Publications
Farm Husbandry on the South Downs, by W. Belcher, published 1785 in Annals of Agriculture, and Other Useful Arts (vol. III, article, pp.133-136, London: published by the editor, Arthur Young, Esq., F.R.S.) View Online
The Southern Division of the Chalk Hills, by William Marshall, published 1798 in Rural Economy of the Southern Counties (vol. 2, article, pp.355-383) View Online
Description of the Southdown sheep, by G. Allfrey, published 1804 in Annals of Agriculture, and Other Useful Arts (vol. 41, article, pp.509-516)
Ancient Barrows observable on the South Downs near Brighthelmstone, by James Douglas, published 1818 in The Gleaner's Portfolio, or Provincial Magazine [Lewes] (vol 1, no. 1, article, pp.1-5)
The Fossils of the South Downs; or illustrations of the geology of Sussex, by Gideon Mantell, published 1822 (xv + 327 pp. + 42 plates, London: Lupton Relfe) accessible at: & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries View Online
South-Down Shepherds and their Songs at the Sheepshearings, by R. W. Blencowe, published 1849 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 2, article, pp.247-259) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2087] & The Keep [LIB/500221] & S.A.S. library View Online
On the Military Earthworks of the Southdowns, with a more enlarged Account of Cissbury, one of the principal of them, by Rev. Edward Turner, published 1850 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 3, article, pp.173-184) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2088] & The Keep [LIB/500222] & S.A.S. library View Online
On some geological features of the country between the South Downs and the Sussex Coast, by P.J. Martin, published January 1856 in Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society (vol. 12, issue 1-2, article, pp.134-137) View Online
Abstract:The object of this paper is not so much to give a minute description of the district I am about to review, as to promote a discussion amongst the members of the Society here present on some of its phænomena, which seem to be singularly illustrative of the superficial changes that have been effected in the south of England by dynamic forces of comparatively modern date.
The district is to be found in the ninth section of the Ordnance Map, and extends from near Portsmouth to Shoreham, or that flat country which is to be seen from any part of the tops of the South Downs from Portsdown Hill eastward to the Shoreham River.
The district is to be found in the ninth section of the Ordnance Map, and extends from near Portsmouth to Shoreham, or that flat country which is to be seen from any part of the tops of the South Downs from Portsdown Hill eastward to the Shoreham River.
Further Traces, on the South Downs, of the Winter Campaign of the Civil War of 1643, by Henry D. Gordon, published 1878 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 28, article, pp.97-113) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2113] & The Keep [LIB/500246] & S.A.S. library View Online
Rambles among the Hills in the Peak of Derbyshire and South Downs, by Louis J. Jennings, published 1880 (301 pp., London: Murray & Co.) accessible at: & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
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
On Some Prehistoric Flint Implements Found on the South Downs, Near Chichester, by W. Hayden, published June 1894 in Journal of the British Archaeological Association (first series, vol 50, issue 2, article, pp.131-138) View Online
Nature in Downland, by W. H. Hudson, published 1900 (xii + 307 pp., London: Longmans, Green & Co.) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/500150] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries View Online
The underground water-levels of the South Downs between Eastbourne and the River Cuckmere, by H.M. Whitley, published 1900 in Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. (vol. 142, article)
The South Downs, by T. C. Woodman, published 1902 (2 volumes, Hove: Emery) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 3259] & West Sussex Libraries
First Sight of the Downs, by E. V. Lucas with illustrations by Frederick L. Griggs, published 1904 in Highways and Byways in Sussex (Chapter III, London: Macmillan & Co.) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 41][Lib 12792][Lib 15825] & The Keep [LIB/500142] View Online
Wayfaring Notions, by Martin Cobbett and Alice Cobbett, published 1906 (London: Sands & Co.) accessible at: & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries View Online
The Spirit of the Downs: impressions and reminiscences of the Sussex Downs, by Arthur Beckett, published 1909 (2nd edition, xv + 366 p., London: Methuen & Co.) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 79] & British Library & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
On the sculptures of the Chalk Downs in Kent, Surrey, and Sussex, by George Clinch, published January 1909 in Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society (vol. 65, issue 1-4, article, pp.208-209) View Online
Abstract:The Author classifies the various forms of sculpture of the Chalk Downs under three heads, namely, (1) dry valleys of simple form, (2) dry valleys of complex form, and (3) wet valleys. He draws attention to the relatively small catchment-areas of the dry valleys, and to the large number of tributary valleys found in some districts, two points which he considers have not hitherto received entirely satisfactory explanation.
The sculpturings of the Chalk Downs of Kent, Surrey, and Sussex., by George Clinch, published February 1910 in Geological Magazine (vol. 7, no. 2, article, pp.49-58) View Online
Abstract:The aim of this paper is to offer an explanation of the phenomena intimately related to the sculpturings of the Chalk Downs in the district under review, namely:-
- The Dry Chalk Valleys.
- The River System of the Wealden area, as far as it relates to the Chalk Downs.
- Incidentally, the Denudation of the Wealden area.
Off the Beaten Track in Sussex, with one hundred and sixty illustrations by Sussex Artists, by Arthur Stanley Cooke, published 1911 (London: Herbert Jenkins Ltd.) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 12364] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries View Online
The Green Roads of England: with 24 illustrations by W. Collins, by Robert Hippisley Cox, published 1914 (Methuen & Co. Ltd.) accessible at: East Sussex Libraries
Some Roman roads in the South Downs, by A. Hadrian Allcroft, M.A., published 1915 in The Archaeological Journal (vol. 72, article, pp.201-232) View Online
On Stane Street in its passage over the South Downs, by Eliot Curwen, published 1915 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 57, article, pp.136-148) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2142] & The Keep [LIB/500275] & S.A.S. library View Online
Covered Ways on the Sussex Downs, by Eliot Curwen, M.A., M.B., B.C. and Eliot Cecil Curwen, B.A., published 1918 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 59, article, pp.35-75) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2144] & The Keep [LIB/500277] & S.A.S. library View Online
A Roman Circus on the South Downs, by A. H. Allcroft, published 30 March 1918 in Brighton Gazette (article)
Seaward Sussex: The South Downs from End to End, by Edric Holmes, published 1920 (315 pp., London: Robert Scott) accessible at: & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries View Online
The Sussex Downs and their Characteristics, by R. Thurston Hopkins, published 1921 in Kipling's Sussex (Chapter XII, pp.203-223, London: Simkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co.) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16008][Lib 17091] & The Keep [LIB/504753] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries View Online
Camps on the South Downs, by H. S. Toms, published July 1921 in The Antiquaries Journal (vol. 1 issue 3, note, p.237) View Online
Downland Pathways, by A. Hadrian Allcroft, published 1922 (xi + 292 pp., London: Methuen Publishing Ltd.) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 100] & British Library & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
Sussex Lynchets and their associated Field-Ways, by Eliot Curwen, M.A., M.B., B.Ch., F.S.A. and Eliot Cecil Curwen, M.A., B.Ch., M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P., published 1923 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 64, article, pp.1-65) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2149] & The Keep [LIB/500282] & S.A.S. library View Online
Southdown Sheep, edited by E. Walford-Lloyd, published 1924 (Southdown Sheep Society) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 30] & West Sussex Libraries
Downland Echoes, by Victor L. Whitechurch, published 1924 (T. Fisher Unwin) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 6185] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
Blackpatch Flint-Mine Excavation, 1922, by C. H. Goodman, Marian Frost, F.L.A., Eliot Curwen, M.A., M.B., B.Ch., F.S.A. and Eliot Cecil Curwen, M.A., M.B., B.Ch., published 1924 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 65, article, pp.69-111) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2150] & The Keep [LIB/500283] & S.A.S. library
The Southdown Flock Book Vol 34, published 1925 (Southdown Sheep Society) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 10156]
Round About Sussex Downs, by Frederick F. Wood, published 1925 (222 pp., London: Duckworth) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 43] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
On the ecology of British beechwoods with special reference to their regeneration: part II, sections II and III. The development and structure of beech communities on the Sussex Downs, by A.S. Watt, published 1925 in Journal of Ecology (vol. 13, no. 1, article, pp.27-73)
The Southdown Flock Book Vol 35, published 1926 (Southdown Sheep Society) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 10157]
Studies of the vegetation of the English Chalk: IV. A preliminary survey of the chalk grasslands of the South Downs, by A.G. Tansley and R.S. Adamson, published February 1926 in Journal of Ecology (vol. 14, no. 1, article, pp.1-32)
Yew communities of the South Downs, by A.S. Watt, published August 1926 in Journal of Ecology (vol. 14, no. 2, article, pp.282-316)
Bypaths in Downland with 58 illustrations, by Barclay Wills, published 1927 (xvi + 185 pp., London: Methuen Publishing Ltd.) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15842] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
An Avalanche in the South Downs: The Lewes Disaster of 1836, by S.C.M. Contributor(s), published 1927 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. I no. 2, article, pp.70-73) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2303][Lib 8326] & The Keep [LIB/500137]
The Society of Sussex Downsmen, by R. Thurston Hopkins, published 1927 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. I no. 2, article, pp.82-85) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2303][Lib 8326] & The Keep [LIB/500137]
The Southdown Sheep: Our County Breed, by E. Walford Lloyd, published 1927 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. I no. 10, article, pp.435-438) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2303][Lib 8326] & The Keep [LIB/500137]
Rambles in Sussex, No 5. A Downland Walk, Seaford to Berwick, by H. J. Sibley, published 1927 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. I no. 10, article, pp.446-447) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2303][Lib 8326] & The Keep [LIB/500137]
"Trix": A Southdown Sheep Dog, by Charles Gendall, published 1927 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. I no. 11, article, pp.493-496) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2303][Lib 8326] & The Keep [LIB/500137]
The Ox Team in Sussex, by Miss Maude Robinson, published 1927 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. I no. 13, article, pp.572-573) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2303][Lib 8326] & The Keep [LIB/500137]
Sport and Nature in Sussex Downs, by Frederick F. Wood, published 1928 (172 pp., London: Duckworth) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2880] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
The Antiquities of Windover Hill, by E. Cecil Curwen, M.A., M.B., B.Ch., published 1928 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 69, article, pp.93-102) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2154] & The Keep [LIB/500287] & S.A.S. library
Stanley Cook. Poet of the Sussex Downs, by H. M. Walbrook, published 1928 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. II no. 1, article, pp.30-31) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9327] & The Keep [LIB/500138]
Sussex Hunts No 2. The Southdown, by S.C.M. Contributor(s), published 1928 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. II no. 2, article, pp.72-76) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9327] & The Keep [LIB/500138]
The Legend of the Devil's Dyke, by William Harper, F.S.A., published 1928 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. II no. 6, article, pp.252-253) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9327] & The Keep [LIB/500138]
Dove-cotes of the South Downs, by Harriet Price, published 1928 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. II no. 9, article, pp.395-396) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9327] & The Keep [LIB/500138]
A Sussex Shepherd: Dan the Wilmington shepherd, by B. M. Beard, published 1928 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. II no. 12, article, p.548) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9327] & The Keep [LIB/500138]
Old Rural Anthem Singers, by S.C.M. Contributor(s), published 1928 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. II no. 12, article, pp.564-565) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9327] & The Keep [LIB/500138]
The Southdown Flock Book Vol 38, published 1929 (Southdown Sheep Society) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 10159]
The West Sussex Coast and Downs. Report of the Arundel, Littlehampton, East Preston and District Joint Town Planning Advisory Committee, by Arthur H. Schofield, published 1929 (Arundel: Mitchell & Co.) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 3239][Lib 6951][Lib 14175] & West Sussex Libraries
Report of the Arundel, Littlehampton, E Preston & District Joint Town Planning Advisors Committee
Dowland Treasure with 30 illustrations, by Barclay Wills, published 1929 (London: Methuen Publishing Ltd.) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15069] & West Sussex Libraries
Old Sussex Lanes, by M. F. Evans, published 1929 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. III no. 6, article, pp.373-374) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2307] & The Keep [LIB/500139]
Old time Sheep Shearing on the Downs, by Maude Robinson, published 1929 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. III no. 6, article, pp.404-406) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2307] & The Keep [LIB/500139]
Some Birds of the Downs, by Rosemary Thornton, published 1929 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. III no. 7, article, p.456) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2307] & The Keep [LIB/500140]
Pictures of the Downs, by S.C.M. Contributor(s), published 1929 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. III no. 8, article, pp.518-530) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2307] & The Keep [LIB/500140]
Some Southdown Reptiles, by Maude Robinson, published 1930 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. IV no. 4, article, pp.304-305) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2308][Lib 2309] & The Keep [LIB/500172]
Sussex from the Air. 1 - Thundersbarrow Hill, by E. Cecil Curwen, M.A., F.S.A., published 1930 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. IV no. 7, article, pp.567-575) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2308][Lib 2309] & The Keep [LIB/500173]
The Barrows of the South Downs, by L. V. Grinsell, published 1931 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. V no. 6, article, pp.396-401) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2310] & The Keep [LIB/500174]
The Story of a Southdown Shepherd, by Arthur Duley, published 1931 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. V no. 7, article, pp.461-465; no. 8, pp.527-530; no. 9, pp.585-587) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2310] & The Keep [LIB/500174]
Along the Downs in Seven Days, by Kenneth V. Saville, published 1931 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. V no. 7, article, pp.465-469) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2310] & The Keep [LIB/500174]
A War-time Disaster on the Downs, by F. W. Jackson, published 1932 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. VI no. 6, article, pp.360-363) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9325] & The Keep [LIB/500175]
Lewes and the Downs and Countryside, with special articles on the Crafts, Industries and Country Life of East Sussex, by Lionel Cooke, published c.1933 (84 pp., East Sussex Rural Community Council) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508883] & East Sussex Libraries
The Preservation of the South Downs, by Arthur Henry Anderson, published 1933 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. VII no. 3, article, pp.188-192) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2312] & The Keep [LIB/500176]
Old-Time Hare Hunting on the Downs, by S.C.M. Contributor(s), published 1934 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. VIII no. 2, article, pp.84-86) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9329] & The Keep [LIB/500177]
Downs and Weald: A Social Geography of South-East England, by J. F. P. Thornhill, published 1935 (London: Christophers) accessible at: East Sussex Libraries
Romano-British Site on Wolstonbury Hill, by G. A. Holleyman, published 1935 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 76, article, pp.35-45) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2161] & The Keep [LIB/500353] & S.A.S. library
Childhood of the South Downs in the 'Sixties. I - A Downland Farm, by Maude Robinson, published 1935 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. IX no. 5, article, pp.297-300) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9330] & The Keep [LIB/500179]
Child Life on the South Downs in the 'Sixties. II - Winter Evenings, by Maude Robinson, published 1935 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. IX no. 6, article, pp.370-374) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9330] & The Keep [LIB/500179]
The Sussex Scene. V - The Downs, by Denys Jacobs, published 1935 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. IX no. 6, article, pp.378-382) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9330] & The Keep [LIB/500179]
Child Life on the South Downs in the 'Sixties. III - Brighton, by Maude Robinson, published 1935 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. IX no. 7, article, pp.416-420) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9330] & The Keep [LIB/500180]
The Stone Age Villages of Downland. I - The Discovery of Neolithic Settlements in West Sussex, by J. H. Pull, published 1935 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. IX no. 7, article, pp.437-439) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9330] & The Keep [LIB/500180]
Child Life on the South Downs in the 'Sixties. IV - Out of Doors, by Maude Robinson, published 1935 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. IX no. 8, article, pp.487-491) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9330] & The Keep [LIB/500180]
The Stone Age Villages of Downland. II - High Salvington, by J. H. Pull, published 1935 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. IX no. 8, article, pp.498-500) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9330] & The Keep [LIB/500180]
Child Life on the South Downs in the 'Sixties. V - The Love of Natural History, by Maude Robinson, published 1935 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. IX no. 9, article, pp.557-560) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9330] & The Keep [LIB/500180]
The Stone Age Villages of Downland. III - Mount Carvey and Myrtlegrove, by J. H. Pull, published 1935 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. IX no. 9, article, pp.577-579) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9330] & The Keep [LIB/500180]
The Stone Age Villages of Downland. IV - Abinger Rough, by J. H. Pull, published 1935 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. IX no. 10, article, pp.635-638) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9330] & The Keep [LIB/500180]
The Stone Age Villages of Downland. V - The Making of Flint Implements, by J. H. Pull, published 1935 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. IX no. 11, article, pp.725-728) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9330] & The Keep [LIB/500180]
The Stone Age Villages of Downland. VI - Everyday Tools and their uses, by J. H. Pull, published 1935 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. IX no. 12, article, pp.781-784) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9330] & The Keep [LIB/500180]
Chapter V: Sussex, by H. J. Massingham, published 1936 in English Downland (120 pp., London: B. T. Batsford Ltd.) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 13245]
Studies in the geomorphology of the South Downs: Eastbourne to the Arun Gap, by A. J. Bull, M.Sc., F.G.S., published 1936 in The Proceedings of the Geologists' Association London (no. 47 issue 2, article, pp.99-129) View Online
Abstract:The South Downs are the southern outcrop of the Chalk in the Wealden dome. They consist of a range of rounded hills rarely exceeding 700 ft. O.D. in height, and extend from Eastbourne to Petersfield, a distance of about 55 miles. Seen from any point such as Beachy Head or Seaford Head that affords an extensive view, the Downs present the appearance of a dissected peneplain which has been tilted to the south. So extreme is the dissection that little if any of the original peneplained surface remains, and most of the area is occupied by dry valleys whose interfluves have gently rounded crosssections. Most of the higher ground, especially that which tends to be flat, is covered with the well-known Clay-with-Flints. The northern face is an abrupt escarpment, which, except for the four river gaps and some wind gaps, is not breached, although the heads of the dry valleys often come close to it, as at Ratton and Willingdon, north of Eastbourne. The effect of the proximity of the dry valleys is usually to lower the escarpment slightly, but the amount is often surprisingly small, and the skyline as seen from the lower ground from the north is only gently undulating.
Building in the Downs Country, by John D. Clarke, F.R.I.B.A., published 1936 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. X no. 1, article, pp.53-57) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2315][Lib 9331] & The Keep [LIB/500181]
A Tour of the Sussex Downs: Harting to Arundel, by John Frobisher, published 1936 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. X no. 8, article, pp.543-547) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2315][Lib 9331] & The Keep [LIB/500181]
A Tour of the Sussex Downs: Arundel to Steyning, by John Frobisher, published 1936 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. X no. 9, article, pp.628-630) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2315][Lib 9331] & The Keep [LIB/500181]
A Study in the Geomorphology of the South Downs, by A. J. Bull, 1937 at University of London (Ph.D. thesis)
The Stratigraphy of the Chalk of Sussex: Part I. West Central area - Arun Gap to Valley of the Adur, with zonal map, by Christopher T. A. Gaster, F.G.S., published 1937 in The Proceedings of the Geologists' Association London (no. 48 issue 4, article, pp.356-373) View Online
Abstract:In this paper are recorded the results of a Survey of the Chalk of the portion of the Sussex Downs that extends from the Valley of the Adur to the Arun Gap, a distance of 13½ miles.
A Southdown Farm in the 'Sixties', by Maude Robinson, published 1938 (J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16116] & The Keep [LIB/502118] & West Sussex Libraries
Relates to Saddlescombe Farm in the 1860s and includes photographs.
Downland Year - Little sketches of the countryside for every day of the year, by Tickner Edwardes, published 1939 (v + 261 pp., London: Methuen & Co.) accessible at: & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
A Zonal map of parts of the South Downs. I Eastbourne to the River Cuckmere, by A. J. Bull, Ph.D., F.G.S., published 1939 in The Proceedings of the Geologists' Association London (no. 49 issue 3, article, pp.261-262) View Online
Abstract:Some maps of the outcrops of the palaeontological zones of the Chalk of the South Downs are being prepared in order to facilitate the study of certain geomorphological problems. In the Adur-Arun district the outer escarpment consists of Chalk of the pilula zone, but the continuation of this escarpment eastward is uncertain. It is, therefore, proposed to map particularly this zone and the Marsupites zone below it both eastward and westward of the Adur-Arun district, and to ascertain how far the lithology which appears to produce the marked series of hills from Steep Down to Wepham Down continues to be associated with the pilula zone outside that district.
The Stratigraphy of the Chalk of Sussex. Part II. Eastern Area - Seaford to Cuckmere Valley and Eastbourne, with Zonal Map, by Christopher T. A. Gaster, F.G.S., published 1939 in The Proceedings of the Geologists' Association London (no. 50 issue 4, article, pp.510-526) View Online
Abstract:This paper, which forms the second part of a comprehensive survey of the Chalk of Sussex, records the results of a survey of the Chalk extending from Seaford to the Cuckmere Valley and Eastbourne, a distance of 7 miles. The width of the outcrop from the escarpment on the north to the chalk cliffs on the coast being approximately five miles. The area dealt with is included in parts of Sheets 334 (Eastbourne) and 319 (Lewes) of the Geological Survey. The three major divisions of Lower, Middle and Upper Chalk shown on those sheets are replaced in the present work by detailed zonal results which are shown on the accompanying map.
A Roman Bath, Highdown Hill, Sussex, by G. P. Burstow, B.A. and A. E. Wilson, D.Litt., published 1939 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 80, article, pp.63-88) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2165] & The Keep [LIB/500349] & S.A.S. library
Bird distribution on the South Downs, and a comparison with that of Surrey Greensand heaths, by L.S.V. Venables, published November 1939 in Journal of Animal Ecology (vol. 8, no. 2, article, pp.227-237)
Cold conditions and land forms in the South Downs. Weald Research Committee Communication No. 27#, by A. J. Bull, Ph.D., F.G.S., published 1940 in The Proceedings of the Geologists' Association London (no. 51 issue 1, article, pp.63-71) View Online
Abstract:The effects of cold and other agents in fashioning the South Downs and other Chalk hills has been a subject of discussion since Clement Reid thought that the existing system of dry valleys was cut at a time when the Chalk was saturated with water and this was frozen, so that the rock was for the time being impermeable. The present writer has referred to the matter in a study of the geomorphology of the South Downs, but some aspects of the question require further elaboration.
The South Downs show three main types of land form and others that are transitional. These are the now dry dendritic valleys on the counterscarp, gullies, and the arm-chair form I have previously referred as a coombe. The use of this word has been rightly criticised, because coombe or combe is applied to many different land forms in the south of England. For the arm-chair form, the seat of which is often occupied by a mass of neve or by a lake, many countries have developed local names such as corrie (Scottish), cwm (Welsh), cirque (French), etc. Cirque is being restricted to the larger, often composite, mountain forms. There remain cwm and corrie, and for the moment I choose the latter as being easier for an Englishman to pronounce.
The South Downs show three main types of land form and others that are transitional. These are the now dry dendritic valleys on the counterscarp, gullies, and the arm-chair form I have previously referred as a coombe. The use of this word has been rightly criticised, because coombe or combe is applied to many different land forms in the south of England. For the arm-chair form, the seat of which is often occupied by a mass of neve or by a lake, many countries have developed local names such as corrie (Scottish), cwm (Welsh), cirque (French), etc. Cirque is being restricted to the larger, often composite, mountain forms. There remain cwm and corrie, and for the moment I choose the latter as being easier for an Englishman to pronounce.
Report on the Excavations on Highdown Hill, Sussex, August 1939, by A. E. Wilson, D.Litt., F.R.Hist.S., published 1940 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 81, article, pp.173-204) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2166] & The Keep [LIB/500348] & S.A.S. library
Studies of the vegetation of the English Chalk: VIII. a second survey of the chalk grasslands of the South Downs, by J.F. Hope-Simpson, published August 1941 in Journal of Ecology (vol. 29, no. 2, article, pp.217-267)
The Downs: Questions in the House of Commons, by Ian C. Hannah, published August 1942 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. IX no. 3, article, p.72) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8227][Lib 2208] & The Keep [LIB/500211] & S.A.S. library
The Spirit of the Downs: impressions and reminiscences of the Sussex Downs, by Arthur Beckett, published 1944 (7th revised edition, xv + 303 p., London: Methuen & Co.) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 12313] & British Library & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
Sussex Cattle, by E. Walford-Lloyd, published 1944 (Sussex Express and County Herald) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries
Plough and Pasture, by E. Cecil Curwen, published 1946 (122 pp., London: Cobbett Press) accessible at: East Sussex Libraries
Review by A. E. [Arundell Esdaile] in Sussex Notes and Queries, February 1947:The South Downs bear so many traces of prehistoric agriculture that it is not for nothing that the acknowledged authority on the subject should be one of our members. But it ranges, if not exactly from China to Peru, at least over all the most ancient human habitations of the world, and over millennia which are indeed by comparison with the period of human life on the globe a watch in the night, yet are long enough.
This vast and fascinating subject, of which the details as discovered are recorded in specialist archaeological and scientific periodicals, Mr. Curwen makes lucid in 120 pages. The steps of advance, and their bearing on present day life, he makes astonishingly clear. As a mere feat of compression and sense of proportion and significance, it is a notable achievement.
Man has eaten bread in the sweat of his brow for possibly no more than ten thousand years. Before that he may have cut wild grain-bearing grasses (Emmer and Einkorn mostly) with flint sickles. But one day, perhaps near the Lake of Galilee, some unused grain was thrown out on to broken ground, where it grew; the next summer it was reaped and the process was deliberately repeated. The step was thus taken which was to lead man to where he stands to-day, when by multiplication and by rape of the good earth he has made many deserts, but has progressively used the abundance of corn which can be exchanged for goods and services to free him to live other lives than that of the cultivator, who merely raises food for himself and his family. In this freedom is the origin of all culture; yet, divorced from the soil, culture withers. Our civilisation (to give it that dignified name) is largely urban and industrial, and food production is industrialised in the sense that it exists .not for home consumption but for trade, to feed urban men in return for urban goods. But in this later stratum of culture appear here and there its predecessors as outcrops, the peasant culture and (more rarely, as the Eskimos) the earliest of all, the food gathering culture.
It was probably in other places than the homes of the first grain-sowers, among nomads, that the principle of breeding domesticated animals, goat, sheep and ox, was first applied; and it was probably long before stock breeding and corn growing were combined, the surplus grain feeding the stock and the stock (especially the oxen, which were found to help the man by drawing his digging stick or plough) by manuring the land. Here, too, primitive tools are still found in use, like outcrops of a buried stratum. Thus the hand quern is still in use in the Shetlands - though in 1814 Sir Walter Scott saw, and later described in his Pirate, the "miserable molendinaries," the numerous vertical rotary water driven mills used there. Mr. Curwen shews how the nature of the plough and the size of the team regulated the shape of the field, oval for the digging stick, short and square for two oxen, to give them a breather at the headland, long for four or eight. And all these types of field may be seen in the lynchet-bounded Downland field or the remains of the open field of the feudal manor.
The tools themselves, sickles, digging-sticks, ards (the earliest plough, surviving in Italy), ploughs, grain rubbers, hand-querns, primitive mills, survive in enough specimens to shew the path which agriculture has taken. To them no doubt will in time be added tractors as objects of archaeological research, though rust will have done on them what time has not done on the flint-headed digging-stick or the flint-sickle with the gloss left on it by the silica in the grasses it cut so long ago.
The remarkable lucidity and interest of this book are much helped by the many plates and figures.
This vast and fascinating subject, of which the details as discovered are recorded in specialist archaeological and scientific periodicals, Mr. Curwen makes lucid in 120 pages. The steps of advance, and their bearing on present day life, he makes astonishingly clear. As a mere feat of compression and sense of proportion and significance, it is a notable achievement.
Man has eaten bread in the sweat of his brow for possibly no more than ten thousand years. Before that he may have cut wild grain-bearing grasses (Emmer and Einkorn mostly) with flint sickles. But one day, perhaps near the Lake of Galilee, some unused grain was thrown out on to broken ground, where it grew; the next summer it was reaped and the process was deliberately repeated. The step was thus taken which was to lead man to where he stands to-day, when by multiplication and by rape of the good earth he has made many deserts, but has progressively used the abundance of corn which can be exchanged for goods and services to free him to live other lives than that of the cultivator, who merely raises food for himself and his family. In this freedom is the origin of all culture; yet, divorced from the soil, culture withers. Our civilisation (to give it that dignified name) is largely urban and industrial, and food production is industrialised in the sense that it exists .not for home consumption but for trade, to feed urban men in return for urban goods. But in this later stratum of culture appear here and there its predecessors as outcrops, the peasant culture and (more rarely, as the Eskimos) the earliest of all, the food gathering culture.
It was probably in other places than the homes of the first grain-sowers, among nomads, that the principle of breeding domesticated animals, goat, sheep and ox, was first applied; and it was probably long before stock breeding and corn growing were combined, the surplus grain feeding the stock and the stock (especially the oxen, which were found to help the man by drawing his digging stick or plough) by manuring the land. Here, too, primitive tools are still found in use, like outcrops of a buried stratum. Thus the hand quern is still in use in the Shetlands - though in 1814 Sir Walter Scott saw, and later described in his Pirate, the "miserable molendinaries," the numerous vertical rotary water driven mills used there. Mr. Curwen shews how the nature of the plough and the size of the team regulated the shape of the field, oval for the digging stick, short and square for two oxen, to give them a breather at the headland, long for four or eight. And all these types of field may be seen in the lynchet-bounded Downland field or the remains of the open field of the feudal manor.
The tools themselves, sickles, digging-sticks, ards (the earliest plough, surviving in Italy), ploughs, grain rubbers, hand-querns, primitive mills, survive in enough specimens to shew the path which agriculture has taken. To them no doubt will in time be added tractors as objects of archaeological research, though rust will have done on them what time has not done on the flint-headed digging-stick or the flint-sickle with the gloss left on it by the silica in the grasses it cut so long ago.
The remarkable lucidity and interest of this book are much helped by the many plates and figures.
Ol' Jarge, The Story of a Sussex Countryman, by E. Walford-Lloyd, published 1946 (Sussex Express and County Herald) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries
Story Written Around the Memories of an Old Sussex Farm Worker in the Susex Dialect
The Downs, by K. G. Ritherington, published August 1946 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. XI no. 3, note, p.66) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8229][Lib 2210] & The Keep [LIB/500213] & S.A.S. library
A Contribution to the Geomorphology of the South Downs, by B. W. Sparks, 1949 at University of London (M.A. thesis)
The denudation chronology of the dip-slope of the South Downs, by B. W. Sparks, B.A., published 1949 in The Proceedings of the Geologists' Association London (no. 60 issue 3, article, pp.165-215) View Online
Abstract:Although much is already known of the denudation chronology of the South Downs, detailed surveying of the dip-slope reveals the existence of a number of closely-spaced marine platforms, which are intermediate in age between the early Pliocene bench (650-550 feet O.D.) and the Goodwood raised beach (130-80 feet O.D.). A careful examination of the distribution of the platform fragments shows that in certain situations they must be of sub-aerial origin and related to the development of streams in the area. Thus, the river Adur is shown to have migrated eastwards since the early Pliocene, and it is suggested from certain evidence that the Ouse once reached the sea via the mouth of the Cuckmere, its present outlet being of comparatively recent origin. The major longitudinal valleys of the South Downs, i.e., the upper Lavant and the Lewes Winterbourne were clearly in existence by the 475-foot stage, which is the first clearly-defined stillstand in the regression of the sea from the early Pliocene level. The discontinuous secondary escarpment is examined in some detail and it is suggested that it was originally formed by the action of scarp-foot subsequent streams, which were later disrupted. Certain convergent dry valley patterns can be demonstrated to coincide in position with embayments of the shorelines discussed and are thus readily explicable. Finally the debated question of the origin of dry valleys is reviewed and it is concluded that there are no real objections to the hypothesis that they are former river valleys, which have been abandoned as the level of the water-table in the Chalk fell.
A detailed summary of the evidence for each platform is included as an appendix.
A detailed summary of the evidence for each platform is included as an appendix.
Excavations on Highdown Hill 1947, by Arthur E. Wilson, published 1950 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 89, article, pp.163-179) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2174] & The Keep [LIB/500340] & S.A.S. library
Some aspects of the economic geography of the Sussex South Downs and contiguous land in the 19th century, by Aileen E. Swanwick, 1952 at Cambridge University (M.Sc. thesis)
The Homeland Guide to Eastbourne and the South Downs. Seaford-Newhaven-Lewes-Pevensey, etc. [With plates and a map], by Leslie Beaconsfield Bristow, published 1953 (110 pp., London: London: Homeland Association) accessible at: British Library & East Sussex Libraries
A Celtic Farm on Blackpatch, by Dr Hugh Benjamin A. Ratcliffe-Densham and Mary Margaret Ratcliffe-Densham, published 1953 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 91, article, pp.69-83) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2176] & The Keep [LIB/500338] & S.A.S. library
Excavations at Goosehill Camp 1953-1955, by John R. Boyden, published 1956 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 94, article, pp.70-99) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2179] & The Keep [LIB/500335] & S.A.S. library
Along the South Downs, by David Harrison, published 1958 (xviii + 277 pp., London: Cassell) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 12434] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
The Highdown Hill Glass Goblet with Greek Inscription, by D. B. Harden, published 1959 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 97, article, pp.3-20) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2182] & The Keep [LIB/500332] & S.A.S. library
An Anomalous Earthwork of the Late Bronze Age, on Cock Hill, by Dr Hugh Benjamin A. Ratcliffe-Densham and Mary Margaret Ratcliffe-Densham, published 1961 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 99, article, pp.78-101) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2184] & The Keep [LIB/500330] & S.A.S. library
The origin of the secondary escarpment of the South Downs, by R.J. Small and G.C. Fisher, published March 1970 in Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers (No. 49, article, pp.97-107)
Stock Raising and the Origins of the Hill Fort on the South Downs, by Richard Bradley, published March 1971 in The Antiquaries Journal (vol. 51 issue 1, article, pp.8-29) View Online
Abstract:The first part of this paper is a discussion of the basic pattern of land use on the South Downs from the Middle Bronze Age to the early Pre-Roman Iron Age. In the second part, the impact upon this pattern of a group of Bronze and Iron Age stock enclosures is considered, and it is argued that these developed directly into a number of small hill forts. A contemporary group of larger, early Iron Age, hill forts is also defined, and it appears that these too grew up upon an economic basis of stock raising. The social and cultural implications of these developments are discussed, and tentative contrasts are drawn with the nature of later hill forts in the region.
Cepaea nemorlis on the east sussex south Downs, and the nature of area effects, by R. W. Arnold, published April 1971 in Heredity (vol. 26, no. 2, article, pp.277-298)
South Downs Way, published 1972 (leaflet, Countryside Commission) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8605]
Vehicles on the Downs, published 1972 (leaflet, Society of Sussex Downsmen) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 7696]
The Future of the Downs, by Frank Sykes, published 1972 (article) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 7948]
Old river meanders on the South Downs in Surrey and Sussex and some general remarks on Mmanders, by T.M. Prus-Chacinski, published 1973 in Area (vol. 5, no. 2, article, pp.155-156)
Along the South Downs Way, with guide to accommodation, published 1975 (Eastbourne Rambling Club) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 11821]
The Beer Drinkers' Guide to the South Downs Way, by Adrian Charman and Brian Charman, published 1975 (pamphlet, C.A.M.R.A.) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 13053]
Along the South Downs, by David Harrison, published 22 May 1975 (new edition, 296 pp., Littlehampton Book Services, ISBN-10: 0304294845 & ISBN-13: 9780304294848) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries
Society of Sussex Downsmen 52nd Annual Report and Balance Sheet, published 1976 (pamphlet, Society of Sussex Downsmen) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 6169]
The South Downs, by Darby, Ben, published 1976 (160 pp., Robert Hale Ltd, ISBN-10: 0709156634 & ISBN-13: 9780709156635) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 17180] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
History and soils on the South Downs, by Margaret A. Collins, published 1978 (14 pp., Rogate Field Centre) accessible at: British Library
Good Start for Inexperienced Walkers, The South Downs Way, by Stuart Dew, published 1978 (article) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 7952]
Wey-South Path: From Guildford to the South Downs, by Aeneas Mackintosh, published 1978 (pamphlet, Wey and Arun Canal Trust) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 6988] & West Sussex Libraries
The effects of the 1976 drought on chalk grassland in Sussex, England, by Brian Hopkins, published July 1978 in Biological Conservation (vol. 14, no. 1, article, pp.1-12, ISSN: 00063207) View Online
Abstract:The exceptionally severe drought during the spring and summer of 1976 resulted in almost 40% bare ground compared with c . 5% in normal summers. The high rainfall of September caused considerable regrowth and decreased bare ground to almost its normal autumnal value. Many species had significantly lower covers in 1976 than in normal summers. Many of these and some others significantly increased their cover during the wet autumn. It is considered that unpredictable drought stress is an important factor of chalk grassland and causes large but temporary fluctuations in species abundance and floristic composition.
South Downs Way, published 1979 (pamphlet, Countryside Commission) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 7097]
Southdown Sheep for Quality, by John L. Jones, published 1979 (article) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 7936]
Farming of the Eastern South Downs, by Sue Farrant, published March 1980 in Sussex Genealogist and Family Historian (vol. 1 no. 4, article, pp.116-125) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 17603] & The Keep [LIB/501187] & CD SXGS from S.F.H.G.
Preview:Examines the influence of sheep corn agriculture on land-ownership and farms on the eastern South Downs of Sussex 1780-1920
Planning Policies and Development Control in the Sussex Downs AONB, by Margaret A. Anderson, published 1981 in Town Planning Review (vol. 52, issue 1, article, pp.5-25) View Online
William Roe of Withdean. the Purchase and Management of a small Estate on the South Downs 1794 to 1808 and its Consequences for the Modern Landscape, by S. Farrant, published 1981 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 119, article, pp.173-180) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 7989] & The Keep [LIB/500306] & S.A.S. library
Chichester and Downland District Plan: Inspector's Report, published 1982 (booklet, Chichester District Council) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8592]
Valley sediments as evidence of prehistoric land-use on the South Downs, by Martin Bell, published January 1983 in The Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society (vol. 49, article, pp.119-150) View Online
Recent years have seen a shift of archaeological focus away from the confines of the individual site and towards broader issues of land-use and landscape history. Hence a need for archaeological and palaeoenvironmental evidence which tells us about the area utilized from sites rather than about the environment on the site itself. Valley sediments are one possible source of this evidence and this paper considers their potential with specific reference to sediments in chalkland valleys on the South Downs. It also attempts to confront some more specific problems of landscape history. One aim was to assess the extent of erosion and valley sediments within defined study areas and to establish to what extent climatic and land-use factors were responsible for changes in the pattern of sedimentation. It was also hoped that detailed work on land-use sequences would provide a framework for considering long-term settlement trends on the chalk. Why, for instance, do we have dense concentrations of archaeological sites on land which is today somewhat marginal, and how were the valley bottoms utilized in prehistory?
The Railway of Devil's Dyke: Minor railways of Britain series, by Paul Clark, published April 1983 (69 pp., Turntable Publications, ISBN-10: 0902844350 & ISBN-13: 9780902844353) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/502526] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
The Downs Link Bridleway, published 1984 (pamphlet, Chichester: West Sussex County Council) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9051]
The Run of the Downs, by Randle Manwaring, published 1984 (Caldra House)
The Green Roof of Sussex , by Charles Moore, published 1984 (128 pp., Midhurst: Middleton Press, ISBN-10: 0906520088 & ISBN-13: 9780906520086) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8991] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
Guide to the Devils Dyke, by Ernest Ryman, published 1 May 1984 (18 pp., Brighton: Dyke Publications, ISBN-10: 0950975605 & ISBN-13: 9780950975603) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508076] & West Sussex Libraries
A Guide to the South Downs Way, by The Honourable Miles Jebb, published 17 September 1984 (336 pp., Constable, ISBN-10: 0094646201 & ISBN-13: 9780094646209) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
Sidestreets of the World: South Downs, by Donald Goddard, published 1985 accessible at: The Keep [LIB/500004]
Soil erosion, climatic vagary and agricultural change on the Downs around Lewes and Brighton, autumn 1982, by J. Boardman and D. A. Robinson, published July 1985 in Applied Geography (vol. 5, no. 3, article, pp.243-258, ISSN: 01436228) View Online
Abstract:Farmland on the Downs between Lewes and Brighton suffered severe erosion during the autumn of 1982. The erosion was widespread and affected a variety of topographic situations, but it was confined to areas of arable land and recently-sown grass leys. Erosion on the scale recorded during the autumn of 1982 has never previously been recorded from this area. Three major sites of erosion are described and explanations for the erosion are sought through an analysis of rainfall conditions experienced during autumn 1982 and in recent changes in agricultural land use on the Downs. It is concluded that, whilst total rainfall and the intensity of rainstorms were both unusually high, similar events are likely to recur several times a century. Evidence is presented which suggests that the ploughing up of permanent pasture, the removal of field boundaries and the increased adoption of autumn-sown cereals have all contributed to the onset of severe erosion. It appears that a major re-activation of erosion on the Downs may be commencing which threatens the long-term viability of farming in the area.
Soil Erosion: Case Studies on the South Downs, by Alan Stephens, published 1986 (pamphlet, 13 + 7 leaves, Brighton: University of Sussex for the Manpower Services Commission) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9767] & The Keep [LIB/507993] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
South Downs chalk aquifer: its development and management, by H.G. Headworth, published 1986 in Journal of the Institution of Water Engineers and Scientists (vol. 40, no. 4, article, pp.345-361)
Southdown Walks: 32 Downland Rambles from Brighton and Worthing, by Colin Ulph, published 1 April 1989 (3rd edition, 120 pp., published by the author, ISBN-10: 0951108816 & ISBN-13: 9780951108819) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries
What Future for the South Downs?, published 1990 (pamphlet, Council for the Protection of Rural England) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 12952]
Devils Dyke in Old Picture Postcards, by Ernest Ryman, published 6 March 1990 (32 pp., Brighton: Dyke Publications, ISBN-10: 095097563X & ISBN-13: 9780950975634) accessible at: & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
The South Downs Way and the Downs Link, by Kev Reynolds, published 1 May 1990 (136 pp., Cicerone Press, ISBN-10: 1852840234 & ISBN-13: 9781852840235) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries
Flint procurement and Neolithic Axe production on the South Downs: a re-assessment, by Julie Gardiner, published July 1990 in Oxford Journal of Archaeology (vol. 9, issue 2, article, pp.119-140) View Online
Abstract:This paper reviews the evidence for Neolithic flint axe production on the South Downs in the light of recent chemical analysis of axes and the author's own research involving surface flint collections. The organisation, status and chronology of the Sussex flint mines is discussed and the distribution of flint axes described. Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age settlement is shown to concentrate on the clay-with-flints which is also a major flint source. It is argued that the production of axes from mined flint was replaced by utilisation of surface deposits in the later Neolithic and case studies are presented.
Indian Downs [The Chattri on the South Downs], by Nicholas Thornton, published 1 December 1990 in Country Life (vol. 184 no. 49, article, pp.194-195)
The Southdown Sheep, by Valerie Porter, published 1991 (Singleton: The Weald and Downland Open Air Museum, ISBN-13: 9780905259185) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 11164] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
Abstract:Published on behalf of the Southdown Sheep Society in honour of two centuries of the breed which John Ellman was the first to improve, and to celebrate the Society's Centenary.
Pub Walks Around Portsmouth and the South Downs, by John Price, published 1 July 1991 (128 pp., Hyperion Books, ISBN-10: 1854550705 & ISBN-13: 9781854550705) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 13109] & West Sussex Libraries
South Downs Way, by John Godfrey, published 1992 (Aerofilms) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries
Downland Calling, by Matthew Coombe, published October 1993 in West Sussex History, the Journal of West Sussex Archives Society (no. 52, article, p.21) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16404/52] & The Keep [LIB/500483]
My Downland Home, by Matthew Coombe, published October 1993 in West Sussex History, the Journal of West Sussex Archives Society (no. 52, article, p.21) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16404/52] & The Keep [LIB/500483]
Hares and skylarks as indicators of environmentally sensitive farming on the South Downs, by Andrew Wakeham-Dawson, 1994 at Open University (Ph.D. thesis)
Shepherding on the South Downs, by John Norwood, published 1995 (article, Folk Life) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 13020] & West Sussex Libraries
Offprint from Folk Life Vol. 33 1994-95
A Vision for the South Downs: proposals by the Sussex Wildlife Trust for a new strategy for the..., edited by Rendel Williams, published 1995 accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 17831]
Tourism and the Sussex Downs: an evaluation of the nature, impact and management of tourism on the Sussex Downland., by Bruce E. Osborne, 1995 at Sussex University (Ph.D. thesis)
South Sussex Rambles: 35 Downland and Coastal Walks Around Brighton and Worthing, by Colin Ulph, published 11 June 1995 (124 pp., published by the author, ISBN-10: 0951108824 & ISBN-13: 9780951108826) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
Damage to Property by Runoff from Agricultural Land, South Downs, Southern England, 1976-93, by John Boardman, published July 1995 in The Geographical Journal (vol. 161, no. 2, article, pp.177-191) View Online
The Landscape of the Sussex Downs, published 1996 (pamphlet, Sussex Downs Conservation Board) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 13206][Lib 13217] & The Keep [LIB/500171]
Exploring Brighton and the South Downs, by David Harrison, published 1 October 1996 (Seaford: S. B. Publications, ISBN-10: 185770102X & ISBN-13: 9781857701029) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries
A Neolithic axe from Windover Hill, by Mike Seager Thomas, published 1997 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 135, shorter article, pp.300-301) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 13642] & The Keep [LIB/500290] & S.A.S. library
Images of the South Downs, published 1998 (leaflet, Sussex Downs Conservation Board) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15376]
Tank Roads on the Downs, by Peter Longstaff-Tyrrell, published 1998 in Sussex Industrial History (issue no. 28, article, pp.27-32, ISSN: 0263-5151) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/506527] Download PDF
Abstract:Living and working around the Sussex coast and countryside for over 50 years the author often glances up at the South Downs to ponder upon the old cart tracks and byways that decorate the slopes. These tracks seem legacies of a distant past but are not always that ancient and many date back only to the period of WWII when the Downs were commandeered by the Army for the South Downs Training Area. At this time slumbering Sussex villages and countryside were transformed for all manner of exercises, communications, camps, gunnery practice, prisoner of way camps, emergency airfields, decoy sites, stores and dumps.
The South Downs Way, by David Harrison, published 15 August 1998 (80 pp., Seaford: S. B. Publications, ISBN-10: 1857701615 & ISBN-13: 9781857701616) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
Abstract:This mile-by-mile guide follows the long distance footpath of the South Downs Way, from its start at Eastbourne to its termination at Winchester, the Saxon capital of England. Each section is clearly mapped and full instructions are given about the route to follow as well as descriptions of what can be seen on the Way and individual points of interest close to it. At the end of each section are details of where refreshments are available together with addresses and telephone numbers of B&B accommodation, campsites and stabling for those who wish to ride the Way.
The author, David Harrison spent many years running a newsagent near to Brighton. He has written several books on Sussex and has now moved to Lincolnshire with his family.
The author, David Harrison spent many years running a newsagent near to Brighton. He has written several books on Sussex and has now moved to Lincolnshire with his family.
The South Downs, by Peter Brandon, published 2 October 1998 (280 pp., Chichester: Phillimore & Co. Ltd., ISBN-10: 186077069X & ISBN-13: 9781860770692) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 14979] & The Keep [LIB/501556] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
Abstract:The South Downs has throughout history been a focus of English popular culture. With chalkland, their river valleys and scarp-foot the Downs have been shaped for over millennia by successive generations of farmers, ranging from Europe's oldest inhabitants right up until the 21st century. "possibly the most important book to have been written on the South Downs in the last half-century . . The South Downs have found their perfect biographer."
Round barrows and the harmonious landscape: placing Early Bronze Age burial monuments in south-east England, by David Field, published November 1998 in Oxford Journal of Archaeology (vol. 17, issue 3, article, pp.309-326) View Online
Abstract:The distribution and siting of barrows within the landscape of south-east England is considered, and it is observed that clustering occurs on certain geological units and in specific topographical positions. A socio-economic explanation for the distribution of those in Sussex is possible, and the concentrations can even be considered in terms of territorial units. However, distribution across the south-east is nodal, and the clusters present on the South Downs are not matched on the North Downs, and it is necessary to consider other explanations. A cosmological approach provides a fresh insight into the siting of barrows and helps explain siting within cemeteries as well as within the wider landscape.
The ownership, occupation and use of land on the South Downs between the rivers Arun and Adur in West Sussex, c1840-c1940., by John Douglas Godfrey, 1999 at Sussex University (Ph.D. thesis) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries
Abstract:This thesis reports on a study of land ownership, land occupation and land use in an area of about 100 square miles on the South Downs in Sussex at three points in time. The thesis is based on a study of three principal sets of records, occasionally supplemented by other material. The study area comprises the area covered by 16 contiguous modern parishes between the rivers Arun and Adur. The study covers the period c.1840-1940 and the three principal sets of records examined are the Tithe Surveys of 1834-47, the Valuation Office Survey of 1910-15 and the National Farm Survey of 1941-43. The study, which focuses on medium and large holdings, describes the structure of land ownership, land occupation and land use in the selected area, making use of significant material which has only recently become available and has not previously been studied, and enables trends to be identified relating to such issues as the changing fortunes of landowning families, the balance between owner-occupation and tenant farming, farm size, the balance between pasture and arable, agricultural improvement and the progress and efficiency of measures such as the wartime plough-up campaigns. These trends are discussed in a regional and national context, referring to research undertaken elsewhere and to available national material. The study also identifies problems which may arise from the inter-relating of the three documentary sources, all of which were designed for separate purposes (tithe commutation, taxing of land values, Second World War food production campaign and post-war planning), and it proposes solutions to these problems which may be of value to future researchers.
The Society of Sussex Wealdmen: the first 75 years, by Peter Armstrong, published 2000 (pamphlet) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 14405]
Ecological management of the Sussex South Downs: applications of GIS and landscape ecology. , by Niall George Burnside, 2000 at University of Brighton (Ph.D. thesis)
Abstract:The South Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is a nationally important conservation area, which contains a significant proportion (28%) of the South East calcareous grassland resource. The traditional calcareous grassland habitats characteristic of the Downland landscape have suffered significant losses since the Second World War, and the remaining sites are small, fragmented and confined to the more marginal areas, often the steeper slopes. The recreation and regeneration of these species-rich grasslands has become an important aim of regional conservation organisations, but the methods and mechanisms by which restoration sites could be identified has not been clarified. The work reported here aims, by the integration of landscape ecology and Geographical Information Systems, to develop a sound methodological approach for the targeting of sites for restoration and regeneration of calcareous grassland on the South Downs. The study examines temporal land use dynamics of the Downland and the predominant land conversion sequences are identified. Land management changes between 1971 and 1991 are assessed, and sites of unimproved grassland and those sites considered more marginal to modem intensive farming approaches are identified. The structure of the Downs landscape is investigated at the landscape, habitat and community level using fine-scale spatial data. Particular emphasis is placed upon the remaining calcareous resource and the extent of habitat loss and fragmentation is quantified. Analysis at the community level shows a clear relationship between community richness and habitat area. The analysis identifies key attributes of calcareous grassland sites and provides a baseline from which to formulate restoration targets and objectives. Finally, using fuzzy logic, a GIS-based Habitat Suitability Model is developed for use as a tool to support strategic landscape evaluation and to provide a method of identifying areas of search and site selection for targeted restoration. The approach models the relationships between specific grassland communities and landscape position, and is applied to the South Downs landscape in order to predict the nature of grassland communities likely to result from restoration efforts at specific sites.
Vegetation history of the English chalklands: a mid-Holocene pollen sequence from the Caburn, East Sussex, by Martyn P. Waller and Sue Hamilton, published March 2000 in Journal of Quaternary Science (vol. 15, issue 3, article, pp.253-272) View Online
Abstract:A pollen diagram has been produced from the base of the Caburn (East Sussex) that provides a temporally and spatially precise record of vegetation change on the English chalklands during the mid-Holocene (ca. 7100 to ca. 3800 cal. yr BP). During this period the slopes above the site appear to have been well-wooded, with vegetation analogous to modern Fraxinus-Acer-Mercurialis communities in which Tilia was also a prominent constituent. However, scrub and grassland taxa such as Juniperus communis, Cornus sanguinea and Plantago lanceolata are also regularly recorded along with, from ca. 6000 cal. yr BP onwards, species specific to Chalk grassland (e.g. Sanguisorba minor). This supports suggestions that elements of Chalk grassland persisted in lowland England through the Holocene. Such communities are most likely to have occupied the steepest slopes, although the processes that maintained them are unclear. Human interference with vegetation close to the site may have begun as early as ca. 6350 cal. yr BP and initially involved a woodland management practice such as coppicing. From the primary Ulmus decline (ca. 5700 cal. yr BP) onwards, phases of limited clearance accompanied by cereal cultivation occurred. Taxus baccata was an important component of the woodland which regenerated between these phases.
Vegetation history of the English chalklands: a mid-Holocene pollen sequence from the Caburn, East Sussex, by Martyn P. Waller and Sue Hamilton, published March 2000 in Journal of Quaternary Science (vol. 15, issue 3, article, pp.253-272) View Online
Abstract:A pollen diagram has been produced from the base of the Caburn (East Sussex) that provides a temporally and spatially precise record of vegetation change on the English chalklands during the mid-Holocene (ca. 7100 to ca. 3800 cal. yr BP). During this period the slopes above the site appear to have been well-wooded, with vegetation analogous to modern Fraxinus-Acer-Mercurialis communities in which Tilia was also a prominent constituent. However, scrub and grassland taxa such as Juniperus communis, Cornus sanguinea and Plantago lanceolata are also regularly recorded along with, from ca. 6000 cal. yr BP onwards, species specific to Chalk grassland (e.g. Sanguisorba minor). This supports suggestions that elements of Chalk grassland persisted in lowland England through the Holocene. Such communities are most likely to have occupied the steepest slopes, although the processes that maintained them are unclear. Human interference with vegetation close to the site may have begun as early as ca. 6350 cal. yr BP and initially involved a woodland management practice such as coppicing. From the primary Ulmus decline (ca. 5700 cal. yr BP) onwards, phases of limited clearance accompanied by cereal cultivation occurred. Taxus baccata was an important component of the woodland which regenerated between these phases.
On Foot on the East Sussex Downs. 18 short, medium and long walks near Brighton, Eastbourne and Lewes, by Ben Perkins, published 20 April 2000 (96 pp., Seaford: S. B. Publications, ISBN-10: 1857702069 & ISBN-13: 9781857702064) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
Abstract:Discover the beauty of the South Downs in East Sussex with this superb selection of 18 circular scenic walks near Brighton, Eastbourne, Lewes and in and around the Cuckmere and Ouse valleys. Each walk is accompanied with some points of interest and refreshment stops to provide the perfect day out. The author's selection of walks for this book has been inspired and influenced by the best selling booklet On Foot in East Sussex originally published by the Society of Sussex Downsmen, which is now out of print.
The author, Ben Perkins, lives in Brighton and is an active member of the Sussex Ramblers Association
The author, Ben Perkins, lives in Brighton and is an active member of the Sussex Ramblers Association
Unto the Hills: The History and Wildlife of the South Downs, by Patrick Coulcher, published 2001 (268 pp., Lewes: The Book Guild, ISBN-10: 1857765869 & ISBN-13: 9781857765861) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
The ownership, occupation and use of land on the South Downs, 1840-1940: a methodological analysis of record linkage over time, by John Godfrey and Brian Short, published 2001 in Agricultural History Review (vol. 49, no. 1, article, pp.56-78) Download PDF
Abstract:Three major complexes of documents are now available for the study of agriculture from the mid-nineteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries. The tithe surveys, already well known, are now joined by the Lloyd George 1910 Valuation Office material, and the National Farm Survey of 1941-3. This paper expl ores the methodological issues arising from the use, and especially the comparison, of the three sources in the context of a case study from the South Downs in Sussex.
Family Days in the Countryside Around Portsmouth and the South Downs, by John Price, published 17 April 2001 (128 pp., Wayahead Publishing, ISBN-10: 0954016300 & ISBN-13: 9780954016302) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries
The South Downs Way, by Kev Reynolds, published 3 September 2001 (128 pp., Cicerone Press, ISBN-10: 1852843241 & ISBN-13: 9781852843243) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries
Storms, floods and soil erosion on the South Downs, East Sussex, Autumn and Winter 2000-01, by John Boardman, published October 2001 in Geography (vol. 86, no. 4, article, pp.346-355, Geographical Association) View Online
Land ownership and farming on the South Downs in West Sussex circa 1840-1940, by John Godfrey, published 2002 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 140, article, pp.113-123) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15109] & The Keep [LIB/500299] & S.A.S. library View Online
Abstract:An examination of the tithe surveys of the 1840s, the Lloyd George 1910 Valuation Office material and the National Farm Survey of 1941?43 relating to the 100 square miles of the South Downs between the rivers Arun and Adur enables a picture to be built up of the way the land was owned and farmed during a century of rapid agricultural and social change. The study confirms the importance of large landowners in the West Sussex downland and the position of the study area as the natural habitat of the close parish, with land in few hands and the rural population small, deferential and conservative politically. In addition, changes over time and in the fortunes of individual families are discussed, as are changes in the size of holdings and the growth of owner-occupation. Finally, changes in land-use are described, with particular attention being drawn to the changing balance between arable and pasture on farms in the study area, the abandonment of remote farmsteads and the importance of mineral working and forestry. As the Second World War approached, military use also became important.
The distribution and petrology of sarsens on the eastern South Downs and their relationship to Palaeogene and Neogene sediments and palaeoenvironments, by J. Stewart Ullyott, 2002 at University of Brighton (Ph.D. thesis)
Surface crusting of soils from the South Downs in relation to soil erosion, by Jayashree Khanta, 2002 at Sussex University (Ph.D. thesis)
Deco style on the Downs: Meadowfield Adult Acute Unit; Architects: Nightingale Associates, by Christopher Shaw, published January 2002 in Hospital development (article, pp.18-24) accessible at: R.I.B.A. Library
Abstract:A new mental health unit on the South Downs that shows the fruits of the architect's efforts to create a hotel-like environment
On Foot on the West Sussex Downs, by Ben Perkins, published 3 June 2002 (96 pp., Seaford: S. B. Publications, ISBN-10: 1857702514 & ISBN-13: 9781857702514) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
Abstract:Designed as a companion volume to 'On Foot on the East Sussex Downs', this book offers 18 circular walks which, between them encompass the whole length and breadth of the rich and varied landscape of the West Sussex Downs between Devil's Dyke, north of Brighton and Harting Downs within a few miles of the Hampshire boundary.
Varying in length from 3 to 15 miles, you can choose from a gentle two-hour stroll, a comfortable morning or afternoon ramble, or an energetic all-day trek. Notes accompany each walk on points of interest and refreshment stops along the way.
The author, Ben Perkins lives in Brighton and is a long standing member of the Society of Sussex Downsmen, Society of Sussex Wealdmen and the Rambler's Association. Over the last 17 years he has written many walking books and contributed over 400 articles to a regular column in The Argus and during that time exploring the 2000 miles of local footpaths and bridleways.
Varying in length from 3 to 15 miles, you can choose from a gentle two-hour stroll, a comfortable morning or afternoon ramble, or an energetic all-day trek. Notes accompany each walk on points of interest and refreshment stops along the way.
The author, Ben Perkins lives in Brighton and is a long standing member of the Society of Sussex Downsmen, Society of Sussex Wealdmen and the Rambler's Association. Over the last 17 years he has written many walking books and contributed over 400 articles to a regular column in The Argus and during that time exploring the 2000 miles of local footpaths and bridleways.
A new conceptual groundwater-flow system for the central South Downs aquifier, by N. S. Robins, D.Sc., M.Sc., B.Sc., C.Geol. (Fellow) and L. T. Dance, B.Sc., published May 2003 in Water and Environment Journal (vol. 17, issue 2, article, pp.111-116) View Online
Abstract:The central part of the South Downs Chalk aquifer is intensely used for public water supply. Although the aquifer has a long history of careful development and management, the outline conceptual groundwater-flow vision has not been formally investigated for many years. A major programme of work has now been completed which (a) provides a new insight into the hydraulic workings of the aquifer, and (b) highlights a number of hitherto poorly understood concepts controlling groundwater movement in the Chalk. These include the key role of geological structure and the occurrence of hard bands and karst-type groundwater flow as major controls over preferred flow-paths. The new conceptualisation concludes that the main discharge area for the aquifer is laterally to the north-south rivers and not directly southwards to the sea.
Soil erosion and flooding on the Eastern South Downs, Southern England, 1976-2001, by John Boardman, published June 2003 in Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers (vol. 28, no. 2, article, pp.176-196)
Downlandscapes, by John Holloway, published 2004 (iv + 50 pp., Brighton Museum and Art Gallery, ISBN-10: 0952233819 & ISBN-13: 9780952233817) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508080] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
The South Downs Way: from Eastbourne to Winchester, by Kev Reynolds, published 1 April 2004 (2nd revised edition, 192 pp., Cicerone Press, ISBN-10: 1852844299 & ISBN-13: 9781852844295) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries
Abstract:The South Downs Way National Trail is a glorious walk from Eastbourne to Winchester, exploring the Sussex Downs and East Hampshire Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The official South Downs Way leads the walker along the 100 miles (160km) route following the northern escarpment for much of the way and rarely descends to habitation except where river valleys interrupt the regular course of the Downs. This guidebook describes the South Downs Way in 12 daily stages and is illustrated with OS mapping. The South Downs Way links many ancient and historical tracks, passing many sites of particular interest to those with a thirst for the past, but the main joy is the appreciation and recognition of this surprisingly secretive land that will please and delight any walker. The guide is part of a two-book series on the North and South Downs Ways.
Nature in Downland, by W. H. Hudson, published 17 June 2004 (reprint, 184 pp., Kessinger Publishing, LLC, ISBN-10: 1419136801 & ISBN-13: 9781419136801)
Beaker occupation and development of the downland landscape at Ashcombe Bottom, near Lewes, East Sussex, by Michael J. Allen, published 2005 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 143, article, pp.7-33) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15610] & The Keep [LIB/500361] & S.A.S. library View Online
Abstract:Research excavations were conducted of colluvium in the dry valley of Ashcombe Bottom to the west of Lewes. Colluvial deposits in the centre of the valley were only 1.5 m thick but contained a buried soil on which was a series of parallel ard marks, which were confirmed by soil micromorphological analysis and indicated prehistoric tillage. The colluvium contained a number of sherds of Beaker pottery and at least 26 Beaker vessels were represented, indicating a settlement site rather than a funerary monument.
Environmental analysis of the sediment provides a broad history of the landscape from the Neolithic period to Middle Bronze Age and spans the construction and disuse of the causewayed enclosure at Offham, and the activity associated with the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age flint scatters recorded in the Houndean-Ashcombe area.
The results of this research excavation provide settlement and environmental data which enhance our understanding of the Early Bronze Age prehistoric occupation and use of the Sussex Downs.
Environmental analysis of the sediment provides a broad history of the landscape from the Neolithic period to Middle Bronze Age and spans the construction and disuse of the causewayed enclosure at Offham, and the activity associated with the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age flint scatters recorded in the Houndean-Ashcombe area.
The results of this research excavation provide settlement and environmental data which enhance our understanding of the Early Bronze Age prehistoric occupation and use of the Sussex Downs.
Beaker Settlement and Environment on the Chalk Downs of Southern England., by Michael J. Allen, published January 2005 in The Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society (vol. 71, article, pp.219-245) View Online
Abstract:This paper is dedicated to John Evans, environmental archaeologist extraordinaire, who died 14 June 2005, while this paper was in press. He continually reminded us that environmental data should address questions of people and landscape and be relevant to the understanding of Prehistory by our archaeological colleagues.
The Beaker period in north-west Europe is abound with objects, burials, and monuments, but evidence of settlement and domestic life is often absent or less easily found, and England is no exception. Despite the thousands of barrows with rich artefacts assemblages (eg, Amesbury Archer) and the numerous pits with non-domestic assemblages of placed items, evidence for houses and settlement are sparse despite the indication of increased agriculture and sedentism. This paper explores this problem on the chalklands of southern England that are rich in Beaker finds, and which are generally recognised as one of the best studied and well understood landscapes in Europe. From this study it is suggested that Beaker domestic sites are present, but are often in low lying positions on the chalk downs and have subsequently been buried by variable depths of hillwash, making them invisible to normal archaeological survey and reconnaissance.
The Beaker period in north-west Europe is abound with objects, burials, and monuments, but evidence of settlement and domestic life is often absent or less easily found, and England is no exception. Despite the thousands of barrows with rich artefacts assemblages (eg, Amesbury Archer) and the numerous pits with non-domestic assemblages of placed items, evidence for houses and settlement are sparse despite the indication of increased agriculture and sedentism. This paper explores this problem on the chalklands of southern England that are rich in Beaker finds, and which are generally recognised as one of the best studied and well understood landscapes in Europe. From this study it is suggested that Beaker domestic sites are present, but are often in low lying positions on the chalk downs and have subsequently been buried by variable depths of hillwash, making them invisible to normal archaeological survey and reconnaissance.
Speed on the Downs: The Lewes Speed Trials 1924-39, by Jeremy J. Wood, published 1 October 2005 (viii + 119 pp., Billingshurst: JWFA Books, ISBN-10: 0952276615 & ISBN-13: 9780952276616) accessible at: British Library & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
South Downs National Park Inquiry, by Robin Milner-Gulland, published April 2008 in Sussex Past & Present (no. 114, article, pp.6-7, ISSN: 1357-7417) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/500475] & S.A.S. library View Online
Preview:The long running saga of the South Downs National Park (SDNP) is nearing resolution. The re-opened Public Inquiry (at the Chatsworth Hotel, Worthing) is now hearing evidence about a few outstanding problems and objections, till late April 2008.
Chapter V: Sussex, by H. J. Massingham, published 25 August 2008 in English Downland (reprint, originally published 1936, Brown Press, ISBN-10: 1443704938 & ISBN-13: 9781443704939)
The South Downs, by Michael George, published September 2008 (112 pp., Monterey Press, ISBN-10: 0956018807 & ISBN-13: 9780956018809) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
Abstract:In the "South Downs", photographer Michael George presents a striking portrait of one of our best-loved landscapes. Beginning his quest in Eastbourne, where the Downs meet the sea in the promontory of Beachy Head, the photographer then travels over the Downs to where they enfold the fascinating county town of Lewes. He ends his journey at Brighton, the other great coastal resort encompassed by the Downs. By focussing on the South Downs as they were conceived in the eighteenth century - what many consider the apotheosis of classical bare chalk Downland in Sussex - Michael George is able to approach the heart of the mystery, and the magic, of the marvellous swathe of hills. He has succeeded in capturing on film a series of vivid and evocative images which, together with his uniquely informative and incisive commentary, make this an indispensable volume. David Dimbleby, in a foreword specially written for this beautiful new book, says: 'Michael George's photographs bring to life all the elements of this English paradise'.
Exploring soil erosion and biodiversity in multifunctional landscapes: A case study of the South Downs, UK, by Sarah Marie Bateman, 2009 at Nottingham University (Ph.D. thesis)
Edward Alfred Martin and 'The Glaciation of the South Downs', by David Bate, published 2009 in West Sussex History, the Journal of West Sussex Archives Society (no. 77, article, p.65) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16404/77] & The Keep [LIB/500501]
Historic landscapes protected: South Downs National Park confirmed at last!, by Robin Milner-Gulland, published August 2009 in Sussex Past & Present (no. 118, article, p.4, ISSN: 1357-7417) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/500475] & S.A.S. library View Online
Land Girls: Cinderellas of the Soil, by Amy de la Haye, published 1 October 2009 (64 pp., Brighton: Royal Pavilion, Libraries & Museums, ISBN-10: 0948723726 & ISBN-13: 9780948723728) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
Review by Sue Berry in Sussex Past & Present no. 120, April 2010:This book accompanied the recent and very popular exhibition at Brighton Art Gallery and Museum which focused on the personal stories of the land girls who were trained, lived and worked on the Sussex Downs and surrounding areas during both World wars. This is worth looking at if you are interested in the topic and period, and what happened in Sussex in 1914-1918 when there was a Women's Land Army, and then in more depth, the revival of the WLA in 1939 when they became known as the Land Girls. In 1939, Balcombe Place was the national HQ of the Women's Land Army, Lady Denman was the Honorary Director and they were trained at Plumpton Agricultural College. Local women are featured in the catalogue and so is their distinctive uniform, especially those amazing breeches! Many of the photographs from the Second World War show cheerful photogenic girls; one has to wonder how much thought went into this, especially after a look at the photographs of what they wore.
Ravilious in Pictures, 1: Sussex and the Downs, by James Russell, published 1 December 2009 (48 pp., The Mainstone Press, ISBN-10: 0955277736 & ISBN-13: 9780955277733) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
Abstract:First in a series of books celebrating the watercolours and landscapes of Eric Ravilious. Each painting is accompanied by an essay in which author James Russell explores the intriguing stories hidden behind the scenes, painting a captivating picture of this popular British artist.
The Crowlink Story, by Captain Norman Davies, published 2010 (booklet no. 3, East Dean & Friston Local History Group) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/509180] & East Dean & Friston Local History Group
Farming on the Downs in the 1940s by Capt. Davies who began farming at East Dean and Crowlink in 1945, living first at Little Barn and later at Went Acre.
Neolithic Villages Near Worthing: Rediscovering lost ancient settlements on the South Downs, by Alex Vincent, published July 2010 (36 pp., Seaford: S. B. Publications, ISBN-10: 1857703618 & ISBN-13: 9781857703610) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
Abstract:The area around Worthing in West Sussex is rich with remains of ancient Neolithic villages and flint mines. In this well researched book, archaeologist Alex Vincent uncovers the evidence for a fascinating array of settlements and earthworks, showing how this important heritage can be indentified and enjoyed by people today.
The author, Alex Vincent lives in Worthing
The author, Alex Vincent lives in Worthing
The South Downs: A Painted Year, by Antonia Dundas, published 4 January 2011 (128 pp., Stroud: Amberley Publishing, ISBN-10: 1445600730 & ISBN-13: 9781445600734) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
Abstract:Antonia Dundas has lived on the edge of the South Downs of West Sussex for more than sixty years. Riding and rambling along their many paths and tracks, she has developed a deep and intimate knowledge of the area and its wildlife, and chronicles here the life of the Downs over twelve months from January to December, at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Accompanied with her own beautiful and delicately observed watercolours, this book revels in the passing of the seasons. Antonia's celebration of nature's finery has been lovingly created, and will appeal to anyone with a love of the Downs and the natural world.
Ramblers Short Walks in The South Downs (Collins Ramblers Short Walks), published 3 March 2011 (96 pp., Collins, ISBN-10: 0007395434 & ISBN-13: 9780007395439) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
Abstract:A practical little walk guide to the South Downs endorsed by the Ramblers. All the walks are 5 miles or under in length and can easily be completed in less that 3 hours. 20 walks are included and use clear Ordnance Survey maps to show the route plus easy to follow walk descriptions.
The South Downs is one of only four areas of chalk downland in southern England. They extend from the eastern side of Hampshire through Sussex, culminating in the spectacular sea cliffs at Beachy Head. The walks are located in The South Downs National Park, England's newest National Park. This popular walking area, has one principal long distance footpath, the South Downs Way, and many interconnecting ones.
This guide, produced in co-operation with the Ramblers and featuring Ordnance Survey mapping, is the perfect way to get out and enjoy the stunning scenery.
This compact little guide contains walks, all of which are 5 miles or under, which are ideal for an afternoon stroll.
The South Downs is one of only four areas of chalk downland in southern England. They extend from the eastern side of Hampshire through Sussex, culminating in the spectacular sea cliffs at Beachy Head. The walks are located in The South Downs National Park, England's newest National Park. This popular walking area, has one principal long distance footpath, the South Downs Way, and many interconnecting ones.
This guide, produced in co-operation with the Ramblers and featuring Ordnance Survey mapping, is the perfect way to get out and enjoy the stunning scenery.
This compact little guide contains walks, all of which are 5 miles or under, which are ideal for an afternoon stroll.
Walks in the South Downs National Park, by Kev Reynolds, published 18 March 2011 (224 pp., Cicerone Press, ISBN-10: 1852846186 & ISBN-13: 9781852846183) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
Abstract:A walking guide to the South Downs National Park. 40 day walks for all abilities are described, from Winchester to Eastbourne. With some of the most iconic landscapes in southern England, including the white chalk cliffs of Beachy Head and the Seven Sisters, and such well-loved landmarks as Ditchling Beacon and atmospheric ancient monuments like the Cissbury Ring, walking in the park proves a delightful experience mile after mile. Each walk is circular, and where possible beginning and ending at a place accessible by public transport. The walks are described step by step illustrated with OS mapping and colour photographs.
What Future for the Past? Conserving cultural heritage within the SDNP, by Paul Roberts, published April 2011 in Sussex Past & Present (no. 123, article, p.7, ISSN: 1357-7417) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/500475] & S.A.S. library View Online
Preview:Finally after over 50 years of campaigning and a decade of negotiation, the new South Downs National Park will become operational on 1st April 2011. This is a major achievement, and one which will do much to protect the archaeology and heritage of this exceptional landscape.
The South Downs Conference: The shaping of a landscape, by Janet Pennington, published December 2011 in Sussex Past & Present (no. 125, article, pp.10-11, ISSN: 1357-7417) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/500475] & S.A.S. library View Online
The Windmills on Juggs Road, by Bob Bonnett, published 2012 in Sussex Industrial History (issue no. 42, article, pp.9-15, ISSN: 0263-5151) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16389/42] & The Keep [LIB/506539] Download PDF
Middle and Late Bronze Age settlement on the South Downs : the case study of Black Patch, by Richard Quinn Tapper, 2012 at Sussex University (Ph.D. thesis) View Online
Abstract:By integrating the corpus of existing knowledge with new information gained by applying geo-archaeological techniques as well as more traditional techniques to fresh archaeological investigations at Black Patch and elsewhere, the aims of the research are to look at the economy, social organization and ritual behaviour of life in the Middle and Late Bronze Age on the South Downs in the light of modern archaeological theory to consider the questions 'Why were these areas chosen for settlement?', 'What caused their abandonment?' and 'What can we learn about the life of the people associated with the settlements?'. The combination of field walking, field survey and soil sampling has shown the presence of a Neolithic flint spread, woodland clearance and agriculture before and during the period of site settlement at Black Patch. The positioning of the Hut platforms and enclosures across existing lynchets, the modification of the existing field system, the establishment of a new one and the adoption of more intensive farming techniques (manuring, weeding and crop location and rotation) would imply a change of social order and the adoption of a sedentary lifestyle for some. The existence of centrally placed hearths in huts found at Black Patch brings into doubt the existing day/night life/death metaphor currently commonly used for this period. Structured deposition points to a society concerned with agricultural fertility. The abandonment of Black Patch identified by Drewett and the dearth of later dated artefacts, at about the same time as the abandonment of the only other positively identified Deverel-Rimbury site in the immediate area, Itford Hill, suggests another change of social order, with livestock becoming more important as the Downland area around Black Patch appears then to be used only by nomadic herders. Areas to the west of the River Ouse which had been settled earlier developed more complicated specialist production sites. These have yet to be found east of the River Ouse.
52 Favourite West Sussex Walks, by Richard Williamson, published 5 March 2012 (192 pp., Chichester: Summersdale, ISBN-10: 1849532338 & ISBN-13: 9781849532334) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
Abstract:Richard Williamson's weekly walking column has long been one of the most popular features in the Chichester Observer, Worthing Observer and West Sussex Gazette. Now, following the format that has proved such a hit over the years, for the first time he has compiled his favourite walks - one for every week of the year - with hand-drawn route maps. His knowledge and love of the timeless South Downs landscape and its varied flora, fauna and stories - from bat-birds and the Devil's Jumps to beloved pubs and famous poets - combine with practical notes on routes that can be covered easily in an afternoon. Richard Williamson was for 30 years the manager of Kingley Vale National Nature Reserve and has an unparalleled knowledge of South Downs wildlife and lore.
The Archaeology of the South Downs National Park: An Introduction, by John Manley, published September 2012 (87 pp., Sussex Archæological Society, ISBN-10: 0904973220 & ISBN-13: 9780904973228) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
Abstract:The book provide a thematic introduction to the accessible monuments of past communities within the area now defined by the National Park. It highlights sites where people lived, hunted and farmed, and where they occasionally met together in large numbers. It describes sites where they defended themselves, where they prayed and where they buried their dead. It includes many photographs taken specifically to illustrate the text.
The South Downs National Park: An Archaeological Walking Guide, by John Manley, published 1 May 2013 (192 pp., The History Press, ISBN-10: 0752466089 & ISBN-13: 9780752466088) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
Abstract:The South Downs National Park extends from the outskirts of Eastbourne in East Sussex, to the edge of Winchester in Hampshire. It consists of a considerable chunk of southern England and it contains an extraordinary variety of archaeological and historic monuments. You can explore the camps, flint mines and tombs of the earliest farmers, walk around great earthen banks bounding Iron Age hillforts, stroll along Roman roads, visit Saxon churches and medieval castles and houses and examine the remains of industry and more recent military conflicts. Take a walk anywhere in the Park and you find yourself taking a walk into the past. With easy-to-follow maps, evocative photographs and details of sites to visit, the reader can quickly gain both an overview of the Park's rich history and appreciate the specifics of individual monuments.
Review by Wendy Muriel in Sussex Past & Present no. 131, December 2013:This book contains 15 walks that encompass the length and breadth of the new South Downs National Park. The walks are varied and fairly modest in length (the longest is 8 miles) and the author has thoughtfully included the elevation ranges, which should make it easy to decide whether a walk would be within your scope.
This is not a standard walking guide; the first third of the book is devoted to an introduction to the archaeology by exploring different themes such as defensive displays, beliefs and rituals etc. Each route is described in great detail, accompanied by an annotated map together with extensive supplementary information in our former CEO's lively prose style, sometimes, however, including personal anecdotes that some might think unnecessary. He has also added suggestions for further background reading for each walk.
My main criticisms are that it would have been useful to include public transport access where possible and, in its current format, it is rather too heavy and bulky to conveniently carry as a pocket book. The publishers could consider making the walks available online so they can be individually downloaded for greater portability.
Nevertheless, I think this book would make a suitable Christmas stocking filler for a keen walker interested in knowing about the significance and rich history of some of the landscape features in the South Downs National Park.
This is not a standard walking guide; the first third of the book is devoted to an introduction to the archaeology by exploring different themes such as defensive displays, beliefs and rituals etc. Each route is described in great detail, accompanied by an annotated map together with extensive supplementary information in our former CEO's lively prose style, sometimes, however, including personal anecdotes that some might think unnecessary. He has also added suggestions for further background reading for each walk.
My main criticisms are that it would have been useful to include public transport access where possible and, in its current format, it is rather too heavy and bulky to conveniently carry as a pocket book. The publishers could consider making the walks available online so they can be individually downloaded for greater portability.
Nevertheless, I think this book would make a suitable Christmas stocking filler for a keen walker interested in knowing about the significance and rich history of some of the landscape features in the South Downs National Park.
The Natural History of the South Downs National Park, by Robin Crane and Rendel Williams, published June 2013 (130 pp., Sussex Archæological Society, ISBN-10: 0904973239 & ISBN-13: 9780904973235) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
Abstract:The book explores the animals, plants and habitat of the South Downs with more than 150 stunning photographs. It was written with the object of enriching people's knowledge of the wildlife and countryside of the Park, not simply by highlighting some special plants and animals, but by giving readers a greater understanding of the evolution of the wild places, the history of nature conservation and the management of habitats and species.
The Geology and Scenery of the South Downs National Park, by David Robinson, published July 2013 (104 pp., Sussex Archæological Society, ISBN-10: 0904973247 & ISBN-13: 9780904973242) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
Abstract:This book provides an introduction to the origin and characteristics of the rocks that underlie the South Downs National Park. It describes how the scenic features of different parts of the Park are related to the geological history of the region and to the processes of weathering and erosion that have acted on the rocks in the past, and those which continue to modify the landscape today.
Friston Waterworks, by Mike Keller, published 2014 (booklet no. 46, East Dean & Friston Local History Group) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/509222] & East Dean & Friston Local History Group
Victorian engineering that changed the landscape of the Downs.
The Holiday Fellowship at Crowlink, by Lloyd Brunt and Mary Brunt, published 2015 (booklet no. 51, East Dean & Friston Local History Group) accessible at: East Dean & Friston Local History Group
When North Barn was a centre for walking holidays on the South Downs.
Faces of the South Downs: Portraits in a Landscape, by Anne-Katrin Purkiss, published 1 September 2015 (98 pp., Miriquidi Books, ISBN-10: 099341110X & ISBN-13: 9780993411106) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries
Secrets of the High Woods: Airborne Laser Scanning in the South Downs National Park, by Alice Thorne, published December 2015 in Sussex Past & Present (no. 137, article, pp.4-5, ISSN: 1357-7417) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/507923] & S.A.S. library
Preview:The South Downs National Park is currently hosting a Heritage Lottery Funded community project. The 'Secrets of the High Woods' is investigating over 305 km2 of the archaeology and history of the central downs using a combination of high resolution laser technology, field survey and archival research.
Secrets of the High Woods: Revealing hidden landscapes, edited by John Manley, published 2016 (South Downs National park, ISBN-13: 9781527203020) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
Abstract:Beneath the ancient woods of West Sussex lies a landscape littered with traces of the people who have lived and worked on the South Downs. Until recently, much of the archaeology of this area was hidden from view. This has now changed. The Secrets of the High Woods project captured LiDAR data which has revealed a host of human stories hidden beneath the trees.
The miller of Highdown, by Helen Millen, published 2016 in West Sussex History, the Journal of West Sussex Archives Society (no. 84, article, p.29) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16404/84] & The Keep [LIB/509448]
Walks in the South Downs National Park, by Kev Reynolds, published 3 May 2016 (2nd edition, 224 pp., Cicerone Press, ISBN-13: 9781852848354) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries
Abstract:Guidebook with 40 circular walks throughout the South Downs National Park, exploring the beautiful chalk hills between Eastbourne and Winchester. The walks range from under 5 miles to 11 miles, including Beachy Head and the Seven Sisters, Ditchling Beacon and hundreds of prehistoric sites. Accessible all year, but wild flowers best in spring.
Secret Shore: Smuggling and Folklore in Sussex and Hampshire, by Chris Hare, published 23 November 2016 (South Downs Society, ISBN-13: 9780995612419) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries
Abstract:Two hundred years ago the coast of Sussex and Hampshire were alive with the illegal activities of local smuggling gangs. In this book, Chris recounts the real events of those days including the bloody confrontations that frequently took place between the smugglers and the authorities.
This book also delves into the folklore of the south coast and contrasts a survey of local superstitions carried out by pioneering folklorist, Charlotte Latham in Sussex in 1868, with the findings of the Secret Shore folklore survey carried out in 2015.
The results may surprise you, as a good deal of the old beliefs in ghosts, omens and witchcraft, continue to linger in the 21st century.
This book also delves into the folklore of the south coast and contrasts a survey of local superstitions carried out by pioneering folklorist, Charlotte Latham in Sussex in 1868, with the findings of the Secret Shore folklore survey carried out in 2015.
The results may surprise you, as a good deal of the old beliefs in ghosts, omens and witchcraft, continue to linger in the 21st century.
A South Downs Year: Creation of the Slindon Stone: The Sculptor's Journal, by John Edgar, published 5 December 2016 (76 pp., Hesworth Press, ISBN-10: 0955867525 & ISBN-13: 9780955867521) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries
Abstract:The diary of an artistic process behind a stone sculpture worked on site over 14 months. Old maps and local history pertaining to Arundel, Slindon and the wider South Downs National Park.
Traditional Homes of the South Downs National Park: An Introduction , by Annabelle F. Hughes, published 1 December 2016 (86 pp., Sussex Archæological Society, ISBN-10: 0904973263 & ISBN-13: 9780904973266)
Churches and Chapels of the South Downs National Park, by David Parsons and Robin Milner-Gulland, published 16 January 2017 (137 pp., Sussex Archæological Society, ISBN-10: 0904973271 & ISBN-13: 9780904973273) accessible at: S.A.S. library
The South Downs Way, published (no date) (leaflet, Contryside Commission) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 7415]