East Sussex Record Office

Report of the County Archivist April 2005 to March 2006 2006/07_253 Front cover: Teacher-training at the Sarah Tucker Female Training Institution at Palamcottah in Tinnevelly, Madras, 1878 (ACC 9065) Back cover: James Lambert the younger: The kitchen, Herstmonceux Castle, 1776 (ACC 9374) Title deeds (see also Solicitors, and Estate and Family): Introduction • Brighton, property in College Road, Brighton, 1851-1880 (9207) • Brighton, 7 Ditchling Road, 1883; 18 and 28 Bates Road, Oct 1901 (9227) In 2005-06 we continued our attempts to improve services while contributing to County • Brighton, land in East Laine, 1833-1864 (9169) Council efficiencies, and to realise the long-term goal of achieving a new Record Office • Brighton: assignments of property, manor of Erlyes, Brighton, 1826; deeds of land for East Sussex, Brighton & Hove and other partners of which all can be proud. Many in Upper Furlonge, Little Lane, Brighton, 1807-1816 (9206) projects were beginning to bear fruit as the financial year ended. • Brighton, 128 Gloucester Lane [Road] (9226) • Brighton, 109 St James Street, deeds and copy photographs, (9381) Our latest Access to Archives project, The Sussex Parish Chest, was completed on time • Brighton and Wilmington, photocopy deeds, 1880-1949 (9386) and to budget in the autumn thanks to the input of the project officers, Record Office • Hove, Second Avenue and Denmark Villas, 1873-1878 (9261) staff and volunteers. 80-85% of our lists are now available on www.a2a.org.uk and we • Hove, 15 Shakespeare Street, 1895 (9321) continue to receive the second highest number of hits of any of the 400 organisations • Patcham, papers relating to the Withdene West estate, and Hillcrest, Brighton, who have contributed to the website. 1938-1965 (9212) • Preston, 31 Stanley Road, 1895-1955 (9225) As one externally-funded project ended, another began. A grant of £48,000 from the Wellcome Trust for the History of Medicine enabled us to employ two full-time project Other records: officers and some additional conservation time to list and preserve the records of the • Aerial photographs of Brighton and Hove; 1948 (9348) pioneering Lady Chichester Hospital, Hove. Anne Hart, on secondment from her post • Brighton, rent books for 68 Viaduct Road, 1927-1938 (9316) as receptionist, and Lavender Jones, a regular volunteer, were appointed and started in • Postcards of Brighton; c1905-1920 (9387) November 2005 for what will be a one-year project.

Our other main external bidding activity during the year was to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), for a grant to draw up an audience development and access plan for the service, and specifically for the proposed new Record Office. Such a plan, which aims to find ways of improving the number and range of people who are reached by our service, will be an essential element of a future major capital bid to the HLF for a new Record Office. On the advice of the HLF we also included in the bid some audience development work for a proposed digitisation project which we have been planning with the county’s library service and museums. This delayed the submission of the bid until November of 2005 and we finally learnt of our success in early April of 2006. The grant of up to £24,700 will enable the work to be undertaken in 2006/07.

Other funding successes were smaller but no less important. Wendy Walker, the Project Leader for the new Record Office, was awarded one of only six fundraising bursaries for staff working in libraries, archives and museums across the south-east. The bursaries, worth £4,000, have been made available for the first time by SEMLAC, the South East Museum, Library and Archives Council (now MLA South East), and are part of a programme aiming to increase the level of skills and confidence of the sector as a whole in the important area of fundraising. The bursaries attracted a lot of interest. Wendy won the award against stiff opposition from candidates across the region and was the only archivist to be successful. The bursary enabled Wendy to attend several workshops and a week-long course at the National Arts Fundraising School in Scotland, and workshops continued into the new financial year. Wendy’s new skills will help us to draw up a fund-raising strategy for the new Record Office and for the service as a whole.

Tripping the light fantastic at Hove Park School, 1945 (ACC 9245)

36 1 The last quarter of the year also saw a successful appeal by the Friends of East Solicitors: Sussex Record Office to help us to acquire a magnificent set of paintings and plans of • TWM solicitors, Epsom, deeds of 19 Old Shoreham Road, Brighton, Herstmonceux Castle, commissioned from the James Lamberts in 1776. More of this 1862-1969 (9319) elsewhere in the report. Business records: In the last report we were expecting decisions on two applications to the Museums, • Receipts from Messrs A S Anscombe, gents outfitters, 1937-1939 (9367) Libraries and Archives Council. The first, for the designation of our holdings as being • The Reason Manufacturing Company, later Allen West and Company, Brighton, of national and international importance, was unfortunately unsuccessful. While the staff photograph, c1897 (9247) panel agreed that the Record Office collections were paramount for the study of the • Theatre Royal, Brighton play bill, 1834 (9270) county and its history, it did not feel that their national and international importance were proven according to the designation scheme’s criteria. The second application was for Estate and Family: allocation of the archives of the Battle Abbey estate, which had been accepted for the • Herbert Avis, of Brighton, diary and photographs, 1916-1919 (9309) nation by the Treasury in lieu of inheritance tax. Following an inspection by the National • Bruce Herbert Avis, of Brighton, photographs, newspaper cuttings and theatre Archives in February 2006, of which more below, at the turn of the new financial year programmes, 1931-1955 (9327) they were allocated to East Sussex Record Office for East Sussex County Council for • John Edward Burghope, outfitter, North Street, Brighton, photograph album, a period of five years, on the understanding that the archives were stored at Unit Y, 1890 (9268) our Newhaven outstore, which provides good environmental conditions, and that work • Ronald Lancey Burrow, photographer, East Street, Brighton, negatives, towards a new Record Office was stepped up. 1945-c1970 (9170) • Henry Davidson of Brighton, diary, 1872-1874 (9292) The National Archives inspection was also a follow-up to its inspection of 2003, • Hanover Day, Brighton, photographs, 1997 (9333) after which the Record Office’s licence to hold public records at The Maltings was • Edwin Emery, of Brighton, mathematics exercise book, 1873 (9343) renewed but with the expectation that work would progress towards achieving a new • Haynes family of Brighton, records including papers relating to the Hannington building. The provisional report, which we received at the end of the financial year, was family of Brighton; deeds of Latchetts, Knowles Tooth, Berrylands and Bridgers in complimentary of what the service achieved within the confines of its buildings and Hurstpierpoint (9176) staffing-levels, but was extremely critical of the accommodation for records, staff and • H Johnson, member of Brighton and Hove Camera Club, photographs, researchers. We were expecting the final report at the end of the financial year and 1950s - 1960s (9179) were anticipating the withdrawal of the licence from The Maltings in favour of Unit Y. • H W King, papers relating to the sale of the Brighton Herald, 1803-1971 (9267) • William Roe (b 1748), transcript of private memoranda, 1775-1809 (9300) However at the end of the financial year, with our success in achieving an HLF project • James William Thompson (1898-1984) of Rottingdean, letters and papers, 1914- planning grant for a new Record Office and with commitment from the County Council 1975 (9315) to support a major capital bid to the HLF for the new building, we were starting to look forward to achieving the very improvements that were expected of us. More on these Clubs, societies and associations: developments in next year’s report. • David Betts, Brighton Licensed Victuallers Association, photographs, 1925-1962 (9218) Other projects, paid for by one-off funding from the County Council, made progress • Brighton theatre and sporting programmes, 1930s (9201) during the year. The camera work on the map digitisation project was completed, • Electrical Contactors' Association, photograph of the first annual conference, and we are most grateful to our colleagues in Bibliographic Services for allowing us to 1926 (9352) use their premises in Brooks Road to set up the enormous equipment involved. At the • League of Remembrance, Brighton and Hove Branch, records, 1928-2003 (9358) Record Centre, staff were recruited to carry out the Invest to Improve Project to reduce • Masonic: records of the Royal Clarence Lodge, 19th - 20th century (9301) the backlog of records management processing and destruction. • Sussex County Cricket Club, deeds and minutes, 19th-20th century (9293) • West Hove Townswomen's Guild (9181) The contracts with Brighton & Hove City Council to provide archives and records management services continued successfully and holdings of both expanded Maps and plans: considerably, as other sections of this report illustrate. The Brighton & Hove archivist • County Borough of Brighton land use map; 1951 (9371) continued to provide a Record Office presence at the Brighton History Centre, where he • Map showing St Francis Hospital, Haywards Heath; c1865 (9373) attends for half a day a week. • Plans of Portslade Manor House and Brighton and Hove Albion FC programmes (9298)

2 35 Appendix 3 Involvement in corporate projects continued. The County Archivist continued as sponsor of an authority-wide project to advance electronic document and records Brighton & Hove Accessions management within the County Council. The service took over responsibility for Data Protection in addition to Freedom of Information, and Jane Bartlett was kept busy A list of the principal Brighton & Hove accessions received between April 2005 and throughout the year by requests under the two regimes, achieving a response rate March 2006. Reference may be made to the documents by the accession number (in within the timescales of the act of over 96%. brackets); not all deposits are yet listed in detail, and not all may yet be available for consultation. The service continued to host the East Sussex Museum Development Officer, who is funded by the government’s Museum Development Fund. This post supports museums within the county, helping to lever in additional funding, but also benefits the Record Brighton & Hove City Council: • Aerial photographs and maps of Brighton parks and gardens, 1960s-1970s (9404) Office by opening up partnership and funding opportunities which might not otherwise • Brighton and Hove Borough Councils: road safety plans, 1994-1996 (9324) become open to us. In July the post became full time. • Deeds of former Brighton Borough Council Properties, 1806-1971 (9253) • Department of Culture (tourism), records, 1950-2000 (9281) The Record Office’s other activities and achievements, no less important than those • Environment Department, papers (9314) already mentioned, are covered in the rest of this report. • Stanford Estate maps, c1912 (9389)

Health Authorities and Hospitals: • Southdown Health Trust, hospital plans, 1930s - 1970s (9320) • St Francis Hospital, index of patients, 1965-1977; Hurstwood Park Hospital, index of patients, 1958-1975, register of psychiatric admissions, 1955-1962 (9171)

Ecclesiastical Parishes: • Aldrington St Leonard, records, 20th century (9180) • Brighton, Church of the Good Shepherd, Brighton, 1940s-1990s (9252) • Hollington St John the Evangelist, marriage register, 1991-2000 (9331) • Hove, Holy Trinity Church, photograph, 1950 (9217) • Hove, St Thomas, records, 20th century (9244) • Rottingdean tithe map, 1839 (9189)

Other Church records: • Clermont United Reformed Church, Preston Park, photocopy photographs, 1916-1953 (9368)

Schools (see also Ecclesiastical Parishes): • Brighton, Balfour Junior School, admission register, 1985-1991 (9294) • Brighton, COMART (East Brighton College of Media and Art formerly Stanley Deason), records, 1970s-1990s (9237) • Brighton, COMART/Stanley Deason Secondary School/Whitehawk Girls' and Boys' Schools, punishment books and yearbooks, 1933-1986 (9326) • Hove, Hangleton Infant School, registers, 1949-1995 (9220) • Hove, Hangleton Junior School: governors' minutes, aerial photograph, correspondence, 1980s - 1990s (9370) • Hove, Hove Park School, pupils' sketch books, 1945-1950 (9245) • Rottingdean CE School, extracts from log book, [1863] - 1945 (9363) • Rottingdean Infants' School, scanned photograph, c1965 (9229) Ian Adams of ICAM prepares a tithe map for capture (Sussex Express)

34 3 Archive Services • Photographs including St John's Home, Kemp Town, Brighton; Old Rectory, Buxted; interiors of All Souls' Church, Brighton, and St John, Crowborough, Public Services 1880s - 1900 (9184) • Postcards of Lewes, c1900 (9274) • Programmes of amateur dance and musical productions, 1981-1982 (9405) Daily public attendance figures have shown another small decrease over the period, but • Psalm music book of Thomas Sanders of Brightling and Waldron, 1780 (9376) the number of documents consulted remained high and the searchroom remained busy • Records including letter from Samuel Boys, Hawkhurst, to John Horsmonden, as people stayed longer to consult them. The room was often full to the point of having 1669; memoir of the Rev George Gilbert of Heathfield, 1830 (9340) to turn away visitors who had not booked seats, while many other people wishing to • Sabina Lamb cuttings concerning Lewes, 1912-1964 (9360) book could not have their first choice of day. Most (roughly 61%) were tracing their • Sale particulars of Sheffield Park estate, 1953; deeds, 1893-1956 (9188) family trees, 28% were studying local and house history, and 3% were educational • Sale particulars of The Wheelwright's House, Peasmarsh, c1920 (9193) users. Public service statistics are given at the end of this section. • Scanned photographs of The Ram Inn, Firle, 1818 - [1985] (9231) • Uckfield, sale particulars of the Rocks estate, c1939 (9278) Postal, email and telephone enquiries remained steady throughout the period. Interest • Waldron Millennium Survey, 2000 (9408) ranged across a wide variety of subjects, including, amongst many others, the ever- popular car, motorbike and tractor restoration, a surprising number of police ancestors, the revision of the Sussex volume of Pevsner’s The Buildings of England, Gracie Fields’ home in Peacehaven, Douglas’ Bader’s education at Temple Grove School, and even the location of Mrs Lovely’s B&B in Brighton. Family historians are proving to be interested in more than just baptisms, marriages and burials, and are seeking more information about their ancestor’s education, occupation, way of life and, increasingly, medical history, something we cannot always satisfy because of confidentiality. However, being able to help visitors to research their own personal histories, particularly of dimly remembered childhoods, is especially satisfying for staff. Television companies are also now increasingly including archive research in their programmes, and even used the record office as a film location.

Two reapers, one with a scythe adapted with cradle, standing in the furrows awaiting the collection of the sheaves at Kitchenham Farm in Etchingham; detail from Thomas Redford’s map, 1754 (ACC 9223)

4 33 Title deeds (see also Solicitors, and Estate and family): We also continued to serve remote users through our website information and lists • Deeds including marriage settlement of Mr and Mrs HA Chambers, 1897-1949; of records mounted on The National Archives’ Access to Archives (A2A) website. Wilmington Villa, Eastbourne Road, Seaford; 1897-1951 (9291) Although it is pleasing to see it so well used, as well as reducing our visitor figures, the • Deeds and papers relating to property in Crowborough, Brighton and Bexhill, site generates very large and complex copying orders from remote users who have 1919-1965 (9210) found relevant documents on the website but are unable to visit the office in person. • Hastings, house in Warrior Square, [Oct 1834] - 1867 (9186) • Hooe, photocopy charter for the manor of Hooe, 1106 (9273) In March we took part in another national visitor survey and were awaiting the results • Lewes, agreement for the sale of Castle Lodge, 1903 (9401) in the new financial year. However, the additional responses made by individuals were • Lewes, 8 Priory Crescent, 1836-1967; 31 Priory Street, [1782]-1969 (9185) available to us immediately, and their content confirmed what we have known for a long • Mortgage, 1881 (mortgagee is Ellen Kidd of St Leonards), 1881 (9211) time: that the building and facilities are inadequate but that the staff provide an excellent • Peacehaven, conveyance of building land, 1916 (9308) service with what they have. One typical comment reads: • Rye, part of a messuage in Market Street (Kennett family), [1747]-1847 (9271) • St Leonards on Sea, 12 Grand Parade, 1835-1980 (9258) “I really enjoy and look forward to my visits but there is a desperate need for new accommodation. Everyone on the staff is trying 100% to make the best Other records: of what must be very trying circumstances.” • Alfriston, photograph of the Star Inn, c1890 (9275) • British Union of Facists detainees list; 1939-1945 (9351) We sought to improve our copying services during the year. We introduced a digital • Copy books of Edmund Catt, Westfield, 1820s (9214) imaging service enabling us to provide, at reasonable cost, high-quality images of items • 'A Corner of Old Sussex' by Arthur Dunk, illustrated book concerning Northiam, which cannot be photocopied; it has proved to be very popular. We also obtained Beckley, Peasmarsh and local area, 1920 (9173) funding for a self-service reader printer, installed at the end of the financial year, to • Copy letter sent to Dame Taylor, Stone Cross, Jun 1768 (9289) enable visitors to make and take away their own copies at half price. • Copy photograph of yacht Chevy Chase owned by Frederick Smith Shenstone of Sutton Hall, Barcombe, c1884 (9369) In January 2006 we introduced a credit card payment system for services. This has • Copy portrait of Esther Henley, daughter of William Vine, miller, of Wilmington and been much appreciated, especially by customers abroad, whose business we often lost Brighton, c1840 (9385) because they found it prohibitively expensive to obtain money orders. • Correspondence and papers relating to Wanganni and Gordon House, Crowborough, 1908; papers of WN Mason of 37 Hartfield Road, Eastbourne, Record Office statistics 1904 (9205) • Eastbourne Library, Art Science and Technical School, plans, 1902 (9197) 2003-2004 2004-2005 2005-2006 • Election addresses, 1830s (9167) • Lewes nature diary, 1977-2005 (9365) Visitors 6,393 5,787 5,368 • Lists of fostered and adopted children, 1949-1961 (probably ex-East Sussex Visitors not able to have 790* 776 829 County Council) (9235) first choice of day • Northiam, photocopy print of the charity school, 1811 (9296) Documents consulted 33,160* 39,941 36,854 • Notice concerning the opening of Lewes Bus Station, 1954 (9322) Post/email enquiries 3,203 3,799 3,560 • Papers including mortgage subsequent to the will of Pendock William Aveline, Telephone enquiries 7,273 7,869 7,593 1833-1868 (9208) A2A website hits 96,218 340,301 399,110 • Papers relating to the estate of Benjamin Noakes of Brede, shopkeeper, 1805- Copies sold 5,525 5,960 5,737 1856; account for legal expenses in the purchase of 57 Cliffe High Street, 1915 Hours of paid research 278 272 308 (9209) • Peacehaven Philharmonic and Orchestral Society programme, 1931 (9168) * No productions for two months as the result of the Pelham House move. • Photocopy newscuttings of photographs of a hay cart, Alfriston, c1920; workers at the Cuckmere Brickyard Company, 1930s (9304) • Photographs and papers concerning Laughton and Southerham area, c1820 - 20th century, including plan of Southerham farm, c1820 (9187) Photo left: Happy members of the Women’s Institute preside at the Store-room Stall; Countrywoman’s Year Rally at the De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill, 19-20 May 1955 (WI 53/36/2/1)

32 5 Document Services • Sackville estate, drawings of farms by Thomas Poppleton, 1800 (9388) • Sheffield Park Estate, papers and correspondence, 1570-1819 (9366); maps and The year under review is notable drawings, 1842-c1960 (9232) for having set two records: the • Watson family of Malton, N Yorkshire, former owners of the manor of Southease, total number of accessions – 242 photocopy correspondence, 1751-1752 (9190) – is probably the greatest since the Record Office was established; and Charities: one of those deposits, of maps and • Barcombe Village Hall Trust, [1900]-2005 (9297) drawings for the Sheffield Park Estate, was made by Mr B W Howe, whose Clubs, societies and associations: first transfer of documents to the • British Legion, Herstmonceux and Wartling branch, photographs, 1964-1971 office was made over 50 years ago, (9182) on 8 January 1954 (Accession 82). • Eastbourne Ratepayers' Association minutes, 1968-1972 (9283) Such a consistent interest in our work • Lewes Camera Club minutes, 1992-2000 (9372) has scarcely been matched even by • Lewes, Cliffe Bonfire Society minutes, 1987-2003 (9199) corporate depositors, and never by a • Lewes Little Theatre (additional), 1950s - 2004 (9260) private individual. • Lewes Music Circle minutes, 1951-2005 (9277) • Lewes Traffic Study Group, minutes and associated papers, 20th century (9378) • Masonic: Abbey Chapter, 1937-2003 (9251); Hartington Chapter, Eastbourne (916), 1871-2002 (9406) • National Trust: survey of Batemans in Burwash, 2005 (9356) • Northiam programmes and papers of local groups, 20th century (9203) • Prescription book, Eastbourne, 1961-1964 (9407) Mr Howe’s latest transfer, June 2005 (ACC 9232) • South Downs Society, records, 1936-2004 (9280) • Sussex Archaeological Society, including voting cards for the Chief Constableship In June 2004 we embarked on the latest A2A project, The Sussex Parish Chest, a of East Sussex, May 1881 (3809); calendar of prisoners, Jun 1885 (3810); Bodle joint initiative with our colleagues at Chichester to list all the records deposited by the Street Green parish accounts, 1910-1912 (3811); Pevensey Hundred court book Anglican parishes of the diocese. As the last Annual Report went to press, Rachel transcript, 1698-1724 (3812); Ovingdean parish, including list of confirmation Freeman was within 35 parishes of completing the task. As the deadline approached, candidates, 1879-1938 (3814); ‘Rye Grammar School Record’, 1897-1899, more of her colleagues laid aside their usual work to ensure that it was met, and it ‘Steine House Magazine’, 1891, Lewes Cottage Fever Hospital accounts, is very pleasing to report that 1874-1875 (3815) Chest was completed on time, • University of the Third Age (U3A), oral history tapes and summaries, 1994-2001 within budget and to a far higher (additional) (9195) specification than had been • Wealden Buildings Study Group, site visit notes, 2005 (9362) planned – as well as the inclusion • Women's Institutes: East Sussex Federation of Women's Institutes, records of formerly unlisted material, we including federation minutes, 1917-2005 (9263); East Dean and Friston WI have taken the opportunity to scrapbook, 1979 (9402); Fairlight, Guestling and Pett WI records, expand the descriptions of poor- 1930-2000 (9394) law settlement papers to include the names of the thousands of Maps and plans: individuals affected, and to re- • Admiralty printed sea chart showing Beachy Head to Dungeness, 1953 (9380) structure the lists themselves to • Manor of Bower in East Grinstead, copy map, 1641 (9355) enable future accruals to be more • Etchingham, Kitchenham and Birkham farms by Thomas Redford, 1754 (9223) easily accommodated. Among the • Photocopy maps of the Southerham area, Lewes, showing crops and unexpected surprises turned up by archaeological features, [19th century]- 20th century (9323) the project was a census Rachel Freeman’s leaving-party, • Estates of Thomas West, microfilm of plans including Lewes, Southover and September 2005 Ovingdean, by Anthony Everenden; 1639 (9255)

6 31 return for Lewes St Anne, 1821, which had been masquerading as militia returns (PAR 411/37/1/1-2), and detailed plans of the houses on the east side of Malling Hill which were sold to the Cliffe vestry for an overflow burial-ground in 1796 (PAR 415/10/1/18). This project relied on volunteers for a large element of the preparatory work, and we are very grateful to them all for their assistance.

East Sussex Depicted, our project to make historic images of the county available on line, took a great leap forward in 2005 with the digitisation of all our tithe maps, enclosure awards and a representative sample of 500 estate maps, perhaps a fifth of our entire holdings. After a trial run at Worcester, a camera supported on an enormous gantry was set up at our former records management warehouse at Brooks Road and the maps photographed, section by section, with the aid of a rolling bed. The photographer Ian Adams worked with great precision but at terrific speed, and the daily scramble to select new maps for capture before he ran out of work resembled the buckets scene from The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. The scans are now (November 2006) available for purchase on CD at £10, and there is a dedicated PC and colour printer in the searchroom for the provision of self-service copies. As well as the additional convenience of instant reproductions, the physical integrity of the maps themselves, particularly the tithe-maps, will be secured by the provision of these electronic surrogates.

A third major project, Beyond the Borderland of Mental Health, is discussed in the Brighton & Hove section of this report.

The demands of such special projects do nothing to diminish the section’s ordinary The Cinema De Luxe, School Hill, Lewes, possibly on its opening in 1914; work, and this has been another very eventful, demanding and enjoyable year. the building is now the site of the Sussex Express offices (ACC 9347) Our Records Management system is probably the largest and most comprehensive of any local authority in the UK, and continues to make regular transfers to archives. Remarkable this year have been several groups of early school records (including St • De La Warr of Buckhurst in Withyham, letters, 1815-2006 (9403) Anne’s Special School, Lewes, on its closure), and of enormous use in the future will be • Dobell and Lane families of Streat, Folkington and Westmeston, 1407 - 19th the 33 volumes of service sheets for county council pensioners, covering retirements century (9219) during the period 1960-1998. • Kenneth Elphinstone of Bournemouth, papers concerning the Elphinstone family of Blytheswood and Lopness, 19th and 20th centuries (9202) We act as the archive repository for the county’s other local authorities as well as for • Gwendolen Evans of Eastbourne, papers, 1914-1936 (9305) Brighton & Hove, and receive a constant stream of documents produced by them and • Eric Hardy, of Liverpool, natural history journalist: two photographs of Eastbourne their predecessors. Two of this year’s largest and most significant accessions consisted and Brighton, 1931-1932 (9349) of the building by-law applications and plans from Eastbourne and Hastings. The latter • Estate of Margaret Holt: sale particulars, 1946-1997 (9361) were a continuation of the existing series, covering the years 1948 to 1974, and we are • Isaac family of 22 Toronto Terrace, Lewes, scanned photographs, 1910-1916 most grateful to Clay Garner and Rod Lavers of Hastings BC for sorting and boxing (9228) the plans in the not wholly satisfactory working environment of the Menzies Road • Lewes Priory, photocopy manorial and obedientaries' accounts, 1529-1537 Industrial Estate. But this was luxury indeed by comparison with the Eastbourne plans (9337) – an unbroken sequence from 1867 – which were stored in the borough mortuary- • Martin family of Forest Row, genealogical notes, 20th century (9224) cum-dogpound near the town hall. The plans were sorted and boxed, often in freezing • Penkhurst and Dyke families of Mayfield, Buxted and Frant, additional papers conditions, by Andrew Lusted, who completed the job by shelving them at Newhaven. (9254) Phil Tipler of Eastbourne BC provided a scanned finding-aid which, despite our unduly • Pook family of Salehurst, deeds, c1700-1855 (9345) pessimistic expectations, works perfectly. As a result of these transfers, only the plans • Ravilious family postcards album, c1920-1950 (9357) from the former Hove Borough Council remain to be deposited.

30 7 ESRO serves as the diocesan record office for the county, and we received 24 separate groups of records from parishes in East Sussex. As predicted, one of the benefits of the Chest project was the increased ease with which these new arrivals can be accommodated within the revised lists of their fellows.

The leisure and voluntary activities of the people of East Sussex were well represented, with the records of Victorian clubs and societies vying for prominence with those of contemporary groups. We received papers from the Herstmonceux and Wartling British Legion, a programme for a concert of the rather improbable Peacehaven Philharmonic and Orchestral Society, 1931, tape-recordings of reminiscences made by the Lewes branch of U3A, Edward Packham with a cart belonging to John Martin of Netherhall Farm, records of the Cliffe Bonfire Fletching, c1930 (ACC 9302) Society, Masonic records from Battle and Eastbourne, • Packham's forge, Splayne's Green, Fletching, 1861-1945 (9302) Lewes Theatre Club, the • Sussex Express, Jul - Dec 2002 (9177); 2003 (9335); Jan - Apr 2004 (9393) Anne Dalton presents the Buxted NADFAS report Lewes Music Circle, The South • The Trug Shop, Herstmonceux, photographs and catalogues, 20th century (9338) to Elizabeth Hughes Downs Society (formerly the Society of Sussex Downsmen), Manorial: Eastbourne Ratepayers’ Association, the Sussex County Cricket Club, the trustees • Analytical survey of the manor of Bodiam, 1645, with other documents from an of Barcombe Village Hall, the Wealden Buildings Study group and the Lewes Camera antiquarian collection (9183) Club. Perhaps the most outstanding were the latest report of the National Association of Decorative and Fine Art Societies (NADFAS) on the church furnishings of St Margaret Estate and Family: the Queen, Buxted, and the records of the East Sussex Federation of Women’s • Apprenticeship indenture of Richard Hearsey to Richard Haryott, 1815 (9383) Institutes, from its foundation in 1918 to 2005. • Ashburnham estate: copies of engravings of family portraits by Samuel Cousins, 1814 (9344) We regularly need to enter the saleroom to secure archival material, and the rise of • Atlas portfolio of drawings of Herstmonceux Castle by the James Lamberts of internet auctions such as eBay is bringing increasing numbers of documents to light. In Lewes, 1776-1777 (9374) the year under review we acquired five outstanding groups by purchase, and in every • Scrapbooks of Reginald Briggs, Lewes, manager of the Cinema de Luxe, Lewes, case were assisted by the Friends of East Sussex Record Office. 1932-1942 (9347) • Clapham Estate in Litlington, Lullington and Westdean, maps by Thomas Wood, In the course of a tense weekend in June we made our first eBay purchase: a volume 1723, and William Figg, 1828 (9390) of vestry minutes for the parish of Willingdon, 1838-1855. The vestry clerk on the • William Coleman in Brede, Beckley, Ewhurst and Udimore in Sussex, and closing pages of the volume was Edmund Catt, and when we collected it from a dealer Ivychurch, Kent, copy plan of estates by John Adams of Tenterden, 1823 (9286) in Hastings we were delighted to find Catt’s copybooks, dating from his school-days • Coney family: sale particulars of land in Burwash, 1885 (9332) in Westfield in the 1820s. The internet also led us to the deeds of 47-48 High Street, • Courthope family of Whiligh in Ticehurst, letters, 19th century (9311); letters and Lewes, which were regrettably offered for sale one at a time. photographs relating to the ‘Sarah Tucker’ Female Training Institution, Tinnevelly, Southern India, 1864-1905 (9065 addnl)

8 29 United Reformed: Less than two weeks later we found ourselves in Bonham’s rooms in London, bidding • Ringmer United Reformed Church, records including minutes, 1868-1995 (9313) for an estate map of two farms in Etchingham, drawn by Thomas Redford in 1754. • St Luke's United Reformed Church, Hampden Park, Eastbourne, marriage Thomas Redford of Hawkhurst (c1700-1778) practised as a cartographer between register, 1997-2004 (9392) 1728 and 1755; this map lies almost at the end of his career. Most of his work was Other: confined to local estates, but in 1730 he was prepared to travel as far as Thakeham, • Burwash Christ the King Catholic Church, marriage register, 1982-2003 (9196) almost on the Hampshire border in West Sussex, to map the estate of a Hawkhurst • Lewes, Jireh Independent Chapel records, [1806] - c2000 (9242) landowner (WSRO Add MS 40,946). Redford’s maps invariably include a decorative • Society of Friends, records, 1859-1990s (9265) element, but this example surpassed them all, showing a charming agricultural scene, • Sussex Baptist Association, minutes and annual reports, 1920-2003 (9194) complete with Sussex oxen, farm-workers in smocks and a specially adapted scythe (see page 21). The lot, offered in a book sale, came on right at the end of the morning’s Schools (see also Ecclesiastical Parishes): session when the dealers’ thoughts had turned to luncheon, and we bought it against • Ashburnham County Primary School, log book and admission register, 1905-1958 the reserve for a derisory £550. (9288) • Bexhill, Bexhill Down Infants' School, 20th century (9312) In the course of October we discovered that a collection of 83 family postcards • Crowborough, St John's CE School, budget papers, 20th century (9395) compiled by the Eastbourne artist Eric Ravilious (1903-1942) was being offered for • Dallington CE School, records including admission registers and log books, 1907- sale by a London bookseller; the price, which reflects Ravilious’s stature as one of the 1997 (9288); 1863-20th century (9382) country’s leading 20th-century artists, was £2500. As well as letters to his parents and • Eastbourne, Raven's Croft School, 1932-1941 (addnl) (9221) to his wife Tirzah, there are cards from Henry Moore, Eric le Bas, Percy Horton, Douglas • Forest Row Voluntary Primary School, record books, 1951-1954 (9364) Percy Bliss, Kenneth Rowntree, Helen Binyon and other artistic contemporaries. ESRO • Hastings Secondary School for Boys, photograph album, 1961 (9396) already holds, on deposit, the written archive of the Ravilious family, as well as the papers • Lewes, St Anne's Special School, Lewes, records, 20th century (9243) of Eric’s friends Peggy Angus and Percy Horton; both include letters from Ravilious. We • Lewes, Southover Manor School and Southover Manor Educational Trust (1966) obtained a stay of execution from the vendor and organised an appeal to the members Ltd, records, 1939 - c1990 (9256) of the Eric Ravilious Association through the good offices of its chairman Ruth Yates. • St Leonards, Christ Church CE School, governors' minutes, 1998-2004 (9234) The members responded magnificently to the challenge, and we were able to acquire • St Leonard, West St Leonards Community Primary School, records including log the collection, which would almost certainly have been broken up for its autograph books and admission registers, 1878-2001 (9384) value, within the time allowed. On 4 January 2006 we entertained over 40 members of • Uckfield, Holy Cross School, governors' minutes, 2001-2004 (9328) the Association to a private view of the cards themselves, and of our other holdings of Ravilious material (see page 22). Solicitors: • Andrews and Bennett, solicitors, Burwash, deeds and client papers, 1742 - 20th November saw us competing in a philatelic auction for over 200 letters addressed to century (9222) Anna Courthope née Deacon (1817-1897), the wife of George Campion Courthope of • Cox and Co, Portsmouth: deeds of 27 Egginton Road, Brighton, 1946-1976; 29 Whiligh, covering her entire married life. They had fallen victim to the dispersal of the Brooklyn Road, Seaford, 1961-1995; 71 Westbourne Gardens, Hove, [1880] - contents of Sprivers in Kent, described in our last Annual Report. With the tendency of 1980 (9282) Victorian correspondents to date their letters ‘Thursday’ or not at all, it was a welcome • Hart Reade, solicitors, Polegate: deeds of 28 Okehurst Road, Eastbourne, 1895- surprise to find that they remained in their envelopes, all dated by postmark courtesy 1936 (9272) of the GPO. From what was ultimately the same source we coincidentally received • Henry Cane, solicitors, Brighton: deeds of 16 The Avenue, 1905-1982 (9306) photographs of the pupils of the Sarah Tucker Female Training Institution at Palamcottah • Stanley Tee and Co, solicitors, Bishops Stortford, Herts: deeds of Greenbank, in Tinnevelly, Madras, which was supported by Anna Courthope; one of them appears Luxford Road, Crowborough, 1899-1996 (9276) on the front cover of this report. The purpose of the institution was to train Christian native women as teachers in the province’s schools; the papers, which date from 1864 Business: to 1905, contain letters in Hindi, and we would be most grateful if anyone was able to • C Dean and Son, the forge, Rodmell, accounts, 1878-1880 (9295) translate them. • Inskip Partnership, Bedford: drawings of Little Heavegate, Warren Road, Crowborough, 1965 (9342) But the most exciting acquisition of the year began with defeat and disappointment. • J R Thornton, auctioneers, Lewes, records, 20th century (9246) At the beginning of November a regular user noticed that a portfolio of drawings of • Merrydown plc, cider manufacturers, annual reports and accounts, Herstmonceux Castle, undertaken by the James Lamberts of Lewes in 1776, was to be 1982-2002 (9379) offered for sale at Sotheby’s on 24 November. The commission is well known – the

28 9 preliminary drawings are split between the V&A and Barbican House Museum in Lewes • Hastings Borough Council: Planning Application and Building Control plans and – but inspection of the volume revealed the Dacre bookplate inside the front cover. papers, 1947-1974 (9192) This was clearly the original copy, commissioned by Thomas Lennard, Lord Dacre, on • Hastings Borough Council: Planning Department, aerial photographs, 1965 (9215) learning of the impending destruction of his ancestral home. We had very little time to • Winchelsea Corporation deeds, 1831-2000 (9325) raise what was clearly going to be a substantial five-figure sum, and were delighted when the national Purchase Grants Fund committed their support for 50% of a price Parish and Town Councils: up to £12,000. When the day of the sale came, we entered the room with only £6500, • Arlington, minutes and correspondence, 1970s - c2000 (9284) and lost the volume at the next bid. Not to be outdone, we contacted the vendor the • Ewhurst, map showing the parish boundaries, c1875 (9336) same day and learnt with horror that the volume was to be broken up, and the 14 • Firle, records including minutes, 1894-2005 (9310) individual pictures framed ‘to decorate a room in 18th-century style’. A few minutes of • Newick, records, [1833]-2004 (9264) pleading later and the vendor, a furniture dealer in London, had agreed to give us six • Rodmell, records including minutes, 1882-1999 (9172) weeks’ grace to raise his asking price for the entire volume: £12,500. In the time that • Sedlescombe, records, 1995-2005 (9257); slides produced by Frank Johnson and had passed since our original application the Purchase Grant Fund had less money to Pauline Raymond, [c1900] - 2005 (9236) offer, and we found ourselves with £7500 to raise. The only answer was a public appeal, • Wadhurst, records concerning the charter celebrations, 2003 (9346) and FESRO stepped in immediately to organise it, with the assistance of the Friends of • Warbleton, minutes, 1971 - c1990 (9285) Herstmonceux Castle. It would be difficult to find a more iconic Sussex building around which to mount such a campaign, and by the end of January, with the help of donations Ecclesiastical Parishes: of between £5 and £500 from 87 private individuals, we had raised the necessary • Buxted, St Margaret, record of church furnishings produced by NADFAS, 2005 funds. A celebratory party was held at the Castle in September 2006, but that will have (9409) to wait for another Annual Report. • Crowborough, St John the Evangelist, lists and plans of graves, 2005 (9259) • Eastbourne, St Mary, papers, 1864-1955 (9303) We had learnt about all these sales from friendly and alert users of the record office, • Fletching, marriage register, 1998-2005 (9279) but another tip-off came our way from the National Trust at Bodiam, which had been • Herstmonceux, parish magazines, 1914-1923 (9377) offered an ‘illegible’ document relating to the castle. This turned out to be an analytical • Hollington, St John the Evangelist, marriage register, 2000-2005 (9317) survey of the manor of Bodiam, compiled in 1645 by Richard Kilburne of Fowlers in • Hooe, marriage register, 1989-1994 (9391) Hawkhurst and Staple Inn (1605-1678), acting as steward for Sir Nathaniel Powell, the • Lewes, St John Southover, financial records, 1923-1964 (9249) lord of the manor. During the 1640s Kilburne compiled similar surveys of Powell’s other • Mayfield, marriage registers, 1987-2003 (9359) manors, many of which we already hold. The redoubtable lawyer had before him court • Northiam, parish magazines, and records of St Mary's Women's Fellowship, 20th rolls of Bodiam stretching back to 1393, alas no longer extant, but fortunately for us his century (9204) antiquarian leanings were sufficient to encourage him to extract much of the data into • St Leonards, Christ Church, records 1873-2000, including Christ Church CE his own survey. So in this small paper book, bought in a junk-shop in Tunbridge Wells, School governors' minutes, 1873-1903 (9233) are preserved the histories of several farms in the parish stretching back to within a • Stonegate service registers, 1879-1979 (9239); registers of banns, 1869-1954, decade of the castle itself. and marriages, 1981-1995, and album of photographs of the new church, 1904 (9353) We also have the National Trust to thanks for an exciting addition to the Sheffield Park • Tidebrook, records, 1924-1993 (9240); records, including banns register, 1856- archive. These papers had been bought in a Brighton bookshop almost 30 years ago 1970 (9354) and were almost certainly of the same provenance as those we bought in 1981. As well • Wadhurst, parish magazines, 20th century (9238); records, 20th century (9200) as interesting extracts from lost account-books showing expenditure on the park in the • Willingdon, vestry minutes, 1838-1855 (purchase) (9213) 1730s, the material includes a series of letters from John Ellman of Glynde, attempting to resolve a dispute with the tenants of Lord Hampden’s manor of Broadhurst, who Other Church records: had been hunting ‘with hounds and lurchers’ over farms on Lord Sheffield’s estate. A Methodist: fascinating insight into the character of the irascible but perhaps socially insecure peer • Eastbourne Circuit, records, 1864-2000, including baptism and marriage registers is provided in an opinion given by Sir Fletcher Norton, informing him that the positioning for Central Methodist Church, St Aidan's, and Willingdon (9178) of his additional name of Baker – John Holroyd Baker or John Baker Holroyd – was • Hastings, Bexhill and Rye Circuit, records, 1837-1989, including Norman Road immaterial. Methodist Church, St Leonards, marriage registers, 1902-1989 (9248) • Norman Road Church, St Leonards on Sea, marriage register, 1989-2000 (9334)

10 27 Appendix 2

East Sussex Accessions

A list of the principal East Sussex accessions received between April 2005 and March 2006. Reference may be made to the documents by the accession number (in brackets); not all deposits are yet listed in detail, and not all may yet be available for consultation.

East Sussex Accessions

County Council: • Eastbourne Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths, marriage registers, 1991- 2005 (9318) • Highways and Transportation Department: contract aerial photographs for the Polegate West Bypass, 1989 (9350)

Sussex Police Authority: • CD showing the official opening of Uckfield police station, 2005 (9287) • Fletching police house, daily occurrence book, 1940-1945 (9398) • Records of Keir Angel (addnl); papers including the case of the body found in a canoe on the river Ouse, 1939; 1939-1968 (9290) • Photographs, 1950s - 1960s (9397) The Trug Shop, Herstmonceux, c1980 (ACC 9338) • Plan of Crowborough by PC C Perrin, marked with features including a gypsy camp, 1938 (9330) A prodigious amount of material still enters the office by gift and deposit in the • Sussex Police Senior Officers' Mess, including minutes, 1968-1993 (9341) traditional way and, as has been noticed, this was a record year. Regrettably as a result of its ceasing to trade, the owners of the Herstmonceux Trug Shop deposited Health Authorities and Hospitals: accounts and photographs of this world-famous East Sussex business, covering • Sussex Downs School of Nursing, 20th century (9339) 1851-2005. We received papers of the Hastings and Rye Methodist Circuit from 1837, documents relating to forges at Splayne’s Green in Fletching and at Rodmell from Other Public Authorities: 1863; photographs of the gargantuan figure of Reg ‘Fatty’ Briggs, manager of the • The Countryside Agency, documents relating to the South Downs National Park Lewes Cinema de Luxe on School Hill, and of his more modest establishment (see Inquiry, 1949-2003 (9299) page 30); and a book of psalms and hymn-tunes compiled by the Brightling miller • Hastings Probation Service records, 1900-1929 (9399) Thomas Sanders in 1780. New additions to the records of the Dobell and Lane families • Office of Government Commerce: deeds of the Commissioners of HM Works and of Streat and Folkington included a court roll for the manors of Streat, Westmeston Public Buildings, 1908-1960 (9307) and Hurstpierpoint, 1533, a list of people paying the subsidy or tax in the Rape of Lewes in 1590, and a grant of arms to Walter Dobell of Falmer, 10 June 1604; issued Borough and District Councils: by the antiquary William Camden in his role as Clarenceux King of Arms, its seal • Eastbourne Borough Council and predecessors: building regulations plans and remains enclosed in a contemporary turned wooden box. The deposit also includes indexes, 1865-1965 (9241) the account-book of William Dobell of Folkington, last seen in 1851 when extracts • Eastbourne Borough Council, electoral registers, 1993-1998 (9329) were published in SAC. This fascinating record, covering 1709 to 1752, spans the • Eastbourne Borough Council: press office, press releases, promotional material, period when Dobell’s residence was arguably the most fashionable house in the county c1995-2004 (9216) – Folkington Place, ‘the stately mansion of Sir William Thomas’, was one of only three • Eastbourne Borough Council: Strategy and Democracy Department reports, Sussex seats depicted in Leonard Knyff’s Britannia illustrata in 1707. 1995-2005 (9375) • Hastings Borough Council additional records, 1790-1974 (9269)

26 11 Record Office Staff, 2005 - 2006

County Archivist: Elizabeth Hughes BA

Archive Services

Senior Archivist, Document Services Christopher Whittick MA, FSA, FRHistS Senior Archivist, Public Services Philip Bye BA Brighton & Hove Archivist Andrew Bennett BA Archivist Anna Manthorpe BLib Senior Searchroom Supervisor Jennifer Nash Searchroom Supervisor Pauline Colwell Receptionist/Typist Anne Hart (to October 2005) Document Production Assistant Dennis Steer General/Technical Assistant David Calvert Research Assistant (p/t) Andrew Lusted Book of psalms and hymn-tunes compiled by Thomas Sanders of Brightling and Saturday Assistants (p/t) Brian Phillips, Andrew Lusted Waldron, 1780-1790 (ACC 9376) Project Supervisor (p/t) John Farrant MA, FSA In 1951 the Sussex element of the archive of the Hutton family of Marske was Parish Chest Project Assistant Rachel Freeman BA (to September 2005) transferred to Lewes from the North Yorkshire Record Office; it relates to the Wealden Lady Chichester Hospital Project Anne Hart (from November 2005) estates of the Penkhurst and Dyke families, and includes a great deal of material relating Assistants Lavender Jones (from November 2005) to the iron industry. In 2005 we discovered, via Access to Archives, that the remaining papers at Northallerton still contained almost as many East Sussex documents as those Records Management we received in 1951. Our colleagues generously agreed to repatriate them to Sussex, and we were delighted to find that the collection includes a charter of c1140 granting Senior Archivist, Records Management Wendy Walker BA land to the abbey of Combwell in Kent, as well as informative reports of tours of Supervisor, Modern Records Chris Hankin inspection of the family’s Sussex properties, undertaken once their base had transferred Records Clerks Georges Reynolds to Yorkshire in the 18th century. Joy Reynolds (p/t) (to May 2005) Suzanne Mitchell (from August 2005) We always try to obtain copies of papers relating to the county when the originals cannot be acquired, either because they are already in another repository or because Senior Records Clerk, Brighton & Hove Sue Thomas their owners prefer to retain them. In this year we received copies of a map of Records Clerk, Brighton & Hove David Myers BA the manor of Bower in Forest Row, drawn by John Pattenden in 1641, from the Buckinghamshire Record Office; maps of Clapham Farm in the Cuckmere Valley, 1723 Conservation and 1828; a map of the estates of William Coleman of Brede, 1823; and drawings of farms and other buildings on the Buckhurst estate by Thomas Poppleton (whose views Conservator (p/t) Melissa Williams MA of the Gilbert estate in Eastbourne we already hold), 1800. We succeeded in identifying an account for the manor of Eastbourne Nether Inn, 1495-97, among the archives Other of King’s College, Cambridge, and in explaining its presence there; as a reward we received copies of many of the college’s documents relating to their Sussex estates, Freedom of Information Officer Jane Bartlett BA including a splendid charter of 1106 by which the Count of Eu granted the manor of Museum Development Officer Michael Rowlands Ph D (p/t) (to July 2005) Hooe to the abbey of Bec in Normandy. Sonia Rasbery (from July 2005)

A list of all accessions received during the year forms Appendix 2.

12 25 Appendix 1 Work in Brighton & Hove

The East Sussex Record Office In June 2005 we learnt of the success of our application to the Wellcome Trust for £48,000 to list and conserve the records of the Lady Chichester Hospital, Hove; the Public Services, Document Services Records Management project has dominated the year under review. The psychiatric hospital in New Church and Conservation Road was pioneering in its approach to the treatment of the mentally ill. Helen Boyle, The Maltings, Record Centre the founder, adopted modern practices such as psychotherapy in the treatment of her Castle Precincts, Unit R, Avis Way patients who, initially, were exclusively women. The hospital admitted children and men Lewes BN7 1YT Newhaven BN9 0DU from the 1930s and continued operating until 1987 when it stopped taking in-patients Telephone: Telephone/fax: and became known as the Aldrington Day Hospital. Lewes (01273) 482349 Newhaven (01273) 517023 Fax: (01273) 482341 During the course of the project, entitled Beyond the Borderland of Mental Health, in Email: [email protected] [email protected] the region of 20,000 in and out-patient case files covering the period 1921-1985 were Website: www.eastsussex.gov.uk/useourarchives processed by Anne Hart and Lavender Jones. They also listed other items from earlier accessions such as day report books and doctors’ correspondence, which Wendy The Record Office is part of the Law and Performance Management Division of the Walker and Christopher Whittick had collected with the files in 1994. Whilst of great Chief Executive’s Department of East Sussex County Council under the direction of importance to medical researchers, the vast majority of these records are subject to the Andrew Ogden. Services are provided to Brighton & Hove City Council. Data Protection Act so are not yet generally accessible to the public. Work started in October 2005 and finished in October 2006. The Record Office at The Maltings exists to preserve the documentary heritage of East Sussex, and of Brighton & Hove, and to make its resources available to the Aside from the Borderland project we have received a good cross-section of records public for research. Records survive from about 1100 to the present day, from official, from Brighton & Hove City Council, Sussex County Cricket Club, schools, private ecclesiastical and private sources, which enable light to be thrown on most aspects organisations and local individuals. of local history. There are exceptionally good holdings of early maps. Enquiries and personal visits are welcomed. The Records Management section at Newhaven In June 2005 we received a large bundle of programmes relating to local theatrical and provides an internal service only, and there is no direct public access. sporting events from Bristol University Theatre Collection (AMS 6689). The provenance was not known but a number of the programmes mentioned the Palmer brothers, Hall Public Opening Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 8.45-4.45; Wednesday 9.30- [Marshall] and Dennis. A few months after the programmes had been listed we took in 4.45; Friday 8.45-4.15; second Saturday in month 9.00-1.00, 2.00-4.45. Weekday the papers of Mr Herbert Avis (AMS 6693) from his son Bruce who, quite coincidentally, appointments are not essential, but the Record Office can be full to capacity on some performed in the same theatre group as Hall Palmer. After depositing his own papers days, and a number of seats and microform readers may be reserved in advance in (AMS 6695) Mr Avis confirmed that annotations on some of the programmes were in order to avoid disappointment. All seats and microform readers are reservable on Palmer’s handwriting and that a number of photographs of unidentified people included Saturdays. Advance notice is appreciated from searchers needing assistance with Hall Palmer. Thus, from a bundle of programmes with no provenance, we were able not complex enquiries. Original documents are not produced between 12.30 and 2.00, but only to identify the original owner but also to establish a link with a recent depositor. the searchroom remains open (except Saturdays). The papers of Herbert Avis (1896-1972) of the Royal Horse Artillery and James Explanatory Leaflets are available on request giving details of access arrangements, Thompson (1898-1984) of the Royal Navy (AMS 6694) were both deposited after an and also of sources for family and house history. These, with other information about article in Brighton & Hove City Council’s publication City News. Both archives give a available resources, may be consulted on the County Council’s website (address as clear picture of the impact of the First World War on the lives of the men at the front and above). their families in Sussex.

Readers’ Tickets are necessary to consult original documents. They may be obtained Another insight into life on the home front, this time during the Second World War, can on the spot (free) on production of identification showing name, address and signature. be found in the sketches and paintings by pupils of Hove Park School drawn during CARN tickets from other record offices are valid. 1945 (ACC 9245). The artworks depict life in the school and show the girls in lessons and in their leisure time (see page 36). A quite different perspective on school life was A Research Service is available. For a fee, a member of staff will undertake research offered by an excellent series of photographs (BH/F/11/9/2/1) deposited in July 2005 by for those who cannot visit in person. Details are available on request. 24 13 Brighton College of Media and Art, Friends of the East Sussex Record Office formerly Stanley Deason School, which record a school football team During the year FESRO, through its Committee, donated £8054 to the Record Office, trip to Bruges and Ghent, Belgium not including the £7000 raised by the appeal for the Lambert portfolio. in 1974. Unfortunately none of the supporting paperwork survives This year’s Friends’ social programme included a visit to the Surrey History Centre (on so the majority of the pupils are which some old acquaintances were renewed), and to Charleston Manor in Westdean, unnamed but they provide a vivid with a talk on documents provided by Christopher Whittick. Sue Berry guided walks in evocation of the joy and misery of Brighton, Hove and Preston. FESRO also hosted the private view of the Eric Ravilious school sporting activities. postcards, and provided tea for the donors, many of whom had travelled long distances to attend. In August 2005 we purchased, with help from FESRO, a This year’s new departure was a series of ten evening classes in medieval Latin and photograph album presented to palaeography, taught to a group of FESRO members by Anne Drewery ‘whose patience John Burghope on his marriage and enthusiasm has helped us to unravel a trinity of problems: palaeography, language to Catherine Hitchins by the staff and abbreviations’. The group, who had little or no prior knowledge of Latin, tackled a at his gentlemen’s outfitters shop variety of charters and probate documents of the 13th to 16th centuries, working first at 139-140 North Street, Brighton from typescripts in order to understand the language and grammar, then on the originals (AMS 6685). Burghope was born to study the formation of letters and methods of abbreviation. It is hoped to run similar at Stroud, Gloucestershire in 1861 classes in conservation techniques next year. and moved to Brighton in 1884 with his brother H G Burghope, But the high point of FESRO’s year was undoubtedly the public appeal which secured Two little Burghopes keeping warm, c1890 with whom he set up his business. the Lambert drawings of Herstmonceux Castle for the county. That story has been (ACC 9268) In 1894 John Burghope and his recounted earlier in this report, but it has a more telling moral. Had the Friends been wife moved to 14 Wakefield Road, able to match the original offer of grant aid, we would almost certainly have been able to Brighton, before moving to The Poplars, Harrington Road, in 1913. By the time of his purchase the volume at a lower price, and our staff at ESRO would have been spared death on 1 March 1932 Burghope lived at 17 Clermont Terrace, Preston. The album, the many hours of work devoted to the appeal. If we are to continue to save such which comprises photographs of the Burghope and Hitchins families, came with no precious resources, we should ideally establish a purchase-fund and spend its income, supporting paperwork and only a few of the photographs were annotated. However, rather than live from hand to mouth as at present. But, however desirable, that is still a where identities were given, research by Record Office staff and Julian Moore revealed long way in the future. some biographical details of the people caught on camera for John and Catherine’s wedding gift. Thanks are due to the officers and committee for the hard work they put into its running and for the moral and financial support they give to the Record Office; to the many Following the transfer of Charles Thomas-Stanford’s antiquarian collection (ACC 8997) volunteers who carry out indexing, typing, data entry and other projects; and to the from Preston Manor in 2004, Brighton Museum passed us a series of 21 detailed maps members at large for their interest, support and enthusiasm. But as our campaign to of the Stanford Estate (BH/P/1). They date from around 1915, and in many instances build a new Record Office which is worthy of its holdings and users begins in earnest, give details of property conveyances, augmenting the records of the estate received the role of the Friends in ESRO’s future has never been more important. from its solicitors in 1977 (ACC 2137). A dedicated volunteer is currently working on inputting and amending the original index to the antiquarian papers, which will greatly Elizabeth Hughes, County Archivist improve access to this superb collection of letters and deeds of properties throughout November 2006 Sussex, the earliest of which date from the 13th century.

14 23 Outreach

An active programme of outreach continued. Talks were given to a wide variety of family history, local history and community groups across the county and in Brighton & Hove. Contacts with local universities and colleges were continued with sessions for students and staff from Sussex University, City College, Brighton & Hove and Sussex Downs College, and evening classes were taught by Record Office staff at The Maltings throughout the winter months. The Record Office had displays and staff presence at a number of other events, including the Crawley family history fair in February and the Sussex Family History Group’s annual conference in April at which we ran a workshop on records of the Old Poor Law. We also achieved a fair amount of press coverage, both on new accessions, the Herstmonceux appeal and the maps digitisation project.

Two other major events took place during the year. In the autumn, the final events of the Navigating History Project took place, based on creating an archive and artwork based on the ordinary day of 10 September 2001, the day before 9/11. For the four weeks beginning in September and October, artist Neville Gabie created and displayed some of the material he collected on two huge billboards opposite Lewes station (see below). There was also an extensive selection of the material in a centre-page spread in the Sussex Express on 16 September. Finally, there was an evening event on 6 October at the Record Office, at which Neville Gabie and Dorothy Sheridan of the Mass- Observation Archive at Sussex University joined Elizabeth Hughes to give an insight into recording the memories of everyday life through diaries and personal testimony.

Very successful, if exhausting, was the family history open day held at The Maltings on 11 February. Held in conjunction with BBC Southern Counties Radio as part of a series of events run in conjunction with the television programme, Who Do You Think You Are? the event benefited from the BBC’s efficient publicity machine: the Maltings was full of people from the minute we opened, and we offered family history advice, tours behind the scenes and conservation demonstrations to an enormous crowd of people - about 400 - with little or no experience of family history or record offices. We were ably helped by volunteers from the Sussex Family History Group, Family Roots Family History Society and by the Friends of East Sussex Record Office.

Members viewing Eric Ravilious’s postcard collection at the FESRO open-day, 4 February 2006 (ACC 9357)

22 15 Conservation

The conservation studio has continued to keep pace with demand, and over the past twelve months many documents, maps and photographs have undergone treatment. Several major projects have been completed, and some remain ongoing, including conservation of 19th and 20th-century posters from the Brighton Theatre Royal. However the largest project undertaken this year has to be the preparation of our tithe maps for digitisation. The studio has also undergone a transformation with the disposal of outdated equipment and the creation of more space.

Theatre Royal Archive

We hold many black and white as well as coloured posters, which have become acidic due to their prior storage conditions. Most of the collection has undergone treatment to deacidify and reintroduce moisture into the structure of the paper. This has proved successful and many of the posters have been lined; all now have melinex sleeves to protect and preserve them in the future. Among the collection there is a silk poster edged with lace that had become very badly damaged from mould, compounded by the effects of the frame in which it was stored.

A carter, with smock and ox-goad, arrives to collect the harvest at Kitchenham Farm in Etchingham; detail from Thomas Redford’s map, 1754 (ACC 9223)

Stocktaking 2006

In the last two weeks of January we close for our annual stocktaking, using the time to carry out jobs that are impossible to tackle while we are open to the public. The fortnight in 2006 allowed us to correlate the transcripts of parish registers in the searchroom, bringing much new material into public use, and we began to catch up with alterations made by the Parish Chest project to the references of the parish records themselves. A major re-shelving was undertaken at our Newhaven outstore, and much- needed space created by dis-framing printed playbills from the Brighton Theatre Royal. A very large accession of documents, received from the London solicitors to the Glynde Estate, was listed in detail. They had been billed in last year’s report as 20th century, but were found to contain much older material, including a survey of the lands of the dissolved Priory of Royston in Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire from 1610. More time A mounted Theatre Royal poster is turned back to reveal a morass of mould (ACC 8260) was spent in processing and sorting the archive of the artist and designer Peggy Angus.

16 21 Staff Tithe maps project: August 05 – February 06

There were a few comings and goings during the year. We said farewell to Rachel The condition and appearance of our 124 tithe maps were assessed during several Freeman, Parish Chest Project Assistant, and wished her well for her MA studies in office training sessions. Overall the maps were found to be in a good state, but London, but in November welcomed Anne Hart and Lavender Jones as staff for the extremely dirty from years of use. Some had been stored inside metal tubes which had Lady Chichester Hospital Project. Anne’s presence on the reception desk was much decayed, damaging the maps with rust stains. Thankfully mould was not present in missed by staff and customers alike. Michael Rowlands was succeeded as Museum any of the maps as this could have caused serious problems for their neighbours. All Development Officer by Sonia Rasbery in an expanded, full-time post. At the Record the maps had been repaired around 1955 by the Public Record Office, using a heavy Centre we lost Joy Reynolds, who moved out of the county, and her post was ably filled linen material as lining, attached with a resin adhesive which has caused problems. by Suzanne Mitchell. Andrew Lusted and Brian Phillips continued to provide essential Further work had been carried out at ESRO between 1988 and 1990, all of which is fully cover during vacancies and holidays, without which the service would grind to a halt, documented. The maps vary from 4ft to 10ft wide and between 6ft to 40ft in length. and John Farrant kept all our projects on the straight and narrow. When the project began Melissa Williams was very fortunate to have Kate Bailey as a We continue to be grateful for the contribution made to our work by volunteers. There volunteer assistant – some of the larger maps needed two people to handle them whilst are too many for me to name them all but particular mention should go to Kate Bailey, cleaning. Many of the maps are hand-coloured and have additional information pencilled who provided invaluable and cheerful help in conservation during a placement from on to them from various sources, which needed to be preserved. The maps were Camberwell College of Arts, to all the volunteers who helped us to complete the Parish first cleaned using Mars Staedtler erasers on the back and front, which is the safest Chest project, and to Sheila Wood and Sy Morse-Brown for keying the descriptions of treatment and leaves no residue behind. As a matter of policy, it was decided to repair the Thomas-Stanford deeds and the architectural plans of Fuller and Askew. only those areas which contained information, unless there were fundamental problems which jeopardised the structure of the map. Archival cloth was used in the backing of Members of staff have also contributed significantly to professional matters nationally the maps and was applied directly using a very hot tacking iron, three of which were and the promotion of historical and archival concerns locally. Elizabeth Hughes, County written off in the course of the project. An opportunity was taken to deal with some Archivist, served as secretary of both the Association of Chief Archivists in Local parish copies of the maps, many of which had been deposited from storage conditions Government and (until December) of the British Records Association, as a member which were far from ideal. To note an extreme example, one map was attached to a flat of the South East Museum Library and Archive Council’s Archive Policy Advisory wooden batten with brown parcel tape and drawing pins at 10 inch intervals. Group, the National Council on Archives, the Executive Committee of the East Sussex Museums Council and as a trustee of Rye Museum. Christopher Whittick served on the Sussex Historic Churches Trust, the editorial board of Sussex Archaeological Lady Chichester Archive Collections, the Bodiam Castle Management Committee and the Tom Paine Project. He taught palaeography and administrative history to University of Sussex MA students, The studio’s role in this project was simply to train the members of staff in handling the and at the annual palaeography summer school at Keele. His services were offered as documents, how to surface-clean them, remove ferrous material such as paperclips a prize at the chairman’s charity auction, gaining an interesting commission to trace the and staples and replace them with brass clips and treasury tags, then to package them history of the Rotherfield home of the sheriff David Tate. Philip Bye was on the council of in an effective ways without creating the need for more storage space. Once this was the Sussex Record Society and the Research Committee of the Sussex Archaeological under way Melissa carried out further treatment on items which required more than Society. He and Wendy Walker served on the South East Film and Video Archive cleaning and re-housing, including the cleaning and packaging of X-Rays and some (now Screen Archive South East) advisory group. Wendy served on the British Library water treatment to remove staining. Steering Group for the Reaching the Regions project, the Steering Group of the Public Sculpture of Sussex: National Recording Project based at Brighton University and was a member of the Local Government Group of the Records Management Society and of the Health Archivists Group. Andrew Bennett served on the council of the Sussex Record Society and was a member of the Health Archives Group.

In December David Calvert received a Lord Lieutenant’s Award for meritorious service as Flight Lieutenant, RAF VR(T) in the Air Training Corps; the citation spoke of his outstanding work as a trainer in a nationally recognised and successful radio and communications team.

20 17 Records Management In January 2006 the Record Centre submitted a proposal for an Invest to Improve Scheme and was successful in receiving a sum of money for further work to enable The Record Centre at Newhaven manages those records of all departments of East us to deal more efficiently with the increasing workloads and large numbers of Sussex County Council together with those of Brighton & Hove City Council and other consignments which continue to be transferred as the result of major moves within the clients which are not in daily use but which need to be kept for pre-determined periods offices of the County Council and those of our clients. Work is underway to develop of time for legal, administrative or financial purposes; they are then either confidentially new electronic forms and procedures, which will speed up both the processing and destroyed or transferred to archives. Other external clients include CAFCASS production of records for our many customers. Further work will be undertaken next (successors to the Guardians ad litem service) and the East Sussex Fire and Rescue year when additional staff will be employed to process the backlog of transfers and Service. Records Management is also now available to Parish Councils in East and to appraise the growing accumulation of records which have reached the end of their West Sussex. retention periods and are ready to be assessed as potential archives.

The Freedom of Information Act 2000, which came into effect from 1 January 2005, Space continues to be a problem at the Record Centre and the number of transfers has continued to have a major impact on the service since the Code of Practice which this year shows an overall increase of 12% with the Brighton & Hove transfers rising by accompanies the Act makes it clear that Records Management is an essential tool some 15%. Both the record production figures and the deeds production figures show for all local authorities and public bodies. Work therefore continues to ensure that all a significant increase with a 34% rise in the number of deeds returned to departments. departments of the County Council as well as those of our clients have up-to-date and We continue to meet our target of ensuring that all records are produced and returned fully comprehensive retention schedules for all their records, both paper and electronic, to our customers wherever they are based in East Sussex and Brighton & Hove within wherever they are held. Work is now focussing on issuing schedules and carrying out 24 hours of the request. We receive regular emails of gratitude and praise for the records audits for those County Council departments which have been restructured efficiency and friendliness of our service from our many customers, which the staff of as the result of recent internal reorganisation. In Brighton & Hove our Records the Record Centre both appreciate and deserve. Management survey work is continuing as part of the ongoing Freedom of Information Records Audit. 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 The Countywide Freedom of Information and Data Protection Group, set up in Transfers received 1,887 metres 1,534 metres 1,752 metres 2004, has been attended by Elizabeth Hughes and Wendy Walker together with Transfers received: ESCC 1,026 metres 651 metres 712 metres representatives from Brighton & Hove City Council, the district and borough councils, B&H City Council 861 metres 883 metres 1040 metres East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service and Sussex Police. The reputation of the Destruction of time-expired material 110 metres 810 metres 777 metres Record Centre continues to grow as one of the longest standing and leading Records Files returned to departments 4,364 4,099 4,150 Management Services in the country. Requests for advice from other local authorities Deeds production 299* 657 996 and organisations continue to be received on a regular basis and visitors to the Record Centre this year have included representatives from district and borough councils within * This figure represents deed productions from November 2003 when the Record East Sussex as well as local authority staff from outside the county. In February Wendy Centre took over this role. Walker was the keynote speaker at a two day conference on Developing a Records Management Strategy for the Public Sector held at the Hilton Hotel in Kensington. This year she has also given presentations to the Sussex Institute Research Ethics Workshop at the University of Sussex and the Local Government Group of the Records Management Society.

The Electronic Document and Records Management Project continues to be an increasingly important aspect of the service as work gets underway for devising a corporate file plan for the Council’s electronic records and preparing for a pilot EDRM project to be a carried out over the next six months. The principle of applying a corporate Records Management programme for the electronic records of the County Council continues to be a challenging but essential part of our work.

Downland Village; engraved by Eric Gill and printed by Douglas Pepler for the Sussex entry in a national competition for branch programmes, c1918 (WI 53/47/1)

18 19 Records Management In January 2006 the Record Centre submitted a proposal for an Invest to Improve Scheme and was successful in receiving a sum of money for further work to enable The Record Centre at Newhaven manages those records of all departments of East us to deal more efficiently with the increasing workloads and large numbers of Sussex County Council together with those of Brighton & Hove City Council and other consignments which continue to be transferred as the result of major moves within the clients which are not in daily use but which need to be kept for pre-determined periods offices of the County Council and those of our clients. Work is underway to develop of time for legal, administrative or financial purposes; they are then either confidentially new electronic forms and procedures, which will speed up both the processing and destroyed or transferred to archives. Other external clients include CAFCASS production of records for our many customers. Further work will be undertaken next (successors to the Guardians ad litem service) and the East Sussex Fire and Rescue year when additional staff will be employed to process the backlog of transfers and Service. Records Management is also now available to Parish Councils in East and to appraise the growing accumulation of records which have reached the end of their West Sussex. retention periods and are ready to be assessed as potential archives.

The Freedom of Information Act 2000, which came into effect from 1 January 2005, Space continues to be a problem at the Record Centre and the number of transfers has continued to have a major impact on the service since the Code of Practice which this year shows an overall increase of 12% with the Brighton & Hove transfers rising by accompanies the Act makes it clear that Records Management is an essential tool some 15%. Both the record production figures and the deeds production figures show for all local authorities and public bodies. Work therefore continues to ensure that all a significant increase with a 34% rise in the number of deeds returned to departments. departments of the County Council as well as those of our clients have up-to-date and We continue to meet our target of ensuring that all records are produced and returned fully comprehensive retention schedules for all their records, both paper and electronic, to our customers wherever they are based in East Sussex and Brighton & Hove within wherever they are held. Work is now focussing on issuing schedules and carrying out 24 hours of the request. We receive regular emails of gratitude and praise for the records audits for those County Council departments which have been restructured efficiency and friendliness of our service from our many customers, which the staff of as the result of recent internal reorganisation. In Brighton & Hove our Records the Record Centre both appreciate and deserve. Management survey work is continuing as part of the ongoing Freedom of Information Records Audit. 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 The Countywide Freedom of Information and Data Protection Group, set up in Transfers received 1,887 metres 1,534 metres 1,752 metres 2004, has been attended by Elizabeth Hughes and Wendy Walker together with Transfers received: ESCC 1,026 metres 651 metres 712 metres representatives from Brighton & Hove City Council, the district and borough councils, B&H City Council 861 metres 883 metres 1040 metres East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service and Sussex Police. The reputation of the Destruction of time-expired material 110 metres 810 metres 777 metres Record Centre continues to grow as one of the longest standing and leading Records Files returned to departments 4,364 4,099 4,150 Management Services in the country. Requests for advice from other local authorities Deeds production 299* 657 996 and organisations continue to be received on a regular basis and visitors to the Record Centre this year have included representatives from district and borough councils within * This figure represents deed productions from November 2003 when the Record East Sussex as well as local authority staff from outside the county. In February Wendy Centre took over this role. Walker was the keynote speaker at a two day conference on Developing a Records Management Strategy for the Public Sector held at the Hilton Hotel in Kensington. This year she has also given presentations to the Sussex Institute Research Ethics Workshop at the University of Sussex and the Local Government Group of the Records Management Society.

The Electronic Document and Records Management Project continues to be an increasingly important aspect of the service as work gets underway for devising a corporate file plan for the Council’s electronic records and preparing for a pilot EDRM project to be a carried out over the next six months. The principle of applying a corporate Records Management programme for the electronic records of the County Council continues to be a challenging but essential part of our work.

Downland Village; engraved by Eric Gill and printed by Douglas Pepler for the Sussex entry in a national competition for branch programmes, c1918 (WI 53/47/1)

18 19 Staff Tithe maps project: August 05 – February 06

There were a few comings and goings during the year. We said farewell to Rachel The condition and appearance of our 124 tithe maps were assessed during several Freeman, Parish Chest Project Assistant, and wished her well for her MA studies in office training sessions. Overall the maps were found to be in a good state, but London, but in November welcomed Anne Hart and Lavender Jones as staff for the extremely dirty from years of use. Some had been stored inside metal tubes which had Lady Chichester Hospital Project. Anne’s presence on the reception desk was much decayed, damaging the maps with rust stains. Thankfully mould was not present in missed by staff and customers alike. Michael Rowlands was succeeded as Museum any of the maps as this could have caused serious problems for their neighbours. All Development Officer by Sonia Rasbery in an expanded, full-time post. At the Record the maps had been repaired around 1955 by the Public Record Office, using a heavy Centre we lost Joy Reynolds, who moved out of the county, and her post was ably filled linen material as lining, attached with a resin adhesive which has caused problems. by Suzanne Mitchell. Andrew Lusted and Brian Phillips continued to provide essential Further work had been carried out at ESRO between 1988 and 1990, all of which is fully cover during vacancies and holidays, without which the service would grind to a halt, documented. The maps vary from 4ft to 10ft wide and between 6ft to 40ft in length. and John Farrant kept all our projects on the straight and narrow. When the project began Melissa Williams was very fortunate to have Kate Bailey as a We continue to be grateful for the contribution made to our work by volunteers. There volunteer assistant – some of the larger maps needed two people to handle them whilst are too many for me to name them all but particular mention should go to Kate Bailey, cleaning. Many of the maps are hand-coloured and have additional information pencilled who provided invaluable and cheerful help in conservation during a placement from on to them from various sources, which needed to be preserved. The maps were Camberwell College of Arts, to all the volunteers who helped us to complete the Parish first cleaned using Mars Staedtler erasers on the back and front, which is the safest Chest project, and to Sheila Wood and Sy Morse-Brown for keying the descriptions of treatment and leaves no residue behind. As a matter of policy, it was decided to repair the Thomas-Stanford deeds and the architectural plans of Fuller and Askew. only those areas which contained information, unless there were fundamental problems which jeopardised the structure of the map. Archival cloth was used in the backing of Members of staff have also contributed significantly to professional matters nationally the maps and was applied directly using a very hot tacking iron, three of which were and the promotion of historical and archival concerns locally. Elizabeth Hughes, County written off in the course of the project. An opportunity was taken to deal with some Archivist, served as secretary of both the Association of Chief Archivists in Local parish copies of the maps, many of which had been deposited from storage conditions Government and (until December) of the British Records Association, as a member which were far from ideal. To note an extreme example, one map was attached to a flat of the South East Museum Library and Archive Council’s Archive Policy Advisory wooden batten with brown parcel tape and drawing pins at 10 inch intervals. Group, the National Council on Archives, the Executive Committee of the East Sussex Museums Council and as a trustee of Rye Museum. Christopher Whittick served on the Sussex Historic Churches Trust, the editorial board of Sussex Archaeological Lady Chichester Archive Collections, the Bodiam Castle Management Committee and the Tom Paine Project. He taught palaeography and administrative history to University of Sussex MA students, The studio’s role in this project was simply to train the members of staff in handling the and at the annual palaeography summer school at Keele. His services were offered as documents, how to surface-clean them, remove ferrous material such as paperclips a prize at the chairman’s charity auction, gaining an interesting commission to trace the and staples and replace them with brass clips and treasury tags, then to package them history of the Rotherfield home of the sheriff David Tate. Philip Bye was on the council of in an effective ways without creating the need for more storage space. Once this was the Sussex Record Society and the Research Committee of the Sussex Archaeological under way Melissa carried out further treatment on items which required more than Society. He and Wendy Walker served on the South East Film and Video Archive cleaning and re-housing, including the cleaning and packaging of X-Rays and some (now Screen Archive South East) advisory group. Wendy served on the British Library water treatment to remove staining. Steering Group for the Reaching the Regions project, the Steering Group of the Public Sculpture of Sussex: National Recording Project based at Brighton University and was a member of the Local Government Group of the Records Management Society and of the Health Archivists Group. Andrew Bennett served on the council of the Sussex Record Society and was a member of the Health Archives Group.

In December David Calvert received a Lord Lieutenant’s Award for meritorious service as Flight Lieutenant, RAF VR(T) in the Air Training Corps; the citation spoke of his outstanding work as a trainer in a nationally recognised and successful radio and communications team.

20 17 Conservation

The conservation studio has continued to keep pace with demand, and over the past twelve months many documents, maps and photographs have undergone treatment. Several major projects have been completed, and some remain ongoing, including conservation of 19th and 20th-century posters from the Brighton Theatre Royal. However the largest project undertaken this year has to be the preparation of our tithe maps for digitisation. The studio has also undergone a transformation with the disposal of outdated equipment and the creation of more space.

Theatre Royal Archive

We hold many black and white as well as coloured posters, which have become acidic due to their prior storage conditions. Most of the collection has undergone treatment to deacidify and reintroduce moisture into the structure of the paper. This has proved successful and many of the posters have been lined; all now have melinex sleeves to protect and preserve them in the future. Among the collection there is a silk poster edged with lace that had become very badly damaged from mould, compounded by the effects of the frame in which it was stored.

A carter, with smock and ox-goad, arrives to collect the harvest at Kitchenham Farm in Etchingham; detail from Thomas Redford’s map, 1754 (ACC 9223)

Stocktaking 2006

In the last two weeks of January we close for our annual stocktaking, using the time to carry out jobs that are impossible to tackle while we are open to the public. The fortnight in 2006 allowed us to correlate the transcripts of parish registers in the searchroom, bringing much new material into public use, and we began to catch up with alterations made by the Parish Chest project to the references of the parish records themselves. A major re-shelving was undertaken at our Newhaven outstore, and much- needed space created by dis-framing printed playbills from the Brighton Theatre Royal. A very large accession of documents, received from the London solicitors to the Glynde Estate, was listed in detail. They had been billed in last year’s report as 20th century, but were found to contain much older material, including a survey of the lands of the dissolved Priory of Royston in Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire from 1610. More time A mounted Theatre Royal poster is turned back to reveal a morass of mould (ACC 8260) was spent in processing and sorting the archive of the artist and designer Peggy Angus.

16 21 Outreach

An active programme of outreach continued. Talks were given to a wide variety of family history, local history and community groups across the county and in Brighton & Hove. Contacts with local universities and colleges were continued with sessions for students and staff from Sussex University, City College, Brighton & Hove and Sussex Downs College, and evening classes were taught by Record Office staff at The Maltings throughout the winter months. The Record Office had displays and staff presence at a number of other events, including the Crawley family history fair in February and the Sussex Family History Group’s annual conference in April at which we ran a workshop on records of the Old Poor Law. We also achieved a fair amount of press coverage, both on new accessions, the Herstmonceux appeal and the maps digitisation project.

Two other major events took place during the year. In the autumn, the final events of the Navigating History Project took place, based on creating an archive and artwork based on the ordinary day of 10 September 2001, the day before 9/11. For the four weeks beginning in September and October, artist Neville Gabie created and displayed some of the material he collected on two huge billboards opposite Lewes station (see below). There was also an extensive selection of the material in a centre-page spread in the Sussex Express on 16 September. Finally, there was an evening event on 6 October at the Record Office, at which Neville Gabie and Dorothy Sheridan of the Mass- Observation Archive at Sussex University joined Elizabeth Hughes to give an insight into recording the memories of everyday life through diaries and personal testimony.

Very successful, if exhausting, was the family history open day held at The Maltings on 11 February. Held in conjunction with BBC Southern Counties Radio as part of a series of events run in conjunction with the television programme, Who Do You Think You Are? the event benefited from the BBC’s efficient publicity machine: the Maltings was full of people from the minute we opened, and we offered family history advice, tours behind the scenes and conservation demonstrations to an enormous crowd of people - about 400 - with little or no experience of family history or record offices. We were ably helped by volunteers from the Sussex Family History Group, Family Roots Family History Society and by the Friends of East Sussex Record Office.

Members viewing Eric Ravilious’s postcard collection at the FESRO open-day, 4 February 2006 (ACC 9357)

22 15 Brighton College of Media and Art, Friends of the East Sussex Record Office formerly Stanley Deason School, which record a school football team During the year FESRO, through its Committee, donated £8054 to the Record Office, trip to Bruges and Ghent, Belgium not including the £7000 raised by the appeal for the Lambert portfolio. in 1974. Unfortunately none of the supporting paperwork survives This year’s Friends’ social programme included a visit to the Surrey History Centre (on so the majority of the pupils are which some old acquaintances were renewed), and to Charleston Manor in Westdean, unnamed but they provide a vivid with a talk on documents provided by Christopher Whittick. Sue Berry guided walks in evocation of the joy and misery of Brighton, Hove and Preston. FESRO also hosted the private view of the Eric Ravilious school sporting activities. postcards, and provided tea for the donors, many of whom had travelled long distances to attend. In August 2005 we purchased, with help from FESRO, a This year’s new departure was a series of ten evening classes in medieval Latin and photograph album presented to palaeography, taught to a group of FESRO members by Anne Drewery ‘whose patience John Burghope on his marriage and enthusiasm has helped us to unravel a trinity of problems: palaeography, language to Catherine Hitchins by the staff and abbreviations’. The group, who had little or no prior knowledge of Latin, tackled a at his gentlemen’s outfitters shop variety of charters and probate documents of the 13th to 16th centuries, working first at 139-140 North Street, Brighton from typescripts in order to understand the language and grammar, then on the originals (AMS 6685). Burghope was born to study the formation of letters and methods of abbreviation. It is hoped to run similar at Stroud, Gloucestershire in 1861 classes in conservation techniques next year. and moved to Brighton in 1884 with his brother H G Burghope, But the high point of FESRO’s year was undoubtedly the public appeal which secured Two little Burghopes keeping warm, c1890 with whom he set up his business. the Lambert drawings of Herstmonceux Castle for the county. That story has been (ACC 9268) In 1894 John Burghope and his recounted earlier in this report, but it has a more telling moral. Had the Friends been wife moved to 14 Wakefield Road, able to match the original offer of grant aid, we would almost certainly have been able to Brighton, before moving to The Poplars, Harrington Road, in 1913. By the time of his purchase the volume at a lower price, and our staff at ESRO would have been spared death on 1 March 1932 Burghope lived at 17 Clermont Terrace, Preston. The album, the many hours of work devoted to the appeal. If we are to continue to save such which comprises photographs of the Burghope and Hitchins families, came with no precious resources, we should ideally establish a purchase-fund and spend its income, supporting paperwork and only a few of the photographs were annotated. However, rather than live from hand to mouth as at present. But, however desirable, that is still a where identities were given, research by Record Office staff and Julian Moore revealed long way in the future. some biographical details of the people caught on camera for John and Catherine’s wedding gift. Thanks are due to the officers and committee for the hard work they put into its running and for the moral and financial support they give to the Record Office; to the many Following the transfer of Charles Thomas-Stanford’s antiquarian collection (ACC 8997) volunteers who carry out indexing, typing, data entry and other projects; and to the from Preston Manor in 2004, Brighton Museum passed us a series of 21 detailed maps members at large for their interest, support and enthusiasm. But as our campaign to of the Stanford Estate (BH/P/1). They date from around 1915, and in many instances build a new Record Office which is worthy of its holdings and users begins in earnest, give details of property conveyances, augmenting the records of the estate received the role of the Friends in ESRO’s future has never been more important. from its solicitors in 1977 (ACC 2137). A dedicated volunteer is currently working on inputting and amending the original index to the antiquarian papers, which will greatly Elizabeth Hughes, County Archivist improve access to this superb collection of letters and deeds of properties throughout November 2006 Sussex, the earliest of which date from the 13th century.

14 23 Appendix 1 Work in Brighton & Hove

The East Sussex Record Office In June 2005 we learnt of the success of our application to the Wellcome Trust for £48,000 to list and conserve the records of the Lady Chichester Hospital, Hove; the Public Services, Document Services Records Management project has dominated the year under review. The psychiatric hospital in New Church and Conservation Road was pioneering in its approach to the treatment of the mentally ill. Helen Boyle, The Maltings, Record Centre the founder, adopted modern practices such as psychotherapy in the treatment of her Castle Precincts, Unit R, Avis Way patients who, initially, were exclusively women. The hospital admitted children and men Lewes BN7 1YT Newhaven BN9 0DU from the 1930s and continued operating until 1987 when it stopped taking in-patients Telephone: Telephone/fax: and became known as the Aldrington Day Hospital. Lewes (01273) 482349 Newhaven (01273) 517023 Fax: (01273) 482341 During the course of the project, entitled Beyond the Borderland of Mental Health, in Email: [email protected] [email protected] the region of 20,000 in and out-patient case files covering the period 1921-1985 were Website: www.eastsussex.gov.uk/useourarchives processed by Anne Hart and Lavender Jones. They also listed other items from earlier accessions such as day report books and doctors’ correspondence, which Wendy The Record Office is part of the Law and Performance Management Division of the Walker and Christopher Whittick had collected with the files in 1994. Whilst of great Chief Executive’s Department of East Sussex County Council under the direction of importance to medical researchers, the vast majority of these records are subject to the Andrew Ogden. Services are provided to Brighton & Hove City Council. Data Protection Act so are not yet generally accessible to the public. Work started in October 2005 and finished in October 2006. The Record Office at The Maltings exists to preserve the documentary heritage of East Sussex, and of Brighton & Hove, and to make its resources available to the Aside from the Borderland project we have received a good cross-section of records public for research. Records survive from about 1100 to the present day, from official, from Brighton & Hove City Council, Sussex County Cricket Club, schools, private ecclesiastical and private sources, which enable light to be thrown on most aspects organisations and local individuals. of local history. There are exceptionally good holdings of early maps. Enquiries and personal visits are welcomed. The Records Management section at Newhaven In June 2005 we received a large bundle of programmes relating to local theatrical and provides an internal service only, and there is no direct public access. sporting events from Bristol University Theatre Collection (AMS 6689). The provenance was not known but a number of the programmes mentioned the Palmer brothers, Hall Public Opening Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 8.45-4.45; Wednesday 9.30- [Marshall] and Dennis. A few months after the programmes had been listed we took in 4.45; Friday 8.45-4.15; second Saturday in month 9.00-1.00, 2.00-4.45. Weekday the papers of Mr Herbert Avis (AMS 6693) from his son Bruce who, quite coincidentally, appointments are not essential, but the Record Office can be full to capacity on some performed in the same theatre group as Hall Palmer. After depositing his own papers days, and a number of seats and microform readers may be reserved in advance in (AMS 6695) Mr Avis confirmed that annotations on some of the programmes were in order to avoid disappointment. All seats and microform readers are reservable on Palmer’s handwriting and that a number of photographs of unidentified people included Saturdays. Advance notice is appreciated from searchers needing assistance with Hall Palmer. Thus, from a bundle of programmes with no provenance, we were able not complex enquiries. Original documents are not produced between 12.30 and 2.00, but only to identify the original owner but also to establish a link with a recent depositor. the searchroom remains open (except Saturdays). The papers of Herbert Avis (1896-1972) of the Royal Horse Artillery and James Explanatory Leaflets are available on request giving details of access arrangements, Thompson (1898-1984) of the Royal Navy (AMS 6694) were both deposited after an and also of sources for family and house history. These, with other information about article in Brighton & Hove City Council’s publication City News. Both archives give a available resources, may be consulted on the County Council’s website (address as clear picture of the impact of the First World War on the lives of the men at the front and above). their families in Sussex.

Readers’ Tickets are necessary to consult original documents. They may be obtained Another insight into life on the home front, this time during the Second World War, can on the spot (free) on production of identification showing name, address and signature. be found in the sketches and paintings by pupils of Hove Park School drawn during CARN tickets from other record offices are valid. 1945 (ACC 9245). The artworks depict life in the school and show the girls in lessons and in their leisure time (see page 36). A quite different perspective on school life was A Research Service is available. For a fee, a member of staff will undertake research offered by an excellent series of photographs (BH/F/11/9/2/1) deposited in July 2005 by for those who cannot visit in person. Details are available on request. 24 13 Record Office Staff, 2005 - 2006

County Archivist: Elizabeth Hughes BA

Archive Services

Senior Archivist, Document Services Christopher Whittick MA, FSA, FRHistS Senior Archivist, Public Services Philip Bye BA Brighton & Hove Archivist Andrew Bennett BA Archivist Anna Manthorpe BLib Senior Searchroom Supervisor Jennifer Nash Searchroom Supervisor Pauline Colwell Receptionist/Typist Anne Hart (to October 2005) Document Production Assistant Dennis Steer General/Technical Assistant David Calvert Research Assistant (p/t) Andrew Lusted Book of psalms and hymn-tunes compiled by Thomas Sanders of Brightling and Saturday Assistants (p/t) Brian Phillips, Andrew Lusted Waldron, 1780-1790 (ACC 9376) Project Supervisor (p/t) John Farrant MA, FSA In 1951 the Sussex element of the archive of the Hutton family of Marske was Parish Chest Project Assistant Rachel Freeman BA (to September 2005) transferred to Lewes from the North Yorkshire Record Office; it relates to the Wealden Lady Chichester Hospital Project Anne Hart (from November 2005) estates of the Penkhurst and Dyke families, and includes a great deal of material relating Assistants Lavender Jones (from November 2005) to the iron industry. In 2005 we discovered, via Access to Archives, that the remaining papers at Northallerton still contained almost as many East Sussex documents as those Records Management we received in 1951. Our colleagues generously agreed to repatriate them to Sussex, and we were delighted to find that the collection includes a charter of c1140 granting Senior Archivist, Records Management Wendy Walker BA land to the abbey of Combwell in Kent, as well as informative reports of tours of Supervisor, Modern Records Chris Hankin inspection of the family’s Sussex properties, undertaken once their base had transferred Records Clerks Georges Reynolds to Yorkshire in the 18th century. Joy Reynolds (p/t) (to May 2005) Suzanne Mitchell (from August 2005) We always try to obtain copies of papers relating to the county when the originals cannot be acquired, either because they are already in another repository or because Senior Records Clerk, Brighton & Hove Sue Thomas their owners prefer to retain them. In this year we received copies of a map of Records Clerk, Brighton & Hove David Myers BA the manor of Bower in Forest Row, drawn by John Pattenden in 1641, from the Buckinghamshire Record Office; maps of Clapham Farm in the Cuckmere Valley, 1723 Conservation and 1828; a map of the estates of William Coleman of Brede, 1823; and drawings of farms and other buildings on the Buckhurst estate by Thomas Poppleton (whose views Conservator (p/t) Melissa Williams MA of the Gilbert estate in Eastbourne we already hold), 1800. We succeeded in identifying an account for the manor of Eastbourne Nether Inn, 1495-97, among the archives Other of King’s College, Cambridge, and in explaining its presence there; as a reward we received copies of many of the college’s documents relating to their Sussex estates, Freedom of Information Officer Jane Bartlett BA including a splendid charter of 1106 by which the Count of Eu granted the manor of Museum Development Officer Michael Rowlands Ph D (p/t) (to July 2005) Hooe to the abbey of Bec in Normandy. Sonia Rasbery (from July 2005)

A list of all accessions received during the year forms Appendix 2.

12 25 Appendix 2

East Sussex Accessions

A list of the principal East Sussex accessions received between April 2005 and March 2006. Reference may be made to the documents by the accession number (in brackets); not all deposits are yet listed in detail, and not all may yet be available for consultation.

East Sussex Accessions

County Council: • Eastbourne Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths, marriage registers, 1991- 2005 (9318) • Highways and Transportation Department: contract aerial photographs for the Polegate West Bypass, 1989 (9350)

Sussex Police Authority: • CD showing the official opening of Uckfield police station, 2005 (9287) • Fletching police house, daily occurrence book, 1940-1945 (9398) • Records of Keir Angel (addnl); papers including the case of the body found in a canoe on the river Ouse, 1939; 1939-1968 (9290) • Photographs, 1950s - 1960s (9397) The Trug Shop, Herstmonceux, c1980 (ACC 9338) • Plan of Crowborough by PC C Perrin, marked with features including a gypsy camp, 1938 (9330) A prodigious amount of material still enters the office by gift and deposit in the • Sussex Police Senior Officers' Mess, including minutes, 1968-1993 (9341) traditional way and, as has been noticed, this was a record year. Regrettably as a result of its ceasing to trade, the owners of the Herstmonceux Trug Shop deposited Health Authorities and Hospitals: accounts and photographs of this world-famous East Sussex business, covering • Sussex Downs School of Nursing, 20th century (9339) 1851-2005. We received papers of the Hastings and Rye Methodist Circuit from 1837, documents relating to forges at Splayne’s Green in Fletching and at Rodmell from Other Public Authorities: 1863; photographs of the gargantuan figure of Reg ‘Fatty’ Briggs, manager of the • The Countryside Agency, documents relating to the South Downs National Park Lewes Cinema de Luxe on School Hill, and of his more modest establishment (see Inquiry, 1949-2003 (9299) page 30); and a book of psalms and hymn-tunes compiled by the Brightling miller • Hastings Probation Service records, 1900-1929 (9399) Thomas Sanders in 1780. New additions to the records of the Dobell and Lane families • Office of Government Commerce: deeds of the Commissioners of HM Works and of Streat and Folkington included a court roll for the manors of Streat, Westmeston Public Buildings, 1908-1960 (9307) and Hurstpierpoint, 1533, a list of people paying the subsidy or tax in the Rape of Lewes in 1590, and a grant of arms to Walter Dobell of Falmer, 10 June 1604; issued Borough and District Councils: by the antiquary William Camden in his role as Clarenceux King of Arms, its seal • Eastbourne Borough Council and predecessors: building regulations plans and remains enclosed in a contemporary turned wooden box. The deposit also includes indexes, 1865-1965 (9241) the account-book of William Dobell of Folkington, last seen in 1851 when extracts • Eastbourne Borough Council, electoral registers, 1993-1998 (9329) were published in SAC. This fascinating record, covering 1709 to 1752, spans the • Eastbourne Borough Council: press office, press releases, promotional material, period when Dobell’s residence was arguably the most fashionable house in the county c1995-2004 (9216) – Folkington Place, ‘the stately mansion of Sir William Thomas’, was one of only three • Eastbourne Borough Council: Strategy and Democracy Department reports, Sussex seats depicted in Leonard Knyff’s Britannia illustrata in 1707. 1995-2005 (9375) • Hastings Borough Council additional records, 1790-1974 (9269)

26 11 preliminary drawings are split between the V&A and Barbican House Museum in Lewes • Hastings Borough Council: Planning Application and Building Control plans and – but inspection of the volume revealed the Dacre bookplate inside the front cover. papers, 1947-1974 (9192) This was clearly the original copy, commissioned by Thomas Lennard, Lord Dacre, on • Hastings Borough Council: Planning Department, aerial photographs, 1965 (9215) learning of the impending destruction of his ancestral home. We had very little time to • Winchelsea Corporation deeds, 1831-2000 (9325) raise what was clearly going to be a substantial five-figure sum, and were delighted when the national Purchase Grants Fund committed their support for 50% of a price Parish and Town Councils: up to £12,000. When the day of the sale came, we entered the room with only £6500, • Arlington, minutes and correspondence, 1970s - c2000 (9284) and lost the volume at the next bid. Not to be outdone, we contacted the vendor the • Ewhurst, map showing the parish boundaries, c1875 (9336) same day and learnt with horror that the volume was to be broken up, and the 14 • Firle, records including minutes, 1894-2005 (9310) individual pictures framed ‘to decorate a room in 18th-century style’. A few minutes of • Newick, records, [1833]-2004 (9264) pleading later and the vendor, a furniture dealer in London, had agreed to give us six • Rodmell, records including minutes, 1882-1999 (9172) weeks’ grace to raise his asking price for the entire volume: £12,500. In the time that • Sedlescombe, records, 1995-2005 (9257); slides produced by Frank Johnson and had passed since our original application the Purchase Grant Fund had less money to Pauline Raymond, [c1900] - 2005 (9236) offer, and we found ourselves with £7500 to raise. The only answer was a public appeal, • Wadhurst, records concerning the charter celebrations, 2003 (9346) and FESRO stepped in immediately to organise it, with the assistance of the Friends of • Warbleton, minutes, 1971 - c1990 (9285) Herstmonceux Castle. It would be difficult to find a more iconic Sussex building around which to mount such a campaign, and by the end of January, with the help of donations Ecclesiastical Parishes: of between £5 and £500 from 87 private individuals, we had raised the necessary • Buxted, St Margaret, record of church furnishings produced by NADFAS, 2005 funds. A celebratory party was held at the Castle in September 2006, but that will have (9409) to wait for another Annual Report. • Crowborough, St John the Evangelist, lists and plans of graves, 2005 (9259) • Eastbourne, St Mary, papers, 1864-1955 (9303) We had learnt about all these sales from friendly and alert users of the record office, • Fletching, marriage register, 1998-2005 (9279) but another tip-off came our way from the National Trust at Bodiam, which had been • Herstmonceux, parish magazines, 1914-1923 (9377) offered an ‘illegible’ document relating to the castle. This turned out to be an analytical • Hollington, St John the Evangelist, marriage register, 2000-2005 (9317) survey of the manor of Bodiam, compiled in 1645 by Richard Kilburne of Fowlers in • Hooe, marriage register, 1989-1994 (9391) Hawkhurst and Staple Inn (1605-1678), acting as steward for Sir Nathaniel Powell, the • Lewes, St John Southover, financial records, 1923-1964 (9249) lord of the manor. During the 1640s Kilburne compiled similar surveys of Powell’s other • Mayfield, marriage registers, 1987-2003 (9359) manors, many of which we already hold. The redoubtable lawyer had before him court • Northiam, parish magazines, and records of St Mary's Women's Fellowship, 20th rolls of Bodiam stretching back to 1393, alas no longer extant, but fortunately for us his century (9204) antiquarian leanings were sufficient to encourage him to extract much of the data into • St Leonards, Christ Church, records 1873-2000, including Christ Church CE his own survey. So in this small paper book, bought in a junk-shop in Tunbridge Wells, School governors' minutes, 1873-1903 (9233) are preserved the histories of several farms in the parish stretching back to within a • Stonegate service registers, 1879-1979 (9239); registers of banns, 1869-1954, decade of the castle itself. and marriages, 1981-1995, and album of photographs of the new church, 1904 (9353) We also have the National Trust to thanks for an exciting addition to the Sheffield Park • Tidebrook, records, 1924-1993 (9240); records, including banns register, 1856- archive. These papers had been bought in a Brighton bookshop almost 30 years ago 1970 (9354) and were almost certainly of the same provenance as those we bought in 1981. As well • Wadhurst, parish magazines, 20th century (9238); records, 20th century (9200) as interesting extracts from lost account-books showing expenditure on the park in the • Willingdon, vestry minutes, 1838-1855 (purchase) (9213) 1730s, the material includes a series of letters from John Ellman of Glynde, attempting to resolve a dispute with the tenants of Lord Hampden’s manor of Broadhurst, who Other Church records: had been hunting ‘with hounds and lurchers’ over farms on Lord Sheffield’s estate. A Methodist: fascinating insight into the character of the irascible but perhaps socially insecure peer • Eastbourne Circuit, records, 1864-2000, including baptism and marriage registers is provided in an opinion given by Sir Fletcher Norton, informing him that the positioning for Central Methodist Church, St Aidan's, and Willingdon (9178) of his additional name of Baker – John Holroyd Baker or John Baker Holroyd – was • Hastings, Bexhill and Rye Circuit, records, 1837-1989, including Norman Road immaterial. Methodist Church, St Leonards, marriage registers, 1902-1989 (9248) • Norman Road Church, St Leonards on Sea, marriage register, 1989-2000 (9334)

10 27 United Reformed: Less than two weeks later we found ourselves in Bonham’s rooms in London, bidding • Ringmer United Reformed Church, records including minutes, 1868-1995 (9313) for an estate map of two farms in Etchingham, drawn by Thomas Redford in 1754. • St Luke's United Reformed Church, Hampden Park, Eastbourne, marriage Thomas Redford of Hawkhurst (c1700-1778) practised as a cartographer between register, 1997-2004 (9392) 1728 and 1755; this map lies almost at the end of his career. Most of his work was Other: confined to local estates, but in 1730 he was prepared to travel as far as Thakeham, • Burwash Christ the King Catholic Church, marriage register, 1982-2003 (9196) almost on the Hampshire border in West Sussex, to map the estate of a Hawkhurst • Lewes, Jireh Independent Chapel records, [1806] - c2000 (9242) landowner (WSRO Add MS 40,946). Redford’s maps invariably include a decorative • Society of Friends, records, 1859-1990s (9265) element, but this example surpassed them all, showing a charming agricultural scene, • Sussex Baptist Association, minutes and annual reports, 1920-2003 (9194) complete with Sussex oxen, farm-workers in smocks and a specially adapted scythe (see page 21). The lot, offered in a book sale, came on right at the end of the morning’s Schools (see also Ecclesiastical Parishes): session when the dealers’ thoughts had turned to luncheon, and we bought it against • Ashburnham County Primary School, log book and admission register, 1905-1958 the reserve for a derisory £550. (9288) • Bexhill, Bexhill Down Infants' School, 20th century (9312) In the course of October we discovered that a collection of 83 family postcards • Crowborough, St John's CE School, budget papers, 20th century (9395) compiled by the Eastbourne artist Eric Ravilious (1903-1942) was being offered for • Dallington CE School, records including admission registers and log books, 1907- sale by a London bookseller; the price, which reflects Ravilious’s stature as one of the 1997 (9288); 1863-20th century (9382) country’s leading 20th-century artists, was £2500. As well as letters to his parents and • Eastbourne, Raven's Croft School, 1932-1941 (addnl) (9221) to his wife Tirzah, there are cards from Henry Moore, Eric le Bas, Percy Horton, Douglas • Forest Row Voluntary Primary School, record books, 1951-1954 (9364) Percy Bliss, Kenneth Rowntree, Helen Binyon and other artistic contemporaries. ESRO • Hastings Secondary School for Boys, photograph album, 1961 (9396) already holds, on deposit, the written archive of the Ravilious family, as well as the papers • Lewes, St Anne's Special School, Lewes, records, 20th century (9243) of Eric’s friends Peggy Angus and Percy Horton; both include letters from Ravilious. We • Lewes, Southover Manor School and Southover Manor Educational Trust (1966) obtained a stay of execution from the vendor and organised an appeal to the members Ltd, records, 1939 - c1990 (9256) of the Eric Ravilious Association through the good offices of its chairman Ruth Yates. • St Leonards, Christ Church CE School, governors' minutes, 1998-2004 (9234) The members responded magnificently to the challenge, and we were able to acquire • St Leonard, West St Leonards Community Primary School, records including log the collection, which would almost certainly have been broken up for its autograph books and admission registers, 1878-2001 (9384) value, within the time allowed. On 4 January 2006 we entertained over 40 members of • Uckfield, Holy Cross School, governors' minutes, 2001-2004 (9328) the Association to a private view of the cards themselves, and of our other holdings of Ravilious material (see page 22). Solicitors: • Andrews and Bennett, solicitors, Burwash, deeds and client papers, 1742 - 20th November saw us competing in a philatelic auction for over 200 letters addressed to century (9222) Anna Courthope née Deacon (1817-1897), the wife of George Campion Courthope of • Cox and Co, Portsmouth: deeds of 27 Egginton Road, Brighton, 1946-1976; 29 Whiligh, covering her entire married life. They had fallen victim to the dispersal of the Brooklyn Road, Seaford, 1961-1995; 71 Westbourne Gardens, Hove, [1880] - contents of Sprivers in Kent, described in our last Annual Report. With the tendency of 1980 (9282) Victorian correspondents to date their letters ‘Thursday’ or not at all, it was a welcome • Hart Reade, solicitors, Polegate: deeds of 28 Okehurst Road, Eastbourne, 1895- surprise to find that they remained in their envelopes, all dated by postmark courtesy 1936 (9272) of the GPO. From what was ultimately the same source we coincidentally received • Henry Cane, solicitors, Brighton: deeds of 16 The Avenue, 1905-1982 (9306) photographs of the pupils of the Sarah Tucker Female Training Institution at Palamcottah • Stanley Tee and Co, solicitors, Bishops Stortford, Herts: deeds of Greenbank, in Tinnevelly, Madras, which was supported by Anna Courthope; one of them appears Luxford Road, Crowborough, 1899-1996 (9276) on the front cover of this report. The purpose of the institution was to train Christian native women as teachers in the province’s schools; the papers, which date from 1864 Business: to 1905, contain letters in Hindi, and we would be most grateful if anyone was able to • C Dean and Son, the forge, Rodmell, accounts, 1878-1880 (9295) translate them. • Inskip Partnership, Bedford: drawings of Little Heavegate, Warren Road, Crowborough, 1965 (9342) But the most exciting acquisition of the year began with defeat and disappointment. • J R Thornton, auctioneers, Lewes, records, 20th century (9246) At the beginning of November a regular user noticed that a portfolio of drawings of • Merrydown plc, cider manufacturers, annual reports and accounts, Herstmonceux Castle, undertaken by the James Lamberts of Lewes in 1776, was to be 1982-2002 (9379) offered for sale at Sotheby’s on 24 November. The commission is well known – the

28 9 ESRO serves as the diocesan record office for the county, and we received 24 separate groups of records from parishes in East Sussex. As predicted, one of the benefits of the Chest project was the increased ease with which these new arrivals can be accommodated within the revised lists of their fellows.

The leisure and voluntary activities of the people of East Sussex were well represented, with the records of Victorian clubs and societies vying for prominence with those of contemporary groups. We received papers from the Herstmonceux and Wartling British Legion, a programme for a concert of the rather improbable Peacehaven Philharmonic and Orchestral Society, 1931, tape-recordings of reminiscences made by the Lewes branch of U3A, Edward Packham with a cart belonging to John Martin of Netherhall Farm, records of the Cliffe Bonfire Fletching, c1930 (ACC 9302) Society, Masonic records from Battle and Eastbourne, • Packham's forge, Splayne's Green, Fletching, 1861-1945 (9302) Lewes Theatre Club, the • Sussex Express, Jul - Dec 2002 (9177); 2003 (9335); Jan - Apr 2004 (9393) Anne Dalton presents the Buxted NADFAS report Lewes Music Circle, The South • The Trug Shop, Herstmonceux, photographs and catalogues, 20th century (9338) to Elizabeth Hughes Downs Society (formerly the Society of Sussex Downsmen), Manorial: Eastbourne Ratepayers’ Association, the Sussex County Cricket Club, the trustees • Analytical survey of the manor of Bodiam, 1645, with other documents from an of Barcombe Village Hall, the Wealden Buildings Study group and the Lewes Camera antiquarian collection (9183) Club. Perhaps the most outstanding were the latest report of the National Association of Decorative and Fine Art Societies (NADFAS) on the church furnishings of St Margaret Estate and Family: the Queen, Buxted, and the records of the East Sussex Federation of Women’s • Apprenticeship indenture of Richard Hearsey to Richard Haryott, 1815 (9383) Institutes, from its foundation in 1918 to 2005. • Ashburnham estate: copies of engravings of family portraits by Samuel Cousins, 1814 (9344) We regularly need to enter the saleroom to secure archival material, and the rise of • Atlas portfolio of drawings of Herstmonceux Castle by the James Lamberts of internet auctions such as eBay is bringing increasing numbers of documents to light. In Lewes, 1776-1777 (9374) the year under review we acquired five outstanding groups by purchase, and in every • Scrapbooks of Reginald Briggs, Lewes, manager of the Cinema de Luxe, Lewes, case were assisted by the Friends of East Sussex Record Office. 1932-1942 (9347) • Clapham Estate in Litlington, Lullington and Westdean, maps by Thomas Wood, In the course of a tense weekend in June we made our first eBay purchase: a volume 1723, and William Figg, 1828 (9390) of vestry minutes for the parish of Willingdon, 1838-1855. The vestry clerk on the • William Coleman in Brede, Beckley, Ewhurst and Udimore in Sussex, and closing pages of the volume was Edmund Catt, and when we collected it from a dealer Ivychurch, Kent, copy plan of estates by John Adams of Tenterden, 1823 (9286) in Hastings we were delighted to find Catt’s copybooks, dating from his school-days • Coney family: sale particulars of land in Burwash, 1885 (9332) in Westfield in the 1820s. The internet also led us to the deeds of 47-48 High Street, • Courthope family of Whiligh in Ticehurst, letters, 19th century (9311); letters and Lewes, which were regrettably offered for sale one at a time. photographs relating to the ‘Sarah Tucker’ Female Training Institution, Tinnevelly, Southern India, 1864-1905 (9065 addnl)

8 29 return for Lewes St Anne, 1821, which had been masquerading as militia returns (PAR 411/37/1/1-2), and detailed plans of the houses on the east side of Malling Hill which were sold to the Cliffe vestry for an overflow burial-ground in 1796 (PAR 415/10/1/18). This project relied on volunteers for a large element of the preparatory work, and we are very grateful to them all for their assistance.

East Sussex Depicted, our project to make historic images of the county available on line, took a great leap forward in 2005 with the digitisation of all our tithe maps, enclosure awards and a representative sample of 500 estate maps, perhaps a fifth of our entire holdings. After a trial run at Worcester, a camera supported on an enormous gantry was set up at our former records management warehouse at Brooks Road and the maps photographed, section by section, with the aid of a rolling bed. The photographer Ian Adams worked with great precision but at terrific speed, and the daily scramble to select new maps for capture before he ran out of work resembled the buckets scene from The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. The scans are now (November 2006) available for purchase on CD at £10, and there is a dedicated PC and colour printer in the searchroom for the provision of self-service copies. As well as the additional convenience of instant reproductions, the physical integrity of the maps themselves, particularly the tithe-maps, will be secured by the provision of these electronic surrogates.

A third major project, Beyond the Borderland of Mental Health, is discussed in the Brighton & Hove section of this report.

The demands of such special projects do nothing to diminish the section’s ordinary The Cinema De Luxe, School Hill, Lewes, possibly on its opening in 1914; work, and this has been another very eventful, demanding and enjoyable year. the building is now the site of the Sussex Express offices (ACC 9347) Our Records Management system is probably the largest and most comprehensive of any local authority in the UK, and continues to make regular transfers to archives. Remarkable this year have been several groups of early school records (including St • De La Warr of Buckhurst in Withyham, letters, 1815-2006 (9403) Anne’s Special School, Lewes, on its closure), and of enormous use in the future will be • Dobell and Lane families of Streat, Folkington and Westmeston, 1407 - 19th the 33 volumes of service sheets for county council pensioners, covering retirements century (9219) during the period 1960-1998. • Kenneth Elphinstone of Bournemouth, papers concerning the Elphinstone family of Blytheswood and Lopness, 19th and 20th centuries (9202) We act as the archive repository for the county’s other local authorities as well as for • Gwendolen Evans of Eastbourne, papers, 1914-1936 (9305) Brighton & Hove, and receive a constant stream of documents produced by them and • Eric Hardy, of Liverpool, natural history journalist: two photographs of Eastbourne their predecessors. Two of this year’s largest and most significant accessions consisted and Brighton, 1931-1932 (9349) of the building by-law applications and plans from Eastbourne and Hastings. The latter • Estate of Margaret Holt: sale particulars, 1946-1997 (9361) were a continuation of the existing series, covering the years 1948 to 1974, and we are • Isaac family of 22 Toronto Terrace, Lewes, scanned photographs, 1910-1916 most grateful to Clay Garner and Rod Lavers of Hastings BC for sorting and boxing (9228) the plans in the not wholly satisfactory working environment of the Menzies Road • Lewes Priory, photocopy manorial and obedientaries' accounts, 1529-1537 Industrial Estate. But this was luxury indeed by comparison with the Eastbourne plans (9337) – an unbroken sequence from 1867 – which were stored in the borough mortuary- • Martin family of Forest Row, genealogical notes, 20th century (9224) cum-dogpound near the town hall. The plans were sorted and boxed, often in freezing • Penkhurst and Dyke families of Mayfield, Buxted and Frant, additional papers conditions, by Andrew Lusted, who completed the job by shelving them at Newhaven. (9254) Phil Tipler of Eastbourne BC provided a scanned finding-aid which, despite our unduly • Pook family of Salehurst, deeds, c1700-1855 (9345) pessimistic expectations, works perfectly. As a result of these transfers, only the plans • Ravilious family postcards album, c1920-1950 (9357) from the former Hove Borough Council remain to be deposited.

30 7 Document Services • Sackville estate, drawings of farms by Thomas Poppleton, 1800 (9388) • Sheffield Park Estate, papers and correspondence, 1570-1819 (9366); maps and The year under review is notable drawings, 1842-c1960 (9232) for having set two records: the • Watson family of Malton, N Yorkshire, former owners of the manor of Southease, total number of accessions – 242 photocopy correspondence, 1751-1752 (9190) – is probably the greatest since the Record Office was established; and Charities: one of those deposits, of maps and • Barcombe Village Hall Trust, [1900]-2005 (9297) drawings for the Sheffield Park Estate, was made by Mr B W Howe, whose Clubs, societies and associations: first transfer of documents to the • British Legion, Herstmonceux and Wartling branch, photographs, 1964-1971 office was made over 50 years ago, (9182) on 8 January 1954 (Accession 82). • Eastbourne Ratepayers' Association minutes, 1968-1972 (9283) Such a consistent interest in our work • Lewes Camera Club minutes, 1992-2000 (9372) has scarcely been matched even by • Lewes, Cliffe Bonfire Society minutes, 1987-2003 (9199) corporate depositors, and never by a • Lewes Little Theatre (additional), 1950s - 2004 (9260) private individual. • Lewes Music Circle minutes, 1951-2005 (9277) • Lewes Traffic Study Group, minutes and associated papers, 20th century (9378) • Masonic: Abbey Chapter, 1937-2003 (9251); Hartington Chapter, Eastbourne (916), 1871-2002 (9406) • National Trust: survey of Batemans in Burwash, 2005 (9356) • Northiam programmes and papers of local groups, 20th century (9203) • Prescription book, Eastbourne, 1961-1964 (9407) Mr Howe’s latest transfer, June 2005 (ACC 9232) • South Downs Society, records, 1936-2004 (9280) • Sussex Archaeological Society, including voting cards for the Chief Constableship In June 2004 we embarked on the latest A2A project, The Sussex Parish Chest, a of East Sussex, May 1881 (3809); calendar of prisoners, Jun 1885 (3810); Bodle joint initiative with our colleagues at Chichester to list all the records deposited by the Street Green parish accounts, 1910-1912 (3811); Pevensey Hundred court book Anglican parishes of the diocese. As the last Annual Report went to press, Rachel transcript, 1698-1724 (3812); Ovingdean parish, including list of confirmation Freeman was within 35 parishes of completing the task. As the deadline approached, candidates, 1879-1938 (3814); ‘Rye Grammar School Record’, 1897-1899, more of her colleagues laid aside their usual work to ensure that it was met, and it ‘Steine House Magazine’, 1891, Lewes Cottage Fever Hospital accounts, is very pleasing to report that 1874-1875 (3815) Chest was completed on time, • University of the Third Age (U3A), oral history tapes and summaries, 1994-2001 within budget and to a far higher (additional) (9195) specification than had been • Wealden Buildings Study Group, site visit notes, 2005 (9362) planned – as well as the inclusion • Women's Institutes: East Sussex Federation of Women's Institutes, records of formerly unlisted material, we including federation minutes, 1917-2005 (9263); East Dean and Friston WI have taken the opportunity to scrapbook, 1979 (9402); Fairlight, Guestling and Pett WI records, expand the descriptions of poor- 1930-2000 (9394) law settlement papers to include the names of the thousands of Maps and plans: individuals affected, and to re- • Admiralty printed sea chart showing Beachy Head to Dungeness, 1953 (9380) structure the lists themselves to • Manor of Bower in East Grinstead, copy map, 1641 (9355) enable future accruals to be more • Etchingham, Kitchenham and Birkham farms by Thomas Redford, 1754 (9223) easily accommodated. Among the • Photocopy maps of the Southerham area, Lewes, showing crops and unexpected surprises turned up by archaeological features, [19th century]- 20th century (9323) the project was a census Rachel Freeman’s leaving-party, • Estates of Thomas West, microfilm of plans including Lewes, Southover and September 2005 Ovingdean, by Anthony Everenden; 1639 (9255)

6 31 Title deeds (see also Solicitors, and Estate and family): We also continued to serve remote users through our website information and lists • Deeds including marriage settlement of Mr and Mrs HA Chambers, 1897-1949; of records mounted on The National Archives’ Access to Archives (A2A) website. Wilmington Villa, Eastbourne Road, Seaford; 1897-1951 (9291) Although it is pleasing to see it so well used, as well as reducing our visitor figures, the • Deeds and papers relating to property in Crowborough, Brighton and Bexhill, site generates very large and complex copying orders from remote users who have 1919-1965 (9210) found relevant documents on the website but are unable to visit the office in person. • Hastings, house in Warrior Square, [Oct 1834] - 1867 (9186) • Hooe, photocopy charter for the manor of Hooe, 1106 (9273) In March we took part in another national visitor survey and were awaiting the results • Lewes, agreement for the sale of Castle Lodge, 1903 (9401) in the new financial year. However, the additional responses made by individuals were • Lewes, 8 Priory Crescent, 1836-1967; 31 Priory Street, [1782]-1969 (9185) available to us immediately, and their content confirmed what we have known for a long • Mortgage, 1881 (mortgagee is Ellen Kidd of St Leonards), 1881 (9211) time: that the building and facilities are inadequate but that the staff provide an excellent • Peacehaven, conveyance of building land, 1916 (9308) service with what they have. One typical comment reads: • Rye, part of a messuage in Market Street (Kennett family), [1747]-1847 (9271) • St Leonards on Sea, 12 Grand Parade, 1835-1980 (9258) “I really enjoy and look forward to my visits but there is a desperate need for new accommodation. Everyone on the staff is trying 100% to make the best Other records: of what must be very trying circumstances.” • Alfriston, photograph of the Star Inn, c1890 (9275) • British Union of Facists detainees list; 1939-1945 (9351) We sought to improve our copying services during the year. We introduced a digital • Copy books of Edmund Catt, Westfield, 1820s (9214) imaging service enabling us to provide, at reasonable cost, high-quality images of items • 'A Corner of Old Sussex' by Arthur Dunk, illustrated book concerning Northiam, which cannot be photocopied; it has proved to be very popular. We also obtained Beckley, Peasmarsh and local area, 1920 (9173) funding for a self-service reader printer, installed at the end of the financial year, to • Copy letter sent to Dame Taylor, Stone Cross, Jun 1768 (9289) enable visitors to make and take away their own copies at half price. • Copy photograph of yacht Chevy Chase owned by Frederick Smith Shenstone of Sutton Hall, Barcombe, c1884 (9369) In January 2006 we introduced a credit card payment system for services. This has • Copy portrait of Esther Henley, daughter of William Vine, miller, of Wilmington and been much appreciated, especially by customers abroad, whose business we often lost Brighton, c1840 (9385) because they found it prohibitively expensive to obtain money orders. • Correspondence and papers relating to Wanganni and Gordon House, Crowborough, 1908; papers of WN Mason of 37 Hartfield Road, Eastbourne, Record Office statistics 1904 (9205) • Eastbourne Library, Art Science and Technical School, plans, 1902 (9197) 2003-2004 2004-2005 2005-2006 • Election addresses, 1830s (9167) • Lewes nature diary, 1977-2005 (9365) Visitors 6,393 5,787 5,368 • Lists of fostered and adopted children, 1949-1961 (probably ex-East Sussex Visitors not able to have 790* 776 829 County Council) (9235) first choice of day • Northiam, photocopy print of the charity school, 1811 (9296) Documents consulted 33,160* 39,941 36,854 • Notice concerning the opening of Lewes Bus Station, 1954 (9322) Post/email enquiries 3,203 3,799 3,560 • Papers including mortgage subsequent to the will of Pendock William Aveline, Telephone enquiries 7,273 7,869 7,593 1833-1868 (9208) A2A website hits 96,218 340,301 399,110 • Papers relating to the estate of Benjamin Noakes of Brede, shopkeeper, 1805- Copies sold 5,525 5,960 5,737 1856; account for legal expenses in the purchase of 57 Cliffe High Street, 1915 Hours of paid research 278 272 308 (9209) • Peacehaven Philharmonic and Orchestral Society programme, 1931 (9168) * No productions for two months as the result of the Pelham House move. • Photocopy newscuttings of photographs of a hay cart, Alfriston, c1920; workers at the Cuckmere Brickyard Company, 1930s (9304) • Photographs and papers concerning Laughton and Southerham area, c1820 - 20th century, including plan of Southerham farm, c1820 (9187) Photo left: Happy members of the Women’s Institute preside at the Store-room Stall; Countrywoman’s Year Rally at the De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill, 19-20 May 1955 (WI 53/36/2/1)

32 5 Archive Services • Photographs including St John's Home, Kemp Town, Brighton; Old Rectory, Buxted; interiors of All Souls' Church, Brighton, and St John, Crowborough, Public Services 1880s - 1900 (9184) • Postcards of Lewes, c1900 (9274) • Programmes of amateur dance and musical productions, 1981-1982 (9405) Daily public attendance figures have shown another small decrease over the period, but • Psalm music book of Thomas Sanders of Brightling and Waldron, 1780 (9376) the number of documents consulted remained high and the searchroom remained busy • Records including letter from Samuel Boys, Hawkhurst, to John Horsmonden, as people stayed longer to consult them. The room was often full to the point of having 1669; memoir of the Rev George Gilbert of Heathfield, 1830 (9340) to turn away visitors who had not booked seats, while many other people wishing to • Sabina Lamb cuttings concerning Lewes, 1912-1964 (9360) book could not have their first choice of day. Most (roughly 61%) were tracing their • Sale particulars of Sheffield Park estate, 1953; deeds, 1893-1956 (9188) family trees, 28% were studying local and house history, and 3% were educational • Sale particulars of The Wheelwright's House, Peasmarsh, c1920 (9193) users. Public service statistics are given at the end of this section. • Scanned photographs of The Ram Inn, Firle, 1818 - [1985] (9231) • Uckfield, sale particulars of the Rocks estate, c1939 (9278) Postal, email and telephone enquiries remained steady throughout the period. Interest • Waldron Millennium Survey, 2000 (9408) ranged across a wide variety of subjects, including, amongst many others, the ever- popular car, motorbike and tractor restoration, a surprising number of police ancestors, the revision of the Sussex volume of Pevsner’s The Buildings of England, Gracie Fields’ home in Peacehaven, Douglas’ Bader’s education at Temple Grove School, and even the location of Mrs Lovely’s B&B in Brighton. Family historians are proving to be interested in more than just baptisms, marriages and burials, and are seeking more information about their ancestor’s education, occupation, way of life and, increasingly, medical history, something we cannot always satisfy because of confidentiality. However, being able to help visitors to research their own personal histories, particularly of dimly remembered childhoods, is especially satisfying for staff. Television companies are also now increasingly including archive research in their programmes, and even used the record office as a film location.

Two reapers, one with a scythe adapted with cradle, standing in the furrows awaiting the collection of the sheaves at Kitchenham Farm in Etchingham; detail from Thomas Redford’s map, 1754 (ACC 9223)

4 33 Appendix 3 Involvement in corporate projects continued. The County Archivist continued as sponsor of an authority-wide project to advance electronic document and records Brighton & Hove Accessions management within the County Council. The service took over responsibility for Data Protection in addition to Freedom of Information, and Jane Bartlett was kept busy A list of the principal Brighton & Hove accessions received between April 2005 and throughout the year by requests under the two regimes, achieving a response rate March 2006. Reference may be made to the documents by the accession number (in within the timescales of the act of over 96%. brackets); not all deposits are yet listed in detail, and not all may yet be available for consultation. The service continued to host the East Sussex Museum Development Officer, who is funded by the government’s Museum Development Fund. This post supports museums within the county, helping to lever in additional funding, but also benefits the Record Brighton & Hove City Council: • Aerial photographs and maps of Brighton parks and gardens, 1960s-1970s (9404) Office by opening up partnership and funding opportunities which might not otherwise • Brighton and Hove Borough Councils: road safety plans, 1994-1996 (9324) become open to us. In July the post became full time. • Deeds of former Brighton Borough Council Properties, 1806-1971 (9253) • Department of Culture (tourism), records, 1950-2000 (9281) The Record Office’s other activities and achievements, no less important than those • Environment Department, papers (9314) already mentioned, are covered in the rest of this report. • Stanford Estate maps, c1912 (9389)

Health Authorities and Hospitals: • Southdown Health Trust, hospital plans, 1930s - 1970s (9320) • St Francis Hospital, index of patients, 1965-1977; Hurstwood Park Hospital, index of patients, 1958-1975, register of psychiatric admissions, 1955-1962 (9171)

Ecclesiastical Parishes: • Aldrington St Leonard, records, 20th century (9180) • Brighton, Church of the Good Shepherd, Brighton, 1940s-1990s (9252) • Hollington St John the Evangelist, marriage register, 1991-2000 (9331) • Hove, Holy Trinity Church, photograph, 1950 (9217) • Hove, St Thomas, records, 20th century (9244) • Rottingdean tithe map, 1839 (9189)

Other Church records: • Clermont United Reformed Church, Preston Park, photocopy photographs, 1916-1953 (9368)

Schools (see also Ecclesiastical Parishes): • Brighton, Balfour Junior School, admission register, 1985-1991 (9294) • Brighton, COMART (East Brighton College of Media and Art formerly Stanley Deason), records, 1970s-1990s (9237) • Brighton, COMART/Stanley Deason Secondary School/Whitehawk Girls' and Boys' Schools, punishment books and yearbooks, 1933-1986 (9326) • Hove, Hangleton Infant School, registers, 1949-1995 (9220) • Hove, Hangleton Junior School: governors' minutes, aerial photograph, correspondence, 1980s - 1990s (9370) • Hove, Hove Park School, pupils' sketch books, 1945-1950 (9245) • Rottingdean CE School, extracts from log book, [1863] - 1945 (9363) • Rottingdean Infants' School, scanned photograph, c1965 (9229) Ian Adams of ICAM prepares a tithe map for capture (Sussex Express)

34 3 The last quarter of the year also saw a successful appeal by the Friends of East Solicitors: Sussex Record Office to help us to acquire a magnificent set of paintings and plans of • TWM solicitors, Epsom, deeds of 19 Old Shoreham Road, Brighton, Herstmonceux Castle, commissioned from the James Lamberts in 1776. More of this 1862-1969 (9319) elsewhere in the report. Business records: In the last report we were expecting decisions on two applications to the Museums, • Receipts from Messrs A S Anscombe, gents outfitters, 1937-1939 (9367) Libraries and Archives Council. The first, for the designation of our holdings as being • The Reason Manufacturing Company, later Allen West and Company, Brighton, of national and international importance, was unfortunately unsuccessful. While the staff photograph, c1897 (9247) panel agreed that the Record Office collections were paramount for the study of the • Theatre Royal, Brighton play bill, 1834 (9270) county and its history, it did not feel that their national and international importance were proven according to the designation scheme’s criteria. The second application was for Estate and Family: allocation of the archives of the Battle Abbey estate, which had been accepted for the • Herbert Avis, of Brighton, diary and photographs, 1916-1919 (9309) nation by the Treasury in lieu of inheritance tax. Following an inspection by the National • Bruce Herbert Avis, of Brighton, photographs, newspaper cuttings and theatre Archives in February 2006, of which more below, at the turn of the new financial year programmes, 1931-1955 (9327) they were allocated to East Sussex Record Office for East Sussex County Council for • John Edward Burghope, outfitter, North Street, Brighton, photograph album, a period of five years, on the understanding that the archives were stored at Unit Y, 1890 (9268) our Newhaven outstore, which provides good environmental conditions, and that work • Ronald Lancey Burrow, photographer, East Street, Brighton, negatives, towards a new Record Office was stepped up. 1945-c1970 (9170) • Henry Davidson of Brighton, diary, 1872-1874 (9292) The National Archives inspection was also a follow-up to its inspection of 2003, • Hanover Day, Brighton, photographs, 1997 (9333) after which the Record Office’s licence to hold public records at The Maltings was • Edwin Emery, of Brighton, mathematics exercise book, 1873 (9343) renewed but with the expectation that work would progress towards achieving a new • Haynes family of Brighton, records including papers relating to the Hannington building. The provisional report, which we received at the end of the financial year, was family of Brighton; deeds of Latchetts, Knowles Tooth, Berrylands and Bridgers in complimentary of what the service achieved within the confines of its buildings and Hurstpierpoint (9176) staffing-levels, but was extremely critical of the accommodation for records, staff and • H Johnson, member of Brighton and Hove Camera Club, photographs, researchers. We were expecting the final report at the end of the financial year and 1950s - 1960s (9179) were anticipating the withdrawal of the licence from The Maltings in favour of Unit Y. • H W King, papers relating to the sale of the Brighton Herald, 1803-1971 (9267) • William Roe (b 1748), transcript of private memoranda, 1775-1809 (9300) However at the end of the financial year, with our success in achieving an HLF project • James William Thompson (1898-1984) of Rottingdean, letters and papers, 1914- planning grant for a new Record Office and with commitment from the County Council 1975 (9315) to support a major capital bid to the HLF for the new building, we were starting to look forward to achieving the very improvements that were expected of us. More on these Clubs, societies and associations: developments in next year’s report. • David Betts, Brighton Licensed Victuallers Association, photographs, 1925-1962 (9218) Other projects, paid for by one-off funding from the County Council, made progress • Brighton theatre and sporting programmes, 1930s (9201) during the year. The camera work on the map digitisation project was completed, • Electrical Contactors' Association, photograph of the first annual conference, and we are most grateful to our colleagues in Bibliographic Services for allowing us to 1926 (9352) use their premises in Brooks Road to set up the enormous equipment involved. At the • League of Remembrance, Brighton and Hove Branch, records, 1928-2003 (9358) Record Centre, staff were recruited to carry out the Invest to Improve Project to reduce • Masonic: records of the Royal Clarence Lodge, 19th - 20th century (9301) the backlog of records management processing and destruction. • Sussex County Cricket Club, deeds and minutes, 19th-20th century (9293) • West Hove Townswomen's Guild (9181) The contracts with Brighton & Hove City Council to provide archives and records management services continued successfully and holdings of both expanded Maps and plans: considerably, as other sections of this report illustrate. The Brighton & Hove archivist • County Borough of Brighton land use map; 1951 (9371) continued to provide a Record Office presence at the Brighton History Centre, where he • Map showing St Francis Hospital, Haywards Heath; c1865 (9373) attends for half a day a week. • Plans of Portslade Manor House and Brighton and Hove Albion FC programmes (9298)

2 35 Title deeds (see also Solicitors, and Estate and Family): Introduction • Brighton, property in College Road, Brighton, 1851-1880 (9207) • Brighton, 7 Ditchling Road, 1883; 18 and 28 Bates Road, Oct 1901 (9227) In 2005-06 we continued our attempts to improve services while contributing to County • Brighton, land in East Laine, 1833-1864 (9169) Council efficiencies, and to realise the long-term goal of achieving a new Record Office • Brighton: assignments of property, manor of Erlyes, Brighton, 1826; deeds of land for East Sussex, Brighton & Hove and other partners of which all can be proud. Many in Upper Furlonge, Little Lane, Brighton, 1807-1816 (9206) projects were beginning to bear fruit as the financial year ended. • Brighton, 128 Gloucester Lane [Road] (9226) • Brighton, 109 St James Street, deeds and copy photographs, (9381) Our latest Access to Archives project, The Sussex Parish Chest, was completed on time • Brighton and Wilmington, photocopy deeds, 1880-1949 (9386) and to budget in the autumn thanks to the input of the project officers, Record Office • Hove, Second Avenue and Denmark Villas, 1873-1878 (9261) staff and volunteers. 80-85% of our lists are now available on www.a2a.org.uk and we • Hove, 15 Shakespeare Street, 1895 (9321) continue to receive the second highest number of hits of any of the 400 organisations • Patcham, papers relating to the Withdene West estate, and Hillcrest, Brighton, who have contributed to the website. 1938-1965 (9212) • Preston, 31 Stanley Road, 1895-1955 (9225) As one externally-funded project ended, another began. A grant of £48,000 from the Wellcome Trust for the History of Medicine enabled us to employ two full-time project Other records: officers and some additional conservation time to list and preserve the records of the • Aerial photographs of Brighton and Hove; 1948 (9348) pioneering Lady Chichester Hospital, Hove. Anne Hart, on secondment from her post • Brighton, rent books for 68 Viaduct Road, 1927-1938 (9316) as receptionist, and Lavender Jones, a regular volunteer, were appointed and started in • Postcards of Brighton; c1905-1920 (9387) November 2005 for what will be a one-year project.

Our other main external bidding activity during the year was to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), for a grant to draw up an audience development and access plan for the service, and specifically for the proposed new Record Office. Such a plan, which aims to find ways of improving the number and range of people who are reached by our service, will be an essential element of a future major capital bid to the HLF for a new Record Office. On the advice of the HLF we also included in the bid some audience development work for a proposed digitisation project which we have been planning with the county’s library service and museums. This delayed the submission of the bid until November of 2005 and we finally learnt of our success in early April of 2006. The grant of up to £24,700 will enable the work to be undertaken in 2006/07.

Other funding successes were smaller but no less important. Wendy Walker, the Project Leader for the new Record Office, was awarded one of only six fundraising bursaries for staff working in libraries, archives and museums across the south-east. The bursaries, worth £4,000, have been made available for the first time by SEMLAC, the South East Museum, Library and Archives Council (now MLA South East), and are part of a programme aiming to increase the level of skills and confidence of the sector as a whole in the important area of fundraising. The bursaries attracted a lot of interest. Wendy won the award against stiff opposition from candidates across the region and was the only archivist to be successful. The bursary enabled Wendy to attend several workshops and a week-long course at the National Arts Fundraising School in Scotland, and workshops continued into the new financial year. Wendy’s new skills will help us to draw up a fund-raising strategy for the new Record Office and for the service as a whole.

Tripping the light fantastic at Hove Park School, 1945 (ACC 9245)

36 1 East Sussex Record Office

Report of the County Archivist April 2005 to March 2006 2006/07_253 Front cover: Teacher-training at the Sarah Tucker Female Training Institution at Palamcottah in Tinnevelly, Madras, 1878 (ACC 9065) Back cover: James Lambert the younger: The kitchen, Herstmonceux Castle, 1776 (ACC 9374)