Chiddingly

Variously known as Cetelingei(Saxon) Chetynglegh(14th) Chidingle (late 14th) finally Chiddingly or perhaps it is simply the name “lye” (wood) of John Clid or the place where “Cedd lived” in Saxon times? Whatever the name origination Chiddingly, like Rome  has seven hills surrounding the village however there the comparison with Rome ends. That is not to say  that Chiddingly does not have its charms, and being recorded in the Domesday book confirms at least a thousand years of historical interest, added to which there is a church of similar age.

The stone church spire built in the 15th century dominates the small satellite hamlets around by virtue of it’s height rising to 160ft. At about this time the area was going through agreat change and at least some of the residents were making vast fortunes from iron.

It is said the Romans mined for iron in the area during the 1st to the 4th centuries but the main iron industry of Sussex had its heyday later, especially with the introduction of the blast furnaces during the 15th – 18th centuries; some foundries continued well into the late 19th century. Chiddingly was soon  to boast three great mansions but  unfortunately  little remains of them today. However reminders of the famous and extremely wealthy families are easily found and particularly The Jefferays.

Chiddingly Place owned by Sir John Jefferay ( chief Baron of the exchequer to Queen Elizabeth 1)  was one of the great buildings in the country. His grandson made it even better when he enlarged the mansion and making it in the shape of an" E" to honour the Queen. The site of the house is now Place Farm and little is left of the original mansion. The family is remembered by a huge memorial to the family – The Jefferay Monument. Two unusual stories about the family are frequently told and may or may not have substance.

During the iron production period the soil around the village and church was churned up sodden clay so much so it was almost impossible to walk and certainly Lady Elizabeth, wife of Sir John’s son was not about to try. This caused something of a problem as in those times one did not miss church service. Clearly something had to be found for her to walk over; ideally stepping-stones could be laid down but not enough were available. The problem was solved by laying "round cheeses" for her to step on as she walked between the mansion and the church. Some people say this is confirmed by the church monument that shows her and her husband on either side of the memorial, each standing on a round plinth.Could these really be represenative of the cheeses? 

 Later in the 17th century the monument itself was severely vandalised by Cromwell’s men who it is thought mistook the name "Jefferay" for the notoriously brutish Judge Jefferies of the Bloody Assizes.  Fortunately in quite recent years the monument has been refurbished and repaired to its former state.

Another family of iron masters were the Frenchs' who had an iron  furnace at Stream, where there is also a Mill mentioned in the Domesday Book. It is worth a short walk to Stream Mill Bridge where you can still see remains of the 1000 year old mill, now a listed property. 

In the 19th century a man from Alfriston came to live and start a school at Muddles Green, one of the nearby hamlets belonging to the parish. Richard Lower was a man of amazing talents and lived with his wife and family in the village for the majority of his life. His father although not a wealthy man did have enough to pay for his son to go to a local school in Alfriston where he excelled. Despite teaching in the more modern and sophisticated laguage of the educated class, he never forgot the original vernacular and Sussex dialect of his early home life. When writing his poems or books in later life they wer always written in the Sussex dialect.

His father had died in 1801 and it is probably then that Richard inherited enough money to buy a property suitable for a was Non Conformist in his belief and soon found a wife with similar belief, Mary Oxley. Despite beingfervent in their Non Conformist views students soon arrived. This was fortunate as his own children started to arrive frequently - all eleven of them. Unfortunately there were many unhappy occassions as four out of the first five children died. Of the survivors all were to excell educationally and lead professional lives.

While still the school headmaster Richard took on many public duties including headborough (Constable), journalist and chronicler, musician, artist, and calligraphist and always with an immaculate attention to detail. As an assessor and tax collector he had a duty to make records of each of the 800 parishioners and today his records  are held in the Sussex Records office,T acknowledged as some of the finest ever produced for that era.

As if that wasn’t enough he started to teach himself draughtsmanship and cartography. The quality of his surveying soon attracted attention of the authorities  and he was asked to produce the tithe maps and requests from landowners and other villages soon followed. While most people would have faltered under such a workload he decided to write and publish books and poems and such was the impeccable workmanship his writings are still renowned masterpieces. 

 In 1854 his wife died bringing to an end 51 years of marriage and producing eleven children.She is buried alongside her children and two grandchildren in the churchyard.

His daughter like her father became a draughtsman and surveyor. His son Mark, like his father was an insatiable academic  workaholic. He opened schools and finally settled in Lewes for over thirty years during which time he became a founder member of the Sussex Archaeological Society. Among his publications was the Book of Sussex Worthies and Compendious History of Sussex (2 volumes). Like his father he was meticulous and was awarded many honours and recognised as the foremost of Sussex antiquarians.Despite being so highly regarded for his vast knowledge and literary skill he was almost bankrupted.

Not all the village residents were so worthy; a far less savoury village resident  was to achieve infamy for the Onion Pie murder. Sarah Anne French became infatuated with her sister’s boyfriend and wanted to marry him and fortunately this was no problem for her sister, as she herself had eyes for another man. However there was a problem – Mary was married.  She soon realised the answer was her husband’s favourite dish - onion pie so after making him his favourite dish, she omitted to tell him it was laced with arsenic. However all her planning fell apart when having cunningly made herself free to marry and with the added attraction of her inherited money, the boyfriend decided he might be safer without her and so  told her he he was no longer enamoured with her and wasn’t tempted by her husband's inhertance money.

Soon it was decided a coroner's enquirey should be held in the Six Bells pub, after which she was sent for trial at Lewes. In 1852 she was found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging and achieved the notoriety of being the last Sussex woman to be publicly hanged at Lewes. Apparently the event was very popular with some thousands going to watch. 

It seems that Sarah Anne was not the only lady of Chiddingly to have strong feelings about the opposite sex. The first licensee of the Six Bells pub, for many decades the centre for Parish Meetings, had a passion for a young man. Sarah was the last woman to be hanged, but surely this lady originated the current fashion for “Toy Boys” – she married a 26 year old when she was 60.

The pub today has a lively following and is very much involved with music having a regular Folk and Blues club and Sunday lunchtime Jazz.  It  hosts a number of events during the village festival ,one of the longest for a small village, lasting around 14 days; it produces many cultural, musical, poetic and artistic events that take place between September – October.

Three curiosities about the village intrigued me. One was the Parish logo depicting a boar. It relates to a medallion found by a treasure hunter with his metal detector in 1999 and dates to the time of Richard 111 (15th century); it is made of solid silver and has been adopted as the village motif.

Another was the pub sign that shows a British and French flag referring to a link with Lachelle, a small village north of Paris. Nothing much happened there until in 1994 Bruno de Rick, a very famous French chocolate artist opened a new chocolaterie (chocolate factory) in the village. Perhaps in the future the Chiddingly Festival organisers could encourage Mr Rick over to the village and show off his chocolate creations in rural Sussex.

Lastly. There is an unusual plaque on the wall close by the pub at Cordwainers Cottage. The plaque displays a large boot relating to the boot making background of the village.

At one time there were seven bootmakers, an enormous number in the 18th century, which gives some idea of the wealth in the area. A lady who lives in the cottage wrote a web article referring to her forebears who were boot makers. One, by the name of Albion Russell had an apprentice who married his daughter. His name was George Bromley and from that liaison the famous shoe firm Russell and Bromley was formed.