Bibliography - Herstmonceux, Wealden District, East Sussex
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[Herstmonceux Castle], by S. Vine, published 1773 in The Gentleman's Magazine (vol. 43, article, p.63)

A brief history and description of Herstmonceux Castle; containing an account of the families which have inhabited it since the reign of Edward II. Extracted from various authors, published 1824 (30 pp., J. Pursglove, Sussex) accessible at: British Library

Parish of Herstmonceux, by Thomas Walker Horsfield, published 1835 in The History, Antiquities and Topography of the County of Sussex (vol. I, rape of Hastings, pp.550-556) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2396][Lib 3211] & The Keep [LIB/507380][Lib/500087] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

The Castle of Herstmonceux and its Lords, by Rev. Edmund Venables, published 1851 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 4, article, pp.125-202) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2089] & The Keep [LIB/500223] & S.A.S. library   View Online

Wills of Inhabitants of Herstmonceux, by Mark Antony Lower, published 1851 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 4, article, pp.203-208) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2089] & The Keep [LIB/500223] & S.A.S. library   View Online

Hurst-Monceux, or Herst-Monceux, by Mark Antony Lower, M.A., published 1870 in A Compendious History of Sussex, Topographical, Archaeological & Anecdotal (vol. I, pp.254-257, Lewes: George P. Bacon) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8946][Lib 3314] & The Keep [LIB/500159]   View Online

A Holiday on the Road: An Artist's Wanderings in Kent, Sussex and Surrey [Mayfield, Alfriston, Hailsham, Herstmonceux and the South Downs], by James John Hissey, published 1887 (xviii + 408 pp., London: Richard Bentley & Son) accessible at: & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries   View Online

Plans of Hurstmonceux Castle, by C. T. Phillips, published 1890 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 37, notes & queries, p.198) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2122] & The Keep [LIB/500255] & S.A.S. library   View Online

Pevensey and Hurstmonceux, by E. V. Lucas with illustrations by Frederick L. Griggs, published 1904 in Highways and Byways in Sussex (Chapter XXXV, London: Macmillan & Co.) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 41][Lib 12792][Lib 15825] & The Keep [LIB/500142]   View Online

Extracts from the Household Account Book of Herstmonceux Castle, from August 1643 to December 1649, by Thomas Barrett-Lennard, published 1905 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 48, article, pp.104-137) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2133] & The Keep [LIB/500266] & S.A.S. library   View Online

The Parish Church of All Saints, Herstmonceux, and the Dacre Tomb, by John E. Ray, F.R.Hist.S., published 1916 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 58, article, pp.21-64) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2143] & The Keep [LIB/500276] & S.A.S. library   View Online

Dacre Tomb, Herstmonceux - Additional Notes, by J. E. Ray, published 1916 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 58, notes & queries, pp.198-200) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2143] & The Keep [LIB/500276] & S.A.S. library   View Online

Herstmonceux Castle (1), by Country Life contributor(s), published 2 March 1918 in Country Life (article)

Herstmonceux Castle (2), by Country Life contributor(s), published 9 March 1918 in Country Life (article)

Herstmonceux Castle (3), by Country Life contributor(s), published 16 March 1918 in Country Life (article)

Historic Houses of Sussex - Herstmonceux Castle, by Viscountess Wolseley, published 1928 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. II no. 5, article, pp.180-185) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9327] & The Keep [LIB/500138]

Two Horse Cases and a Brawler, 14th century, Herstmonceux Court Rolls, by S.N.Q. contributor, published May 1928 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. II no. 2, note, pp.54-56) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8951] & The Keep [LIB/500204] & S.A.S. library

Dining at Herstmonceux, c.1730, by Admiral B. M. Chambers, published 1929 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. III no. 12, article, pp.875-878) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2307] & The Keep [LIB/500140]

Romance of a Lawyer's Bill, by Admiral Chambers, C.B., published 1930 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. IV no. 6, article, pp.464-468) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2308][Lib 2309] & The Keep [LIB/500172]

The Heronry of Windmill Hill, by Charles H. Larkin, published 1932 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. VI no. 4, article, pp.258-259) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9325] & The Keep [LIB/500175]

Letters of Henrietta Henckell Hare, by Admiral B. M. Chambers, C. B., published 1932 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. VI no. 9, article, pp.593-602; no. 10, pp.668-674; no. 11, pp.720-724; no. 12, pp.790-793) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9325] & The Keep [LIB/500175]

The Christmas Tree comes to Sussex, by Admiral Chambers, C.B., published 1933 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. VII no. 1, article, pp.20-22) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2312] & The Keep [LIB/500176]

A Tour into Sussex, 1788, continued, by Hon. John Byng, published 1933 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. VII no. 4, article, pp.260-266) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2312] & The Keep [LIB/500176]

A Footnote to the Henckell Hare's Letters, by Admiral Chambers, published 1933 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. VII no. 5, article, pp.329-330) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2312] & The Keep [LIB/500176]

Horace Walpole in Sussex, by M. S. H. [Mary S. Holgate], published November 1933 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. IV no. 8, article, pp.232-234) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2203][Lib 8222][Lib 8861] & The Keep [LIB/500206] & S.A.S. library

Hurstmonceux Manor Rolls, by Dr. Gordon Ward, published May 1936 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. VI no. 2, note, p.57) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 12537][Lib 8863][Lib 8224] & The Keep [LIB/500208] & S.A.S. library

An Expensive Breach of Manorial Custom [at Herstmonceux], by W. B. [W. Budgen], published November 1940 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. VIII no. 4, note, p.122) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8865][Lib 2207] & The Keep [LIB/500210] & S.A.S. library

Herstmonceux Church, by Rosslyn Bruce, published 1941 (pamphlet) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 4992]

Herstmonceux Castle, by W. Douglas Simpson, published 1942 in The Archaeological Journal (vol. 99, article, pp.110-122)   View Online

Castles from the air: Castle Rising, Dover, Arundel, Carnarvon, Bodiarn, Herstmonceux, Deal, Hever, published 11 July 1947 in Country Life (article, pp.72-75) accessible at: R.I.B.A. Library

All Saints Church, Herstmonceux, by Rosslyn Bruce, published c.1949 (pamphlet) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 6531]

Note on the Hares of Herstmonceux, by F. Betham Stevens, F.S.A., published August 1951 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. XIII no. 7, article, pp.157-158) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8231] & The Keep [LIB/500215] & S.A.S. library

All Saints Church, Herstmonceux, by Rosslyn Bruce, published c.1957 (pamphlet, 18 pp., London: Harrison & Sons) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 10226] & British Library & East Sussex Libraries

Miles Sandys, Curate of Herstmonceux, by W. H. Challen, published November 1961 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. XV no. 8, note, pp.271-272) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8233] & The Keep [LIB/500217] & S.A.S. library

The Excavation of a Bell-Pit in Benzells Wood, Herstmonceux, Sussex, by C. F. Tebbutt, published 1978 in Wealden Iron Research Group (First Series No. 14, report, pp.6-7) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16400] & The Keep [LIB/506558]   Download PDF

Batsford Furnace, Warbleton/Herstmonceux: Interim report, by C. F. Tebbutt, published 1978 in Wealden Iron Research Group (First Series No. 14, report, pp.8-9) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16400] & The Keep [LIB/506558]   Download PDF

Guessing at Truth: The Life of Julius Charles Hare, by Distad N. Merrill, published 1979 accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 7211]

Batsford Furnace, 1978, by D. R. Bedwin, published 1979 in Wealden Iron Research Group (First Series No. 15, report, pp.27-31) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16400] & The Keep [LIB/506558]   Download PDF

Batsford Furnace is one of those mentioned in the 1574 list of Wealden Ironworks. The site lies in a narrow valley between the villages of Cowbeech and Rushlake Green. The bay still exists to a height of about 3m; there is no pond, however, and the stream, known as Furnace Brook, has broken through the south-western end of the bay. Considerable blast furnace slag was present in the area behind the bay, and three 'bears' were visible here, one of them embedded in the bank of the stream.
During the summer of 1978, work began in the valley on the construction of a fish farm. The tree cover was first removed, and large-scale earthmoving undertaken to form a series of dams across the valley. It became clear that any archaeological site in the vicinity was threatened with destruction. This was brought to the notice of the Sussex Archaeological Field Unit by Mr C.F. Tebbutt, and it was decided to excavate the furnace in October and November, 1978.

The excavation of a late 16th-century blast furnace at Batsford, Herstmonceux, East Sussex, 1978, by Owen Bedwin, published 1980 in Post-Medieval Archaeology (vol. 14, no. 1, article, pp.89-112)

Bloomery furnaces destroyed at Batsford, by C. F. Tebbutt, published 1980 in Wealden Iron Research Group (First Series No. 17, report, p.16) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16400] & The Keep [LIB/506558]   Download PDF

The Story of Bodle Street Green, by Ruth Ayres, published 1981 (80 pp., Bodle Street Green Womens' Institute) accessible at: East Sussex Libraries

Bygone Herstmonceux from Old Photographs, compiled by David Calvert, published 1982 (28 pp., published by the author) accessible at: East Sussex Libraries

A Brief History of Herstmonceux Congregational Chapel - from 1811 to present times, by Brian Harwood, published March 1982 in Sussex Genealogist and Family Historian (vol. 3 no. 4, article, pp.117-120) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8892] & The Keep [LIB/501189] & CD SXGS from S.F.H.G.

Herstmonceux Congregational Chapel: A Record of the Memorial Inscriptions & Graves, by Judith Kinnison, published March 1982 in Sussex Genealogist and Family Historian (vol. 3 no. 4, article, pp.120-124) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8892] & The Keep [LIB/501189] & CD SXGS from S.F.H.G.

Bodle Street Green: Ebenezer Strict Baptist Chapel, by Brian Harwood, published March 1983 in Sussex Genealogist and Family Historian (vol. 4 no. 4, article, pp.139-142) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8893] & The Keep [LIB/501190] & CD SXGS from S.F.H.G.

Memorial Inscriptions from Ebenezer Chapel, Bodle St. Green, by Judith Kinnison, published March 1983 in Sussex Genealogist and Family Historian (vol. 4 no. 4, article, pp.142-143) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8893] & The Keep [LIB/501190] & CD SXGS from S.F.H.G.

Sussex Village History from Insurance Records, by Brian Harwood, published September 1984 in Sussex Genealogist and Family Historian (vol. 6 no. 2, article, pp.58-62) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [MP 6277] & The Keep [LIB/501192] & CD SXGS from S.F.H.G.

Record book of insurance agreements in the Hertmonceux area concluded by Edgar Daws, farmer, and agent for the Imperial Fire Insurance Company from 1868-77

Some Notes from the Original Record Book of the Congregational Chapel at Herstmonceux, by Dorothy White, published June 1986 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 7 no. 1, article, p.14) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 10461] & The Keep [LIB/501259] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

The Pursgloves of the Congregational Chapel at Herstmonceux, by A. L. Gooch, published September 1986 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 7 no. 2, article, pp.46-48) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 10461] & The Keep [LIB/501259] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

The Pursglove family in Sussex is traced back to John Pursglove (1798-1876) and Mary Harmer. A brief history of the family is given and covers the years 1650 - 1922 in the parish of Herstmonceux

The Kemp Family in Lewes and Brighton, by Antony Dale, published September 1988 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 8 no. 3, article, pp.100-107) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 10736] & The Keep [LIB/501260] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

The life and ancestry of Thomas Read Kemp, M.P. (1782-1844) and his descendants. He married Frances Baring and lived at Herstmonceux Place, then The Temple, Montpelier Road, Brighton, and then Dale Park, Madehurst. They had 10 children. After the death of Frances in childbirth he married, in 1832, Frances Margaretta Shakely and they had one son. Article covers the years 1733 - 1924.

The treasure of Herstmonceux : an adventure in genealogy, by Kenneth Donald Fines, published 1989 (179 leaves, Stratford-upon-Avon: Marshall Correll) accessible at: British Library

East Sussex Census 1851 Index: Arlington, Hailsham, Herstmonceux, Wartling, Hooe & Ninfield, by June C. Barnes, published January 1989 (vol. 9, booklet, 84 pp., C. J. Barnes & printed at Battle Instant Print Ltd., ISBN-10: 1870264096 & ISBN-13: 9781870264099) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 11238] & The Keep [LIB/503432] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

The Windmill at Windmill Hill, Herstmonceux, by David Calvert, published c.1990 accessible at: The Keep [LIB/502786]

Religious Survey 1851 - Hailsham district, edited by John A. Vickers, published August 1990 in The Religious Census of Sussex 1851 (Sussex Record Society, vol. 75, pp.35-43, ISBN-10: 085445036X & ISBN-13: 9780854450367) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 10578][Lib 13824] & The Keep [LIB/500452][LIB/507827] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Hailsham district incl. Herstmonceux, Wartling, Hooe, Ninfield, Hellingly, Chiddingly, Laughton, Warbleton & Heathfield

Herstmonceux - Land Tax 1785, edited by Roger Davey, published 1991 in East Sussex Land Tax, 1785 (Sussex Record Society, vol. 77, pp.109-111, ISBN-10: 0854450386 & ISBN-13: 9780854450381) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 11681][Lib 13075] & The Keep [LIB/500454][Lib/507860] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

On foot in East Sussex : 27 rambles based on the Eastbourne, Herstmonceux, Lewes, Seaford, Brighton, Rye, Ashdown Forest areas, by Society of Sussex Downmen, published 1992 (10th edition, 72 pp., Hove) accessible at: British Library

Lime House, Sussex, by Michael Hall, published 11 March 1993 in Country Life (vol. 187 no. 10, article, pp.64-67)

A History of Herstmonceux Castle, by David Calvert and Roger Martin, published 1994 (46 pp., Canada: International Study Centre, Queen's University) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508805][Lib/502816] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Windmill Hill, Sussex: A Brief Historical Outline, by Daryl Burchmore, published 1 October 1994 (48 pp., Windmill Hill Stores, ISBN-10: 0952430940 & ISBN-13: 9780952430940) accessible at: East Sussex Libraries

Windmill Hill Mill, Herstmonceux, by Martin Brunnarius and Ron Martin, published 1995 in Sussex Industrial History (issue no. 25, article, pp.18-21, ISSN: 0263-5151) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/506527]   Download PDF

During the 1994 Society mill tour of East Sussex we visited Windmill Hill post mill to view the work described by Ron Martin later in this article. This has saved the mill from possible collapse.
This hand winded post mill is particularly noteworthy not least for its size, in height certainly. The massive bulk of the body has dropped considerably during the occupation of the site. Allowing a foot (0.3 m) for this, then the roof ridge would have been at 50 ft. (15.2 m) above the ground, some 5 ft. higher than Cross-in-Hand post mill 5 miles north west of here. The body is also the largest standing in the county. The Exceptional height is due to the whole being raised on lofty piers which place the trestle inconveniently above the first floor as illustrated on Ron Martin's drawing.

New life at Herstmonceux: The Herstmonceux Science Centre is rising from the ashes of the abandoned Equatorial Group, by A. Wilson, published 1998 in Astronomy now (vol. 12, no. 3, article, pp.54-56)

Herstmonceux - 18c. Schools, edited by John Caffyn, published 1998 in Sussex Schools in the 18th Century (Sussex Record Society, vol. 81, pp.134-137, ISBN-10: 0854450424 & ISBN-13: 9780854450428) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 13825][Lib 13828] & The Keep [LIB/500458][Lib/507864] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

1841 Census vol. 1: Arlington, Hailsham, Herstmonceux, Wartling, Hooe and Ninfield, published 1998 by PBN Publications (Ref: BPCA, CD-ROM, PBN Publications) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 13728]

Astronomers at Herstmonceux in their own words, edited by Peter Corben and others, published 1 May 1999 (xi + 68 pp., Herstmonceux: Science Projects, ISBN-10: 0951239414 & ISBN-13: 9780951239414) accessible at: British Library & East Sussex Libraries

An edited compilation of reminiscences of life and work of the Royal Greenwich Observatory, Herstmonceux, between the 1950s and the 1980s, by eight of the astronomers who worked there.

The Chittendens of Herstmonceux, by Barbara Sanders, published September 2000 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 14 no. 3, article, pp.111-112) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 14881] & The Keep [LIB/508823] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

Richard, shoemaker, son of Richard Chittenden and Hannah Hoad was born in 1799 in Herstmonceux and married Sarah about 1817.  They had seven children.

Edwards of Herstmonceux, by Don Burgess, published December 2003 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 15 no. 8, article, pp.376-377) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15249] & The Keep [LIB/508827] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

The family of Henry Edwards who married Elizabeth Farncombe in Lewes on 18 July 1753.

A medieval masterpiece: Herstmonceux Castle, Sussex, by John A. . Goodall, published August 2004 in Burlington Magazine (issue 1217, article, pp.516-525)

Tree-ring analysis of timbers from the Post Mill, Windmill Lane, Windmill Hill, Herstmonceux, East Sussex, by Martin Bridge, published 2005 (13 leaves, English Heritage, Centre for Archaeology, Portsmouth) accessible at: British Library

Community reminiscences project on World War Two, by Judith Kinnison-Bourke and others, published 2008 (Herstmonceux Luncheon Club)

Community Reminiscence Project on World War Two: Memories of the People of Herstmonceux, edited by Judith Kinnison Bourke, Julia Tolley, Sarah Wright and Trevor Cornford, published October 2008 (288 pp., Judith Kinnison Bourke, ISBN-10: 095605000X & ISBN-13: 9780956050007) accessible at: East Sussex Libraries

This book is very much a community project with just over one hundred contributors but it has an appeal well beyond its locality. The project began when Herstmonceaux Free Church made World War Two the subject of one of their monthly Sunday Supplement events and invited local groups to take part. The members of the Herstmonceaux Luncheon Club then went on to take part in a series of creative writing classes and one of these sessions was open to the reminiscences of the wider community.
The book is organised in broad themes of: Home Front, Evacuation, the Women's Land Army, The Frontline Memories from Abroad and VE Day and the Aftermath of War and the writing is interspersed with photographs, drawings, postcards and personal documents. Some of the contributions are only two short lines, such as 'I Never Knew My Dad' but no less affecting for their brevity.
The material included is wide ranging and full of personal detail.
. . .
I think this book will have a wide appeal. Anyone who lived through World War Two will find much to stimulate their own reminiscences and younger readers will learn a wealth of detail about the period. I think children studying WW2 will particularly relate to the child's perspective and this book could be a valuable classroom resource.

Lambs to the slaughter, by Alan Hayward, published September 2009 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 18 no. 7, article, pp.336-341) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508974] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

At the beginning of the Great War, Col. Claude LOWTHER, who lived at Herstmonceux Castle, decided that he would form a battalion for the New Army from Sussex men.
He was so successful, and the men of Sussex came forward in such numbers, that he was able to supply time battalions to the Royal Sussex Regiment (RSR) and together with a Hampshire battalion they formed the 116th (Southdown) Brigade of the 39th Division of the New Army. They were the 11th, 12th and 13th battalions of the RSR and the 10th battalion acted as their reserve battalion. They were known in Sussex as 'Lowther's Lambs', as their mascot was a Southdown lamb, a name that was to be given prophetic significance as their war unfolded.

The origins and construction of the Isaac Newton Telescope, Herstmonceux, 1944-1967, by L. T. Macdonald, published 2010 in Journal of the British Astronomical Association (vol. 120, no. 2, article, pp.73-85)

A Monumental Palimpsest: the Dacre tomb in Herstmonceux Church, by George Elliott, published 2010 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 148, article, pp.129-144) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 18613] & The Keep [LIB/500366] & S.A.S. library   View Online

According to Pevsner, the Dacre Tomb at Herstmonceux is "the one really spectacular piece in the church". The effigies on the tomb had traditionally been taken to represent Thomas Fiennes, second Baron Dacre of the South (c. 1470-1533) and his son, Sir Thomas Fiennes (c. 1490-1528). But in these Collections in 1916, J. E. Ray cast doubt on that attribution, and on other aspects of the monument. Based on its style and heraldry but without undertaking any structural investigation, Ray demonstrated that the effigies had originally belonged to the tomb of Thomas Hoo, Lord Hoo and Hastings (d. 1455) and his half-brother Thomas Hoo (d. 1486) at Battle Abbey. In 1969, the restoration of the tomb provided an opportunity to test Ray's ideas. This article, written by the Master Mason who undertook the work, not only confirms most elements of Ray's hypothesis, but also provides important new evidence of the approach of those who created the monument as it now stands.

The drawings of Herstmonceux Castle by James Lambert, senior and junior, 1776-7, by John H. Farrant, published 2010 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 148, article, pp.177-182) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 18613] & The Keep [LIB/500366] & S.A.S. library   View Online

In 1776 Lord Dacre commissioned the Lamberts to record his ancestors' home before its partial demolition. Their surviving working drawings were a key element in English Heritage's reassessment of Herstmonceux Castle in relation to other great fifteenth-century buildings. In 2006 East Sussex Record Office acquired the Lamberts' watercolours prepared for their client. The watercolours hitherto held to be those are identified as copies made by S. H. Grimm for William Burrell.

The Isaac Newton Telescope at Herstmonceux and on La Palma, by A. Wilson, published 1 January 2010 (148 pp., Hailsham: Science Projects publishing, ISBN-10: 0951239422 & ISBN-13: 9780951239421) accessible at: British Library

At the end of the second World War professional astronomy in Britain was in the doldrums. A remedy was proposed in the form of a big new telescope, to be named after the country's greatest scientist. But years of indecision and frustration followed, and not until 1968 was the Isaac Newton Telescope - fifth largest in the world - fully open for business at its Sussex site. Just eleven years later it closed down, defeated by the British climate. The telescope was updated and improved, and reinstalled at a much better location in the Canary Islands, where it has operated successfully for a quarter of a century.
This book is a history of the Isaac Newton Telescope, from the casting in 1936 of what would eventually become its main mirror in Sussex, to its continuing exploration of Canarian skies in the twenty-first century. It is a book about large telescopes and how they work, about the political realities of a `big science' project, and about the remarkable progress of astronomy over forty years, in which the Isaac Newton Telescope has played, and is still playing, a part.

200 years of praise : the history of Herstmonceux Chapel, 1811-2011, edited by Judith Kinnison Bourke, Julia Tolley, Sarah Wright and Trevor Cornford, published 2011 (88 pp., Herstmonceux Free Church, ISBN-10: 0956050018 & ISBN-13: 9780956050014) accessible at: British Library

This book is very much a community project with just over one hundred contributors but it has an appeal well beyond its locality. The project began when Herstmonceaux Free Church made World War Two the subject of one of their monthly Sunday Supplement events and invited local groups to take part. The members of the Herstmonceaux Luncheon Club then went on to take part in a series of creative writing classes and one of these sessions was open to the reminiscences of the wider community.
The book is organised in broad themes of: Home Front, Evacuation, the Women's Land Army, The Frontline Memories from Abroad and VE Day and the Aftermath of War and the writing is interspersed with photographs, drawings, postcards and personal documents. Some of the contributions are only two short lines, such as 'I Never Knew My Dad' but no less affecting for their brevity.
The material included is wide ranging and full of personal detail.
. . .
I think this book will have a wide appeal. Anyone who lived through World War Two will find much to stimulate their own reminiscences and younger readers will learn a wealth of detail about the period. I think children studying WW2 will particularly relate to the child's perspective and this book could be a valuable classroom resource.

Herstmonceux, All Saints - Church monuments, edited by Nigel Llewellyn, published 2011 in East Sussex Church Monuments, 1530-1830 (Sussex Record Society, vol. 93, pp.168-171, ISBN-10: 0854450750 & ISBN-13: 9780854450756) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 17926] & The Keep [LIB/500470][LIB/507876] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries   View Online

Land Adjacent to Higham Cottage, Gardner Street, Herstmonceux (NGR: TQ63631251) - watching brief report, by Teresa Vieira, published February 2016 (Reading: Thames Valley Archaeological Services)   View Online

Causewells of Herstmonceux and Plumpton, by Bob Wilcock, published September 2017 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 22 no. 7, article, pp.298-302) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860]