Bibliography - Sheffield Park
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Inventory of Goods, etc, in the Manor of Cheseworth, Sedgwick, and other Parks, the Manor Place of Sheffield, and in the Forest of Worth, with the Iron-works belonging to the Lord Admiral Seymour, at the time of his attainder, taken 1549, by Sir Henry Ellis, K.H., F.S.A., published 1861 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 13, article, pp.118-133) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2098] & The Keep [LIB/500232] & S.A.S. library   View Online

The Accounts of the Ironworks at Sheffield and Worth in Sussex, 1546-1549, by M. S. Giuseppi, F.S.A., published 1912 in The Archaeological Journal (vol. 69, article, pp.276-311)   View Online

A House of Mystery: Wapsbourne, by Viscountess Wolseley, published 1925 in Some of the Smaller Manor Houses of Sussex (Chapter III, pp.46-60, London: The Medici Society) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 42] & The Keep [LIB/502119] & R.I.B.A. Library

A House of Mystery: Wapsbourne, by Viscountess Wolseley, published 1925 in Some of the Smaller Manor Houses of Sussex (Chapter III, pp.46-60, London: The Medici Society) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 42] & The Keep [LIB/502119] & R.I.B.A. Library & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

The Smuggler's House: Colin Godman, by Viscountess Wolseley, published 1925 in Some of the Smaller Manor Houses of Sussex (Chapter X, pp.162-171, London: The Medici Society) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 42] & The Keep [LIB/502119] & R.I.B.A. Library & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Sheffield Park: A Beautiful Sussex Home, by M. S. Russell-Goggs, published 1927 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. I no. 7, article, pp.293-296) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2303][Lib 8326] & The Keep [LIB/500137]

The Rise of Thomas Sockett, by Kenneth Povey, published 1928 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. II no. 1, article, pp.38-40) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9327] & The Keep [LIB/500138]

Sussex Industries: Albert Turner and Sons Ltd., Timber Merchants, by C. A. Kelly, published 1928 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. II no. 12, article, pp.588-589) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9327] & The Keep [LIB/500138]

Some Sussex Gun Forges, by R. Thurston Hopkins, published 1930 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. IV no. 12, article, pp.1030-1035) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2308][Lib 2309] & The Keep [LIB/500173]

Sussex Recalls a Great Historian [Edward Gibbon], by G. R. A. Dick, published 1937 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. XI no. 7, article, pp.431-433) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2316][Lib 9332] & The Keep [LIB/500182]

The Sheffield Title, by F. Bentham Stevens, published November 1954 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. XIV nos. 3 & 4, note, pp.55-57) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8232][Lib 2213] & The Keep [LIB/500216] & S.A.S. library

The Bluebell Line, by R. C. Riley, published April 1962 in Railway Magazine (article, pp.223-230)   Download PDF

Guidebook to the Bluebell Railway, by T. C. Cole, published 1963 (24 pp., The Bluebell Railway Company) accessible at: East Sussex Libraries

Bluebell Railway: A Pictorial Impression, by Mike Esau, published 1975 (17 pp. & 80 plates, Boydell Press, ISBN-10: 0851150624 & ISBN-13: 9780851150628) accessible at: British Library & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Bluebell Line Historical Album, 1879-1965, by Klaus Marx, published 1 December 1979 (64 pp., Uckfield: Bluebell Railway Ltd., ISBN-10: 0903899027 & ISBN-13: 9780903899024) accessible at: & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Bluebell Steam in Retrospect, by Michael Welch, published 1 July 1980 (112 pp., Bluebell Railway Preservation Society, ISBN-10: 0903899035 & ISBN-13: 9780903899031) accessible at: British Library & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Sheffield Forge - New Developments, by C. F. and M. Tebbutt, published 1983 in Wealden Iron Research Group (Second Series No. 3, article, p.5) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16400] & The Keep [LIB/506559]   Download PDF

Sheffield Forge (TQ 404238) seems to have been established as a unit with Sheffield Furnace (TQ 416257) by 1554 (E. Straker, Wealden Iron (1931), 412-14), but by 1598 (E. Straker (ed.), The Buckhurst Terrier. 1597-8 Sussex Rec. Soc. 39 (1933), 72-3), when the furnace had been converted to a corn mill, the forge remained in working order. It was still in use in 1653 but not in 1664. Included with it were 30 acres in adjoining Coleham.
The water system at the forge was an unusual one, although not unique, being paralleled at Kitchenham Forge (TQ 679135). Water from the Ouse was led into an embanked pond artificially constructed in the flood plain of the river, and returned to the main stream by a mile-long channel whose name, the Hammer Ditch, still survives.

Violent Misadventures in Sheffield Park, by Brian Phillips, published December 1984 in Sussex Genealogist and Family Historian (vol. 6 no. 3, article, pp.111-116) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [MP 6277] & The Keep [LIB/501192] & CD SXGS from S.F.H.G.

The Bluebell Railway, by Klaus Marx, Peter Thomas and John Potter, published 1988 (56 pp., Ian Allen Publishing)

Rails to Sheffield Park, by Michael S. Welch, published 1 December 1988 (126 pp., Southampton: Kingfisher Railway Productions, ISBN-10: 0946184488 & ISBN-13: 9780946184484) accessible at: British Library & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Lord Sheffield's Model Farm, Sussex, by Kay Coutin, published 1990 in The Historic Farm Buildings Group (vol. 4, article, pp.3-13) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/502308]

A description of the model farm built in 1808

Sheffield Park Gardens, published 1994 (The National Trust) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/502701]

Sheffield Park Garden Stone Bridge and Sluice, by Ron Martin, published 1997 in Sussex Industrial History (issue no. 27, article, pp.2-7, ISSN: 0263-5151) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/506527]   Download PDF

Sheffield Park is one of the jewels in the crown of the National Trust in Sussex and is located in the parish of Fletching at TQ 4124. It comprises 120 acres (40 hectares) of ornamental garden on a sloping site running down from the House to a stream at the bottom of a valley in which runs a tributary of the River Ouse. This stream has been dammed to create the two Woman's Way Ponds. There are two other lakes between the Upper Woman's Way Pond and the House, the Middle Lake and the Ten Foot Pond and to the southwest side of the garden is the Storage Pond. The House is no longer part of the estate. The Stone Bridge, which is the subject of this article, is located at the outlet of the Ten Foot Pond and for purposes of descriptions, the bridge is assumed to be orientated due north - south with the Ten Foot Pond at the west side. The bridge was investigated in January and February 1997, during the period that it was being demolished prior to reconstruction.

The Bluebell Railway: A Nostalgic Trip Along the Whole Route from East Grinstead to Lewes, by Terry Gough, published 16 May 1998 (96 pp., Past & Present Publishing Ltd., ISBN-10: 1858951291 & ISBN-13: 9781858951294) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

William Cooke, steward of the Sheffield Estate 1828-1832, by Malcolm Lill, published 2006 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 144, article) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15759] & The Keep [LIB/500362] & S.A.S. library   View Online

The first two decades of the eighteenth century saw the birth of the 2nd Earl of Sheffield, the death of the 1st Earl and the beginnings of a decline in the fortunes of the Sheffield estate. Despite the appointment of an efficient estate steward in 1828, there was to be an inexorable movement downwards in the quality and production of the estate throughout the remainder of its occupancy by the Holroyd family.
When William Cooke was appointed in 1828, agriculture had been in decline throughout the country and many estates, including Sheffield, were suffering from insufficient capital for the maintenance of infrastructure and the purchasing of livestock. An estate steward, at this time, would have had to attend to many problems and often the necessary resources would not have been made available by the landowner. In order to fulfil his obligations, a steward would often find himself in an exposed position where a wrong move could result in him upsetting both his employer and also others who had an interest in the estate.
Cooke would come to be in just such a position and his loyalty to his employer, his adherence to his own principles and his pragmatic approach to the solving of difficult situations, would result in an untenable situation for the Sheffield estate steward. Despite his ability to manage the Earl of Sheffield's affairs efficiently, when it came to a choice between Cooke's expertise and political expediency, the earl chose to sacrifice the long-term wellbeing of the estate for the sake of 'peace in his time'.

Cricket in the Park: The Life and Times of Lord Sheffield 1832-1909, by Roger Packham, published 16 July 2009 (300 pp., Methuen Publishing Ltd., ISBN-10: 041377693X & ISBN-13: 9780413776938) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/506765] & West Sussex Libraries

Henry North Holroyd, the 3rd Lord Sheffield was born in 1832. After Eton he spent time in the Diplomatic Service and the Army. He became an MP for East Sussex in 1857 and held the seat for eight years. Also in 1857 he began his first term as president of Sussex CCC and remained in office for eleven years.His greatest indulgence was at his home, Sheffield Park, where he built a cricket ground to match any in the country. In 1884 and on four later occasions, the Australian Tourists began their tours with a fixture against Lord Sheffield's XI, captained always by the legendary W G Grace. In 1891/2 Lord Sheffield took the England team to Australia to play a Test series. Other grand matches in the Park included fixtures against South Africa and a team of Parsees from Bombay. Lord Sheffield was famous for his hospitality and no expense was spared in staging these wonderful cricket matches.

The Bluebell Railway: Five Decades of Achievement, by Michael Welch, published 31 May 2010 (96 pp., Capital Transport Publishing, ISBN-10: 1854143360 & ISBN-13: 9781854143365) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

The Earl, his daughter, her brother's housekeeper and the cat; the remarkable story of the Sheffield Park Archives, by Christopher Whittick and Daniel Waley, published 2011 in Archives (vol. 36, article, pp.62-78)

Southern Gothic: Sheffield Park, near Uckfield, East Sussex, by Steven Desmond, published 7 December 2011 in Country Life (vol. 205 no. 49, article, pp.40-43)

The Finest Gardens of the South East, by Tony Russell, published 15 March 2016 (160 pp., Stroud: Amberley Publishing, ISBN-10: 1445649780 & ISBN-13: 9781445649788) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

Home of the most stunning public gardens in England, South East England's wealth of internationally renowned gardens are a must see, and here Tony Russell provides a guide to the wonderful gardens the region has to offer. In East Sussex, Sheffield Park Garden offers colourful, vibrant displays with waterfalls, cascades and four large lakes, while Kent offers thirteenth-century Hever Castle, complete with Italian scupltures, a 35-acre lake and a 3,000 strong rose garden. The wealth of gardens extends to The Savill Garden in Berkshire, University of Oxford Botanic Garden in Oxfordshire, Sissinghurst Castle Garden in Kent, Great Dixter House & Garden in East Sussex and Goodnestone Park & Garden in Kent, all brought to life in this wonderful collection compiled by Tony Russell.