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A year or more ago, realising I was studying the downs from the comfort of a chair via the Internet, I decided to become a Brighton Healthwalk leader. It is an excellent way for me to get off my bottom, get some exercise, whilst informally sharing some of my local and natural history knowledge of […]

Those who read my previous post will know I have been struggling to find a good title for my revised history project. I had a self printed business card which used the above picture as a background image. Its original title was: Newmarket Farm History Project But the new project title: Of Sheep & Fish: […]

It has been a while since I wrote a progress report; I have been busy with other stuff (lots of new commitments), but I have also been busy pulling together a new formal historical archaeology project proposal for this project as a whole. This has been happening on and off for the past two or […]

As part of Brighton & Hove City Council’s Health Walk programme I am leading a 4.5 mile history tour of the Balsdean and Kingston Downs. It starts at 10am on Monday 15th July, from the Falmer Road car park, immediately north of the village of Woodingdean, near Brighton, Sussex. Hopefully we will finish before 1pm. […]

The Newmarket Farm was probably built in about 1831 – which puts it right at the end of the Georgian period. The archaeological evidence, in keeping with personal memories and the above photograph, all indicate that for most of its life it was roofed with Welsh slate. But has it always been roofed with slate […]

I believe I have said it before. One of the main purposes of this blog is to get my thoughts straight. And if I ever need to get my thoughts clear it is now! I have a reasonable idea of what needs to be done to complete our 2013 Newmarket Farm Dig – it is […]

The most popular question I am asked about my research is “am I writing a book” (and “when will it be published”)? An early draft of the book is already available to read on this website (though without images, for I have yet to request copyright approvals for them all). However a publication date is […]

The WW2 Balsdean presentation I gave to the Sussex Military History Society last month was very warmly received. I plan to rework it into a suitable form to include in this blog, though it is likely to be a while before that happens. One reason is that I used several animated transitions comparing current views […]

I have been meaning to write about Peter Mercer and John Homewood’s Woodingdean Social History Project for some time now. With the recent passing of my father, I realise more than ever just how precious our memories are. If only he had written – perhaps with my help – more of his ninety years of […]

My dad was born in Woodingdean, 1926, shortly after his family moved into the village. The emerging village of shacks and tracks was almost nearly civilised by the time of his arrival. There was a shop or two, a cafe, and the Downs Hotel had just been opened the year before. Nevertheless, on the Downs […]