
Rye. More information will be in a
future issue of SP&P. Contact her
on development.balh@btinternet.
com.
• Judy Woodman is researching
the history of the barns at Charleston
Farmhouse for the Charleston
Trust. Contact her on judy@mayall
-woodman.com.
Please keep in touch with your
news: contact pat.sueberry@
btopenworld.com.
Library News
Library open during development work
It is now apparent that the work on Lewes Castle and Barbican House,
starting in October 2008, will not in its rst stage (until the end of
2008) prevent access to the Library, though members may have to
tolerate some noise from elsewhere in the building. As I mentioned in
the last issue of Sussex Past & Present, visual material (photographs,
prints etc) will not be available, nor will most of the maps, as these
items have to be moved and stored before work starts on the Research
room.
From January 2009 until at least the end of March, or completion of
the works if later, the Library will be closed to visiting members, but it is
hoped that telephone and email enquiries can be dealt with throughout
this time. If urgent it is possible that specic items could be made
available for consultation (perhaps at Bull House) by prior arrangement
(week days only).
Please see the website for any changes, and if travelling from a distance
I suggest telephoning the Library in advance.
I list below some recent additions to the Library (all 2008 unless
otherwise stated):
BROOKS, Anthony R The Changing Times of Fulking and
Edburton, 1900-2007. (2007).
BURTSCHER, Michael Earls of Arundel & Surrey, Lords of the
Welsh Marches 1267-1415.
CROOK, Diana Ragged Lands. (Revised edition).
CRUMMY, Philip Stanway: an Elite Burial Site of Camulodunum.
(Britannia Monograph series 24). (2007).
DAVIS, O, and others Changing Perspectives on the First
Millennium BC: Proceedings of the Iron Age
Research Student Seminar, 2006.
TAYLOR, J. An Atlas of Roman Rural Settlement in Britain.
(CBA Research Report 151). (2007).
WILKINSON, Keith & Environmental Archaeology: Approaches,
STEVENS, Chris Techniques and Applications. 2nd edn.
We are grateful to the following for donations to the Library: D Collins
(Old Hastings Preservation Society} for three recent publications;
E Colgate for his book on Hurstpierpoint; and H Smith, for a framed
map of Brighton in 1788.
Esme Evans
Hon Librarian
10 Sussex Past & Present December 2008 www.sussexpast.co.uk www.romansinsussex.co.uk Sussex Past & Present December 2008 11
Library
Stop Press: Trustee Resigns
We are sorry to report the recent resignation of Richard Carter as Trustee
and member of Council of the Sussex Archaeological Society. Richard
has served almost three years on Council and we are grateful for his
contribution, which will be much missed. We hope to continue working
with Richard in his role as Lecturer at CCE, University of Sussex.

Excavation
BEEDINGS EXCAVATION BRIGHTON MUSEUM
Discoveries at Beedings, 2008
Multiple occupation on a Wealden Greensand ridge
This year’s excavations at
Beedings, on the Lower
Greensand escarpment near
Pulborough, West Sussex, has
furthered a century of research and
speculation concerning a collection
of worked int blades, discovered
during construction of a house
in 1900. Initially recognised as an
Upper Palaeolithic assemblage,
it was subsequently discredited
and the rump of the assemblage
discarded in the 1930s, (perhaps
down a well at Lewes castle
mound) consigning the site to obscurity.
Reconsideration by Roger
Jacobi of the remnants of the assemblage
in 2007 conrmed this as
a peerless example of the earliest
Upper Palaeolithic archaeology in
northern Europe, yet excavations
by Jacobi and Ainsworth failed to
nd any Palaeolithic material.
New excavations
Through the rst half of 2008, a new
project, funded by English Heritage
and directed by Matt Pope and
Caroline Wells, readdressed the hill
and its elusive Upper Palaeolithic
archaeology. The opportunity was
provided by proposed planting
of vineyards and trees at the site,
which required evaluation of the
potential archaeological threat. A
team of volunteers was mobilised
from Worthing and Brighton and
Hove Archaeological Societies,
with students from University
College London, Southampton and
Reading Universities. Attention
focused on a series of ssures in
the natural sandstone, which nally
yielded pieces of Upper Palaeolithic
int work in situ, identical in condition
and technological afnity to
the original Beedings nds. This
provided access to the sedimentary
context for environmental and
dating evidence and the analysis
Trench F: Excavating flintwork. Photo: M Pope
programme, already underway, can
provide a modern account of the
site, in lieu of the loss and destruction
of the original nd-spot.
Research potential
The rediscovery of the site is
important. The tools from these
excavations, comprising pieces
of robust, straight-sided blades
which have been retouched and
thinned for hafting as projectiles,
were shown by Jacobi to be part
of an Early Upper Palaeolithic
industry, distributed across the
North European plain from Wales
to Poland. Known as Lincombian-
Ranisian-Jerzmanovician (LRJ),
this represents the rst blade
technology present in northern
Europe, predating the Aurignacian
industries which are often seen
as signifying the appearance of
anatomically modern humans on
the continent. Thus it is entirely
feasible, indeed likely, that the
makers of this efcient and deadly
hunting kit were amongst the last
Neanderthals to occupy northern
Europe, and that prior to extinction
they were developing tool kits as
advanced as those of our own
species.
It may be fortuitous coincidence
that at lower levels in the Beedings
ssures, we found tools of Middle
Palaeolithic character, clearly manufactured
by Neanderthals. These
tools are technologically similar
to those from the ‘rock shelter’ at
Oldbury in Kent, also situated on
the Lower Greensand; and to the
distinctive Neanderthal handaxe
found at Woods Hill, 1km from
Beedings and in an identical topographic
position. Late Neanderthal
archaeology is rare in the Weald
and virtually absent in Sussex, so
the indication that Beedings contains
two phases of Neanderthal
occupation is exciting.
Geological significance
A second signicant aspect is
the geological context of the nds:
ancient ssures known across the
Weald as ‘Gulls’ or ‘Wents’, rarely
visible as landscape features, and
which have been ignored for over a
century. While Beedings has shown
the archaeological potential of
these contexts, historical accounts
also exist for preservation of ice
age faunal remains within these
contexts. Until now the Wealden
region has lacked both exceptional
Devensian archaeology and karstic
contexts often responsible for its
preservation in other parts of the
country. The recognition of ssure
potential in the region, galvanised
by this year’s excavations at
Beedings, suggests the need for immediate
and proper consideration
of this resource: in terms of future
management, development control
and targeted research including
prospective eld work.
Matt Pope
Caroline Wells
Many readers will recall the
excellent display of archaeology
that used to be at Brighton
Museum. Perhaps its most memorable
feature was the crouched
burial, complete with skeleton, visible
through a glass screen underfoot.
Sadly the archaeology room
has not been reinstated since the
museum refurbishment some years
ago, but one evening last July a
cross-section of local enthusiasts
had a rare chance to glimpse a few
artefacts from behind the scenes.
Community consultation
The session came out of consultations
with members of the Brighton
and Hove black and minority ethnic
(BME) communities, who, although
they form some 6% of the city’s
population, are notably under-represented
in local archaeology organisations,
courses and activities.
This led the University of Sussex
to set up a project with community
partners BMECP and InnerVision to
investigate. We found a ourishing
Brighton and Hove Black History
group and a group of people with
an interest in the subject. Their
top four interests turned out to
be ‘archaeology and Black history’,
‘museum artefacts’, ‘arts and
crafts’ and ‘going on a dig’ – but in
many cases they were unaware of
all the archaeology activities available.
Over the past year we have
been helping to bring the BME enthusiasts
and people active in the
archaeology community together.
Black History Group
Bert Williams of Brighton and Hove
Black History welcomed the twenty-strong
group, which included
committee members from the
Sussex Archaeological Society and
Brighton and Hove Archaeological
Society (BHAS), pointing out some
of the museum’s items related to
12 Sussex Past & Present December 2008 www.sussexpast.co.uk www.romansinsussex.co.uk Sussex Past & Present December 2008 13
Feature
Archaeology for Everyone
Communities come together at Brighton Museum
Handling artefacts at Brighton Museum. Photo: BHAS
Black history. Heather Fitch, the
museum’s curator of local history
and archaeology, introduced the
session, and Tristan Bareham of
East Sussex Archaeology and
Museums Partnership (ESAMP),
who was responsible for the museum’s
former archaeology display,
led us through a very ne selection
of artefacts, from Palaeolithic int
handaxes to Saxon loomweights
and medieval ceramic tiles. Such
was the interest that we only had
time to look at the contents of one
box, and at the time of writing we
were hoping to arrange some further
sessions.
Here are some of the reactions
from those participating:
“We could handle local objects
for the rst time and it was amazing…”
(Adriana Naves Silva and
daughters aged 13 and 9)
“… the tile painted with two birds
turning backwards…reminds me of
a wooden carving I have indoors
of an African Sankofa symbol from
the Asante of Ghana…It symbolizes
taking from the past what is good
and bringing it into the present.”
(Bert Williams, Brighton and Hove
Black History).
“Tristan and Heather really
showed the value of actually handling
the material culture from sites
like Whitehawk and it was clear
from Bert’s great introductions
onwards that the opportunity created
a real buzz. I very much hope
that this sort of opportunity can
be made more available in future
years.” (Casper Johnson, East Sussex
County Archaeologist)
For more information about the
project please contact me on 01273
475381 or anne.locke@talktalk.
net. To nd out more about Brighton
and Hove Black History please
contact Bert Williams on 077 9194
1342 or see www.black-history.
org.uk.
Anne Locke
Inclusive Archaeology Project,
CCE, University of Sussex

Books
Pevsner
Architectural Guide
Brighton and Hove
This marvellous paperback expands,
but also preserves, Pevsner’s pioneering
guide to inner Brighton and
Hove, part of his Sussex volume
published in 1965. The authors
chart the city’s evolving social and
economic life, and the architects
and developers who responded to
it. They examine major monuments -
the Pavilion, the Dome, St. Michael’s,
St Bartholomew’s, All Saints, The
Pier, Brighton Railway Station and
the Jubilee Library. Twelve walks
traverse the city roughly to its
Edwardian boundaries, from the
seafront out to Montpelier, Preston
Village, London and Lewes Roads
and Queen’s Park. Interspersed are
discrete paragraphs on Building
Materials, Bows and Bays, the
West Pier, Orientalism (Chinese
and Indian), Sea Bathing, Anglican
Ritualism, Magnus Volk etc. All is
accurate and acute, succinct and
accessible.
Like Pevsner, the authors identify
excellence. But unlike the Master,
they could summon up (besides
Georgian aquatints and Victorian
engravings) a hundred superbly
crafted colour photographs by
James Davies of English Heritage.
The ‘Regency’ exteriors are there,
splendid sunlit symphonies of
cream stucco, pilasters and castiron
balconies; the Pavilion, St
Paul’s, the Sassoon Mausoleum,
the Duke of York cinema, the
Jaipur Gate etc. Brilliantly captured
too are majestic interiors, some
depending on spatial form – High-
Gothic St Michael’s; ‘unforgettable’
St Bartholomew’s; the soaring
chancel at St Joseph’s; monumental
All Saints; the Town Hall’s
Corinthian stair-well; the Masonic
council-chamber, domed and Art-
Deco (J.L. Denman, 1928). Other
interiors unite alluring space and
fabulous furniture: the Banqueting
BOOK REVIEWS
and Music Rooms at the Pavilion;
the Middle Street Synagogue;
the reredos and pulpit-cover in
towering St Martin’s; rafters, Della
Robbia and Burne-Jones at the
Annunciation.
About 500 artists, designers and
architects are indexed, and photographs
dwell lovingly on features,
furnishings and ttings: the Music
Room ceiling; a staircase baluster
in Sussex Square (1829); John
Carew’s sublime Baptism of Christ
in St John’s (1835); the train-shed
roof at Brighton Station (1882);
a mahogany saloon-bar at the
Cricketers Arms (1886); the lectern
in St. Paul’s (1888); a Moorish ceiling
in Palmeira Mansions (1899); a
Neo-Baroque reading-room at Hove
Library (1907); the Freemason’s
Restaurant, framed in blue and
gold mosaic ‘Viennese Secession’
(Denman again, 1928); Joseph
Cribb’s relief of a mason at work
(1933); sun and shadow at Embassy
Court (1935); a barber’s shop
below Gwydyr Mansions (1936).
And after 1937? Well the authors
do their best - the elegant ‘Art
College’ in Grand Parade (1967), the
hardly Brutal Hove Town Hall (1973),
the ‘rst-class’ Jubilee Library
(2005). Much else is plain ‘sterile’,
‘lumpen’, ‘worthless’. Indeed they
trekked out to Spence’s Sussex
University to nd a major post-war
complex worth discussing, causing
the exclusion maybe of Brighton
Cemetery, that leafy but awesome
high-bourgeois necropolis.
Every discerning SAS member
should own this amazing dirtcheap
book, in a series which
celebrates the long-neglected,
abused glories of England’s greater
cities. [‘Newcastle! Wouldn’t touch
it! But we adored Prague, or was it
Budapest?’]
Colin Brent
By Nicholas Antram and Richard
Morrice. Published by Yale
University Press, 2008. ISBN 978-
0-300-12661-7. Paperback. 244 pp.
Price £9.99.
The Archaeology
of Fishbourne and
Chichester
A Framework for
its Future
This new Society publication
concerns the future direction of
archaeological research at the
Fishbourne Roman Palace site
and adjacent areas of Chichester
District, following consultation with
researchers and the public. The
project, funded by English Heritage,
the Society, and Chichester District
Council, involved assessing the
current state of our knowledge
of the study area (approximately
200 sq km), from the Palaeolithic
to medieval times. An ‘Executive
Summary’ brings together various
‘scored’ research objectives.
The book also reviews current
conservation strategies in the
Fishbourne area; and there are
three Appendices. The volume
is attractively produced and well
illustrated by photographs, line
drawings, distribution maps, etc,
many in colour.
Whilst the purpose of the project
is to establish a broad multi-period
research and conservation frame-
work for the area, the core chronological
period, ‘from the Middle Iron
Age to the Late Saxon period’ gives
examples of priorities for research
projects for the future. For the Iron
Age these are: publication of key
excavations, especially the Middle
Iron Age settlement at Lavant and
Late Iron Age temple on Hayling
Island; artefact and ecofact studies;
and surveying to identify more Early
and Middle Iron Age sites. For the
Roman period highest research priority
is also allocated to unpublished
excavations (various); ‘re-thinking’
older published excavations;
artefact and ecofact studies; and
new investigations at Fishbourne,
Chichester, and areas between the
two sites. Further investigations are
considered for Broadbridge and
Bosham, the Dell Quay tilery, and
the postulated Stane Street extension
to Dell Quay. It is argued that it
may be useful to view the archaeology
of this time ‘through insights
drawn from colonial and post-colonial
theory’. For the subsequent
Saxon period, the main priority is
identied as the construction of a
ceramic chronology.
The public consultations revealed
interest in ‘sea-level changes
through the millennia, associated
with the corresponding changes in
coastal geomorphology’, and the
need for researchers to disseminate
their results in ‘popularised’
formats. The rst is very understandable
as we increasingly face
the threat of ‘global warming’, and
many people on the West Sussex
coastal plain live only a few metres
above sea-level! The second issue
is partly met by the accessibility
of the Framework book itself. It is
however a working document which
will, we are informed, ‘be updated
approximately every ve years’.
It will be interesting to see what
changes are necessary in ve years
time, and how many of the highlighted
unpublished excavations
have appeared in print! Hopefully
too, the Society’s programme of
BOOK REVIEWS
research excavations to the east
of the Fishbourne Roman Palace
will by then have resumed and
continue to provide us with new information
about the early phases of
our ag-ship archaeological site. To
conclude, this important and useful
book will be welcomed by all those
interested in the archaeology of the
Fishbourne and Chichester area.
David Rudling
Ed John Manley. Published by
Sussex Archaeological Society,
Lewes, 2008. ISBN 978-0-904973-
08-2. Paperback. 179 pp. Price
£14-99p.
The Power and the
Poverty – Life in a
Sussex Village
1790-1850
Like his predecessor, Miss Grace
Weekes, who (probably) penned “A
slight sketch of a picture of Hurst”
in 1825, the author’s enthusiasm for
his town has led him into print, and
here he covers all levels of society.
If you want to know about the workings
of the Poor Law in Sussex, or
have an interest in Hurstpierpoint
itself, you will nd much in this
elaborately bound volume.
The author’s experience as a
teacher is evident as he communicates
imaginatively and clearly,
describing the reality of the treadmill
and following beneciaries of
the Poor Rates into other counties,
even other continents.
It shows painstaking research and
illustrates well the town’s development
through the late Georgian
and early Victorian eras. This is a
book for dipping into with its short
chapters, helpful index and plentiful
illustrations.
Juliet Clarke
By E J Colgate. Published by George
Mann Publications, 2008. ISBN
9780955241567. Hardback 318pp.
Price £15.00
14 Sussex Past & Present December 2008 www.sussexpast.co.uk www.romansinsussex.co.uk Sussex Past & Present December 2008 15
Books
Poor Cottages and
Proud Palaces
An account of the life and work
of Reverend Thomas Sockett of
Petworth (1777 -1859), who was
born in East London, the son of an
impoverished bookseller. The early
part of this fascinating book deals
with his transition from penury to
rural clergyman under the patronage
of Lord Egremont at Petworth
House. In his journal recording his
life from 1805 to 1807, reproduced
in full, he describes playing tennis
and practising French with refugee
aristocrats, seeing Nelson embark
from Portsmouth on his nal voyage,
and time spent with the Egremont
children reading the classics such
as Horace and Demosthenes.
We are given a picture of his
domestic life, but the authors are
primarily interested in his role as the
thoughtful and concerned Rector of
Petworth. Although he was a friend
of aristocrats, he worked hard to improve
the lives of the poorest of his
parishioners, particularly through
the teaching of literacy which he
saw as a route to morality. Together
with Lord Egremont, he organised
the emigration to Canada of many
of his parishioners, including his
own oldest son, George. He was
also in frequent disagreement with
the guardians of the local workhouse
about the treatment of its
inhabitants.
Sheila Haines and Leigh Lawson
have presented an insight into life
in West Sussex from aristocrat to
peasant at a time of political, cultural
and economic upheaval. The
book is meticulously researched
and evidenced and should prove a
valuable resource for local history
students, and anyone else who likes
looking into other people’s lives.
Maria Gardiner
By Sheila Haines and Leigh Lawson.
Published by Hastings Press,
2007. ISBN 978-1-904109-16-7.
Paperback. 294pp. Price £14.99.

16
Snippets
Lewes Priory
CONGRATULATIONS to Lewes
Priory Trust which recently announced
the award of more than
half a million pounds from the
Heritage Lottery Fund. This is part
of an £800,000 development package
supported by English Heritage
and Lewes Town Council, for repair
and consolidation of the Priory remains,
and to provide free access to
visitors. The Priory was founded as
a Cluniac Monastery in about 1081
by William de Warenne, a Norman
lord who fought at the Battle of
Hastings, and also founded Lewes
Castle. In 1845 railway workmen at
the site discovered the burial cists
and bones of William and his wife
Gundrada. The cists are displayed
in a chapel in Southover church.
The Priory Trust plans to turn Priory
Park, Southover, Lewes into an
attractive historical and archaeological
site. Work should begin this
year and will take about two years
to complete. Chairman of the Priory
Trust, John Lawrence said “We are
very pleased that the years of hard
work to secure this grant have nally
paid off, but work starts now! We
need help in managing the project,
in increasing the membership of
the Trust and publicising progress
and other activities.” Volunteers
should contact the Trust by writing
to John Lawrence c/o Lewes Town
Hall, High St, Lewes BN7 or email
lewespriory7@tiscali.co.uk.
SAMMS Project
THE Sussex Ancient Monument
Monitoring Scheme (SAMMS) is a
joint project between the Sussex
Archaeological Society, the South
Downs Joint Committee, and
English Heritage (EH). This involves
individual volunteers monitoring the
condition of designated monuments
on behalf of EH. The monuments
are either in public ownership or
visible from public footpaths, and
volunteers undertake regular visits,
reporting yearly on their condition (or
more frequently if potentially serious
damage is noted). The scheme has
now been running some ve years,
co-ordinated by Wendy Muriel in
liaison with EH, and in the next few
months they hope to expand the
number of monuments and may be
seeking new volunteers. For information
please contact Wendy on
sammco@sussexpast.co.uk or at
Bull House (Mon and Fri only).
Pevsner Revisited
FOLLOWING publication of the new
Brighton and Hove guide (see p14,
this issue), Nick Antram is currently
revising the Sussex Pevsner, in
The Buildings of England series.
Over the next three years he will be
working on East Sussex, which is
to be published as a single volume
ahead of West Sussex. Nick is keen
to improve the coverage of later C19
and C20 domestic architecture both
by national and local architects,
and also to mention the best of
the vernacular buildings, but as
always the revision will aim to be as
comprehensive as possible.
East Sussex is known as a very
secret county with many good
buildings tucked away from view.
If any members have knowledge or
interest in the county’s architecture
Nick would be delighted to hear
from them. Please email him at
post@antram.co.uk.
Ditchling Museum
DITCHLING Museum has applied
for Stage One funding from the
Heritage Lottery for a project to
incorporate a Grade II listed farm
building as the new entrance, shop
and café. The 18th century int
and brick Cart Lodge and Granary
stands close to the museum on the
village green, owned by the Friends
of Ditchling who have agreed a
lease. The museum opened in
1985 in the former Victorian village
school and this development would
create environmentally controlled
new display and collection storage
spaces, research and educational
areas. The museum holds important
collections of works by stone
carver Eric Gill, artist David Jones,
calligrapher Edward Johnston and
weaver Ethel Mairet; two studio
spaces would show commitment
to contemporary practitioners and
honour the legacy of 20th century
artists and craftspeople who made
Ditchling their home. The result
of the application is expected by
December 2008/January 2009 and,
if successful, a period of research
and development will follow to
enable submission of an application
for Stage Two funding. Update on
progress can be found at www.
ditchlingmuseum.com.
Next Issue
THE next issue of Sussex Past &
Present will be published in April
2008. Copy deadline is January 29.
Letters and ‘snippets’ are welcome;
longer items should be kept to a
maximum of 500 words unless prior
arrangements have been made with
the editor, Sarah Hanna, at spp@
sussexpast.co.uk, or John Manley
on 01273 486260. Please note
that we require images with most
contributions, preferably in high
quality colour format. To submit
digitally, please use MS Word for
text and send images in JPEG or
TIF formats, at minimum resolution
of 600dpi. Correspondence and
details of events should be sent to
Sarah Hanna, Editor, Sussex Past &
Present, Bull House, 92 High Street,
Lewes BN7 1XH, or emailed to the
above address.
Rates for insertions into the
newsletter, which goes out to over
2500 members, start at £100 (plus
minimum handling charge of £20).
Contact Lorna Gartside on 01273
405737 for details.
Sussex Past & Present December 2008 www.sussexpast.co.uk