Hyde End House
I was at school (Lindfield) in this fine old Georgian building from 1947-1951 and spent many happy hours playing in the extensive grounds and old outbuildings and stables. One year our dormitory was above the stable block where the principal was raising day old chicks to supplement our austere post-war rations. The awful smell of the chickens remains a vivid memory!
If I recall there was a name carved on the mantlepiece in one of the upper rooms in the older Jacobean/Elizabethan part of the building. Us kids thought the place was haunted by the ghost of Anne Hyde (first wife of James II) who was meant to have an annual visitation on November 25th! Her father was the Earl of Clarendon - Edward Hyde.
I have visited the place twice since and like your correspondent found it in a very dilapidated state on my first visit. When I returned more recently it had been restored and some sort of conservatory built on left side of the house. Unfortunately the stucco had been removed leaving a red brick exterior. A local farmer told me that it had been purchased by Middle Eastern interests.
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RE: RE: Hyde End House
I would love to hear from anyone who has memories of Lindfield School, Hyde End House, Brimpton.
I was there from when I was six until I was eight, between 1947 - 1949, & have many recollections of the place - some good: the beautiful grounds, the old kitchen garden, topping & tailing the gooseberries, wonderful summer outings to a local stream, where we swam, paddled, & splashed to our hearts content: some not so good: trying to understand the finer points of long division! And some horrendous: public thrashings of the boys and the cane for the girls.
Does anyone remember the headmaster, Mr Hart? There was also a Mr Bellamy & a Miss Dunlop, & Steve who brought the milk, in churns.
Some of the pupils I recall are: Andrew Danks, Simon Danks, John Larpent, Shirley Green, Kiros, Adrienne Grenier, Avril Evans and Elizabeth Walker?
I loved the Ovaltine tablets sold at Mullins, the village shop - so much nicer than the sweets we were given as prizes on Sports Day - which looked like delicious jellies but turned out to be VERY hot crystallised ginger!
We were marched over the fields to St Peter's church every Sunday and some of us ended up in the most terrible trouble for eating the farmer's strawberries - almost a hanging offence!
It's all a long time ago but the memories are still very vivid.
Comment from Anne Tooke on Wednesday, 14th July 2010.
RE: RE: Hyde End House
It was indeed in a lovely place but that's the only thing I remember that was lovely. I was a boarder between 1948-1949, with my sister, Bay. until 'rescued' by my new stepfather who came to see me on a sports day and ended up intervening when Hart was so clearly trying to avoid giving a deserved prize to a young Czech lad. The beatings included caning (not me) of two boys in front of the assembled school for picking blackberries on the way back from church. Hart was always charming to visitors and it took my parents a while to begin to believe the accounts I brought home to them of abuse. Of course the cane and smacking were normal in those days but Hart's use of the cane was something else. I escaped from the school once and was amazed not to be beaten, but then I was naive enough to say what I thought of him and what I was gong to tell the police about why I'd run away. I realise now I must have really worried him as he turned quite egregious - as bullies do when you face them. So all in all I wouldn't wish Hart and a few of his staff on anyone, but it was probably a formative experience. What's the phrase? If it doesn't break you it makes you.
Comment from Simon Baddeley on Wednesday, 19th October 2011.