Beckley
Beckley maps (2 available)
Map of East Sussex
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
See this old map of East Sussex
Personalised maps
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Beckley photos (none available)
We have no photos of Beckley,although these nearby locations do:Beckley books (26 available)
Beckley memories
Read and share memories of Beckley and East Sussex inspired by Frith photos
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You can also read memories of nearby places in East Sussex below.
East Sussex memories
The Park
The "Park" - known to us as "The Rec". I walked across this daily to and from my prep school 1945-50 and our scout troup did it's wodcraft here!
A memory of Haywards Heath contributed by The Frith Memory Archivist
"The Serg"
I was a fairly regular customer at "The Serg" from about 1955 to 1967. Mr Turner was the first landlord I knew and he was succeeded by Stan and Betty Allen who came from "The Charter" at Epsom.
A memory of Haywards Heath contributed by The Frith Memory Archivist
Shops
I suspect this is a little earlier than 1960 (but after 1956) the first building on the right was the offices of "Waugh Brummell and Barron" later Waugh & Co Solicitors and still going strong. The original Waughs were prominent in the C19 not only as solicitors but clerks to the Local Board, Magistrates and the newly formed Council. Further down on the right, up to the 1960's were "Jacksons Ironmongers", "Hoadley and Wickham" (provision merchants), Clarkes Book Shop and the offices of the Mid Sussex Times, Wrights (tobacconists), Cheals (hairdressers), a green grocers and Lloyds Bank.
A memory of Haywards Heath contributed by The Frith Memory Archivist
More Building Use
As can be seen (also in 252002 & 252006), the 1930's "Psuedo Tudor" block on the corner then contained "Dewhursts" the multiple butchers, 2 (later 3) frontages for "Edward Hodges" an independent tailor and outfitter, then "Sussex Stationers" (manager Bruce Gillett?), The "Copper Kettle Cafe" (owned and run by Mr and Mrs Hyslop) and "Scilla" (hairdresser). The offices of "Vincent Penfold" estate agent, fronted Perrymount Circna and the tile hung building beyond was Commercial House offices of "Bradley and Vaughan", estate agents (see also H252586). I still work in the successor to "Comercial House", the sons of the original Mr Vaughan being my Landlords and the grandson still being an estate agent on the other side of Perrymount Road. By 1960 ...read more here
A memory of Haywards Heath contributed by The Frith Memory Archivist
Extracts From Beckley & East Sussex books
It is appropriate that our east to west town tour should start in the cathedral city of Chichester, the
county town of West Sussex and one with a very long history. It began as a Roman walled town, and
flourished in the Middle Ages with its fine Norman cathedral. Here in South Street we see the late
15th-century Canon Gate which leads into the cathedral precincts. The cathedral spire seen beyond
collapsed in 1861 and was rebuilt by the great Victorian architect George Gilbert Scott.
An extract from from"Sussex A Century Ago Photographic Memories".
Lombard Street is one of the least changed streets in this delightful
market town, a tangle of narrow lanes and alleys winding to the east
of the towering walls of Petworth House’s grounds. Lombard Street is
cobbled and virtually unchanged with a view of the church at the
end. The spire is just pre-Victorian, having been added in 1827 along
with a rendered brick upper stage. The latter remains, but the spire
was demolished in 1947 and the render removed from the brickwork.
Apparently the spire had been designed for a Brighton church.
An extract from from"Sussex A Century Ago Photographic Memories".
Seen here from the south-west, the sheer enormity of the late Victorian work is clear: the left-hand section is the
much-restored medieval shell keep built for Henry II in the 12th century. This is on the Norman motte or mound;
the castle had two large baileys or walled enclosures, the north one relatively open still, the south one overwhelmed
by Buckler’s heavy-handed Victorian work.
An extract from from"Sussex A Century Ago Photographic Memories".
Seen here from the south-west, the sheer enormity of the late Victorian work is clear: the left-hand section is the
much-restored medieval shell keep built for Henry II in the 12th century. This is on the Norman motte or mound;
the castle had two large baileys or walled enclosures, the north one relatively open still, the south one overwhelmed
by Buckler’s heavy-handed Victorian work.
An extract from from"Sussex A Century Ago Photographic Memories".
In late Victorian times the town expanded south-west. These artisan terraces still line the Ford Road, their view
terminated by the Roman Catholic cathedral of St Philip Neri, giving the town on its ridge a distinctly French
character in distant views. In fact, the cathedral is Victorian, dating from the 1870s and in French Gothic style,
complete with a characteristically French fleche or crossing spirelet. Also Victorian, of course, is the town gas works,
fed coking coal from river barges, whose gasometer can be seen beyond the terraces, now long gone.
Francis Frith’s Sussex A Century Ago
An extract from from"Sussex A Century Ago Photographic Memories".