Westdean, East Sussex

Life in the village

I was lucky enough to grow up in Litlington and also worked in the village shop/post office for Jack Keeble. I can trace my mothers family(Reed) back to the early 1800's they were from nearby Alfriston, so I have a very strong connection with Cuckmere valley. I had a very happy childhood, firstly in Lullington 1961 to 1966 and then Litlington... [more]

My memories of Burnt House Farm Alfriston circa 1938

I remember being taken down to Alfriston in the 1930s before the Second World War. My great-aunt and great-uncle, Polly and Arthur Newell, had a smallholding on the downs, about half a mile from the village, where they kept chickens and ducks, and a few sheep. My mother told me that Aunty Polly helped a cousin, Jack Butland, to buy the... [more]

scraps of history

Never had any direct connection with Alciston but have known it since my teens in the early 1960s and have visited many times over the years. What caught my interest is that the village has stayed relatively unchanged in the 20th and 21st centuries because it is just off the main road and has no through traffic.

A few... [more]

Willingdon childhood

I was born and raised in Willingdon and lived two doors away from the previous correspondent Ian Friend. I also attended the school referred to as Willingdon Church Hall before a new school was built in Rapsons(?) Road, Lower Willingdon. I have very fond memories of my childhood days there and spent many hours playing and exploring the Downs nearby. The... [more]

Willingdon Church Hall

Referring to the photograph ref: W446012 I used to attend Sunday School in the pictured church hall from the mid 1950's to 1960 the teacher being Miss Parris. I also went to Cubs at the Memorial hall opposite the church hall (out of picture to the left) at the same time. I remember the A22 being the main road between Eastbourne... [more]

Bygone Days

Does anybody remember Jean Harradence, Jessie Beard, Peter and John Tyler, and Cherry Gardens before the area was developed arround 1937?

The windmill

The windmill shown in the Willingdon photos was always known to me as the Polegate windmill. I remember it when it was in working order and watching the mill stones grinding the grain. This was in the 1950s when the Council houses were starting to be built there. Later the mill closed and went into decline for some years until it... [more]

Watch House Duties

It must have been in the late 1960s, I was on duty in the old watch house and, as was my habit, I was hooking out whiting out of the Harbour. Fish that at the time had no commercial value at market, and the fishermen threw them back in. I was so engrossed in my angling when a voice behind said... [more]