The Quest for England
Richard Suggett and I are in search of a medieval moat close to the river Arun near Burpham in West Sussex. We’ve spotted the legend on an OS Map and have set off in search for the real thing in the landscape. It is possible there once lived a nobleman here, possibly in a timber-framed […]
Smuggling was rife in Sussex during the 17th & 18th centuries. Many ordinary folk were in league with the ‘Owlers’, the men who went out at night and brought stuff in from the coast. When a man is flung from the top a cliff things start to go wrong for a Sussex gang. Something has […]
On this week’s behind the scenes, I am out in the countryside looking for devil hounds, iron age hillforts and lime kilns. I am joined by my friend, Richard Suggett, and we’re search for a moat and sowing seeds. It’s been a fab week.
Today I present a podcast from my archive. I am visiting HMS Warrior in Portsmouth in the company of Andrew Bains, the ships archivist. To listen to more from this podcast you can download the other episodes below: http://files.vobes.com/media/warrior/hms-warrior-pt2.mp3 http://files.vobes.com/media/warrior/hms-warrior-pt3.mp3 HMS Warrior is a 40-gun steam-powered armoured frigate built for the Royal Navy in 1859–1861. […]
Lime Kilns, chalk hills, beech trees and ancient track-ways make up the landscape of Duncton Hill, a few miles south of Petworth in West Sussex. I am climbing the dizzy heights of this formidable section of the Southdowns to have a brief exploration of the Victorian industrial history and well as a stroll through the […]
I am on a National Trust nature trail. Today I follow the printed route that leads up to Wolstonbury Hill in West Sussex, just north of Pyecombe off the A23 and close to the Jack and Jill Windmills near Clayton. I am seeking ancient beech trees, a dew pond and an iron age hillfort. Are […]