Bibliography - History: {1837-1901} - Victorian
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East Bourne Memories of the Victorian Period, 1845 to 1901, and some other things of interest, divers and sundry, by George F. Chambers, F.G.R.S., published 1910 (xv + 304 pp., Eastbourne: V. T. Sumfield) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 12348] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries   View Online

Eighty years reminiscences of Brighton, Hove and district, by Frederick John Ogburn, published 1914 (21 pp., Brighton: T. Phillips) accessible at: The Keep [AMS6850/1/51]

Settlement in Sussex, 1840-1940, by W.H. Parker, published March 1950 in Geography (vol. 35, no. 1, article, pp.9-20)

Three Sussex ports, 1850-1950, by H.C. Brookfield, published 1955 in Journal of Transport History (vol. 2, no. 1, article, p.35)

The established church and the education of the Victorian middle classes: a study of the Woodard Schools, 1847-1891, by W. B. D. Heeney, 1962 at Oxford University (D. Phil. Thesis)

A Victorian Pipe Kiln in Lewes, by N. E. S. Norris, published 1970 in The Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology (vol. 4, article, pp.168-170)   View Online

Victorian and Edwardian Brighton from Old Photographs, by James S. Gray and John Betjeman, published 1972 (128 pp., Batsford Ltd., ISBN-10: 0713401192 & ISBN-13: 9780713401196) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/503784] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Victorian Sussex, by John Lowerson, published July 1972 (64 pp., BBC Books, ISBN-10: 0563122250 & ISBN-13: 9780563122258) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/500045] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

The West Brighton Estate: Hove. A Study in Victorian Urban Expansion, by Wliiam F. Pickering, published December 1972 in Sussex Industrial History (No. 5, article, pp.14-30) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16389/5] & The Keep [LIB/506524]   Download PDF

That part of Hove which was known as the West Brighton Estate lies between Church Road and the sea, from First Avenue to Fourth Avenue. Today, it is a comfortably dull district of architectural mediocrities in unco-ordinated styles. It is hard to recapture the enthusiasm of contemporaries for this 'Belgravia-sur-mer', praised for its 'magnificent avenues after the style of those in Berlin' and called the 'finest suburb in the parliamentary borough'. Yet this area set the pattern for the later development of Hove and was a symbol of civic pride in the period of Hove's most boastful self-awareness. It was a monument to status, respectability and quiet ostentation.
Hove is not part of Brighton, nor has it ever been. For long they were physically separated, and when the towns eventually grew together to form a single urban area, they remained apart in other ways. Throughout the 19th century, even after it had become an ordinary seaside resort town, Brighton retained something of its air of Regency rakishness. From the beginning, Hove saw itself as a contrast to Brighton, and cultivated the image of solid middle-class respectability it retains today.

Mid-Victorian Littlehampton: The Railway and the Cross-Channel Steamers, by John H. Farrant, published 1973 (Littlehampton Papers, No. 4, 27 pp., Littlehampton Urban District Council) accessible at: British Library

Victorian and Edwardian Sussex from Old Photographs, by James S. Gray, published 1973 (Batsford Ltd., ISBN-10: 0713401311 & ISBN-13: 9780713401318) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 12410][Lib 2750] & The Keep [LIB/500133] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Prints from the Past. Set 1: 19th Century Posters, by Kim C. Leslie, published 1974 (Chichester: West Sussex County Council) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

A Victorian Correspondent - John Wood, published September 1974 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 1 no. 6, article, pp.161-163) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 7965] & The Keep [LIB/501253] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

Extracts from a letter to his wife from John Wood (1793-1872) watchmaker of Littlehampton who emigrated to Canada in 1832 and returned to visit England in June 1861.

Victorian Horsham - The Diary of Henry Michell 1809-1874, edited by Kenneth Neale, published 1975 (Chichester: Phillimore & Co., ISBN-10: 0850332281 & ISBN-13: 9780850332285) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 6141] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Henry Michell's diary offers new insights into 19th-century Horsham. His attitudes and aspirations show the Victorian middle-class environment in which he lived. His interests ranged over the major issues of as well as upon subject matter of more immediate relevance to Sussex. The book will thus be of interest to historians and to a reading public that enjoys social history and biographical literature. The scope of the diary and Michell's life embraces the Corn Law controversy, the railway 'mania', the American Civil War, Parliamentary reform, and the Great Exhibition of 1851.

Cliftonville, Hove: A Victorian Suburb, by John Lowerson, published 1977 (Occasional paper; no. 6, 24 pp., Centre for Continuing Education, University of Sussex, ISBN-10: 0904242056 & ISBN-13: 9780904242058) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/502836] & East Sussex Libraries

Worthing's Victorian Churches, by D. R. Elleray, published September 1978 in West Sussex History, the Journal of West Sussex Archives Society (no. 11, article, p.2) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16404/11] & The Keep [LIB/500479]

The immediate impact of the Second Reform Act on a Southern county town: voting patterns at Lewes Borough in 1865 and 1868, by Colin E. Brent, published 1980 in Southern History (vol. 2, article, pp.129-177)

Victorian Lewes, by C. Brent and W. Rector, published 1 January 1980 (94 pp., Chichester: Phillimore & Co. Ltd., ISBN-10: 0850333555 & ISBN-13: 9780850333558) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/503442] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Crawley: Victorian New Town, edited by John Lowerson, published December 1980 (44 pp., Centre for Continuing Education, University of Sussex, ISBN-10: 0904242145 & ISBN-13: 9780904242140) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

The Religious Revival in Victorian Brighton, by Edward Elton Young Hales, published 1981 (Diocese of Chichester)

"An Undoubted Jewel": a case study of five Sussex country houses, 1880-1914, by P. Blackwell, published 1981 in Southern History (vol. 3, article, pp.183-200)

The five houses are Petworth House, Goodwood House, Brickwall [in Northiam], Ashburnham Place, and Coombe Place [in Hamsey].

The Victorian churches of Sussex: with illustrations and a check-list of churches and chapels erected during the years 1810-1914, by D. Robert Elleray, published 1 January 1981 (95 pp. & 208 photographs, Chichester: Phillimore & Co. Ltd., ISBN-10: 0850333784 & ISBN-13: 9780850333787) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 7742] & R.I.B.A. Library & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

The Anglo-Catholics and church extension in Victorian Brighton, by E. P. Hennock, published July 1981 in Studies in Sussex Church History (edited by M. J. Kitch, pp.173-188, London: Leopard's Head Press & The University of Sussex, ISBN-10: 0904920038 & ISBN-13: 9780904920031) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Victorian Prizewinners, by Lance Daniels, published September 1981 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 4 no. 9, article, pp.292-293) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8672] & The Keep [LIB/501256] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

Lifeboats and Shipwrecks at Victorian Brighton, by Judy Middleton, published 1982 (38 pp., published by the author) accessible at: & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Bells and smells': London, Brighton and south coast religion reconsidered, by W. N. Yates, published 1983 in Southern History (vol. 5, article, pp.122-153)

Gardens for a late-Victorian house: Standen, East Grinstead, West Sussex; Architects (1892): Philip Webb, gardens designed by G B Simpson, by Arthur Hellyer, published 28 April 1983 in Country Life (vol. 173 no. 4471, article, pp.1100-1102) accessible at: R.I.B.A. Library

Georgian and Victorian Broadwater, by Ronald Kerridge and Michael Standing, published 30 November 1983 (132 pp. & illus., Chichester: Phillimore & Co. Ltd., ISBN-10: 0850335116 & ISBN-13: 9780850335118) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8881][Lib 8850] & West Sussex Libraries

Augustus Hare, Victorian Gentleman, by Malcolm Barnes, published 1984 accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 10656]

The Victorian Society, Hampshire Group: North-West Sussex Tour, by T. P. Hudson, published 1984 (pamphlet) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9070]

Covers Wispers ('now St Cuthman's School'); King Edward VII Sanatorium, Midhurst; Lavington Park ('now Seaford College'); East Lavington Church; Little Thakeham ('now Little Thakeham Hotel'); West Lavington Church.

Trouble in the Groynes: The Hazards of Sea Bathing in Victorian Bognor, by Ron Iden, published December 1984 in Sussex Genealogist and Family Historian (vol. 6 no. 3, article, pp.84-88) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [MP 6277] & The Keep [LIB/501192] & CD SXGS from S.F.H.G.

Problem Families in Victorian Ringmer, by Margaret Diggle abd John Kay, published March 1985 in Sussex Genealogist and Family Historian (vol. 6 no. 4, article, pp.129-134) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [MP 6277] & The Keep [LIB/501192] & CD SXGS from S.F.H.G.

Excelsior! A Victorian cycling club, by John Grant, published May 1985 in West Sussex History, the Journal of West Sussex Archives Society (no. 31, article, p.13) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16404/31] & The Keep [LIB/500481]

Storrington in Georgian and Victorian Times, by Joan Ham, published 1987 (published by the author) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9942] & West Sussex Libraries

Richard Cobden: a Victorian Outsider, by Wendy Hinde, published 1 July 1987 (380 pp., Yale University Press, ISBN-10: 0300038801 & ISBN-13: 9780300038804) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 12732][Lib 9745] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Richard Cobden, one of the great figures of nineteenth-century English liberalism, had a career that touched on many aspects of Victorian life and thought. This new biography by Wendy Hinde is the first to be based on a thorough study of his letters and papers. Hinde's life of Cobden focuses on his fascinating career and his singular personality. She describes how, with his friend John Bright, he became the successful leader of the seven year campaign to repeal the corn laws, which removed protective tariffs from domestic agricultural goods and brought the working man within reach of a decent standard of living. For this achievement Cobden won both national and international fame. However, a few years later he forfeited his immense popularity by his outright opposition to the Crimean War. Because he insisted that the British should stop interfering in the affairs of other countries, he was characterized as unpatriotic and as an advocate of peace at any price. Then, after he had urged England to emulate America's peaceful progress, the United States became involved in its Civil War - a shattering blow to Cobden. The last years of his life were clouded by domestic tragedy, ill health, and his growing frustration at his country's apparent lack of interest in further reform. However, he had one final success when he negotiated, on behalf of a British government in which he had refused office, a treaty that brought down the tariff barriers between England and France. Hinde captures Cobden's character - his personal charm, courage and single-mindedness, intellectual liveliness, and the lack of self ambition - and argues convincingly that he was one of the most original and attractive figures in the pantheon of English politics. Her subtle and sympathetic biography of Cobden brings this eminent Victorian statesman to life. Wendy Hinde worked on 'The Economist' and was editor of 'International Affairs'. She is the author of distinguished biographies of two other nineteenth-century statesmen, George Canning and Castlereagh.

Moderate Moresque beside the sea: the Victorian visions of Brighton exhibition, by Clive Aslet, published 23 July 1987 in Country Life (vol. 181 no. 30, article, pp.92-93)

A Sorry Saga of Victorian Times, by Gillian Bedingfield née Thunder, published December 1987 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 7 no. 7, article, pp.282-283) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 10461] & The Keep [LIB/501259] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

George and Elizabeth Thunder had two sons, Nahum and George. They were in and out of the workhouse. George deserted the family and Elizabeth spent time in jail for thievery. Young George emigrated to American. Nahum stayed in Sussex. Article covers the years 1849 - 1866 in the parish of Hailsham

Victorian Photographs, by Robert Hull, published December 1988 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 8 no. 4, article, p.168) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 10736] & The Keep [LIB/501260] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

includes a portrait of William Hull circa 1880

Early Victorian Ditchling, by Richard Morley, published 1989 (16 pp., Ditchling Museum) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/502644] & British Library & West Sussex Libraries

Who were the Brunswick Town Commissioners? A Study of a Victorian Urban Ruling Elite 1830-1873, by Michael Ray, published 1989 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 127, article, pp.211-228) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 10604] & The Keep [LIB/500302] & S.A.S. library

Victorian Census 1801-1891, by Kim Leslie, published 1991 (Chichester: West Sussex County Council) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

The Victorian Boarding School in a Suburb of an English Seaside Resort, by Michael Ray, published 1991 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 129, historical note, pp.255-258) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 11694] & The Keep [LIB/500295] & S.A.S. library

Victorian Bognor, by George Hothersall, published Spring 1991 in West Sussex History, the Journal of West Sussex Archives Society (no. 47, article, p.6) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16404/47] & The Keep [LIB/500483]

Victorian Village: The Diaries of the Reverend John Coker Egerton, curate and rector of Burwash, East Sussex, 1857-1888, by late John Coker Egerton and edited by Roger Wells, published 26 November 1992 (384 pp., Stroud: Sutton Publishing Ltd., ISBN-10: 0750902744 & ISBN-13: 9780750902748) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/503797] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

A letter from Richard Cobden to a friend, published October 1994 in Midhurst Magazine (Volume 7 Number 1, article, pp.13-16, Autumn 1994) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15968]

Letter written from Heyshott(his birthplace) by Richard Cobden in October 1850. Gives detailed information about rural life in mid 19th century Sussex. Reprinted from Horn and Hound magazine.

A Victorian Courtship, by J. A. Beaden, published December 1994 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 11 no. 4, article, pp.135-136) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 14878] & The Keep [LIB/501263] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

Cubitt Sparkhall Rundle's courtship of Sophia Sindall

Open fields and their disappearance in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries: the evidence from Sussex, by John Chapman and Sylvia Seeliger, published 1995 in Southern History (vol. 17, article, pp.88-97)

Life in Late Victorian Brighton, by William Ransom, published March 1995 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 11 no. 5, article, pp.167-170) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 14878] & The Keep [LIB/501263] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

Edited (by P. B. Evershed) extracts from notes written in 1962 about his early life in Brighton by William Ransom (1881-1967)

"Unwillingly to School" A Victorian Education, South Bersted Church School in the 19th Century, by Ron Iden, published 1997 (pamphlet, published by the author, ISBN-10: 0953089304 & ISBN-13: 9780953089307) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 13476] & West Sussex Libraries

A National Rejoicing (Tuesday 22 June 1897), by F J-D [Mrs D.V.F Johnson-Davies], published October 1997 in Midhurst Magazine (Volume 10 Number 1, article, pp.22-26, Autumn 1997) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15969]

Celebrations of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897, held in Cowdray Park. Includes copies of the programme of events.

A Victorian Village School [Harting], by B. A. Larkcom, published 1998 (pamphlet) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 13967]

The Emergence of modern Stool ball in mid-Victorian Sussex, by John Goulstone, published 1998 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 136, shorter article, pp.204-205) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 13921] & The Keep [LIB/500297] & S.A.S. library

Victorian Diary of Newick, Sussex, 1875-1899, by Tony Turk, published 1999 (215 pp., published by the author, ISBN-10: 0953696707 & ISBN-13: 9780953696703) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/503459] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Landownership in Victorian Sussex, by Brian Short, published 1 January 1999 in An Historical Atlas of Sussex (pp.98-99, Chichester: Phillimore & Co. Ltd, ISBN-10: 1860771122 & ISBN-13: 9781860771125) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 14026][Lib 18777] & The Keep [LIB/501686][LIB/508903] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

A Victorian Memorial Card, by Mrs. D. McIlveen, published March 2000 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 14 no. 1, article, p.3) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 14881] & The Keep [LIB/508823] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

"In Loving Memory of George Piper, second and beloved son of Charles and Clara Piper, Late Fore Cabin Steward of the steamship 'Paris' who was Drowned on the 3rd of May 1889, and while on a voyage from Dieppe to Newhave."

The Mysterious Victorian Memorial Card (Or was Charles really Caleb?), by Mrs. Helen Phillips, published June 2000 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 14 no. 2, article, pp.53-56) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 14881] & The Keep [LIB/508823] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.

Francis Frith's Victorian and Edwardian Sussex, by Martin Andrew, published September 2000 (128 pp., Frith Book Co. Ltd, ISBN-10: 1859371574 & ISBN-13: 9781859371572) accessible at: British Library & West Sussex Libraries

Re-presenting Fanny Cornforth: The makings of an historical identity, by Anne Drewery, Julian Moore and Christopher Whittick, published 2001 in British Art Journal (article, pp.3-15)

Fanny Cornforth (1835-1909), born Steyning, died Chichester, was both model and mistress of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, poet.

The Lewes Library Society in the Victorian Period, 1831-97, by Daniel Waley, published 2001 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 139, article, pp.187-190) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 14916] & The Keep [LIB/500292] & S.A.S. library   View Online

This article is a continuation of D. Waley and J. Goring, 'Lewes Library Society: the early years, 1785-1831', Sussex Archaeological Collections 138 (2000), 153-64. The Society encountered some financial difficulties in this period and slowly and reluctantly certain organizational changes were achieved, the principal one being the installation of a newsroom in 1857. In 1863 the Library moved as tenant to the newly built Fitzroy Memorial Library. In 1897 the Society was dissolved and the books were transferred to the corporation of Lewes under the terms of the Public Library Acts. This development was typical; except in a few major cities, subscription libraries no longer had a role since they had been superseded by municipal, commercial and academic libraries.

Women of Victorian Hastings, 1830 - 1870, by Helena Wojtczak, published 2002 (184 pp., Hastings Press, ISBN-10: 1904109020 & ISBN-13: 9781904109020) accessible at: British Library & East Sussex Libraries

Victorian West Sussex , by Chris Drake, Martin Hayes, Timothy McCann, Sue Millard and Caroline Adams, published 2002 (Local History Mini-Guide to Sources, No. 14, pamphlet, Chichester: West Sussex County Council, ISBN-10: 0862604966 & ISBN-13: 9780862604967) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 14733][Lib 14734][Lib 14735] & West Sussex Libraries

Pilfold Medwin: 'The Man of Horsham', a Victorian Gentleman, by Susan Cabell Djabri, published 2002 (Horsham Museum Society) accessible at: Horsham Museum Society

Power, paternalism, patronage and philanthropy: the Wyndhams and the new Poor Law in Petworth, by Spencer Thomas, published 2002 in Local Historian (vol. 32, no. 2, article, pp.99-117)

Notable Women of Victorian Hastings: Some Mini-biographies, by Helena Wojtczak, published 13 April 2002 (3rd edition, 87 pp., Hastings Press, ISBN-10: 1904109039 & ISBN-13: 9781904109037) accessible at: British Library & East Sussex Libraries

The English Seaside in Victorian and Edwardian Times, by John Hannavy, published 2003 (Shire Publications, ISBN-10: 0747805717 & ISBN-13: 9780747805717) accessible at: Eastbourne Heritage Centre & East Sussex Libraries

Women of Victorian Sussex: Their status, occupations and dealings with the law, by Helena Wojtczak, published 9 December 2003 (256 pp., Hastings Press, ISBN-10: 1904109055 & ISBN-13: 9781904109051) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Environmental politics, custom and personal testimony: memory and lifespace on the late Victorian Ashdown Forest, Sussex, by Brian Short, published July 2004 in The Journal of Historical Geography (vol. 30 issue 3, article, pp.470-495)   View Online

The late Victorian period witnessed a growing concern for, on the one hand, environmental protection, and on the other, the 'human fauna', with their vanishing folk heritage, living on the margins of a capitalist rural economy. In connection with the Ashdown Forest legal dispute (1876-1882) over the common rights in this ancient Forest area in the Weald of Sussex, the young solicitor William Augustus Raper interviewed over 100 elderly residents to collect evidence of 60 years' gathering of litter (bracken, heather, etc.). Their depositions reveal much about the ways in which local environmental politics were a constituent part of custom and economy on the Forest, and how such contested rights underpinned the more elite conservation movement at this time. Although gathered for a specific legal case, the evidence reveals much about the interrelations between late-Victorian peasant communities and their environments, but also much about the individuals, and their social, economic and spatial relations. The material is assessed for its relationship to similar 19th- and 20th-century sources and for its use within historical geography, and there is also a discussion of the potential and problems associated with the use of transcribed oral evidence and auto/biographical material more generally.

Early Victorian Alfriston, by W. H. Johnson, published August 2004 (110 pp., Downsway Books, ISBN-10: 0951856499 & ISBN-13: 9780951856499) accessible at: East Sussex Libraries

The Trail of the Serpent: The True Story of a Victorian Murder on the London-to-Brighton Railway Line, by James Gardner, published 18 November 2004 (192 pp., Pomegranate Press, ISBN-10: 0954258762 & ISBN-13: 9780954258764) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/502147] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

The Constables of Brighton and Reigate: William - the Photographer, Clair - the Town Clerk, by Claire Constable, published 2005 (xiii + 272 pp., Lewes: Book Guild Publishing Ltd., ISBN-10: 1846240050 & ISBN-13: 9781846240058) accessible at: British Library & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

This work presents a detailed picture of middle-class family life in mid-Victorian England, which is full of charm and wit and is almost without parallel. Claire Constable's happy discovery of the vast Constable family archive of letters and personal journals has allowed her to share this remarkable story of one of photography's pioneers. In the current digital age, when pictures are instant and disposable, it is hard to imagine the excitement that greeted the opening of William Constable's Photographic Institution in Brighton in 1841. However, the excitement was such that even Prince Albert and his brothers came to have their portraits made. Before taking up photography, William Constable's life had been far from dull. In 1806, William, his brother Daniel and their dog Frank went to America and travelled for two years. They covered thousands of miles, largely on foot, while writing letters home that vividly described the new world. The Constables of Brighton and Reigate also details William's nephew Clair James Grece who was also a pioneer, but in the field of local democracy.

Victorian Wadhurst - Glimpses of our Past, by Members of the Society, published 6 December 2005 (144 pp., Wadhurst History Society, ISBN-10: 0954580214 & ISBN-13: 9780954580216) accessible at: Wadhurst History Society & East Sussex Libraries

Explores the development of Wadhurst, local employment, turnpikes and street lighting, local churches, education, the blacksmiths, the railway and general life in Wadhurst from the late 1830s to the turn of the century.

John Hurst, Rector of Thakeham 1834-1881: a Victorian parson who behaved badly, by Spencer Thomas, published Autumn 2006 in West Sussex History, the Journal of West Sussex Archives Society (no. 75, article, p.4) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16404/75] & The Keep [LIB/500499]

What The Victorians Did For Sussex, by Roland Lewis, published 11 April 2007 (96 pp., Snake River Press, ISBN-10: 1906022046 & ISBN-13: 9781906022044) accessible at: R.I.B.A. Library & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Hay, hops and harvest: women's work in agriculture in nineteenth-century Sussex, by Nicola Verdon, published 19 April 2007 in Women's Work in Industrial England: Regional and Local Perspectives (edited by Nigel Goose, pp.76-96, Local Population Studies Society, ISBN-10: 0954162110 & ISBN-13: 9780954162115)

The Victorian Development of the Clifton, Montpelier and Powis Estates of Brighton, by Steve Myall, published 6 October 2008 (187 pp., Lewes: Pomegranate Press, ISBN-10: 0955900603 & ISBN-13: 9780955900600) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/508918] & British Library & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Victorian & Edwardian Sussex, by Aylwin Guilmant, published 13 November 2008 (Stroud: Amberley Publishing, ISBN-10: 1848680244 & ISBN-13: 9781848680241) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Over one hundred and fifty of the best photographic images from the turn of the twentieth century are reproduced here together with contemporary descriptions of Sussex folk and their lives. The textual images are complemented by the high-quality sepia photographs which combine to present the essence of the past lives of ordinary men and women in a county epitomized by the long line of the Downs, the dense woodland of the Weald, and the ever-changing coastline. The harmonious blend of pictures and voices creates a rich and evocative tapestry of life in Sussex. This is a book to fascinate and delight everyone who knows this historic land of the South Saxons. There could be no better expression of this bygone era for those, who like Rudyard Kipling, have a love of Sussex. God gives all men all earth to love, But since man's heart is small, Ordains for each one spot shall prove Beloved over all. Each to his choice, and I rejoice The lot has fallen to me In a fair ground - in a fair ground - Yea, Sussex by the sea!

The impact of the Georgians, Victorians and Edwardians on early parish churches: City of Brighton and Hove c.1680-1914, by Sue Berry, published 2011 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 149, article, pp.199-220) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 18614] & The Keep [LIB/500367] & S.A.S. library   View Online

In 1680, there were 12 medieval churches with parishes now wholly or partly within the boundaries of the City of Brighton and Hove. The parishes were Aldrington, Brighton, Falmer, Hangleton, Hove, Ovingdean, Patcham, Portslade, Preston, Rottingdean, Stanmer and West Blatchington (Fig. 1). The Georgians improved the condition of the ten churches that were in use in the early 18th century by undertaking modest repairs. They also added galleries and pews to some. From the mid 1830s the Victorians were far more radical. They re-ordered and extended four of these churches, heavily restored two without enlarging them, demolished and rebuilt four, and resurrected both the churches that had become ruins before 1680. The Victorians also removed much of the work undertaken by the Georgians. Further research will help us to understand the history of our medieval churches in Sussex during these periods, and clarify whether the range of approaches towards the care of churches found here is typical or not.

Christ's Hospital in the Victorian Era, by Ken Mansell, published March 2011 (440 pp., Christ's Hospital Museum & printed at Ashwater Press, ISBN-10: 0956256120 & ISBN-13: 9780956256126) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

A hardback book of 450 pages with nearly 100 illustrations, which tells the story of the 11,632 boys and girls who were admitted to CH during the reign of Queen Victoria and chronicles the rich history of the school during that period.

How Did Urban Population Growth in Newhaven (Sussex) Affect Employment Structure, Commerce and Trade During The Period 1837 to 1887, by Stanley Bernard, published 2012 accessible at: The Keep [LIB/501541]

Victoria's Diamond Jubilee (How We Celebrated), by John Surtees, published 2012 (booklet no. 33, East Dean & Friston Local History Group) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/509210] & East Dean & Friston Local History Group

How East Dean & Friston celebrated in 1897.

Death by Chocolate: The Serial Poisoning of Victorian Brighton, by Sophie Jackson, published 15 November 2012 (192 pp. + 16 pp. of plates, Stroud: Fonthill Media, ISBN-10: 1781551049 & ISBN-13: 9781781551042) accessible at: British Library & East Sussex Libraries

When a little boy dies from strychnine-poisoned chocolates, 1870s Brighton is thrown into panic. When more children are poisoned by sweets they find lying about the town and strange parcels of arsenic-laced cakes are sent to prominent residents the police step up the search for a serial poisoner. Who is determined to take revenge on the town? The story of Christiana Edmunds (1828-1907), a Brighton resident who in 1872 was tried at the Old Bailey for one murder and one attempted murder. She spent the rest of her life in Broadmoor.

News from Victorian Newhaven, by Stanley Bernard, published 15 July 2014 (93 pp., Paths - Peacehaven and Telscombe Historical Society, ISBN-10: 0953518671 & ISBN-13: 9780953518678) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/507950]

This book is split into two parts; changes in population and employment from 1841 to 1891 and newspaper stories, coronation of Queen Victoria, celebrations and crimes-perhaps rather too many of these! There is an excellent selection of old photos (many from Newhaven museum) and slides from a local collection. It is good to see so many Sussex names mentioned (Catt, Diplock, Elphick, Gorringe and Woolgar) and the appropriately named Mr Irons, secretary of the London and Brighton Railway and Continental Steam Packet Company. I was surprised that there were ferry services to Jersey as well as France. Clearly the coming of the railway in 1847 made a very big impact on the town. As well researched and presented as this book is, it is let down badly by multiple spelling and syntax errors. I suspect that it was not proof read and in this respect it represents poor value for money.

The foreword for this book states clearly that the Newhaven of Victorian times was a very different place to the Newhaven of the 21st century; the dynamism of the expanding 19th century port contrasting dramatically with the depressed economy of the present. Stanley Bernard has prepared this publication from his MA dissertation and has done a good service to the town, as any scholarly study of a community is to be welcomed, the more so as bright prospects are thin on the ground in Newhaven. The book is comprised of two sections, the first an overview of the community at the time of the 1841 census and how that community developed during the century, especially with the coming of the railway and the changes that occurred by the 1880s in terms of occupation and services. The various census returns have been closely studied and the often sparse information contained within them backed up with primary press comment and secondary material.
The second section - 'Victorian news' in the contents list, but 'Stories from the newspapers' in the text - takes the reader into events both national - the coronation of the Queen and local - a series of Victorian 'orrible murders'.
As befits the distillation of a dissertation, the references are full - five pages - and the publications and documents widely sourced, with some 'usual suspects' familiar to SAC - amongst them, Berry, Brandon and Brent! But also some period sources from less obvious publications - The Irish Monthly 1889 and Bristol Selected Pamphlets 1837. Following on from this wide ranging referencing there is a very full index, something often missing from similar self-publications.
There are indications here that this is indeed self-published, as it is crying out for a good proof reading; according to the acknowledgements this has been done - however there are passages of names that cry out for commas to break up the line of type, there are several mis-uses of words, e.g. ships do not flounder [a flatfish] but 'founder'; people do not emanate [issue from] the upper classes but 'emulate' them. The slim volume of 92 pages is copiously illustrated with 65 images but herein lies a problem, the images, both photographs and maps, are far too small and some are simply irrelevant; some needed a photographers 'eye' to crop the amount of modern road space or areas of foreground grass. Fewer images of larger size and of more relevance would have been beneficial.
As a supporter of Newhaven Conservation Trust and of the Newhaven Castle Hill Local Nature Reserve I fully welcome this useful addition to the town's oft-ignored history and one that should hopefully fire-up similar research into areas of Sussex urban life.

A Case of Mental Instability in Victorian Times, by Barry Farrant, published September 2015 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 21 no. 7, article, pp.318-322) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/508953]

This is a rather complicated story! It has a number of well researched facts and also much conjecture. Thomas Frederick SRATT was born at 1 Byron Street, Hove on 15th March 1887, the son of Thomas Saunders SPRATT and Eleanor Bertha SPRATT (née RIDGE). He was subsequently baptised at All Saints Church, Brighton on 21st August 1889 along with his sister Emily Grace SPRATT born at the same address in November 1888. Thomas Saunders SPRATT was a writing clerk.

Scandal & Family Secrets in Victorian & Edwardian Battle, by Gerry Glyde, published September 2016 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 22 no. 3, article, pp.137-141) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860] & The Keep [LIB/509265]

The Changing Parish Church: Sussex churches from Saxon to Victorian, by Sue Berry, published December 2016 in Sussex Past & Present (no. 140, article, pp.4-5, ISSN: 1357-7417) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/507923] & S.A.S. library

Southwater Victorians - Lives and Portraits, compiled by Patsy Laker, Joan Francis and Catherine Andrews, published c.2017 (170 pp., Southwater Local History Group) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

Scandal & Family Secrets in Victorian & Edwardian Battle, by Gerry Glyde, published March 2017 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 22 no. 5, article, pp.199-204) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860]

Country House Innovations: The Victorian & Edwardian country house in Sussex, by Sue Berry, published August 2017 in Sussex Past & Present (no. 142, article, pp.6-7, ISSN: 1357-7417) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/507923] & S.A.S. library

A Victorian Divorce, by Chris Page, published September 2017 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 22 no. 7, article, pp.319-325) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15860]