Lindfield History Project Group

Helena Hall in her 1959 book Lindfield, Past and Present says “Dr Richard Tuppen was a great friend of Charles Dickens, a frequent visitor to “Froyles”, where he sometimes stayed as well as at The Chalet with the brothers Arthur and Albert Smith, of Egyptian Hall fame’.

This implies Dickens’ visits to Tuppen and the Smiths in Lindfield were at more or less the same time; however the visits were many years apart.  This and other aspects of Charles Dickens’ connections with Lindfield merit a closer look.

Helena Hall appears to have based her statements on the recollections of Mrs Elizabeth Anscombe, nee Woodgate, that were published in several newspapers, following interviews when she was in her nineties.

Looking first at Dickens’ visits to Dr Richard Stapley Tuppen at Froyles in the High Street.  Richard Tuppen was baptised in Lindfield in May 1780, the son of Henry and Sarah Tuppen, who had purchased Froyles in that year.  His mother was a member of the well established Stapley family whose seat was Hickstead Place.  In 1806, Froyles was inherited by Richard Tuppen; together with his sister he lived in the property until his death on 21st March 1840, aged 59.

Mrs Elizabeth Anscombe, born 1826, was aged 13 years when she entered service at Froyles as a waiting maid in 1839.  Praised by reporters for her ‘wonderful memory’, Elizabeth Anscombe vividly recalled meeting Charles Dickens when he frequently visited Richard Tuppen.  similarly she recalled that Tuppen and Dickens went to church on Sundays, but Dickens found it difficult to keep awake during the long sermons of those days.  When he was awake Dickens made sketches of the congregation, chiefly caricatures, on the walls or on a pillar.

Dickens must have been in Lindfield during 1839 and possibly early 1840, as Richard Tuppen died in the March of that year.  Among Mrs Anscombe’s most treasured possessions was a signed copy of a Dickens’ book, reported as, ‘A Christmas Carol’, given as ‘a token of regard’.  However, it would appear this book was first published in December 1843, so perhaps the gift was a pre-publication edition or Dickens gave the book on a later visit to Miss Tuppen; Elizabeth Anscombe remained in her employ until June 1848.

More challenging to explain is the friendship between Charles Dickens and Richard Tuppen, they were aged about 28 and 59 respectively in 1839.  How they met and became great friends is a mystery, as throughout most of the 1830s, Dickens had been pursuing a career in journalism predominantly in London.  It was only after 1836, that he had become known through the publication in instalments, of Pickwick Papers.  At this time Richard Tuppen was the village doctor in Lindfield, which had been his home since birth and he had been ‘apprenticed’ to a local surgeon.  Similarly the background and social standing of their respective families makes a family connection implausible. the Dickens family background is well documented and Lindfield does not feature.

In contrast, Charles Dickens’ friendship with Arthur Smith and consequently Lindfield is strongly evidenced.  However, the Smiths could not be the link between Tuppen and Dickens, as Richard Tuppen had died almost a decade prior to Smith’s connection with Lindfield.

Arthur Smith, born 1825, and with his older brother Albert, were famous as the first Englishmen to climb Mon Blanc in 1851.  Albert followed a career as a journalist, humorist, writer and playwright in parallel with Dickens.   They had both worked for Bentley’s Miscellany and Albert Smith had adapted some of Dickens’ writings for the stage.  During the 1850s, Arthur Smith managed the Egyptian Hall in London and with his brother gave performances recounting their exploits on Mont Blanc.  Both of the brothers knew Dickens.

Various studies of Dickens describe Arthur Smith as his friend and manager.  He handled the booking for readings by Dickens, which is reported to have said: ‘I got hold of Arthur Smith as the best man of business I know’.  Without doubt they had a friendly and trusting relationship.

How were the Smiths linked with Lindfield?  Arthur Smith, when in his twenties, married Jane May Crawfurd, the daughter of William Board Edward Gibbs Crawfurd of Paxhill, Lindfield.  On land adjacent to the Ardingly Road, within the Paxhill estate, Arthur with is brother built The Chalet in the first years of the 1850s.  It is said, by Henlena Hall in Lindfield Past and Present, that dickens helped by ‘carrying windows and door frames’.  However, the basis for this statement is unknown, but it is reasonable to assume Dickens visited Arthur Smith and his wife at The Chalet during the 1850s.

Helena Hall also makes the assertion, again drawn from the recollections of Elizabeth Anscombe, that dickens ‘did many kindly things for Lindfield.  He helped to raise funds to build the school on the Common.  He took part in entertainments at the Assembly Rooms [Bent Hotel, Lindfield], and, as the result of public readings of his works at the Corn Exchange, Haywards Heath, he gave £100 to our Vicar, Mr Sewell, to help restore the Church’.  However, on reading the various articles on Elizabeth Anscombe’s memories, some of Helena Hall’s assertions may be questionable.  One of the more detailed articles on Elizabeth Anscombe’s memories, published in the Mid Sussex Times in 1913, said: ‘That as the result of a public reading at the Haywards Heath ~Corn Exchange, Dickens was able to hand £100 to the then Vicar of Lindfield – the Rev. E. Johnson’ and ‘That the money was used by him to help meet the cost of erecting the present Lindfield Reading Room, the builder of which was Mrs Anscombe’s husband’.

As explained in a recent Lindfield Life article, the Reading Room started life as the National School, built on the Common in 1851.  This date aligns with Arthur Smith’s marriage, the building of The Chalet and Rev. Johnson being the vicar.  Therefore the reading was most likely arranged courtesy of Mr and Mrs Smith.  Dickens may have done other entertainments and readings in Lindfield or Haywards Heath but supporting evidence is lacking.

It is pleasing that Lindfield has one enduring legacy of Charles Dickens’ connection with the village.

Published in Lindfield Life June 2017

Arising from the invasion threat in the Great War, the proposal that Lindfield should have a miniature rifle range was first made in autumn 1914, but did not proceed due to the absence of a suitable site.  Suggested sites for the range included the School Yard and on the Common.

Consequent upon the formation of the Lindfield Volunteer Training Corps for home defence and the Lindfield Boy Scouts, Mr Parker Anscombe raised the subject again at the January 1915 Parish Council meeting.  He felt the Common was the right location and that the Council should take the matter forward.  However the meeting decided the initiative should not come from the Council and there were legal issues with the Common.

Support from residents gathered momentum and the search for a suitable site was renewed.  Mr W Sturdy agreed to provide a site in Tentermead rented by Mr Box, adjoining Alma Lane, and Miss Maud Savill offered to fund the building of a 25 yard four-target indoor range.  Mr Parker Anscombe was ordered to put the work in hand.

This was announced at a well attended meeting on 13 February 19125 and it was agreed a miniature rifle club affiliated to the Association of Miniature Rifle Clubs should be formed.  Miss Savill was elected President along with six Vice Presidents and a large committee, all were prominent residents.  Mr Rotherham and Mr Jesse Newnham volunteered to give shooting instruct and Miss Savill agreed to fund the purchase of four rifles.  Mr Box was to receive a peppercorn rent for the land on which the range stood.

The rifle range opening ceremony, performed by Colonel Dudley Sampson, took place at 3.00pm on Wednesday 31 March 1915.  A Guard of Honour was provided by Lindfield Boy Scouts and the drum and fife band of the 2/2nd London Field Ambulance, RAMC played.  It is reported that Colonel Sampson achieved a bull’s eye with his first shot!

The Club’s annual subscription was 2s 6d and is for boys under 16 years.  The range was open each weekday evening and Wednesday afternoons.  The Lindfield Boy Scouts and the Volunteer Training Corps were allocated use of the range on Wednesday and Thursday evenings respectively.

At the Club’s first AGM in March 1916, subscriptions totalling £9 7s 0d and a £25 expenses deficit was reported.  Membership numbers are not known, but the Presidents, Vice Presidents and Committee totalled 25; largely the same individuals as the Lindfield Volunteer Training Corps.  Indicating the ‘great and the good’ recognised the need for rifle practice in support of home defence.  At the meeting it was decided ladies should be allowed to join the Club and were allotted Wednesday afternoons for their shooting.

Between March 1915 and March 1916, some 50,000 rounds were fired at the range.  Members had to buy the ammunition at cost from the Club.  The range continued to be widely used throughout the remainder of the Great War.

With the coming of the peace the Club closed as it was felt the last thing men would want to do was handle a rifle again.  Following a short break, the Club was re-established and continues to this day.  A modern indoor range on the same site has recently replaced the original corrugated iron clad range building.

The name Finches as in Finches Park Road, Finches Gardens and Finches Lane does not derive from a Victorian country mansion, like The Welkin as featured in last month’s article.  It is much older in origin dating back to a farm that existed in medieval times, with perhaps the land being farmed a thousand years ago.

Finches Farm has appeared in the historic record since the 16th century when it was occupied by the Fairhall family, and its land ran southwards from Finches Lane.  In 1583 Richard Fairhall was described as one of the ‘chiefest men’ of Lindfield.  The farm must have been of sufficient importance as in 1723 it was one of the four properties in Lindfield parish shown by name on Budgen’s Sussex map.  Described in 1829 as a ‘Messuage, barns and lands called Finches, Tilts and Cocks containing 32 acres’ it was held by Jane Knight.  A Mr Riddle subsequently farmed the land, as a tenant of Edward Duke, and is recorded as operating a brickyard in the area of Kiln Wood and Town Wood; both woods still remain.

Around 1870 the farm was bought by James Proctor, a retired silk manufacturer from Manchester.  He demolished the farmhouse and buildings that stood on the west side of Finches Lane, approximately where Arthur Bliss House is today.  In their place he built a country mansion of brick and stone.  An impression of the grandness and architectural style can be seen in the imposing range of estate office, coach house and stables he built further up Finches Lane; now attractive residences.  To complete the estate, lodges were placed at the southern and northern end of Finches Lane, again both survive [see then/now photos here].  The lower section of Finches Gardens follows the line of the drive.

Following his death in 1884 the estate was sold for £17,000 to Walter Savill.  Finches became the main family home for Walter, his wife Matilda and their ten children.  By the time of his death in 1911, most of their children had grown up and moved away, leaving the house to be lived in by his widow and their unmarried daughter Maud.  They maintained it as their main residence until the beginning of WW11 when it was requisitioned by the Army for officer accommodation.

Mrs Matilda Savill died in 1941.  At the end of the war the house was returned to Maud Savill and in 1946 the entire estate was put up for sale.  Sale particulars described the house as containing 12 principal bedrooms, seven staff bedrooms, five bathrooms, four reception rooms and domestic offices, plus garages and stabling set in 45 acres of gardens and parkland.  Also in the sale were the two lodges and four modern semi detached cottages, built for estate workers in Sunte Avenue.

The house with its grounds were acquired and converted in the County Hotel, opening in November 1947.  It provided accommodation for 80 guests with a ‘Tudor Lounge and Buttery’ and ‘Georgian Restaurant’.  Dinner dances were held on Saturday nights, which proved popular with guests and local residents alike.

As Lindfield started a major period of expansion in the decades following WW11 there was considerable demand for building land.  Between 1955 and 1961 parcels of Finches land were sold for building.  This resulted in the first sections of Savill Road, Finches Park Road and the adjoining section of Hickmans Lane being built.

The hotel closed and was demolished in the early 1960s, with all remaining land being sold and built upon as we see today.

Today it is the Savills who are most closely associated with Finches.  Who were they and what was their impact on Lindfield?

Walter Savill aged 15 joined Wallis Gann & Co. a firm of London shipbrokers, as a junior clerk in 1851.  Seven years later together with a  fellow employee, Robert Shaw, he left Wallis Gann and as partners set up their own shipping business, Shaw Savill & Co.  Initially using chartered ships they specialised in carrying cargo, emigrants and Government mail to New Zealand.

Through great courage, persistence, hard work and shrewdness the business prospered, owning 15 ships in 1865.  It merged in 1882 with Albion, a competitor on the New Zealand route, to form Shaw Savill & Albion Co Ltd.  In that year one of their ships carried the first refrigerated cargo to New Zealand lamb to Britain.  Following this merger, Walter Savill established a fleet of sailing vessels under the Shaw Savill Flag; one of these ships, a four mast steel barque, he named ‘Lindfield’.

Despite having lived in Lindfield for 27 years, Walter Savill took no active part in local affairs.  He died aged 76 at Finches in May 1911, leaving over £1.5m, a vast fortune in those days.  Early on the morning of the funeral, his oak coffin was conveyed to the parish church in an ivy-clad farm wagon drawn by three horses. After the service ‘the body rested in the church until the afternoon’ to allow ‘persons in all positions of life’ to pay their respects before being taken to Walstead for burial.

In contrast, his daughter Maud Savill, who live din Lindfield until her death in 1962 aged 96, was an active participant and major benefactor in the village.  She was at the forefront of supporting and giving to very many charitable good causes.  For example, during the Great War Maud gave generously to the Red Cross Hospital in the King Edward Hall and funded the building of the miniature rifle range in Alma Lane.  Throughout her life Maud Savill was a prominent member of the All Saints’ congregation.

Particularly noteworthy was her preservation of buildings that to this day enhance the High Street.  Firstly, in 1917 she purchased the dilapidated Barnlands with its two shops and restored it as two dwellings.  similarly in 1930, she purchased the ‘department store’ latterly run by Mr & Mrs Funnell converting it to housing and restored the adjoining cottage, today Truffle House, Caldicote and Limes Cottage.  Priory Cottage followed in 1935, Maud Savill removed the shop extension that reached the pavement and restored it to solely residential purposes.  Three years later she bought and renovated the Sewell Memorial Hall and St John’s Lodge, living in the latter during the war years before moving to St Lawrence on Blackhill.

After WW11, land in Hickmans Lane was given to the District council for the building of the 12 semi-detached ‘St John’s Cottages’ for men who served in WW11 and their families.  It is Maud Savill that residents have to thank for also providing land to the District council that subsequently became the Hickmans Lane Recreation Ground.

Whilst finches has long disappeared, Maud Savill’s work to preserve and improve High Street properties, together with her kindness in facilitating a much enjoyed sports field and playground, are a commendable legacy.

Published in Lindfield Life November 2017

Previous articles have focused on people and building in recent centuries relative to Lindfield’s long history.  This article explores the early history of the area and how Lindfield as we know it today came about.

The first recorded reference to Lindfield is in a Saxon charter dated 765, but what was happening here before that date?  Unfortunately the archaeological record is rather sparse, but thanks to a survey prior to Barratt’s building The Limes, on farmland previously Luxford Farm, two important discoveries were made.  Pieces of Bronze Age pottery were unearthed, indicating people were in the area some 3,000 years ago.  It is most likely to have been the site of a seasonal camp, rather than a permanent dwelling site.

At that time and through the Iron Age [6000BC – 50BC] and into the Roman period the area, in common with much of the lowland Weald, would have been wooded and criss-crossed with tracks. The High Street is believed to follow the line of an ancient north-south route that existed in the Iron Age.  On land at Birchen Lane, an iron-smelting furnace of mid Iron Age date has been discovered, indicating exploitation of local resources.

Although there was no known Roman presence, the area was not isolated as a Romana road running from London towards the coast passed about a mile to the west, crossing land now Harlands Primary School.  Two other Roman roads were only a few miles away.  Local tracks connected with these roads.  Some settlement, either seasonal or permanent, must have taken place during the Roman period, as the well-respected historical geographer, Dr Peter Brandon, says that by the end of the Roman occupation the woodland on the Wealden margins, such as around Lindfield, had been cleared by the Romano-British villa economy and peasant grazing to create wooded pasture.  These pastures, used primarily for cattle and also seasonal grazing of pigs, known as pannage, led to the creation of small and scattered communities.

This is supported by the second archaeological discovery made on The Limes site.  Very old field ditches, that existed long before the field pattern of Luxford Farm, were uncovered, with one containing early Saxon pottery [circa 650] in the bottom.  Evidence that land in Lindfield was being armed.

The manorial system of landholding developed during Saxon times.  In this part of Sussex the manorial centre was usually based on fertile arable land close to the coast, with outlying lands extending northwards.  This is why if you look at an Ordnance survey map of Sussex there are more roads running south to north than east – west.  Several manors could hold land within the same area; thus in and around Lindfield manors with land included Stanmer, with the largest holding, Ditchling, Framfield, Plumpton Boscage, and Street.  Each exercised control over their land through their own manorial courts, called Court Baron.

Returning to the Saxon charter of 765 mentioned earlier, this evidenced the granting of lands by Aeldwulf, one of the last kings of the South Saxons, to his earl, Hunlabe, for him to build and endow a minster church.  These lands formed the Manor of Stanmer, comprised of separate parcels of land mainly in a line stretching from Stanmer north to Crawley Down, basically along the line of today’s B2112, with by far the largest parcel being in the centre at Lindfield.  In the charter, Lindfield, meaning open land with lime trees, along with Walstead and Henfield [Scaynes Hill] were described as pig pastures.

There is much to support the belief that the minster church, which would have been a small and simple building, was built in Lindfield and that All Saints stands on the site.  This indicates the area had a settled population of sufficient size to warrant building a church.  The manor and church were held by the secular Canons of St. Michael, South Malling.  Sometime between 765 and Domesday, the manor passed to the ownership of the Archbishop of Canterbury but remained within the canon’s control.  In 1150, Archbishop of Canterbury but remained within the canon’s control.  In 1150, Archbishop Theobald reorganised his Sussex peculiars, promoting St Michaels to a ‘College of Canons’ with a structure comprising a dean and three canons, respectively the chancellor, treasurer and precentor.  The dean, an important and influential position, was the Record of the Parish of Lindfield and together with the canons held sub manors in Lindfield from which they received an income.  The dean was required to reside in Lindfield for 90 days a year and the canons 40 days.  The Bower House was the dean’s residence.

The canons’, and especially the dean’s influence on Lindfield was considerable, as collectively they were the ‘lords of the manor’.  It was very much in their interest to ensure that those parts of the parish within their manorial holding, which included virtually all of Lindfield town, prospered.  They were responsible for the growth and layout of properties down the main street, the extent of the town in medieval times.  There were fields immediately behind the houses.  Recognising Lindfield as an important and thriving community, Kind Edward III in 1343 granted a charter for two fairs on the feast days of St Philip and St James [both 1st May] and St James the Great [25th July], each lasting eight days, and a weekly market was held.

The five high status medieval house was built by the canons in the 14th and early 15th century, namely Bower House, The Tiger, Thatcher Cottage, Church Cottage and Clock House survive today.  The width and line of today’s High Street has remained unchanged since that time   The street, from church to the Lewes Road junction, was lined with houses and workshops.  The other timber-framed houses built in the 14th to the 16th century that still line the High Street underline the prosperity of Lindfield under the canons.  This prosperity was primarily based on farming, the cloth trade and iron working.  Our large and impressive parish church, dating mainly from the 14th century, in the perpendicular style, bears witness to its importance and the canons’ influence.

The 153os and 1540s, with Henry VII on the throne and seeking a divorce, the English Reformation and the establishment of the Church of England leading to the dissolution of religious houses, brought far-reaching change to the country.  Lindfield, with a population of about 400, having the College of Canons as lords of the manor was heading for a major change in its fortunes.

In March 1545, an order for the dissolution of the College of Canons was issued and subsequently all possessions, tithes and lands were granted by the Crown to Sir Thomas Palmer, a gentleman of the Privy Council.  Over the next 300 years importance and prosperity gradually ebbed away.  But Lindfield after the Reformation is another chapter in its long history.

Published in Lindfield Life December 2017

Until the early part of the 19th century burial facilities were mainly provided by the Church of England in parish churchyards and in some cases high status burials inside churches in vaults sunk into the floor. Across the country many parish churchyards had existed for close on a thousand years and had become full. Existing burials were frequently disturbed by new graves with the consequent risk to public health. Similarly new interments within the church also gave rise to health concerns. There were also issues concerning the burial of non-conformists and members of other religions, as parish churchyards were exclusively Anglican.

The churchyard at Lindfield was so full, it is understood, that new burials were being interred on top of existing graves, which accounts for the raised ground in the northern part of the churchyard.

The government recognising the widespread nature of these problems passed the Burial Acts 1852 and 1853 the later extending the provisions to all parts of the country. The Act allowed for the Parish Vestry [forerunner of a parish council] to form a publicly financed local burial board to establish a burial ground. Furthermore by ‘her Majesty in Council’ could order that burials be discontinued at specific locations. Such an Order in Council passed on 30th January 1854 applied to Lindfield requiring ‘burials to cease at once under the church and from and after the first of May 1854 in the burial ground.’

The churchwardens and parish overseers were faced with establishing a burial board together with the urgent and difficult task of finding a new burial ground. Two grants extending the closure date for the Lindfield churchyard were given with the final deadline being 1^st September 1854.

A two-acre plot on Walstead Common on the northern side of East Mascalls Lane was eventually identified as a suitable site. Walstead Common at that time covered over 35 acres and was part of the Manor of Walstead held by the Earl of Chichester.

A Vestry Meeting held on 11^th May 1854 agreed that the Lindfield Burial Board could borrow the money ‘required for providing and laying out the new burial ground,’ and for it to be charged to the parish poor rate. It was further agreed that the Board should ‘provide fit and proper places in which bodies may be received and taken care of previously to internment and to make arrangements for the reception and care of the bodies to be deposited therein.’

At a further Parish Vestry on 29^th June 1854, the Burial Board as authorised ‘to expend the sum of Twelve Hundred pounds for the purpose of providing and laying out the New Burial ground.’

The following are examples of the Burial Fees set by the Parish Vestry to apply from 19^th October 1854;

There was no tradition of cemetery design to draw upon and small burial grounds, like Walstead, were often utilitarian but with design references drawn from small country estates, i.e. an entry lodge, some landscaping, boundary walls and the mortuary chapels taking the place of the country house as the focal point. These four elements can be seen to this day in the Walstead Burial Ground.

Mortuary Chapels

Two mortuary chapels standing a short distance behind the Entry Lodge formed the focal point of the burial ground. The identical adjoining chapels each having their own porch and doorway, were dedicated for the separate use of the Church of England and Non-conformists. The Church of England chapel is on the eastern side. On the 1875 Ordnance Survey they are described, in language of the day as being for the ‘Episcopal’ and ‘Dissenters’ respectively.

The simply designed brick chapels with tiled roofs are in tradition ecclesiastical style with wood lined tunnel vaulted ceilings and tall stone framed three light arched windows. By the 1900’s the Chapels and Lodge were heavily covered in ivy.

Today the Chapels have been sympathetically restored to retain there their original character and are used as the offices of Impact Art.

Entry Lodge

The Lodge built of brick with a tiled roof had living accommodation on either side of the central arch and gabled entranceway that ran through the middle of the building. This archway, with sufficient width to permit the passage of a horse drawn hearse, aligned with the Mortuary Chapels behind which were connected by pathways running to their respective porches. The arch although now bricked in remains visible in outline at the rear of the lodge.

Boundary Wall

The specification for enclosing the ground required that ‘The walls to be built of good sound well burnt stock bricks, one brick thick on one course of one and half brick footings to a uniform height of five feet from the surface of the ground inclusive of a half round brick coping excepting a pier at each angle and on each side of a gateway. The bricks to be laid with a close neat joint in well tempered mortar of grey lime and sharp sand.’  It was stated that the wall should be completed with two months.

The original brick walls were replaced when the burial ground was enlarged and the boundaries realigned with the more substantial walls that largely exist today.

Grounds

The original two acre site is shown on the 1875 Ordnance Survey 25” scale map as being laid out with two wide curving pathways running northwards across the burial ground from each mortuary chapel. The map also indicates that trees had been planted around the perimeter.

In the original layout the ground to the east was consecrated land for Church of England burials. A central area was given over to common graves, burials without headstones and those buried at the expense of the Parish. The ground the western side was non-consecrated ground for non-conformist and other burials.

An early postcard, probably dated around 1900, shows that the ground was generously planted with evergreen trees and bushes, e.g. yews. Remnants of this pattern of planting remains to this day.

Around the turn of the nineteenth century a further two and a quarter acres of land was acquired and the enlarged site remains unchanged to this day. The two footpaths that were extended to the new northern boundary have since been removed.