April 2013 (issue 129) - The Sussex Archaeological Society

N u m b e r 1 2 9 A P R I L 2 0 1 3
Archaeology Round-up
Bridge Farm: a ‘New’ Roman Site
Barcombe Roman Bathhouse
Brede High Woods ‘Big Dig’
Etymology of Plashett Park
www.sussexpast.co.uk Sussex Past & Present April 2013

Membership Matters
MEMBERSHIP
OPENING LINES
Opening Lines
Lorna’s Notebook
A round-up of all that’s new in the membership department
Welcome to the April edition of
Sussex Past & Present.
Sunday 7 July: Society AGM
The Society’s AGM will be held
this year at Michelham Priory,
and the AGM notice including
the agenda is enclosed with this
newsletter. Further papers will be
available online nearer the time in
the members’ area of the website
– contact me if you need the
password. Lunch is available (prebooked
only) and in the afternoon
you will have the chance for a tour
to see the changes at the Priory
– more details in the Noticeboard
section (centre pages). Please use
the form there to book in advance
so we know how many people to
expect.
Saturday 2 November:
Sussex and the Georgian Age
c1680 - 1830 Conference
Our autumn conference this year
looks at the impact of the Georgian
period on Sussex. It is taking place
rather later than usual, and we hope
that this means more people will be
free to attend. As for the last two
major conferences, the venue is
Lewes Town Hall; however, this time
we are using the Corn Exchange
instead of the Assembly Room, in
the hopes that this will ameliorate
the acoustic difficulties encountered
in the Assembly Room.
Full details are in the enclosed
booking form, and we look forward
to seeing many of you there.
WW1 Conference
We will be holding a one day
conference on Saturday 26 April
2014 to commemorate the outbreak
of the First World War in August
1914. The venue will be Lewes
Town Hall, and it will be followed on
27 April with a range of associated
field trips. Further details will
be circulated in due course, but
the topics will be diverse and
thought-provoking.
As part of this event, we plan to
put together a display to remember
those who fought or otherwise
served between 1914-1918, and
we need your input. If you had
family or friends who fought in the
Great War, we would like to hear
from you. The aim is to collect brief
biographical details about each
person, ideally combined with a
photograph or a postcard they may
have written during the War. If we
have sufficient material, we plan to
put together a poster display for
the conference which can then be
exhibited afterwards in one of the
Society’s properties. We also hope
to include some of these stories
in the short articles section of
Sussex Archaeological Collections
during the period 2015-2018. It
will be our way of commemorating
those whose lives were lost or
irretrievably changed as a result of
that conflict.
We do need to have this
information in good time to plan
these various events, so start doing
your research now! The deadline
for receipt of your information is
Friday 4 October 2013, but it would
be helpful if you could initially email
me on members@sussexpast.
co.uk or contact me at Bull House
so we have an idea of how much
and what type of information we
will be receiving. If you need help
with researching the details we will
be able to provide you with some
guidance on where to look.
Members’ Survey
Last year we asked members’
opinions specifically on our
publications. This year, we would
like to gather some more general
feedback from you to help us
retain and recruit members by
learning what attracted you to
the Society and what keeps you
here. You may fill in the copy of
the form enclosed and return it to
me by post, and a version is also
available in the members’ area
of the website (contact me if you
need the password) for you to
complete and email to me. We will
give a summary of the feedback in
a future newsletter and online. It
should only take you a few minutes
to complete, and we would very
much appreciate your time!
Visiting our Properties
My usual reminder at this time
of year - do remember that if you
are planning to visit any of our
properties you must have a valid
membership card to show at
the admissions desk in order to
gain free entry. If you don’t, you
will be asked to pay the normal
admission price and this cannot be
subsequently refunded. Please do
not get cross with our admissions
staff if you have forgotten to check
that you have a current card with
you before setting off.
Lorna Gartside
Membership Secretary
MEMBERSHIP
DEPARTMENT
Bull House, 92 High Street
Lewes, BN7 1XH
Tues-Fri 10am-3pm
Answering machine
outside these hours
01273 405737
members@sussexpast.co.uk
SUSSEX
Past &
Present
The Sussex Archaeological
Society Newsletter
N u m b e r 1 2 9
A P R I L 2 0 1 3
Contents
2 Membership Matters
3 Opening Lines
4 Barcombe Roman Baths
5 Barcombe Roman Baths
6 Archaeology Round-up
7 Archaeology Round-up
8 Brede High Woods ‘Big Dig’
9 Plashett Park
10 Bridge Farm Survey
11 Peter Sangster Obituary
12 Library & Bookshop
13 John Houghton Obituary
14 Book Reviews
15 Book Reviews
16 Snippets
Published by the Sussex
Archaeological Society, Bull
House, Lewes, E Sussex, BN71XH
Tel: 01273 486260
Fax: 01273 486990
Email: adminlewes@sussexpast.
co.uk
Editor: Wendy Muriel
Email: spp@sussexpast.co.uk
Research Editor: Luke Barber
ISSN 1357-7417
Cover: Underwater archaeology at
Church Field, Barcombe. Summer 2012.
Photo: David Millum
Your Society
...looking forward to the new season
Here we are awaiting spring and hopefully better weather than last
year. The weather in 2012 greatly affected visitor numbers to our
properties and therefore the main income of the Society. We were
required to draw down from reserves to cover a greater than anticipated
deficit. This continued drain on our reserves and the need to address
some significant items is of very serious concern. We have no choice but
to consider a significant range of potential actions which arise from this
reality. In response the Council is preparing to formulate a fundraising
campaign to increase our income and to build up our reserves. We are
also working hard with the Chief Executive and our staff team to make all
of our income generating activities work as efficiently as possible.
We are also looking to obtain support from outside funding bodies and
organisations. I recently attended a meeting with representatives from
Waitrose property department who are offering their expertise and labour
to extend and refurbish the shop at Michelham Priory. The Friends of
Michelham Priory are yet again funding a wide range of changes including
enhancements to the Great Barn. The northern part of the moat has been
cleared of growth and is looking much better. I recommend a visit to
see the new views. The works carried out this year complement those of
last year. The property is now much improved and greater income from
functions is anticipated.
A meeting has also been held with a number of grant giving bodies at
Anne of Cleves House Museum, to hopefully fund the new café, garden
and disabled toilet/access provisions. The weddings business at both
the Castle and Anne of Cleves House show an encouraging increase
on last year thanks to the efforts of our Eastern Properties Commercial
Manager, Isobel Roberts. At Fishbourne Roman Palace the café has been
redecorated and the garden museum has been refurbished. We also plan
to extend the successful spoil heaps excavation during the Festival of
British Archaeology this summer.
In 2012 the 150th volume of the Sussex Archaeological Collections was
issued. This is a great achievement, and the Collections are envied by
other societies throughout the country. We are planning a celebration in
September at which all members will be invited to participate together with
authors who have been published in the Collections. More information
will be published in the next issue of Sussex Past & Present. The Society
is in good heart, with the library, schools education, research, museums
and collections achieving a very high standard and well used.
Society membership increased last year and despite the rise in
subscriptions sanctioned by members is expected to continue to rise in
2013. Members’ visits to our properties have doubled over the last two
years. Members are reminded that legacies are a very important way of
helping the Society. For most charitable bodies, like the Society, this is
a very significant element of their income. The Society can only survive
with your support.
I hope to see as many of you as possible at the AGM.
Richard Akhurst
Chair of Council
Sussex Past & Present April 2013
www.sussexpast.co.uk www.sussexpast.co.uk Sussex Past & Present April 2013

Excavations
BARCOMBE ROMAN BATHS
BARCOMBE ROMAN BATHS
Excavations
Research
Reflections on a Cold Plunge
Reporting on the final year’s dig in Church Field at Barcombe
In October 2012 the bathhouse
excavations at Barcombe were
filled in, thus ending five seasons
of excavations in Church Field
and a total of 14 years of fieldwork
for the Barcombe Roman Villa
Project. It also marked the end
of practical field archaeology at
the University of Sussex whose
Centre for Continuing Education
(most recently, until its demise:
Community Engagement) CCE - had
joined the Project as partners of the
Mid Sussex Field Archaeological
Team (MSFAT) in 2006. Over the
years many intriguing features have
been exposed at both the villa and
bathhouse sites. This article reports
upon some of the most interesting
discoveries and outcomes of the
final, very wet, fieldwork in 2012.
The Bathhouse:
Cold plunge room
During the five seasons of
excavations starting in 2008 a
rectangular room, approximately
9m by 5.5m, had gradually been
unearthed at the extreme western
end of the complex. It was named
Fig.1 WR2 at the end of 2011.
Photo: D Millum
West Room 2 (WR2) and consisted
of three outer flint walls 700mm
wide to the north, west and south,
all of which had a substantial 1m
wide chalk wall abutting them
internally (Fig.1). On the eastern
side was a shallower 600mm chalk
internal wall adjacent to what
appeared to be a corridor. The flint
wall had scattered tegula lying on
its surface which were interpreted
as part of the wall, rather than fallen
roof tiles, as tegula were found, in
situ, in a lower string course. An
evaluation trench dug to the outside
of the northwest corner showed
a well-built structure with quoins
made from dressed sandstone and
paludina limestone (Fig.2).
Fig.2 The NW corner. Scales: 250mm.
Photo: D Millum
Initial theories as to the room’s
function included speculation that
the strength of the walls could
suggest a two-storied structure
or even a watermill. Indeed,
geoarchaeological work by Dr Mike
Allen, and geophysical surveying
by David Staveley, suggest that a
water course passed the structure’s
western flank. However, Ernest
Black felt that the room was a cold
plunge pool and this seemed more
convincing than a counter proposal
of a large latrine.
A priority in 2011 and 2012 was
to investigate the interior of the
room, especially the inside faces
of the walls. As the southwest
quadrant was excavated a scatter
of loose debris on the surface was
resolved into a partition wall across
the room. The walls were taken
down internally to their foundations
and a distinct plinth was uncovered
at the base of both the south and
north walls.
Fig.3 Opening in the SW corner. Photo: D Millum
Even more intriguing was the
small square opening at the base
of the extreme south west corner
(Fig. 3). Was this a drain outlet or
water inlet for a cold bath; or did the
plinths imply a suspended floor with
the partition wall merely a sleeper
for bearing joists and the opening
a vent to keep the under-floor area
dry, by drainage and/or ventilation
The fuller excavation of this feature
in 2012 recovered part of a copperalloy
spatula and this and a pair of
copper-alloy tweezers from outside
WR2’s southern wall are items
which often form part of Roman
toilet sets. In the north of the room
a black sooty fill to the western side
gave way to a pink opus signinum
layer, with a compacted chalk layer
beneath. Finally the western half of
the partition wall was removed and
distinct differences between the
fills on either side were observed,
with a significant absence of
the opus signinum layer in the
southern area. By the end of the
2012 season, although the interior
of WR2 was fully excavated there
was no evidence that the structure
had been capable of holding water.
However, with so much material
obviously robbed from this building,
possibly within the Roman period,
this lack of evidence could not be
taken as proof that this was always
the case. Another possibility is
that only the smaller southern part
of this room (i.e. the area with the
drain) functioned as a small plunge
pool, whilst the northern part with
its opus signinum floor functioned
as an apodyterium or changing
area.
A bronze ‘wolf and twins’ coin
of c. AD 330-340 was found in the
surface layer of the south east corner
but no datable items were found in
sealed lower contexts. Although this
suggests that WR2 was filled with
sediment by the early 4th century,
it is equally possible that the coin
was a secondary deposition as
part of later sedimentation. The
black sooty fill in the northwest
corner suggests that this presumed
once recreational building was
subsequently used for a more
industrial purpose.
Fig.5 Temperature zone diagram.
Figure 5 aims to explain a
possible temperature zoning for
the bathhouse and shows WR2
placed at the extreme cold end of
the complex and therefore in an
ideal location for a cold wet use
such as a plunge bath. It should be
noted however that we now think
that there may have been at least
three major phases of building at
this site and that the whole building
may not necessarily have been in
use at one time.
Possible Saxon Remains
Earlier in 2012 David Staveley
had undertaken a new geophysical
(magnetometer) survey of
Church Field. The most intriguing
discovery revealed was a strange
‘m’ shaped anomaly upslope
from the baths, much nearer to St
Mary’s Church. This anomaly was
further investigated last summer
and a large part of it was exposed
by mechanical excavation (Fig. 6).
Although unfortunately the site has
been badly truncated by ploughing
(many of the features found were
thus very shallow), discoveries
included: a linear south-west northsouth
orientated ditch; two possible
‘wall trenches’ aligned parallel to
the ditch and some 3.5m apart with
one measuring approximately 8m
in length; a large pit filling the gap
between the northern ends of the
two ‘wall trenches’; another large
pit; three postholes and a drain of
probably later date. Some of these
Image: D Millum
features, i.e. the ‘wall trenches’
and the three postholes, may have
formed parts of a timber building.
The strange ‘m’ shaped anomaly
thus proved to have been caused
by a combination of some of the
above listed features. Finds, except
charcoal, were few but included
pottery sherds which have been
provisionally identified as Mid
Saxon. It is hoped that C 14 dating
of some of the charcoal will help
to resolve the age of the remains
exposed. Was there perhaps a
shift in settlement focus from the
villa and baths to the vicinity of St
Mary’s Church, with a deliberate
avoidance of areas containing
traces of Roman buildings
Fig.6 The North trench after initial cleaning.
Scales: 2m & 500mm. Photo: L Fisher
The Maltese Connection
Another important outcome of
the 2012 season at Barcombe was
the success of a Senior Volunteer
exchange project with Heritage
Malta. This Grundtwig (European)
funded project - Inclusive
Archaeology and Cultural Heritage
- involved sending six English, over
50s, volunteers to Malta to work on
the Roman baths at Ghajn Tuffieha
and in return for Heritage Malta
to send six of their Senior staff to
Barcombe. This exchange project
resulted in a sharing of ideas and
methods and the forming of new
friendships, plus Mario Casha’s
brilliantly apt cartoons, an example
of which is shown below.
David Millum, David
Rudling & Chris Butler
Project Directors Chris Butler & David
Rudling, and Site Supervisor David Millum
would like to thank all who have helped
at Barcombe since 1999; the respective
landowners, St Mary’s Church and the
Stroude Family, for their cooperation and
encouragement.
Church Field has now been ploughed and
returned to agricultural use.
Sussex Past & Present April 2013
www.sussexpast.co.uk www.sussexpast.co.uk Sussex Past & Present April 2013

Excavations
ARCHAEOLOGY ROUND-UP
ARCHAEOLOGY ROUND-UP
Excavations
What’s Going on in Sussex
A round-up of local archaeological investigations
The following gives brief details
of some of the more interesting
sites and discoveries made in the
last year as well as forthcoming
volunteer opportunities. Other
sites are reported on more fully in
this newsletter but summaries of
all archaeological work that I am
aware of, even if devoid of finds,
can be found on the website under
the Research page ‘What’s been
happening in Sussex Archaeology’.
Volunteer opportunities are
highlighted (*) where known. For
information on particular sites
contact the responsible body
(abbreviated in brackets at the end
of each 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
*Bishopstone Tidemills: The 2012
season saw the excavation of Meadow
Cottage and a smaller earlier cottage to
the south. The latter, which is depicted
on the Tithe map, perhaps housed
a shepherd, as it appeared to have
originally been surrounded by stock
enclosures. An extension to the south
certainly housed animal troughs with
elaborate patterned brick bases. Meadow
Cottage, first depicted on the 1st edition
OS map, was a grander residence and
had several large extensions. However,
both cottages gained a flushing outside
toilet at the same time, suggesting a
landlord’s intervention, probably early in
the 20 th century. Fieldwork should resume
in May 2013. If you wish to volunteer
please contact Luke Barber: research@
sussexpast.co.uk. (SAS).
Brighton, The Royal Pavilion: A
watching brief revealed the top of the
tunnel that runs from the Royal Pavilion
to Brighton Museum, including a glass
topped light shaft. (BHAS).
Eastbourne, ‘Pococks’: A four- week
community excavation of a building
once known as ‘Pococks’ uncovered
evidence to show there that had been a
significant building on the site since at
least the C13th. Despite being buried
beneath 3m of overburden in the 1960s
substantial remains of a chalk cellar and
stone wall footings remained (Eastbourne
Museum).
Folkington to Friston Water pipeline:
Monitoring of a 4km long easement
identified two major sites. South of
Folkington, in the area of Broughton, a
settlement first recorded in the Doomsday
Book, parts of medieval tenement plots,
outbuildings and pits were revealed. At
the Friston end of the scheme a large Iron
Age / Romano-British farm complex was
recorded (Kent Archaeological Projects).
Mountfield,British Gypsum: A woodland
survey recorded 160 sites within the
area. These included earthworks and
enclosures, of possible medieval date
and significant quantities of wellpreserved
industrial archaeology. The
latter includes open mine shafts, quarries,
miners’ roads, leats, water management
features and brick buildings associated
with quarrying operations (CBAS).
Ore, Old St Helen’s Church: A
community excavation of the interior of
the church uncovered a number of 18thto
early 19th- century brick built tombs.
Although deposits were very mixed,
finds dating back to the Late Saxon
period were recovered together with
an important assemblage of decorated
medieval floor tiles (CBAS) (Fig. 1).
Rye: 31 Mermaid Street, Rye: Monitoring
recorded up to 1.5m of stratified deposits,
including two medieval stone walls with
an associated stone box drain and flag
stone floor. As the trench was some 10m
from the street, the remains may relate to
a detached kitchen block (ASE).
Sedlescombe, Park View the Street:
Archaeological work uncovered some
40 early post-medieval tannery tanks
in addition to a number of ditches and
structural remains. The bulk of these
were to be preserved in situ by the new
development (ASE).
*Stanmer, Rocky Clump: The 2012
excavations revealed the corner of an
Iron Age enclosure, with an associated
trackway. A number of pig burials were
found and significant amounts of Late
Iron Age decorated pottery. The 2013
season will begin on Saturday 6th April
and will investigate the interior of the
enclosure. Contact John Funnell at john.
funnell@brightonarch.org.uk or call
01273 607127 or use the BHAS website
at www.brightonarch.org.uk
Fig.1 Community excavation within Old St Helen’s Church, Ore.
Photo: Chris Butler Archaeological Services
West Sussex
Broadbridge Heath, Land south of
Broadbridge Heath: Excavations have
located significant prehistoric remains
including a small Mesolithic/Neolithic flint
scatter, Early Iron Age features including
at least one four-post structure and a
close group of four Middle Iron Age
round house eaves-drip gullies. There
was also part of a Late Iron Age to C1st-
AD settlement, bounded on three sides
by watercourses and low-lying alluvial
marsh, and including a round house
eaves-drip gully and possible hearth.
Roman activity consisted of a C1stenclosure
with radiating long boundary
ditches and a sunken lane. Early
Medieval enclosures and two rectangular
beam-slot structures, dating to the 12th
century, and a further, separate, High
Medieval beam-slot building and small
yard enclosure were also discovered
(ASE) (Fig. 2).
Burgess Hill, Land off Manor Road:
Small-scale excavations found post-holes
and an eaves-drip gully of a Later Bronze
Age round house and a pit containing
contemporary loom weights. (Thames
Valley Archaeological Services).
Chichester, Eastgate Square:
Archaeological excavations revealed
several Roman rubbish pits and a large
quarry. Two Roman burials were also
recovered: an infant interred in a rubbish
pit and an adult buried in the base of
the quarry. The bulk of the deposits
relate to the medieval and post-medieval
cemetery: 1764 burials were recorded,
including shroud and coffined burials, as
well as a number of post-medieval brick
tombs (ASE).
Crawley, site of former Sussex House,
High St: Excavations have recovered
part of a possible rectilinear beam-slot
structure, clay extraction pits, plot
boundaries and other pits containing
large quantities of ironworking slag. All
appear to be of High Medieval date,
including several complete jugs from the
base of a well (ASE).
Fig. 2 Excavation of Medieval building at Broadbridge Heath.
Photo: Archaeology South-East & RPS Consulting
Crawley, east side of Gatwick Airport:
Archaeological work has so far revealed
an Iron Age enclosure/field system and
Bronze Age funerary related features
(Network Archaeology).
Horsham, Land at Millfield, Southwater:
The excavations of a Roman agricultural
enclosure, probable cremation burial,
and trackway have taken place. This is
the first known Roman site of this nature
from the Southwater area. Evidence of an
ancient watercourse and the remnants of
medieval middens were also uncovered
indicating that a previously unknown
medieval settlement or farmstead is likely
to have been very close by (ASE).
Selsey, flood alleviation (Medmerry):
Monitoring and excavations have revealed
elements of a Late Bronze Age landscape,
significant Roman and medieval remains
and evidence of the WW2 defences and
aircraft firing range. More details can
be found at http://www.environmentagency.gov.uk/static/documents/
Leisure/Medmerry_archaeology.pdf
(ASE/Environment Agency).
A busy year ahead
on the ‘Big Dig’ at
Brede High Woods
On Tuesday 9th April we will be
returning to the iron working site
that we started work on last year
(see article on following page).
The excavation and work in this
part of the wood will take place
over three weeks which will give
us enough time to thoroughly
explore the iron-working site. As it
is difficult to estimate in advance
how much time we will need to
spend at the iron-working site we
may also be investigating further
charcoal platforms, carrying out
a walk over survey on the site
and surroundings of Austford
farm and seeing whether we can
find any remains of World War
Two activities within the woods
nearby.
From 17th-22nd June 2013 we
will be finalising the archaeological
excavations and consolidating
the remaining foundations at
Brede High Farmhouse. Whilst
in nearby Coneyburrow Wood
(or Coneybury on old maps), we
shall be excavating a saw-pit
and some charcoal platforms.
During this period we will have
an open day to which the public
will be invited to view a live
dig. We will display some of
our findings, including the oral
history aspect of this project,
and involve schools in charcoal
making activities.
We will have a final week at
Brede in mid September, details
to be announced in due course.
To join in with the excavations
contact: brede@cbasltd.co.uk.
For more information about the
wood visit: www.woodlandtrust.
org.uk/brede.
Vivienne Blandford
Sussex Past & Present April 2013
www.sussexpast.co.uk www.sussexpast.co.uk Sussex Past & Present April 2013

Excavations
BREDE HIGH WOODS
PLASHETT PARK
Research Feature
Brede High Woods ‘Big Dig’
Successful first year uncovers remains of farm buildings
The Woodland Trust, which
acquired Brede High Woods (6
miles north of Hastings, East Sussex,
NGR TQ793201) in 2007, secured a
‘Your Heritage’ HLF grant of £50k
to run a community archaeology
project to help uncover more
about the archaeology and history
of this 262 hectare site. The grant
runs from October 2011 to June
2014. Chris Butler Archaeological
Services is leading the project on
behalf of the Woodland Trust and
we have successfully completed a
rewarding first year of investigations
during which we attracted over 100
volunteers, some of whom regularly
turned up in what were, at times,
truly appalling weather conditions.
The year started fine and dry when
we surveyed a gill stream in Thorp’s
Wood to investigate a potential early
iron working site. Various lumps of
the waste product of iron making
(slag) and the baked clay remains
of the furnace lining were found. A
Roman coin, found in the vicinity
of the site late last year, has been
dated to the Emperor Valens, circa
364-378 AD. We shall return to this
site in April 2013 for a three-week
period of excavation and surveying
in the immediate area.
Our first dig of the year was on
the site of Brede High Farm, where
over a period of three weeks more
than 25 volunteers worked on the
site carrying out a range of activities
including excavation, recording
and finds processing. Together
with a combination of geophysical
surveys, looking at old maps and
excavation, some foundations of
the farmhouse were found but it
was the farm buildings that were
easier to locate. These included
pigsties and the foundations of
an oasthouse. A large amount of
building material, pottery, glass
and metal was recovered during
Excavating the iron working site, Brede High Woods.
the excavation which was cleaned
up and is now in the hands of
specialists for analysis. Most of
the finds date to the late 19th and
early 20th century, though some
are possibly earlier. The site was
backfilled, although some of the
walls have been left exposed.
Further work will be carried out
here this year and this will hopefully
make it easier for the casual visitor
to understand what now remains.
The house was first recorded on
a map in 1767 and probably dates
to the late 17th century. It was
comprehensively demolished in
the 1930’s when the Powdermill
reservoir was being built.
We then moved to the site of
Austford House and its coach
house. Initially the walls of the coach
house were stabilised as they were
in danger of collapsing. In October
the floors of the coach house were
cleared of metres of mud and debris,
revealing some interesting features
which included a deep, render-lined
waterproof tank, which under the
wet conditions soon filled up with
Photo: V Blandford
water. The yard between the coach
house and the foundations of the
house was exposed. A large, well
built cellar with a complete flight of
steps was uncovered and, on the
south facing front of the house,
a substantial bay window and
porch were revealed. This site was
backfilled in November.
We are also carrying out oral,
documentary and historical
research. We were lucky enough
to interview a local man who had
lived at Brede High Farmhouse just
prior to its demolition and he was
able to fill in some valuable details
about the scullery, water pump and
locations of the toilets in a shed
at the bottom of the garden. He
was also able to provide us with a
picture of the farmhouse.
If you would like to take part in
this project please contact Chris
Butler Associates via email brede@
cbasltd.co.uk or call 01323
811785.
Vivienne Blandford
Even some woods and farms
in Sussex have names which
are known in different forms round
the world. One example is Plashett
Park, Wood and Park Farm located
north-east of Ringmer, near Lewes.
Plashett Park was a gentleman’s
hunting park and the gentleman
concerned in this case was the
Archbishop of Canterbury until the
Dissolution when it was acquired
by the Gage family.
Location of Plashett Park Image: J Kay, SAC 138
In the early 14th century there
were, according to South East from
AD1000 (Brandon & Short), 380 deer
parks for hunting in Kent, Surrey
and Sussex; the possession of a
park had become a status symbol,
even for knights and the lesser
gentry. So it is not surprising that
almost adjoining Broyle Park (the
name of which is derived from the
old French breuil, meaning hunting
park, see the writer’s article in this
What’s in a Name
From Cardinal Richelieu to Plashett Park
journal of August 2005) there were
others nearby, and one is called
Plashett Park.
Mawer & Stenton’s ‘Place
Names of Sussex’ tells us that
the name is of Romance origin
from the Late Latin plessetum,
plassetum a woven enclosure.
Why woven Because the fence
was of living wood with interlacing
branches (Delisle, L’Agriculture en
Normandie au moyen age). Sharing
similar etymology are English
words like pleached and plaited.
There are similar names in Essex
(Pleshey), Herefordshire (Platch),
Hertfordshire (Plashes), Norfolk
(Plasset), Northumberland (Plessey
Woods), and even in London, East
Ham, where Plashet Grove still
exists (Weinreb & Hibbert’s London
Encyclopedia and Reaney’s Essex,
EPNS).
The fence or hedge was, in the
case of our Plashett, intended
to keep the deer in the park.
But elsewhere it was used as a
fortification, to keep people out.
The corresponding name in France
is Plessis and it is widespread in
the northern part of that country
because there the emphasis is
not on keeping animals in (the
appropriate name for which is parc)
but on keeping humans out. It is the
name of a chateau, a fortification.
Nine place names are listed in the
Paris region alone (Noms de Lieux
d’Ile-de-France by Marianne Mulon),
the strangest of which is Plessis-
Robinson, a Plessis which was first
mentioned in 839 and was named
progressively, Plessis–Raoul,
Plessis-Piquet, Plessis-Liberté at
the time of the Revolution, back
again to Plessis-Piquet in 1801 and
finally, in 1909 it took on the name
of a cafe/dance hall named after
Swiss Family Robinson, the name
of which was inspired by Robinson
Crusoe.
We must not forget the family and
business name Plessis and its kin
in this country and elsewhere since
at least 1204 (Gilbert de Plessis,
Oxford Dictionary of Surnames,
Reaney & Wilson). One example
is the family name of Cardinal
Richelieu, Chief Minister of Louis XIII
and claimed to be the world’s first
Prime Minister (Cardinal Armand-
Jean du Plessis de Richelieu). Other
occurrences of the name include
the industrial company Plessey
(now no more), Plessis Armouries,
a South African cricketer (Francis
du Plessis), two rugby players of
distinction (Bismarck and Jannie)
and a former Liverpool footballer
born in the French West Indies
(Damien Plessis).
Finally, a notorious, now overruled,
US Supreme Court case: Plessy v
Ferguson 1896 (races separate but
equal) bears the name.
All this from the name of a
hedge.
Colin Child
Theft of millstones from famous Sussex landmarks
Five millstones worth £5000 have been stole from the site of the famous Jack and Jill Windmills at Clayton.
The demand for unusual garden ornaments is fuelling this type of theft. If you are buying anything of this
nature, please check the The Salvo Directory website www.salvo.co.uk which has a list of over 200 items
believed to have been stolen and question any seller carefully as to where your prospective purchase came
from.
Sussex Past & Present April 2013
www.sussexpast.co.uk www.sussexpast.co.uk Sussex Past & Present April 2013

Excavations
CAP PROJECT UPDATE
PETER SANGSTER
Obituary
Survey Reveals Roman Site
Substantial HLF Grant will enable further investigation
Fig.1. Geophysical survey results (D Staveley 2012)
Ordnance Survey data supplied by the EDINA digimap service. Crown copyright/database 2010. All rights
reserved.
During early 2011 David Staveley
conducted a magnetometer
survey in a large field at Bridge
Farm, Wellingham, Nr Lewes
(TQ43301440) on behalf of the
Culver Archaeological Project
(CAP). He was looking for the
Roman London to Lewes road that
Ivan Margary had suggested ran
down the east side of the Ouse at
this point (Margary 1948). The initial
results were so outstanding and
unexpected that the survey was
extended over the next two years
as a clear picture of a substantial
Roman settlement in a bend of
the River Ouse emerged from the
geophysical images. The location is
just across the river from Culver Farm
where a Roman road and industrial
workings have been discovered just
to the north east of the Barcombe
villa and bathhouse complex (see
Sussex Past & Present 128, Dec
2012). The settlement pattern is
apparently interrupted by a double
ditched enclosure suggesting more
than one phase of activity on the
site. In the magnetometer images
the enclosure appears to overlay
the settlement but the chronology
was not conclusive and the CAP
directors, Rob Wallace and David
Millum, agreed that this was one of
the main questions to be resolved
when planning the subsequent
excavations for July and August
2013. The later surveys revealed
radiating roads heading to the
north, east and west, with smaller
trackways and boundaries
indicated by ditches in the area
surrounding the main settlement
(Fig.1).
The interpretation of the
buried features as Roman was
supported by the Roman pottery
and tile collected by systematic
field walking in early 2011. Then
in late 2012 David Cunningham,
a local metal detectorist who had
collected an assemblage of finds
from the site over several years,
was introduced to CAP by Robin
Hodgkinson of the Independent
Historical Research Group.
a. Galba denarius AD 68/9
b. Trajan denarius AD 97-117
c. Septimius Severus denarius AD 206
d. Gratian siliqua AD 375-8
Fig.2 A small selection of the detected
Roman coins. Photos: D Millum
This extensive collection
ratified the longevity of the
settlement as it included various
coins from the Republican era
right through to Gratian in the
late 4th century AD (Fig.2). Whilst
it is likely that the worn nature of
the republican coins indicates use
in the 1st to 2nd century AD (D
Rudling pers. comm.) rather than
when they were minted, the coin
sequence still indicates a 300-
year time span. In early December
2012 CAP organised a thorough
and systematic metal detecting
survey by the Eastbourne, West
Kent and Ringmer groups, who
found a further 15 Roman coins
mainly dating from the 3rd century
AD. Over the next few months the
full results of this survey and Mr
Cunningham’s collection will be
scrutinised and fully recorded.
Further exciting news was
received in October when the
project was awarded a substantial
grant of £90,900 from the Heritage
Lottery Fund which has enabled
a comprehensive programme of
surveys and excavations to be
planned for 2013, with a strong
focus on the involvement of the
local community including nearby
schools. The main excavation has
been set for a six-week period
from 1st July to 10th August 2013,
to be open seven days a week to
encourage the widest possible
participation. Further details will
be posted on the project’s website,
www.culverproject.co.uk.
David Millum, AIfA MA
Deputy Director of the Culver
Archaeological Project
References: Margary, I. 1948. Roman
Ways in the Weald. London, Phoenix
House.
Acknowledgements: David Staveley
for the use of his magnetometer
survey image and for his expertise and
perseverance over many months of
data collection; David Cunningham for
access to his artefact collection; David
Rudling for his identification and dating
of the coins; and to Mark Stroude for
allowing CAP continued access to his
land.
Peter Sangster
1944 - 2012
Peter Sangster was co-opted to the Finance Committee of the
Sussex Archaeological Society in 2003 and elected to the Council
of the Society as a Trustee in 2005. He became Chair of the Finance
Committee in 2007, was re-elected as a Trustee in 2008, serving as
Chair of Council from 2008 until 2010. He retired from Council at the
end of his second term as a Trustee in 2011.
The sound financial advice that Peter was able to offer the Society
was quickly recognized as a great asset for the organisation. Peter had
over 40 years experience in the Financial Services Industry, moving
from banking to property insurance and finally to marine insurance.
Given that the Society required a balanced Council of people with
both archaeological/historical experience and business/financial
expertise, Peter more than ably added to the ranks of the latter.
In his first address as Chair in SP&P (115, August 2008) he
commented that while the expenses of the Society had been
reasonably controlled, annual income had varied due to the vagaries
of visitor numbers, and had declined in the last three years. During
his two-year tenure Peter reduced the running costs of the Society
and, logically enough, was an important figure among a small group
of Trustees who took responsibility for drafting a new Strategic Plan
for the organisation. That plan, broaching the thorny issue of property
sales, did not find favour with the members. Peter also successfully
oversaw the completion of the lottery-funded works at Lewes Castle
and Barbican House, which increased visitor numbers and income,
and the vital repair works required at Anne of Cleves House. Finally
he served on the panel which selected a new CEO for the Society
- Tristan Bareham.
Peter led many challenging meetings during his time as Chair of
Council with patience, diplomacy and a respect for the governance
procedures of the Society. He was both firm and fair in his dealings
with everybody, and always exercised a keen editorial hand in drafting
the minutes of meetings he chaired. He was a frequent and friendly
visitor to Bull House, discussing matters of the day with key staff,
always finding an opportunity to chat affably with other personnel. He
proved as generous with his time and he was with his expertise.
Peter’s greatest challenge, met with a typical, upbeat vigour, was
the prognosis he received in June 2010 when his oncologist, having
diagnosed an aggressive tumour on the lung, gave him between 12
and 18 months to live. Faced with a finite time left, he devoted himself
to enjoying each and every moment with his family and friends, and
to deepening his involvement with the Baptist faith. He also wrote a
book about his life, describing himself all too modestly as a ‘normal
and average’ person, promoting its sales as widely as possible, since
all proceeds and royalties would go to Macmillan Cancer Support.
He is survived by his wife, Linda, and loving children Duncan and
Penny.
John Manley
10 Sussex Past & Present April 2013
www.sussexpast.co.uk www.sussexpast.co.uk Sussex Past & Present April 2013 11

Library
LIBRARY & BOOKSHOP
JOHN HOUGHTON
Obituary
Library News
Thomas Masson Moore Bequest
make no excuse for returning to the Thomas Masson Moore bequest,
I referred to in the previous Sussex Past & Present, as, too late for
inclusion in that issue, the final money from the bequest enabled me
to buy two rare items which we would otherwise have not been able
to acquire.
Firstly, J L Andre’s Chests, Chairs, Cabinets & Old English
Woodwork (published by S Price of Horsham in 1879), in an author’s
edition, which was clearly the property of “Simmons, Cabinet maker,
Lewes”, with detailed examples including one in the possession of R
G Rice. Andre was one of the early supporters of the SAS.
Secondly, an edition of M A Lower’s Handbook for Lewes (1845),
of which we already have a copy, but this is again an author’s copy,
given to Mr Courthope, and has four extra preliminary pages to any
other edition we have seen, plus blank pages bound in at the end
with mounted newspaper cuttings of the period. The bookseller had
had it rebound in an appropriate style.
Each of these cost £200, and are a fitting tribute to Thomas Masson
Moore (who I am told was particularly interested in early guidebooks),
as well as important additions to our stock.
This illustrates how important such bequests are to the support and
enhancement of the Library and how much they are appreciated.
I list below some recent additions to the Library (all 2012):
HINTON, Ian
KINORY, Janice
JERROME, Peter
Alignment and location of medieval churches
BAR British Series 560
Salt production, distribution and use in the
British Iron Age
BAR British Series 559
St Edmund smiles
WESTMAN, Andrew Chichester City Walls
We are grateful to the following for their donations to the Library:
C Brent; J English; J Pennington; M Pratt; D Tankard; C Whittick;
A Winser.
Esme Evans
Hon. Librarian
Bookshop
THE Spring offer from the Bookshop
rings the changes somewhat
by presenting not one or two,
nor, even, three books – but one
hundred and fifty seven. They are
all in very decent condition, even
though the oldest of them has been
around for over a century and a
half. A few of them have bookplates
– L F Salzmann (1899 - before the
dropping of the final ‘n’), Courthope
and Burrell Hayley being amongst
the previous owners. Packed with
interesting articles – indeed, there
is never a dull moment – they are
an essential part of the library for
the student of Sussex studies.
One hundred and fifty four of these
books are available at ONLY £300
(i.e., less than £2 per volume, which
is tantamount to giving them away).
They’re boxed up and ready to
go. Buyer collects. This bargain,
of course, is volumes 1-149 (hard
back) of Sussex Archaeological
Collections plus the five index
volumes.
And the other three A delightful
de luxe edition of the Alecto Sussex
Domesday contained in the original
red drop-down presentation book
box (rather than the usual slipcase).
Vol. 1 has the facsimile and maps;
vol. 2 the translation and indexes;
vol. 3 the modern interpretative
articles. Another bargain at only
£180. (If I understand correctly
the Alecto Domesday website
– visited 14 Feb., 2013 – will supply
the Sussex Domesday in red
presentation book box for £495.)
Lastly, do let me know if you
would like to be circulated with
the occasional list of second-hand
books from Alan Stevens’ library. I
include a few Sussex titles in each
list, and medieval architecture is
often well represented also.
See ‘Noticeboard’ for contact
details.
John Bleach
Barbican House Bookshop
John Houghton, a former General
Administrator and President
of the Society, died on 6 February
at the age of 92. John Charles
Yoxall Houghton was born on 7
September 1920 at Kew, the son
of Henry Houghton, a surveyor and
estate agent, and his wife Stella.
The family moved to Chiddingly
and John attended Eastbourne
College, proceeding to Imperial
College, University of London. But
the war intervened after only a year,
and it was a matter of perpetual
regret that he was never able to
complete his studies. He saw
active service in North Africa, was
badly wounded at El Alamein and,
after lengthy recuperation, fought
all through Italy, including action at
Monte Cassino; he left the army with
the rank of Captain. In 1948 John
married Betty Bowden who hailed
from Chiddingly, and had herself
served at Bletchley Park. He had
joined the Ford Motor Company in
1945 and left, as Chief Export Sales
Manager, to become Managing
Director of the London General Cab
Company in 1962. In 1966 John
and Betty settled at Swanborough
and together opened Meridian
Designs in Lewes High Street, a
shop with everything for house and
home. John became immersed in
Lewes and its many organisations;
one of his great achievements was
leading the campaign to save All
Saints Church in Friars Walk, and
to superintend its conversion as
a concert hall, educational centre
and meeting venue.
John was a moving spirit of the
Lewes Archaeological Group, and
its founding chairman from 1969.
His fascination with the town’s
topography and buildings led him
to act as advisor for the Lewes
episode of Alec Clifton-Taylor’s Six
More English Towns (1981). He had
by then embarked on the prodigious
John Houghton
1920 - 2013
task of investigating the ownership
and occupancy of every tenement
within the ancient borough, from
which came ‘Burgage tenure and
topography in Lewes’ in SAC
124 (1986), Unknown Lewes. An
historical geography (1997) and
The Great River of Lewes (2002).
John joined the Sussex
Archaeological Society in 1968
and from 1977 to 1981 served on
its governing body as a co-opted
member representing the County
Council, which at that period
provided an annual grant. In 1981, on
giving up both ESCC and Meridian
Designs, he became General
Administrator, the title he proposed
in preference to Secretary. In those
days, the honorary officers were
actively involved in management
(other than of the semi-autonomous
Fishbourne and Michelham) and
much was achieved over the next
six years through a robust but close
partnership. John’s boundless
energy resulted in a successful
shop at Barbican House, a newlook
series of guidebooks and
publicity material, mechanising the
Society’s accounts and membership
records, inaugurating a septennial
maintenance programme, and
much more besides. John’s
achievements were formidable
– whether launching the Lewes
Town Model, finding a new future
for Parsonage Row, holding Beard’s
Brewery liable for the collapse of
Brack Mount onto the Lewes Arms
or the architects for the decay of
the cover building at Fishbourne,
his dogged persistence brought
successful conclusions to many
a seemingly intractable problem.
Anticipating his own (third)
retirement and seeing that the
Society’s ways of working were no
longer fit for purpose, he prompted
the fundamental review, reporting
as ‘Aims and organisation for the
1990s’, which paved the way for
a more corporate and integrated
approach to management. But
although he had briefly served as
Mayor of Bologna, he was far from
being a bureaucrat – there was
much of the showman in John, and
for once the tired old metaphor
sums it up – his enthusiasm was
truly infectious.
After handing over to Derek
White in 1988, John redoubled his
local history research and returned
to serve the Society again, as
President for 1992 to 1995, actively
exercising his ex officio membership
of Council. His readiness, indeed
eagerness, to maintain his interest
into his last year impressed us,
especially when he joined his fellow
vice-presidents to grapple with
current problems.
John Houghton represented the
best in the traditions of the Sussex
Archaeological Society – a member
whose commitment led him to take
an active part in its management
while maintaining his scholarly
pursuits. We need more John
Houghtons – although the original
will always be inimitable.
John Farrant &
Christopher Whittick
12 Sussex Past & Present April 2013
www.sussexpast.co.uk www.sussexpast.co.uk Sussex Past & Present April 2013 13

Books
BOOK REVIEWS
BOOK REVIEWS
Books
East [& West] Sussex
Place Names
THESE are very green books. They
contain a lot of recycled material.
The technique of the author (APS)
is to take entries from standard
works, namely the English Place-
Name Society’s (EPNS) volumes
for Sussex, Ekwall’s Concise
Oxford dictionary of English
place-names or Mills’ Oxford
work of similar national scope,
give a couple of old spellings, and
sometimes expansively paraphrase
one or more entries, using curious
wordings, e.g. that the recorded
spellings “speak of” or “tell us of”
what is denoted, or “refer to” a
meaning when he means “mean”.
He then adapts material selectively
from some books written by local
experts, mainly on pub names and
street-names, and includes this
under the relevant town or village
name. As regards major placenames,
therefore, he is dealing
with opinions often between 53
and 84 years old, and he takes no
account at all of respectable recent
work such as Watts’s monumental
if flawed Cambridge dictionary
of English place-names (2004),
Forsberg’s book on Lewes (1997)
or the vast amount of new material
and reinterpretation in the 11 years
of the Sussex Locus focus series
(1996-2007) and the Journal of
the EPNS, let alone Cox’s work
on pub names (1994). This leads
APS into etymological howlers
such as those found under Weald
(in both books!), and into out of
date pronouncements on e.g. East
Grinstead and Firle.
The reliability of the material does
not even match up to that of the
elderly sources, and there are quite
a number of dreadful failings. The
entry for Eastdean (East Sussex)
mentions the minor names Open
and Closed Winkins, which are
really in the East Dean in the other
half of our county, and which seem
to have, along with Malecomb,
cloned themselves into lands of
the East Sussex village, hopefully
unbeknown to programmers of
satnavs. The river Limden is in the
wrong book, having been diverted
into the wrong river Rother. The
entry for Kingston by Lewes is
really about Kirdford. Arundel
contains stuff from Ashburnham.
Langney appears in both volumes
with identical wording. These facts
suggest that this was originally one
book which has been carelessly
ruptured into two (you’ll pay for
the same impoverished preface
twice if you buy both). At a more
picky level, there are transcription
errors such as those in the names
or words which give rise to the
first elements in Landport (St
John Without), Iping, Duncton and
Raughmere (Lavant) and the whole
of Heene (Broadwater) and Worth
(and many others), indicating a
disdain for accuracy. Pulborough
is explained invertedly as ‘the pool
by the hill or mound’. Sometimes
unsophisticated readers are likely
to be led off into unlit bogland, as
with Maresfield, where alternative
etymologies are given but it is left
to readers’ expertise or insouciance
to decide how on earth mere feld
can give rise to the current name.
Even where there is basic accuracy,
the reader is sold short – no
clue is given about why Marden,
Westham, Barcombe, Newhaven
or Frostbourne in Fairlight are
interesting in their various ways,
or how the Domesday spelling
Cloninctune can possibly be
relevant to Donnington.
The imbalance of the urban
material can be judged by the
entry for Eastbourne. It is 15 pages
long, has three lines on Eastbourne
(correct, but omitting to say that
the mentioned contrasting and
far less well known Westbourne is
not even to be found in the same
book), about two pages on streets
and minor places (largely adapted
from John Milton’s book of 1995),
about five on pubs, and nine pages
infested by gloomy b/w photos,
some irrelevant (like that of Warren
Hill, not mentioned in the entry).
In Lewes, far more is said about
the woodcock of Cockshut Road
than about the name of the town
itself, dismissed in a bare two lines
(including a mistake) because APS
does not investigate the relevant
history.
Now I would be the first to agree
that the standard books can be
formidable. Over the decades
the EPNS has missed a trick by
not getting out something more
accessible to the general reader
than its academic tomes. This
matter is in hand, with its ‘popular’
dictionaries available for some
counties, not at the moment
including Sussex. But APS has not
even provided a stopgap, and he
is not the man to do it. He shows
signs of mis- or not understanding
key points (Clapham, Amberstone
in Hailsham, Warbleton, Slinfold,
and the true import of some Old
English elements like -ing(a)-;
most hilariously of all Grevatt’s in
Easebourne) whilst at the same time
lacing his text with authoritativeseeming
but curdled remarks such
as: (Cowfold) “Found as Coufaud in
1232, this early record is easy to see
as Old English cu fald and ‘the small
enclosure for cows’”, and a bizarre
one on the supposedly posthumous
naming of Etchingham.
The reviewer would recommend
the out of print and by no means
faultless single-volume popular
book by Judith Glover (Batsford,
especially the unextended second
edition of 1986) as much superior
to these pretty-covered but
pretty depressing books, which
are regrettably already available
on Kindle and in National Trust
bookshops. Find a way of recycling
your copies if you already have
them.
Richard Coates
By Anthony Poulton-Smith, 2012.
East Sussex Place Names and West
Sussex Place Names. DB Publishing.
ISBN 978-1-78091-016-1 (191 pp)
and 978-1-78091-017-8 (189 pp).
Paperback. £9.99 each.
Sussex Coast
Through Time
THERE are many books of
photographs of the beautiful
Sussex coastline, but Douglas
d’Enno in his book Sussex Coast
Through Time is more concerned
to focus on the social changes
which have occurred over the last
150 years on or near the shoreline.
He does this by presenting us with
a series of contrasting images
beginning with Camber Sands in
the east, and ending 90 miles away
in Chichester Harbour using a
mixture of paintings, postcards and
photographs dating from the latter
part of the 19th century.
An early pairing is labelled ‘Rye
Harbour Postmaster’ and shows
Mr A G Hedgler looking out of the
front door of the Post Office in the
1920s, compared with the current
use as residences of both the
Post Office and the neighbouring
Methodist Chapel. Similar
contrasts are shown by those of
central Shoreham, whilst those of
East Brighton show what Brighton
people are missing whilst the Black
Rock site still awaits development.
In researching the book the author
made use of many local experts
who shared their knowledge of
building use and offered glimpses
into the lives of the people in the
images. A 1939 postcard of the
Pagham Riviera Lido Holiday Club
was sent by someone who had
to leave because of evacuation. ‘I
wish Hitler at the bottom of the sea’
the sender cries.
It is noteworthy that many of
the photographs have never been
published before in a book, and
this distinguishes Sussex Coast
Through Time from other volumes
of before and after images. It
should be of interest to both general
readers and social historians.
Maria Gardiner
By Douglas d’Enno, 2012.
Amberley Publishing. ISBN:
978-1-4456-0546-3.
Paperback, 96pages, £14.99.
Lewes
Through Time
IN respect of the photographic
heritage of the town and its
accessibility to researchers and
other interested parties, Lewes
is fortunate – and doubly so.
Firstly, there survives a friendly
photographic business (with a
magnificent archive) that has
been active in and around the
town since the 1850s. Secondly,
the Lewes area is home to a
number of indefatigable collectors
of postcards of local views who
recognise the potential value of
their respective collections to the
social and local historian. One of
the infatigables has selected some
treasures from his collection (2,000
strong – and counting, I am reliably
informed) and joined with Amberley
Publishing to present this latest title
in the ‘Through Time’ series.
The conjoining of ‘then’ and
‘now’ images is well-tried and
tested (though this book does not
stick rigidly to the familiar formulaic
format), and results in a graphic
presentation of the changes in
townscape, traders and traffic over
the last 100 years or so. Changes
in businesses and road use are
a given; alterations in the fabric
of the townscape, also, are to be
expected, but the amount of change
can vary from town to town.
On the whole, and here I disagree
with the tag to the photograph
on page 2, Lewes has not been
decimated, whether ‘in the name of
progress’ or in the name of anything
else. Change occurs – slum
clearance in the 1930s (Westgate
Street, page 48; lower North Street,
page 70); war damage (Stag Hotel,
North Street, page 68); post-war
concern with inter alia traffic flow
and car parking (Malling Street,
pages 9, 11-13; Cliffe crossroads,
page 22; Little East Street, page
69). And, always there will be a
destructive fire or two or three
or four – Lewes Sanitary Steam
Laundry, now housing (page 5);
The Bear Hotel, rebuilt as JCH
Martin and now Argos (pages 27-
8); Smith’s, now Mimi and A & A
Nails (page 41); Dusart’s, now A &
Y Cumming and Lewesiana (page
45).
But, the impression gained from
reading and viewing Bob Cairns’
informed and informative ‘through
time’ journey around Malling, Cliffe,
Lewes and Southover, is that much
of the townscape fabric recorded
in the early-20th century has
survived. Further to this, some of
the buildings that have appeared in
the intervening years – the art deco
of Argos, the restrained balconied
statement of Mimi and A&A Nails,
for example (both new builds on
fire sites, I note) – are undoubtedly
adornments to an essentially 19thcentury
and earlier townscape.
John Bleach
By Bob Cairns, 2012.
Amberley Publishing.
ISBN: 978-1-84868-807-0.
Paperback. £14.99.
14 Sussex Past & Present April 2013
www.sussexpast.co.uk www.sussexpast.co.uk Sussex Past & Present April 2013 15

Snippets
Help Uncover the
Hidden Past of
Petworth Park
THE National Trust is inviting
volunteers and local communities
to get involved in an exciting project
investigating the archaeology of the
700-acre Petworth Park. Volunteers
will have the chance to learn about
and get involved in all aspects
of archaeological investigation,
including documentary research,
field-walking, geophysical survey,
environmental sampling and
excavation.
The trustees of The Monument
Trust have provided a generous
grant to the National Trust for a five
year programme of restoration and
conservation in Petworth Park. As
well as conservation work such
as tree planting and repair and
maintenance of walls, the grant will
also fund a detailed archaeological
survey of the Park.
Many people are familiar with
Petworth House, a spectacular Grade
I listed building, home to the National
Trust’s finest collection of pictures
and sculpture, but the parkland in
which it sits is poorly understood.
Petworth Park today is very different
from the original park which was
created at least 750 years ago. Today
the park is made up of gentle rolling
slopes, tranquil shady glades of trees
and grand vistas. But historic maps
and documents suggest that in the
past the park has included canals
and formal gardens, rampart terraces
and monumental stables, Henry VIII’s
banqueting hall and a Second World
War military camp – not to mention
the site of the original manor house.
The project will address all of
these aspects of the park’s history
as well as looking to the earlier
human occupation of the area, giving
volunteers the opportunity to help
unearth the secrets and stories that
lie preserved in the landscape and
beneath the ground.
If you think you would be interested
in volunteering with the project,
whether it’s bringing to light new
evidence from the archives, getting
your hands dirty through excavation
or simply walking and reading the
Petworth Park landscape, you
can find out more or register as
a volunteer by e-mailing susan.
rhodes@nationaltrust.org.uk or
calling 01798 345525.
Near Lewes Hoard
Appeal
Emma O’Connor, Museums Officer
and Stephanie Smith, Finds Liaison
Officer, would like to thank everyone
for their generous donations in
support of this purchase.
The Society is still looking for some
funding to assist with exhibition and
conservation of this material. The
process for acquisition has been
delayed somewhat due to the high
volume of material being dealt with
through the Treasure Act process.
We anticipate that the material will
be acquired later in the spring.
People in the
Iron Industry
THE Wealden Iron Research Group’s
on-line database of iron-working sites
has been in existence for five years,
and continues to be updated when
new sites are discovered or when
additional information becomes
available.
A new facility allows users to
search for people associated with
the iron industry. More than 2000
individuals have already been
included, ranging from the owners
and tenants of iron sites to those
employed in various roles in smelting,
forging and other occupations.
People are linked, where possible,
to both ironworking sites and other
individuals with which they are known
to have been associated. Records
include bibliographic references and
selected archival extracts.
Access is unrestricted and ‘fuzzy’
searching enables variants of
personal names to be searched for
easily. This project will remain a ‘work
in progress’, and users who are able
to contribute material from sources
(such as parish registers) not already
included are invited to contact the
Editor via the site - www.wirgdata.
org. Access is also available via
the Group’s main website - www.
wealdeniron.org.uk.
Jeremy Hodgkinson
Wealden Iron Research Group
Next Issue
THE Sussex Past & Present
newsletter is published three times a
year, in April, August and December.
The next issue will be published in
August 2013; the copy deadline is
14th June. Short articles, 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, Wendy
Muriel, at spp@sussexpast.co.uk,
or Luke Barber on 01273 405733.
Please note that we require images
with most contributions, preferably
in high quality colour format. To
submit digitally, please use MS Word
(preferably 97-2003 format) for text
and send images in JPEG or TIFF
formats, at a minimum resolution of
600dpi. Correspondence and details
of events should be sent to Wendy
Muriel, Editor, Sussex Past & Present,
Bull House, 92 High Street, Lewes,
East Sussex, BN7 1XH, or emailed to
the above address.
Rates for insertions into the
newsletter, which goes out to over
2000 members, start at £100 (plus
minimum handling charge of £20).
Contact Lorna Gartside on 01273
405737 for details.
16
Sussex Past & Present April 2013
www.sussexpast.co.uk