Sussex Guide – serie

"20 Sussex Churches" provides a concise and accessible introduction to the parish churches of Sussex reflecting the region's rich cultural history. Simon Watney has selected 20 buildings which represent the country's changing fortunes from Anglo-Saxon times to the 20th century. Ranging from grand urban buildings to remote and often humble country churches, as much attention is paid to the remarkable monuments and furnishings they contain, including murals and stained glass, as to their architecture. The question of why churches matter in the modern world, and the many kinds of pleasure they can provide to Christians and non-Christians alike, is also explored.

Whether you are a resident of the county or a short-stay visitor, a committed gardener or a reluctant one just looking for a pleasant afternoon out with a good cup of tea and piece of cake, "20 Sussex Gardens" will guide you to some of the best and most varied gardens that are regularly open to the public. Those looking for ideas for their own humble plot will find as much to delight and inform as others who seek the grand and impressive. The featured gardens cover a wide geographical, historical and stylistic spread and, where appropriate, are carefully set within their architectural context. Many of these gardens are associated with the county's leading historical, artistic and literary figures and reference to their lives will further illuminate a visit to the many lovely gardens of Sussex.

If you have a dread of dull trips to dreary places and a pathological fear of mundane excursions, I guarantee you'll find something here to amuse you. "An Eccentric Tour of Sussex" is a guidebook with a difference. It will take you on a sideways journey across the county to weird, wacky and wonderful destinations. This tour showcases 20 classically bizarre Sussex venues, (plus a few strange minor ones) and reveals quirky churches, bizarre tombs, extraordinary buildings, strange festivals, and whimsical follies. It is aimed at the connoisseur of the peculiar, the cultural tourist who appreciates the silly and unusual destination, has an open-mind and is prepared take an unconventional look at their surroundings. Those of us who live in Sussex are lucky; we have stunning coastlines, bohemian towns, oddball characters (historical and contemporary), fabulous art and a rich cultural history. From the seedy pleasure, from Brighton to the lesser-known delight of Thorney Island, this tour will help you cherish and appreciate what is on your doorstep.

Every building tells a story - and this book provides a guide to the stories the Victorians told in Sussex. Sussex has a wide-ranging and renowned collection of Victorian buildings, from grand town halls and outstanding churches, to distinctive railway stations and unassuming parish halls; from eminent colleges and splendid country mansions, to modest village schools and humble estate cottages; from workhouses and hospitals, to almshouses and cemeteries - this guide covers them all and more. "What The Victorians Did For Sussex" pinpoints the buildings that make up the county's Victorian architectural legacy, providing both a description and location. But it also looks at the wider social context of the period, providing the reader with an insight into the creation of individual buildings, and reasons why they continue to deserve our interest. Buildings provide a tangible and lasting expression of the values, ideals, and aspirations of any society; no understanding of the Victorian period can he possible without a study of its architectural legacy.

A good walk should do more than exercise your heart, lungs and muscles; it should enhance your mood, refresh your soul and leave you knowing a little bit more about your world. There's no better way of getting to know the land than by walking it until that you feel it in your bones - even if these do ache pleasantly after one of the more challenging outings. These 20 original walks have been designed by Sussex walk expert Pat Bowen to let you experience every aspect of the rich Sussex landscape from coast to high heathland, and on the way entertain you with historical titbits, anecdotes, nature notes, folk stories, and the kind of insider knowledge that only locals have. This work offers 20 original walks graded into simple, moderate and challenging. It is authored by an enthusiastic walk leader with 20 years' experience. All walk sites are accessible by public transport and based on OS maps. The walks explore coast and countryside, forest and downland.

Everybody knows about Virginia and Vanessa, but did you realise that Sussex is (and always has been) the birthplace, home or workplace for many more inspiring, intriguing and formidable women - from royal mistresses to pioneering women doctors, and from educators and philanthropists to Brighton 'dippers' and cross-dressing music-hall stars? There's an impressively large pool of Sussex sisters who have been doing it for themselves over the centuries; Ann Kramer has selected 30 of the best and brings them to vibrant life in a browsable collection of concise, informative and entertaining essays designed to make you want to find out more. This work offers 30 brief but entertainingly informative biographies of inspiring Sussex women. It offers tips and pointers on where you can find out more about the women and their work. It is written by a Sussex woman and published author of feminist history.

Who was the Grey Lady of Pevensey Castle? How many pubs are there in Sussex? How long would the Cuckmere be if it were stretched out? Where could you have dined on Pigeons au soleil. What (or who) on earth is the Knucker? How many men did it take to run the Shoreham Oyster Fleet? Who won the Battle of Lewes? How many Lords Lieutenant does it take to run the county? Where are the Mutton Barracks? What's the highest score ever made in one match by Sussex County Cricket Club? For answers to these burning questions, or for a lovely lazy afternoon dipping into an entertainingly quirky mix of local facts, figures, history, statistics and folk tales, turn to the "Sussex Miscellany", a refreshing Schott of Sussex for readers who love local trivia.

Luckily for us we live in a county blessed with a naturally variable landscape: we have chalk cliffs, rolling grasslands, small fields, open heath land, forests, wetlands, rivers, ghylls and the sea. This almost infinite variety gives rise to an embarrassing richness of wildlife - everything from bats at Ebernoe to bitterns at Rye, gnarled ancient yews at Kingley Vale to dyer's greenweed at Bedelands, beewolves in Hastings to tiger beetles in Stedham. So, where to look first? Let "Sussex Wildlife" lead you to the best spots to discover rare plants, observe endangered species of insects and animals and enjoy unique and special habitats.

Did you realise that Claude Debussy wrote his haunting "La Mer" in an Eastbourne hotel room? That Winifred Wagner, wife to Siegfried, was born in Hastings? That Sussex is the only county to have its own anthem - Sussex by the Sea? There is a lot of music in the county, but Sussex musos can be disarmingly modest - not ones to blow their own trumpet - which can give a false impression of the wealth of music in our county. This book aims to redress the balance, proudly proclaiming our musical heritage and pointing out the often surprising contribution Sussex has made to music in Britain and indeed worldwide.

Luckily for us we live in a county blessed with a naturally variable landscape: we have chalk cliffs, rolling grasslands, small fields, open heath land, forests, wetlands, rivers, ghylls and the sea. This almost infinite variety gives rise to an embarrassing richness of wildlife - everything from bats at Ebernoe to bitterns at Rye, gnarled ancient yews at Kingley Vale to dyer's greenweed at Bedelands, beewolves in Hastings to tiger beetles in Stedham. So, where to look first? Let "Sussex Wildlife" lead you to the best spots to discover rare plants, observe endangered species of insects and animals and enjoy unique and special habitats.

Salacious means salty: not just the brininess of the sea, but of the spice-of-life-and-sometimes-death kind. It seemed the appropriate word to use for an invigorating gallop alongside the fast-and - loose livers of the Sussex-by-the-Sea, past and present. Some people try to claim that the filthing of Sussex is a result of the Brighton effect, the insidious metropolitan stain of London-sur-Mer oozing out over the rest of us, but history proves them wrong. It's not all down to Georgie Peorgie and his naughty puddings, pies, and tarts.You would not believe what used to go on in Steyning of all places, who would have thought it. And if you thought violence was something invented by asbo-wielding hoodies wait until you meet the Hawkhurst Gang and their spine-chilling cutlasses. In what other county could any one have pulled off a scam as eccentric as the Petdown Man? Sussex is just as renowned for its darkside as for its natural sunny beauty, and "Salacious Sussex" is the book to celebrate it.This title presents a scandal for every taste, from ancient history to the modern age (as far as the libel laws will allow).It is divided into five themed chapters, each covering a different kind of scandal from hanky panky to murder via chicanery and shenanigans, with a detour into lechery and satanism. The darkside of the county dragged into the sunshine. It is the latest addition to our exciting serie of books on Sussex for the enthusiast.

Written and compiled by the Rev. W.D. Parish, vicar of Selmeston (pronounced 'Simpson'), the Dictionary is a fascinating insight into how we might have sounded nearly 150 years ago. This fascinating book was brought to our attention by Sophie Collins, the Schott of Sussex. An edition of the seminal Sussex work was brought out 50 years ago, with additions and expansions by one Helena Hall. Snake River Press is going back to basics, and offering an exciting new version of the Reverend Parish's original, unexpurgated work. With Lynn Truss as our guide and mentor we can't go wrong and, who knows, we may even be able to revive a few authentic Sussexisms!

How did Sussex get to look like what it looks like today? What does its distinctive landscape tell us about how people lived and worked here in the past? What impact have invasion, technology, war and, most importantly, sheep made on it? Find out how today's landscape is the joint and ongoing creation of nature's long, slow relentless shift and humanity's incessant bodging and fidgeting with its environment. To the untrained eye, the rolling Sussex landscape looks like a natural phenomenon that has been in place for millennia. But as this fascinating guide shows, what we see today is the result of centuries of human activity and interference. Did you know, for example, that Sussex was once the heart of the iron industry? The clues are in the hammer ponds, found in what are now idyllic backwater villages and bosky woodland. These were once Sussex's version of Blake's satanic mills."The Shaping of the Sussex Landscape" will help train your historic eye to pierce through the layers of time, changing custom and technology, to discover the different ways the land has been used and really appreciate and understand the ingenious ways the landscape has been shaped and continues to be shaped to new needs and attitudes.

If you're on a tight budget, or if you simply want to have fun at a slower pace, mother-and-daughter team Susan & Gina Jamieson show you the way. "Old Fashioned Family Days Out In Sussex" contains 20 fun-filled family outings around the county that everyone can enjoy for free. They cover coast, forests, countryside, grand houses and intriguing little local museums and parks. Some of our 'days out' need more energy and stamina than others, some are rainy-day treats, but each one will engage hearts and minds. To help make the outings more hands-on, Susan & Gina have included the occasional nostalgic recipe, games to play and tips on how to create your own props at home before setting out. Get ready for some genuine old-fashioned fun that you can treasure forever.

The starting point for this collection of six walks in and around the village of Ditchling is the wonderful and varied collection of the Ditchling Museum of Art & Craft. After browsing the exhibits, the interested walker can tour the village streets to see the former homes of Eric Gill, Edward Johnston, Frank Brangwyn and many others, while a visit to St Margaret's Church and graveyard will reveal a host of beautiful hand-crafted objects. Follow in Gill's footsteps to Ditchling Common, site of the Guild of SS Joseph & Dominic, then amble across the Common to the graveyard at St George's Retreat. A pleasant stroll out of the village takes the visitor to Streat and the former workshop of Rowland Emett. There is a gentle walk to Oldland Mill: a favourite subject for many artists, including Charles Knight. The more energetic can stride out high up on the Downs to Ditchling Beacon which features in the Christmas classic The Snowman by Raymond Briggs. Short informative biographies of key Ditchling residents provide fascinating background reading while useful information is included to help every visitor get the most out of their time in this most lovely and inspiring of Sussex villages.

A South Downs Alphabet celebrates the creation of the South Downs National Park (SDNP), the latest region in Britain to be honoured and protected in this way. Our inspiration came from the 1924 collection of poems by Eleanor Farjeon, A Sussex Alphabet - verses written to reflect her enduring love of the county. We invited 21st-century students of all ages to create poetry as their response to the SDNP. In two significant ways the poems here present a wider perspective than those in Farjeon's original book. Firstly, they cover the three counties of Hampshire, West Sussex and East Sussex - the span of the park. Secondly, and most importantly, they are the work of a diverse range of people. Some authors are young; others by no means so. Some have written poetry before; for others it was literally their first attempt. For some the exercise was a solitary one while others collaborated with family, friends or classmates. Yet for all their diversity these wonderful poems echo Farjeon's interest, imagination and sheer delight in this most alluring of regions.

Endlessly entertaining and informative, Sussex Writers & Artists is a collection of crisp and concise biographies of writers and artists with a Sussex connection. Over the centuries a substantial number of the nation's foremost creative figures have had their lives and work touched by the shaping spirit of Sussex. There have been some surprisingly varied reactions: Blake hated the place, Kipling fell in love with it, Bell, Grant and the Woolfs turned it into a place of literary pilgrimage and John Constable just came for a holiday. Whether it's Beardsley, Belloc or Blake, Edward Lucie-Smith animates their lives and work in a riveting set of illuminating and revealing stories.

This refreshing guide offers Bloomsbury fans a unique insight into the lives of the most innovative and important group of pioneering Modernist artists, writers and designers of the 20th century. Their London homes were destroyed by war-time bombs, but Virginia and Leonard Woolf's house, Monks House, in Rodmell and Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant's domestic idyll at Charleston provide a lasting and unique picture of the Bloomsbury Group in the early decades of the last century. The Sussex homes where they lived and worked for more than 50 years stand as a testament to the spirit of their remarkably creative muse. Bloomsbury expert Simon Watney examines the enduring importance of these Sussex bohemians through their furnishings, decorations and gardens at Charleston and Monks House and the fascinating murals of nearby Berwick church

Did you know you that nightingales regularly sing in a Billinghurst rubbish tip? Or that peregrine falcons make themselves at home on top of Chichester Cathedral? Even if you can't tell a hobby from a handsaw, the sight of a soaring bird over the Sussex Downs always lifts the heart. That's what seasoned birdwatcher Rob Yarham believes, and to help the rest of us to get more out of these life affirming moments, he has chosen his top 20 Sussex birds and written an affectionate personal tribute to each of them. His descriptions of the birds and his encounters with them will inspire you to go out looking with new eyes. The second-half of the book is devoted to a review of the best sites and places to find Rob's top 20, and many other fascinating birds: Sussex natives, incomers and birds of passage. With a foreword by popular TV wildlife presenter Chris Packham, this is an ideal introduction for newcomers to bird-watching in Sussex.