Picture Postcard Parade: High Hurst Wood, Buxted

This is my latest bargain buy from eBay, a view of High Hurstwood in the parish of Buxted, Sussex. It hasn’t been used, and there is no publisher or photographer named.

This is the sort of view that I think of as typical of the Sussex countryside, gently rolling hills, well not really hills more slopes. It is criss-crossed with hedgerows, some hiding roads and tracks others just providing boundaries.

Of course if I take off my rose-tinted glasses, I can see that the Sussex landscape is much more varied, and many of the hedgerows have now gone.

I have spent sometime looking at a map trying to pick out some of the features on this card, but the only feature I can pick out is Holy Trinity Church. It is over on the left-hand side just below the skyline, fortunately it is quite a distinctive shape (see my post from High Hurstwood last year).

If I can get hold of an older map I will probably be able to identify some of the other buildings, but based on the position of the church it appears that most of my ancestors homes are too far to the left to be in the picture.

My latest postcard: Bolney Church

This wonderful card is the latest addition to my postcard collection, just arrived today from an eBay seller, the church of St Mary Magdalene, Bolney, Sussex.

St Mary Magdalene, Bolney, Sussex

There are too many of my ancestors connected with this church to list them all, but several generations of GASSONs and WALDERs were baptised and married here, and of course many of them buried here as well.

The card was posted in Bolney, but the date is not easy to read, it looks like 1915, but I can’t be sure. It was sent to Master H. Holden (possibly Hobden) of 111 Church Road, Burgess Hill, Sussex by his father. The simple message reads “We are having a nice walk about here this afternoon”.

A postcard of Cowfold Church and Cemetery

I couldn’t resist this postcard on eBay, especially as it sold for a bargain price. The original has some damage to the corners (most of which I have airbrushed out) but it is still a very nice card, although not that rare because I have seen other examples of the same card for sale.

Cowfold Church and Cemetery, Sussex

The whole postcard appears to be at a slight angle, or perhaps it is an optical illusion. I just love the contrast between the crisp white gravestones and weathered grey stone of the church building. The postcard was not used, but I would estimate the date around 1910, possibly slightly earlier.

The view is not quite the same today, in fact it would be quite hard to see much of the church at all from the same position, such is the amount of growth along the hedge in front of the church. I will try and get an up to date photo from the same position so you can see what it is like now.

My connection with this postcard is not in the cemetery itself (at least I haven’t found anyone yet), but rather with the church. My 8x great grandparents John TROWER and Mary MERCER were married there on the 20th May 1656, at least I think they are my ancestors, things get a little unclear going that far back!