Local history — Lindfield History Articles — Lindfield Life - the community magazine for Lindfield, West Sussex

Local history

Lindfield history pages

We launched a Lindfield History book in June 2024! Life in Lindfield is written and compiled by Lindfield History Project Group and published by us (Kipper Life/Lindfield Life). You can buy copies of the book here, via our online store. Otherwise, please read on…

Articles published in:

2023

  • Lindfield History Project Group received a parcel containing hundreds of invoices dated between 1834 and 1835, for shopping and services supplied to the Tuppen household. Click here to learn about shopping in Lindfield’s history.

  • What is the connection between a car company, the theory of flight, an English university, the laws of combat, the concept of quality management and Walstead Burial Ground? The answer is Frederick William Lanchester. Click here to read more.

  • On Lindfield High Street in 1914, there were five public houses all selling beer obtained from commercial breweries, mostly in Brighton and Lewes. But one hundred years earlier, the village’s pubs were either brewing their own beer or being supplied by The Lindfield Brewery. Click here to read more.

  • The 3rd June 1953 was declared Coronation Day. To organise the celebrations in Lindfield, an Executive Committee with eight members was established. Click here to read all about the celebrations around Lindfield.

  • How much has the High Street changed in 100 years? This article compares the High Street in 1923 with today.

  • The previous article compared the west side of the High Street in 1923 with 2023; in this article we journey down the eastern side. Click here to read on.

  • Read here, all about the WWII submarine that disappeared without a trace and its connection to Lindfield.


2022

  • Click here to find out all about when, In 1899, the Lindfield Parish Council decided to form a volunteer fire brigade to provide fire cover for the parish.

  • To help the poor, between 1563 and 1601 the Government enacted legislation that provided a framework for the provision of poor relief by parishes. Click here to find out how Lindfield helped its poorer residents.

  • How has Lindfield celebrated royal events in the past? Click here to learn all about them.

  • Click here to read a continuation of the history of Lindfield’s royal celebrations.

  • In late 1921, an enterprising woman, Gladys Van Weede established - as sole proprietor - The Rainbow Pottery Company, trading from an outbuilding behind Abbotts Pharmacy on the High Street. Click here to read all about it.

  • From 1680 or earlier, three generations of the Neale family were innkeepers of the White Lion inn in Lindfield; later renamed the Bent Arms. Click here to read more.

  • Click here to find out all about Lindfield’s almost railway station.

  • If you or a family member have lived in Lindfield for many years, it would not be surprising if tucked away at the bottom of a drawer, or in an old album, there is a photograph by William Marchant. Click here to learn all about him.


2021

  • Ever wondered what Lindfield pond looked like in 1865? Click here to see and learn a little about the photo.

  • Click here to find out all about when the censuses started and what can they tell us about our village in years past.

  • Click here to find out all about the piano factory that was thriving in Victorian Lindfield.

  • This article looks at Lindfield fair through history.

  • Where have the Lindfield clergy resided in centuries past? Click here to find out.

  • Click here to find out all about Lindfield’s connection to Friar Tuck of Robin Hood fame and how John Bent gave his name to The Bent Arms.

  • This article explores another of Lindfield’s black history connections. The story begins with Francis Smith senior in Nevis, an island in the Eastern Caribbean. Click here to read more.

2020

  • The war had a dramatic effect on every aspect of life on the Home Front, to learn about Lindfield during this time, click here.

  • It is said that a village pub is the heart of the community. Click here to learn all about the pubs of Lindfield.

  • Here is part two of an in depth look at the pubs of Lindfield and their history.

  • Lindfield has often been described as possessing an ‘historic High Street’, due to the attractive and varied architectural styles of buildings lining the road, but what is the history of the road itself? Find out more here.

  • In the first days of May 1945, there was great expectation that the war would soon be over. Click here to find out more.

  • Although Lindfield School was established in 1881, its lineage can be traced back to William Allen in 1825. Click here to read all about it.

  • This article looks at Lindfield School between 1900 and 2000.

  • Residents have shared their memories with us from their time at Lindfield Primary School. Click here to read all about them.

  • The meeting place is stated as, ‘Society shall meet at the House of Thomas Finch, at the sign of the Tiger in Lindfield Town’. To learn all about the society and The Tiger click here.

2019

  • Did you know Lindfield had a castle? This was surrounded by a broad moat which joined to the river through gaps in the outer earthworks. Outside a ditch linked to a stream entirely surrounded the castle. Click here to read more.

  • In common with much of Lindfield, its origins can be traced back to Saxon times, when the lands are first mentioned in the copy charter dated 765. Learn more here.

  • All Saints Church at the top of the High Street was built in the 1300s in the Perpendicular style. Click here to learn all about it.

  • Lindfield was once little more than a high street with a few roads. Read here, the amazing transformation over the years.

  • A grand house with its origins in Elizabethan times, is perhaps an unlikely location for the founding of a revolution in education. Read Bedales history here.

  • During the first three quarters of the last century horticultural businesses thrived in and around Lindfield providing much employment. Read all about it here.

  • Until the early part of the 19th century, burial facilities were mainly provided by the Church of England in parish churchyards. Click here to find out why Walstead has its own burial ground.

  • It could be said that Lindfield is defined by the Common and Pond. To learn about their history, click here.

  • In 1938, Cuckfield Urban District Council, the local authority responsible for Lindfield, commenced planning for an evacuation. Click here to learn all about the children and the local families that took them in.

  • Does any other community have a bakery that traded continuously from the same premises for 223 years? Click here to learn all about the history of Lindfield’s oldest bakery.

  • Learn all about the history of Christmas traditions and how they’ve changed by clicking here.

2018

  • For eight hundred years much of the land in and around Lindfield formed the Manor of South Malling. Read more to find out how King Henry VIII changed all this.

  • Today nothing exists of the West Common and you would be forgiven for thinking the area completely lacks historical interest. However, there is always more to the story…

  • The land east of the High Street demonstrates the change and growth over 120 years which has helped to create today’s thriving community. Click here for more information.

  • Gravelye Lane for centuries was merely a track providing access to a couple of farmsteads and Northlands Wood. Find out what changed here.

  • At the top of the village, stands the grandiose and private Old Place that is largely obscured from view. Perhaps in a strange way, the property goes almost unnoticed when passing by. Learn here what it’s all about.

  • From the mid 1800s until about 60 years ago Lindfield was virtually encircled by big houses and their grounds. This article looks at two of these houses.

  • Mention ‘The Bent’ in Lindfield and one immediately thinks of The Bent Arms, but who was Bent and where did he live? Find out more here.

  • Lindfield’s The Old Forge is today, the home of Happy Feet Boutique children’s shoe shop, but how old is old? Click here to find out.

  • Lindfield Women’s Institute was established in June 1917. Activities included instruction in cooking, food economy, growing food crops, sewing and renovating old clothes. All that and more made these lovely ladies a beacon in struggling times. Read on to remember them.

  • News of the Armistice, bringing to an end the fighting, took time to spread and was not widely received until the following day. People needed to read it to believe it was true. Read here to see how locals celebrated.

  • Initial thoughts on a memorial for the village, as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by local men, were first expressed in early 1919. Click here to learn more.

  • When did you last stand on Lindfield Bridge and look at the river? The dark, slow flowing water passes through private land with no public access, perhaps making it Lindfield’s hidden and forgotten river. Click here for more.

2017

  • Long before our smooth roads, horses had the hard job of pulling heavy carriages over all sorts of surfaces. Julius Guy, a Lindfield carriage builder, set about finding a way to improve the suspension and so much more. Read about this local hero today.

  • Worcester Sauce became popular in the 1840/50s and is still widely used. Today, instead of asking for Worcester sauce, you could have been asking for Lindfield Sauce had its makers had the business acumen of Mr Lea and Mr Perrin. Click here for more.

  • In the Mid Sussex Times in 1913 was: ‘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 ‘. But who wrote to the Times and why was Dickens handing over so much cash? Click here to find out.

  • Lindfield parish church had been in a poor state of repair for years. The problems stemmed from the church receiving very little money. Find out how Reverend Francis Hill Sewell saved the church.

  • A newspaper report in August 1861 commented that the school was ‘among the finest educational structures in Sussex.’ To find out more click here.

  • There were very few days during The Great War that determined how future land battles across the world would be fought; a son of Lindfield played a leading role in one such day. Please read on to find out more about our local hero.

  • Mention The Welkin to Lindfield residents today and it conjures up images of the houses with their neat gardens and well maintained grounds in the area behind the High Street and north of Hickmans Lane. Find out more here.

  • The name Finches does not derive from a Victorian country mansion. 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. Click here for more.

  • 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! Click here for more.

Bedales History - A different kind of school

Hidden between the A272 and the road from Lindfield towards Scaynes Hill, stands Bedales, a grand house with its origins in Elizabethan times. It is perhaps an unlikely location for the founding of a revolution in education. In 1893 John Haden Badley, aged 28, rented the house and founded Bedales School as a humane alternative to the authoritarian and harsh regimes typical of late Victorian public schools. His vision was to establish a co-educational boarding school for nine to 18 year olds with the ethos of ‘head, hand and heart’ and the development of ‘intelligence, initiative and individuality’ within a sense of community.
The education provided was to be profoundly different from that available at other schools. It was not until decades later that schools such as Steiner and Montessori were founded with a not dissimilar ethos. On formation, Bedales School was groundbreaking.

Corporal punishment, so prevalent in all other schools, did not feature; instead pupils had to run up and down the drive for the required number of times. Whilst the regime was described as humane, school life was by no means soft. The dormitories’ windows were kept open in all weathers, and before getting into bed, washing water was poured into the hip baths under an open window. Not infrequently, in consequence, a sheet of ice had to be removed in the morning before washing. A run to Scaynes Hill before breakfast followed, then bed-making. It was essential to make the bed correctly, failure resulted in bedding being thrown on to the floor. Boot cleaning also required exacting standards. Lessons were held each morning except Sunday, with a curriculum that included Latin, French, German, Ancient History, Classics and Surveying, plus, unusually, free study time.

Behind the house was the stable yard with a fine range of buildings that contained the woodworking room, chemistry laboratory and natural history laboratory. Three afternoons a week were devoted to sports, swimming, football or cricket, initially on a pitch levelled by the boys. If wet, a run to Chailey Common. The remaining afternoons were spent learning practical skills like woodworking and undertaking outdoor work such as gardening, digging, hoeing, lawn cutting, haymaking, gathering leaves and renovating school buildings. Not to mention the weekly task-force detailed to clean the earth closets!

A stream running through the school grounds was dammed with clay and wood to make the bathing pool about six feet deep, including the deep muddy bottom. It was equipped with diving boards and touching the bottom was to be avoided at all costs! Outdoor activities at weekends included expeditions and bicycle outings to explore Ashdown Forest, the South Downs and local countryside in quest of wild flowers, birds’ eggs and village churches for sketching and brass rubbing.

Pupils regarded Bedales as standing supreme for the quality of its food; the mushrooms and asparagus in their respective seasons being particularly unforgettable. The feeling of semi-starvation experienced by pupils at their previous boarding schools was not repeated. At dinner, Mr and Mrs Badley sat at the High Table on a raised dais in front of the oriel window, with seniors taking it in turn to eat with them. Regarded as a privilege, it was nevertheless a daunting experience. After dinner, the evenings in the hall were spent on fireside chats, rehearsing plays, readings from the classics and music making. Between 7pm and 7.30pm each evening the whole school song; mainly parts out of Tannhauser, Gaudeamus and the Messiah.
On Sunday evenings the school came together for The Jaw led by John Badley. Similar to an old style school assembly, The Jaw comprised prayers, readings and a talk giving an insight into the ways of the world, a moral perspective on issues of the day and other weighty topics. A compulsory and formal procedure before going to bed each night was ‘Handshaking’ when all pupils had to advance in a single file and solemnly shake hands and wish ‘Goodnight’ with every member of the staff. The aim being to build a bond between pupil and teacher and to wipe the slate clean of any misdemeanour that occurred during the day. This ritual still takes place at Bedales School, albeit with vastly more students, and, similarly, the Sunday evening ‘Jaw’ remains a feature of school life.

John Badley’s vision of a co-education boarding school educating both sexes together was finally realised in 1898 when a girls’ boarding house was established in Scaynes Hill. Eight girls formed the first year’s intake. The girls participated on equal terms in all activities, the only differences being they had breakfast in their boarding house before walking the half mile to school. On arrival they were closely inspected by the formidable Miss Withers, the Matron. Also the girls had to be called by their first names while surnames continued for boys.
In the beginning the girls were not welcomed by the boys, and neither sexes had experienced being taught together. After a short period of initial shyness, no notice was taken either by the boys nor girls of each other. In addition to establishing the girls’ boarding house, the increasing number of boys required another boarding house and Lyoth House, about half a mile from the school, was acquired. It was in poor condition and the boys undertook the redecoration. Like the rest of the school it was lit by gas lamps and all water had to be drawn from the well. With increasing pupil numbers it was not long before it became apparent that that the school required larger premises.

In 1899 John Badley acquired a 120 acre estate at Steep, near Petersfield, Hampshire, and set about building a purpose-built school. After seven successful years in Scaynes Hill, the school and its nearly 50 pupils moved in 1900 to its new home, retaining the Bedales name. The school has expanded beyond recognition from its early days in Scaynes Hill and continues to thrive encompassing the revolutionary approach to education pioneered by John Badley. A Royal seal of approval was achieved when Princess Margaret chose Bedales School for the education of her children. Scaynes Hill should be justly proud of having hosted the school during its formative years.

Contact Lindfield History Project Group on 01444 482136 or visit https://lindfieldhistoryproject.group/

The growth of Lindfield

By Richard Bryant, Lindfield History Project Group

Two residents on meeting in the High Street were overheard discussing all the new housing being built in Lindfield and whether facilities could cope and the character change. The conversation didn’t take place recently but in 1901. For many centuries Lindfield village comprised little more than the High Street. Through roads such as today’s Lewes Road, Denmans Lane, Hickmans Lane, Sunte Avenue, West Common and Summerhill Lane existed as little more than tracks with the occasional isolated cottage and all bordered by fields. The prosperity of the Victorian era and the coming of the London to Brighton railway line created the need for new housing, especially for working class families. Lindfield started to grow with short rows of cottages appearing around the village. The more affluent built villas on Black Hill. By the last years of Queen Victoria’s reign and the early Edwardian years, new roads were being constructed, most notably Eastern Road, Luxford Road (originally called Western Road) and Compton Road. Leading local businessmen, and those with money to invest, either commissioned houses to be built on these roads or purchased houses constructed speculatively by builders. All were participating in ‘Buy to Rent’, as most people could not afford to buy. The tradesmen and shopkeepers recognised that an increased population meant more business. It was at this time the Haywards Heath and District Building Society, established in 1890, started to prosper (merging with the Yorkshire in 1992). Housing commenced along Lewes Road, and in 1906 local businessmen Charles Wood and Frederick Beeny (the great-grandfather of TV property developer Sarah Beeny) started the West View development. Originally planned for 30 houses but, beset by problems mainly relating to drainage, only 17 were built, including a corner shop. On completion it was nicknamed White City. In little more than half a century the number of dwellings in Lindfield village more than doubled. However this growth came to an abrupt stop with the Great War. The coming of peace brought a mood to create a ‘Land fit for Heroes’. Lindfield Women’s Institute made representations to the local authority that many new houses were needed for working families, but disappointingly only six were subsequently built.

The country being impoverished by the war, together with the economic depression, resulted in few new houses during the 1920s. The next decade saw housebuilding start again, with the 1937 Ordnance Survey map showing ‘infill’ housing in Luxford Road, Eastern Road and elsewhere. Most new properties were developed plot by plot along existing roads, on the Haywards Heath side of the village, such as Backwoods Lane, West Common, Summerhill Lane, Sunte Avenue plus the new Denmans Close and Oak Bank, Brook Lane and Roundwood Lane. These roads comprised mainly detached houses, with many designed by the respected architect Harold Turner. He undertook a wide range of commercial commissions across Britain and abroad but is best known locally for his high quality domestic architecture with ‘arts and crafts’ period features. The late 1930s saw the infrastructure put in place ready for housebuilding in Chestnuts Close, Summerhill Drive and Meadow Lane. However, the Second World War delayed completion of these schemes. The building during this pre-war period added around 270 houses.

Again war impoverished the country and building was slow to recommence apart from a few houses. Most notably in Hickmans Lane were the 12 semi-detached St Johns Cottages on land given by Maud Savill to the District Council for demobbed servicemen and their families. It was in the early 1950s that the local authority acquired the land of Box’s Nursery and erected housing in Chaloner Road and the first sections of Newton Road. The next ten years saw larger scale private housing developments start on new roads such as Dukes Road (also built on Box’s Nursery land), West Common Drive, Appledore Gardens, Pelham Road, Beckworth Lane and Close, Oakfield Close, Finches Park Road and the first section of Savill Road. Collectively, in the 20 years up to 1965, some 400 houses were built in the village In Lindfield’s rural area to the west of the village, a few houses existed along Gravelye Lane. However, during this period significant housebuilding commenced in this area, with the construction of William Allen Lane and adjacent roads south of Gravelye Lane. These residential schemes, all completed by the mid-1960s added a further 100 houses. The map of Lindfield had changed dramatically and more growth and change was on its way. During the next ten years much needed building land became available through the demolition of the Mid Sussex Steam Laundry, the County Hotel (previously Finches) and The Welkin, following closure of the preparatory school. The most controversial proposal was for the Welkin site, with a plan to construct a large high-rise apartment block comprising nine storeys. Residents were horrified and following much protesting, that ultimately led to the formation of the Preservation Society, the scheme was scrapped and the dwellings as seen today built. The land previously occupied by the other demolished buildings, and land that became available, resulted in the completion by the mid-1970s of the Meadow Drive development, second parts of Savill and Finches Park roads, By Sunte, Finches Gardens, Blackthorns, Shenstone, Brookway, Fieldway, Pickers Green plus others totalling well over 650 houses.

Around this time national house-builders such as CALA Homes were looking covetously at the farmland between Gravelye Lane, Scamps Hill and Lyoth Lane. Following the earlier successful Welkin protests, campaigning started again. Local newspaper articles liberally used the word ‘battle’ and the campaign took the style of ‘The Battle to Save Lindfield’. Victory was again achieved and development plans were put on hold for another day. Effectively, a ‘red line’ drawn down Gravelye Lane made land to the south and other pockets of land the only possible potential developments. Developers were quick to acquire and build on the land south of Gravelye Lane resulting in Westlands Road, The Hollow and nearby roads with about 150 houses being completed by the beginning of the 1980s.

The demise of Lindfield Nursery, better known locally as ‘the mushroom factory’, provided land for the Noahs Ark Lane development. Two more nurseries went the same way, resulting in Harvest Close and Linden Grove. These totalled 150 new homes. During the 1980s and 1990s, the scarcity of available land resulted in a reduction in housebuilding, the main developments being Summerhill Grange, on land that had been part of Tavistock and Summerhill School, and Portsmouth Wood Close. These totalled nearly 60 new detached houses. An ever increasing demand for housing in the new century encouraged the national house-builders to again set their sights on Lindfield and encroachment on to agricultural land. The fields once part of Luxford Farm, behind Newton Road, became the target. Archaeological evidence showed the fields had been farmland for over 1,300 years. Despite some opposition, it was not long before 125 dwellings at The Limes were being lived in. Attention then turned once more to the Gravelye Lane, Scamps Hill and Lyoth Lane triangle that had been vociferously fought over in the 1970s. This time planning permission was granted for the Heathwood Park development, with construction continuing today towards 230 dwellings on completion. Last year saw ground being broken, further down Gravelye Lane, for 130 homes at the ironically named Lindfield Meadows. There will no doubt be more building in the future. But it certainly isn’t new phenomenon!

Lindfield Life is published by Kipper Creative Limited    |   Follow us on Twitter  |   Facebook | Instagram