Slightly off message. Just back from a break in the rural idyll that is Dallington, High Weald, East Sussex. Definitely an “Area of Outstanding Natural beauty” (AONB).We hired a “Cottage” (a converted cattery!) at the end of a “no through” road, next to stables and a forest, as well as the start of 5 public footpaths. We could look out of our living room window and see horses and from the kitchen window we could see wild deer. During the day we would go for lovely walks and in the evening, a 10 minutes stroll would take us to the local 14th century village pub (The Swan) for a pint (or so) of Sussex Best bitter. On route we would see more wild deer, foxes and even on one occasion, two badgers scurrying away down the road.
In London we live in a flat is outside a main road. There is constant traffic day and night. In our temporary Sussex home we saw 2 cars moving in that lane in the 5 days we were there.
Perfect break for Londoner’s in half term you might say. Of course not everything in Sussex is sweetness and light. In the cottage was a local history book about the parish which I found fascinating. The peace, quiet and solitude of the local countryside which we now find so attractive was not always so. In the middle of the 19th century the booklet estimated that there were about 100 farms in the parish. Although the vast majority of these farms were very small, less than 10 acres, most of them would have supported a large family. The few large estates would have a number of labourers and their families. When the booklet was published some 10 years ago there were only 5 farms in the entire Parish. Now, there are probably even less. So, a hundred years and so in this village there would have been large numbers of farming communities as well as local shop keepers, blacksmiths etc. Each of the quaint cottages that are now mainly owned by commuters or retired city folk, use to house 2 or more families. Such a way of life was of course doomed.
Incredibly also in 1943, in this remote and tranquil place, a German aircraft, dropped a bomb that destroyed 3 homes. No-one was hurt. These homes were immediately in front of our holiday cottage.
In the village net link there is a discussion about the tradition that someone originally from Dallington was a USA cavalry trooper who was killed while taking part in “Custer’s Last stand”.
If it is true that Trooper Timothy Donnelly, who died at Little Big Horn, was originally from Dallington, then no doubt the village will claim him as a long lost son. However, the main reason why his family emigrated to America from Sussex in the first place would be simply due to rural poverty and depopulation. The real reason why our countryside is now so green, quiet and peaceful.
