‘In an Old House’ The life and times of a Sussex yeoman’s farmstead and its people 1500-1700

On behalf of Friends of the Keep Archive ‘ (Fotka) The life and times of a Sussex yeoman’s farmstead and its people 1500-1950 This copiously illustrated account shows how 1, Coppard’s Bridge, Chailey – a late medieval hall house – revealed its secrets and the lives of its occupants over five centuries. Research included above-ground building recording, scouring the archives, and a little archaeology. Questions remain: did Agemond of Eckington (Ripe) hold the land at Domesday? Did Charlie Thorn, employed deep in Newick’s Royal Observer Corps nuclear bunker (one of 1,500 underground posts until 1968) ever get a 5-minute warning? Peter’s talk cheerfully mixes the results of meticulous research with glimpses of characters from Coppard’s past. Peter, a FoTKA member, is also a member of the Wealden Buildings Study Group and former committee member of the Vernacular Architecture Group. His published articles include ‘From trees to timbers: a comparative study of timber quantities in houses’ VA 46(2015). He and his late wife Sally published In An Old House: The 500-year history of a Sussex yeoman’s farmstead and its people, Pomegranate Press (2017). He is currently researching the fabric and fittings of St Thomas à Becket Church, Cliffe, Lewes.

The Magic of Pantomime

Brighton & Hove Meeting Centre

Pantomime is an enduring and peculiarly British institution, yet its beginnings go back a very long way and are in fact anything but British!  In his talk, Ian Gledhill looks at the origins of panto and examines many of the traditions (and superstitions) that have become attached to it over the years, interspersed with personal anecdotes from years of working and appearing in pantomime.