Publications
R v Walson: New Light on a Medieval Mugging, by Christopher Whittick, published 1983 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 121, historical note, pp.213-215) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8902] & The Keep [LIB/500308] & S.A.S. library
Some Evidence for an Intended Collegiate Church at Pevensey, by Mark Gardiner and Chris Whittick, published 1990 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 128, historical note, pp.261-262) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 11106] & The Keep [LIB/500301] & S.A.S. library
Wealden Iron in California - the Huntington Library, San Marino, California, by C. Whittick, published 1992 in Wealden Iron Research Group (Second Series No. 12, article, pp.29-62, ISSN: 0266-4402) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16400] & The Keep [LIB/506560] Download PDF
Dallingridges's Bay and Bodiam Castle Millpond - Elements of a Medieval Landscape, by Christopher Whittick, published 1993 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 131, article, pp.119-123) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 12210] & The Keep [LIB/500300] & S.A.S. library
The Meaning of some Latin Prepositions in Manorial Records, by Christopher Whittick, published 1993 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 131, historical note, pp.201-202) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 12210] & The Keep [LIB/500300] & S.A.S. library
The Loseley list of 'Sussex Martyrs': a Commission of Enquiry into the fate of their Assets and the Development of the Sussex Protestant Martyrology, by A. S. Gratwick and Christopher Whittick, published 1995 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 133, article, pp.225-240) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 13209] & The Keep [LIB/500288] & S.A.S. library
The supply of raw materials to the Heathfield ironworks, by C. H. C. Whittick, published 1997 in Wealden Iron Research Group (Second Series No. 17, article, pp.46-47, ISSN: 0266-4402) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16400] & The Keep [LIB/506564] Download PDF
Abstract:The editors of the Fuller correspondence expressed surprise at letters which seemed to suggest that charcoal was carried to the family's furnace at Heathfield from Newick, a distance of approximately ten miles.
It can however be demonstrated that the Newick to which the letters refer is not the parish north of Lewes but Newick Farm in Heathfield, a little over two miles north of the furnace.
It can however be demonstrated that the Newick to which the letters refer is not the parish north of Lewes but Newick Farm in Heathfield, a little over two miles north of the furnace.
The Tudeley ironworks accounts, by J. S. Hodgkinson and C. H. C. Whittick, published 1998 in Wealden Iron Research Group (Second Series No. 18, article, pp.7-38, ISSN: 0266-4402) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16400] & The Keep [LIB/506565] Download PDF
Abstract:Attention was first drawn to the accounts of the ironworks at Tudeley, near Tonbridge, in a paper by Michael Giuseppi. The ironworks were part of the 'chace' or manor of Southfrith, which belonged to Elizabeth de Burgh, the founder of Clare College, Cambridge, and grand-daughter of Edward I, and the accounts form part of a larger collection of papers, now in the Public Record Office, relating to the manor. The detailed records of the ironworks survive for two periods - from 1329 to 1334 and from 1350 to 1354 - when they were worked in hand by the manor. Between 1334 and 1350, and from 1354 to 1375, they were leased, and the manor accounts in those periods only record an annual rental payment.
The Lordship of Canterbury, iron-founding at Buxted, and the continental antecedents of cannon-founding in the Weald, by Brian G. Awty and Chistopher Whittick, published 2002 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 140, article, pp.71-81) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15109] & The Keep [LIB/500299] & S.A.S. library View Online
Abstract:Queenstock Furnace in Buxted is shown to have been built under the auspices of Archbishop John Morton, probably in 1490. The site was at Iron Plat on the Uckfield Stream, within Morton's lordship of South Malling. The furnace was out of blast in 1509, and also apparently in 1537, but it was mentioned again in the 1570s, when it will have been the Buxted site used by the gun founder Ralph Hogge. The furnace had most probably been put in blast again around 1512, will have been the Buxted 'iron mill' used by the Rotherfield ironmaster Roger Machyn in 1524 and was the probable source of the iron railings supplied for Rochester Bridge by Archbishop Warham, who died in 1532. Queenstock, and not Oldlands, was the site at which William Levett cast guns from 1543 onwards. The technique of casting iron guns vertically in stave-lined pits had been used in the duchy of J?lich in 1539 and 1540, and it is suggested that it was brought to Normandy in 1540 and to the Weald in 1543, as a result of the alliances of both Francis I and Henry VIII with William de La Marck, duke of Cleves. In the case of the Weald the intermediary could have been Nicholas Wotton, who in 1539 led the negotiations for Henry's marriage to Anne of Cleves, and did not return to England until July 1541, when he took up the office of dean of Canterbury.
Iron Plat, Queenstock hammer-pond and a 15th-century ironworking site at Buxted, by Pam Combes and Christopher Whittick, published 2002 in Wealden Iron Research Group (Second Series No. 22, article, pp.10-17, ISSN: 0266-4402) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/506569] Download PDF
Abstract:Three tantalisingly early references to ironworks in Buxted have been discovered, the first two by Brian Awty and the third by Judith Brent, in the course of the last twelve months. The purpose of this article is to locate the furnace or furnaces mentioned in two grants of land by the manor of South Malling in 1509, and to establish whether either of the two Buxted hammer ponds rated for the new cut at Newhaven in 1537 can be identified with the same site.
The documentary research upon which our conclusions have been based, although far from exhaustive, has involved a minute investigation of the records of land-ownership, and only a summary can be presented here.
The documentary research upon which our conclusions have been based, although far from exhaustive, has involved a minute investigation of the records of land-ownership, and only a summary can be presented here.
Re-dating an early document, by Christopher Whittick, published 2002 in Wealden Iron Research Group (Second Series No. 22, article, pp.18-21, ISSN: 0266-4402) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/506569] Download PDF
Abstract:Among the archive of the Maryon-Wilson family of Searles in Fletching at the East Sussex Record Office is an undated book of instructions, partly executed, for a survey of the woodlands on the manor of Framfield (ESRO SRL 13/1).1 The document makes several mentions of ironworks, and provides an important means of dating the early operations in the Framfield area.
Medieval seal matrices and papal bullae from Sussex, 2003-2007, by Liz Andrews-Wilson and Christopher Whittick, published 2007 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 145, short article, pp.222-228) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15980] & The Keep [LIB/500363] & S.A.S. library View Online
Eric Ravilious: Landscape, Letters and Design , edited by Anne Ullman, Christopher Whittick and Simon Lawrence, published 1 September 2008 (548 pp., Upper Denby: The Fleece Press, ISBN-10: 0948375876 & ISBN-13: 9780948375873) accessible at: British Library
Abstract:The acclaim which met Ravilious at War has spurred the preparation of a companion volume showing all Ravilious' murals and painted work which he produced upto the outbreak of war in 1939. Ravilious at War began with the group of six paintings of chalk figures in landscape settings, and it is appropriate that the new book ends with this group, a high-point and at the same time, turning-point in Ravilious' career. The text is comprised of selected correspondence: from Ravilious' early art school days (when his irrepressibly humorous friend Douglas Percy Bliss wrote to fill him in with news of college life), through friendships with Cecilia Dunbar Kilburn, Helen Binyon, Edward Bawden, Percy Horton, John and Christine Nash, and many more (some more intimate than others). The letters relate a little less directly to the paintings than in Ravilious at War, but give us a very good view of the artist's life in all its aspects. A separate prospectus is available while supplies last.
The book is a phenomenal 528 pages in two volumes, and contains about 300 images with 180,000 words. The collected letters give a deep and honest insight into Ravilious' personality and his perception of his world, and also give us a broader understanding of the 1930s, with the inexorable progress to European war. Of course for many people, the illustration of every known painting by this unique artist with a great many associated images, is what they will initially buy the book for, and this aspect alone makes the book so important. It has been a profound pleasure to publish this collection of words and images. Reviewing the book in the Times Literary Supplement, January 30th 2009, Miles Symner wrote: 'the care that has been devoted to designing and producing these two revelatory volumes matches that evident throughout Eric Ravilious's work. The result is enchantment.' Paul Johnson's assessment in The Spectator (March 21st 2009) was that 'It is one of the most remarkable books ever produced on an English artist.'
The book is a phenomenal 528 pages in two volumes, and contains about 300 images with 180,000 words. The collected letters give a deep and honest insight into Ravilious' personality and his perception of his world, and also give us a broader understanding of the 1930s, with the inexorable progress to European war. Of course for many people, the illustration of every known painting by this unique artist with a great many associated images, is what they will initially buy the book for, and this aspect alone makes the book so important. It has been a profound pleasure to publish this collection of words and images. Reviewing the book in the Times Literary Supplement, January 30th 2009, Miles Symner wrote: 'the care that has been devoted to designing and producing these two revelatory volumes matches that evident throughout Eric Ravilious's work. The result is enchantment.' Paul Johnson's assessment in The Spectator (March 21st 2009) was that 'It is one of the most remarkable books ever produced on an English artist.'
The history of the hospital of St Nicholas, Lewes and its successors, by Christopher Whittick, published 2010 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 148, article, pp.111-128) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 18613] & The Keep [LIB/500366] & S.A.S. library View Online
Abstract:Although there is little direct evidence for the hospital in the medieval period, it featured in accounts of the battle of Lewes and as a landmark. Its usefulness enabled it to survive the dissolution of Lewes Priory, its patron house, and it was gradually appropriated by the authorities of the parish of St Anne, while maintaining an independent charitable status which ensured its exemption from the Poor Law Amendment Act in 1834. Featuring on maps of Lewes from 1618 onwards, its importance was recognised as early as the 1770s by an antiquary who commissioned drawings of the ruins. Redevelopment of the site began in 1867, and the erection of a school in 1910 produced further images in the form of architects' drawings and photographs. This article can be read as a pendant to the excavation report (for which it was originally commissioned - see this volume pp. 79-109) or as a piece of free-standing research, which should nonetheless inform any future archaeological investigation of the site.
Accounts and Records of the Manor of Mote in Iden 1441-1551, 1673, edited by Mark Gardiner and Christopher Whittick, published 1 August 2011 (vol. 92, lxxxv + 314 pp., Sussex Record Society, ISBN-10: 0854450742 & ISBN-13: 9780854450749) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 17925] & The Keep [LIB/500469][Lib/507875] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries View Online
Abstract:The accounts of the manor of Mote provide an exceptional insight into provincial society towards the end of the Middle Ages set against the background of national affairs. In 1460 Sir John Scott, a minor Kent lord, bought the Sussex manor of Mote. In that same year, he made the momentous decision to support the landing of the Yorkist lords, opened the gates of Canterbury and paved the way for the accession of Edward IV. Scott subsequently emerged as a close servant of the new king and was showered with offices and the properties of attainted Lancastrians.
The creation of a fashionable brick 'castle' at Mote to proclaim Scott's new status is detailed in these accounts. The decision to start work was taken in 1466 and building continued for a decade. The establishment of a brick kiln, the supply of stone from Eastbourne and Cranbrook, ironwork from Woodchurch and glass from Calais are all recorded. Scott also re-organized agriculture at Mote, digging up woodland to create new fields and building his herd of cattle. He built a dock near Rye to ship firewood to the English enclave of Calais, where he was himself established as Marshal. The accounts also record the purchases made to sustain a gentry household, and contain a wealth of information about supplies and provisioning in the hinterland of Rye and Romney Marsh.
The accounts record the local business of the Scott household in the broader context of the struggles of the Yorkists and Lancastrians. Echoes of the Readeption crisis of 1470 are found here: Sir John was briefly exiled and Lady Agnes Scott took over the running of the estate, and struggled to collect the rents from tenants uncertain of the future. Perhaps in expectation of a siege, she also stocked the manor with meat and wheat and had her husband's armour cleaned.
The Mote accounts are complemented by near-contemporary coin rolls and rentals of 1478 and 1673, the latter supported by maps. The context of these records is explained by a detailed introduction which discusses the accounts, the manor and its lords from the 13th to the 20th century, including its tenure by the Catholic Scotts and Puritan Powells. It concludes with a wider study, supported by appendix, of feudal tenure in the Weald of Sussex.
Review by Danae Tankard in Sussex Past & Present no. 126, April 2012:The creation of a fashionable brick 'castle' at Mote to proclaim Scott's new status is detailed in these accounts. The decision to start work was taken in 1466 and building continued for a decade. The establishment of a brick kiln, the supply of stone from Eastbourne and Cranbrook, ironwork from Woodchurch and glass from Calais are all recorded. Scott also re-organized agriculture at Mote, digging up woodland to create new fields and building his herd of cattle. He built a dock near Rye to ship firewood to the English enclave of Calais, where he was himself established as Marshal. The accounts also record the purchases made to sustain a gentry household, and contain a wealth of information about supplies and provisioning in the hinterland of Rye and Romney Marsh.
The accounts record the local business of the Scott household in the broader context of the struggles of the Yorkists and Lancastrians. Echoes of the Readeption crisis of 1470 are found here: Sir John was briefly exiled and Lady Agnes Scott took over the running of the estate, and struggled to collect the rents from tenants uncertain of the future. Perhaps in expectation of a siege, she also stocked the manor with meat and wheat and had her husband's armour cleaned.
The Mote accounts are complemented by near-contemporary coin rolls and rentals of 1478 and 1673, the latter supported by maps. The context of these records is explained by a detailed introduction which discusses the accounts, the manor and its lords from the 13th to the 20th century, including its tenure by the Catholic Scotts and Puritan Powells. It concludes with a wider study, supported by appendix, of feudal tenure in the Weald of Sussex.
Sussex Record Society volume 92 is an edition, in translation, of four groups of documents held at East Sussex Record Office, relating to the manor of Mote in Iden, covering the period 1442 to 1673. They are manorial accounts (1464-1484); a court roll of the manor (1442-1551); a rental of the manor (1478); and asurvey (1673).
The text is preceded by an introduction which sets out their historical context. It examines the descent of the manor, its purchase by Sir John Scott in 1460, his career and character and the management of his demesne and household at Mote. Scott, a minor Kent lord, supported the landing of the Yorkist lords in 1460 and subsequently became a close servant to the new king, Edward IV. As befitting a man on the rise, Scott embarked on an ambitious building project at Mote from 1466 - detailed in the accounts - which included the creation of a fashionable brick 'castle'. The accounts of household expenditure show that despite successful management of the demesne the household was not self-sufficient; foodstuffs were bought locally, often directly from the producer or, for larger quantities, from local towns. Other items, including ironmongery, domestic utensils and cloth and clothing (the latter usually for the servants) were also bought locally.
The introduction also describes the later descent of the manor, the history of the archive and the diplomatic nature of the documents. The final part considers the use of stock-deeds and the nature of manorial tenure in the Weald of Sussex, and sets out the editorial conventions used in the text.
This is a very impressive volume, reflecting considerable skill and erudition on the part of the editors, not only in translating and editing the documents but in providing them with such a robust and scholarly introduction.
The text is preceded by an introduction which sets out their historical context. It examines the descent of the manor, its purchase by Sir John Scott in 1460, his career and character and the management of his demesne and household at Mote. Scott, a minor Kent lord, supported the landing of the Yorkist lords in 1460 and subsequently became a close servant to the new king, Edward IV. As befitting a man on the rise, Scott embarked on an ambitious building project at Mote from 1466 - detailed in the accounts - which included the creation of a fashionable brick 'castle'. The accounts of household expenditure show that despite successful management of the demesne the household was not self-sufficient; foodstuffs were bought locally, often directly from the producer or, for larger quantities, from local towns. Other items, including ironmongery, domestic utensils and cloth and clothing (the latter usually for the servants) were also bought locally.
The introduction also describes the later descent of the manor, the history of the archive and the diplomatic nature of the documents. The final part considers the use of stock-deeds and the nature of manorial tenure in the Weald of Sussex, and sets out the editorial conventions used in the text.
This is a very impressive volume, reflecting considerable skill and erudition on the part of the editors, not only in translating and editing the documents but in providing them with such a robust and scholarly introduction.
Obituary: John Houghton, 1920 - 2013, by John Farrant and Christopher Whittick, published April 2013 in Sussex Past & Present (no. 129, obituary, p.13, ISSN: 1357-7417) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/500475] & S.A.S. library View Online
The Battle of Lewes, 1264, by David Carpenter and Christopher Whittick, published 2014 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 152, article) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 18617] & The Keep [LIB/508097] & S.A.S. library View Online
Abstract:In 1987 David Carpenter published a new account of the battles of Lewes and Evesham, which included a radical re-interpretation of the evidence for the site of the former. To commemorate the battle's 750th anniversary, we revisit the engagement of 14 May 1264, augmenting the 1987 text with information which has emerged since then (and which further bolsters its findings), and offering further thoughts on the nature and significance of the clash between Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, and King Henry III and his son the Lord Edward.
A Survivor of Storms, Hastings Old Town: an architectural history to 1750, by David and Barbara Martin, Christopher Whittick with Jane Briscoe, published 2016 (260 pp., Domtom publishing, ISBN-13: 9781906070533) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/509088] & Old Hastings Prervation Society
Abstract:In historical times the relative success of one town over its neighbours depended upon more than the strength and wealth of its hinterland. Because of its strong castle and a harbour offering the shortest crossing to Normandy, the 11th and early 12th centuries ensured Hastings was the principal port in East Sussex. Coastal erosion subsequently robbed it of these advantages and, as a result, it was able to survive only because of its fishery, which sustained but a poor and fluctuating level of affluence. Even so, there is good survival of 15th and 17th century houses, though very few which date from either the 16th or first half of the 18th centuries. It was not until the second quarter of the 19th century that the town found a new niche as a seaside resort, a role which once more allowed it to assert its dominance over the surrounding region.
Obituary: Pamela Combes, 1936-2016, by Christopher Whittick, published April 2016 in Sussex Past & Present (no. 138, obituary, p.12, ISSN: 1357-7417) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/507923] & S.A.S. library