East Sussex
Jonathan Scott returns to Sussex by the sea to survey the genealogical horizon
Our visit to East Sussex coincides with the national mood going in two directions – cautious optimism that we are over the worst, clashing with autumnal anxiety of a potential second wave amid retightening social restrictions. With all this in mind, it’s worth emphasising that family historians should check that any museum, library or record office they intend to visit is open for business before setting off, and make allowances for booking an appointment in advance and longer-than-usual response times to online queries.
We caught up with Brighton and Hove archivist Andrew Bennett, who reports that staff at The Keep – the home of the East Sussex Record Office collection, the city’s local-history and museum collections, and the University of Sussex’s Special Collections – were kept very busy throughout lockdown.
“We have been able to do a lot of listing work from scanned images of original documents,” Andrew says. “This has enabled us to improve catalogue descriptions for some collections that were previously either poorly listed or not listed at all. These include casebooks of surgeons at the Sussex County Hospital (now the Royal Sussex), which provide detailed descriptions of treatments that were given to patients – a fascinating source for both family and medical historians.
“We’ve tried to keep as engaged as possible with our visitors and have had quizzes, regular blog posts and various socialmedia projects. And our building manager was coming in regularly to check on the building, and ensure that its contents were safe throughout.”
Digital Outreach
Digital projects include an online exhibition called ‘History of Brighton in 100 Documents’, which is running for the whole of 2020 ( twitter.com/hashtag/ HoB100?src=hashtag_click) and was planned before the pandemic. Andrew reports that it has proved to be an excellent way of keeping engaged with researchers and historians during the period of closure. Staff have also been promoting an ‘Archive of the
Month’, aiming to highlight either an underused source or an archive that has particular resonance with current events. You can, for example, read about work on the 18th-century letters of John Collier of Hastings, which cover subjects such as smallpox ( bit.ly/ keep-collier-pox) and the wreck of the East Indiaman Amsterdam
( bit.ly/keep-collier-amsterdam).
The remains of the vessel can still be seen on the beach at Bulverhythe at low tide.
Staff are currently in the process of transcribing the register to plans from Brighton Borough Council’s surveyors’ department. “This series was rarely used, as the register was compiled chronologically with no alphabetical index,” Andrew says. “Consequently you could only find the appropriate plan if you knew exactly when the building was erected. The series starts in the mid-1930s and contains, among other things, many
entries ‘We’ve added about 27,000 registers’ to the catalogue from parish
interesting plans for provision of air-raid protection during the Second World War.”
The East Sussex records most used by family historians are, of course, the parish registers. Several years ago a group of volunteers transcribed dozens of registers from all over the county. However, this information was in a spreadsheet, and the task of migrating the data over to the online catalogue proved both challenging and time-consuming.
“We’ve added about 27,000 new entries to the catalogue which record baptisms, marriages and burials across the county,” Andrew reveals. “Given that many of these entries have more than one name, I’d estimate that
1862
After four years of digging in dire conditions, Woodingdean Well finally reaches water. At a staggering 1,285 feet, it is the deepest hand-dug well in the world.
1902
Gilbert Sackville, the 8th Earl De La Warr, hosts Britain’s first automobile races in Bexhill.
1902
Author Rudyard Kipling and his wife Caroline buy the 17th-century sandstone house Bateman’s in Burwash. She bequeaths the house to the National Trust.
1952
Filming of about enthusiasts participating in the annual London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, begins in Sussex. The film is released the following year, and the event continues to this day.