HURSTPIERPOINT MARCHANT MEETING

Friday 22nd - Tuesday 26th May in Hurstpierpoint,

West Sussex, United Kingdom

As usual this long weekend will be hosted by Hurst History Study Group and Mid-Sussex Roots.

HHSG is dedicated purely to local family history whereas the affiliated MSR is dedicated to the extended Marchant family and has some 400 members mainly in the UK and ex Colonies.

If you want more information about this event, accommodation and costs please contact our chairman (HHSG & MSR) at

msr.abower@live.de

Please do not use any other email address shown on the website as this is now defunct.

Even if you are (not yet) a member you are welcome to attend if you have any connection or suspicion thereof.

To keep costs low I will be hosting buffet dinners (at cost price) in my home which is in a cul-de-sac in the middle of Hurst opposite the New Inn. Meals will be provided at lunchtime and evenings.

The evening buffets are open end and important as this is where ideas and friendships are hatched. We have one interesting subject this year as we are about to embark on an attempt to connect the Ardingly and Hurst Marchants to each other through a DNA test. This is already funded by a small group but further voluntary contributions would be welcome.

This year we are trying to take some of the stress out of the planning so the following events are not set in stone and you are invited to comment and/or make further suggestions. Some will be guided others suggestions of what you can do in any free time. We try to provide a broad spectrum to cover all interests.

Hurst Church and Graveyard

Sunday Church Service

Old photo exhibition in library on Saturday where you can also view our small affiliated museum. Donations of artefacts or documents etc would be welcome.

Guided tour of Hurst

Visit to our ancestral home of Little Park if extremely friendly owners agree

Guided tour, lecture and tea hosted by Richard Burrows at Danny House where he will give us another of his fascinating lectures.

Various walks up Wolstonbury Hill, Chanctonbury Ring, Ditchling Beacon.

Guided tours of Ditchling plus museum, Cuckfield and its museum.

Lewes with its mathematically wooden framed tiled buildings

Lindfield

Pub crawl of some of the picturesque pubs in the area

Visit Friars Oak Pub at Stone Pound. We are related to the Shelleys – he was a regular here and ran away with the barmaid.

Sunday lunch at the Victory Pub in Staplefield

Horsham (possibly guided) and Warnham

During the weekend you will have the opportunity of perusing and buying one or more of our local history publications which include:

A Fine Day in Hurstpierpoint - the Diary of Thomas Marchant

Editor: Anthony Bower This publication is also available in CD Rom format. Please contact Anthony Bower at abbo700@hotmail.com

 

Daisy - Growing up in a Sussex Village 1897-1919

Editor: Peter Berresford Ellis The book costs £10.99

 

Hurstpierpoint - kind and charitable

Editor: Ian Nelson The book costs £12.50 plus p&p This publication is also available in CD Rom format.

 

Over the Hills and Far Away - A Hurstpierpoint Soldier in Wellington's Army

Author: Peter Berresford Ellis The book costs £5.95

 

To be Larned not Washed Hurstpierpoint School
Three centuries of village education

Author: Ian Nelson (former Governor)   The book costs: £12.50

 

The Weekes Diaries

Editor: Ian Nelson with genealogical notes by Anthony Bower The book costs: £10.00

 

Frederick Weekes Diary 1837-1852

Joint editors: Ian Nelson and Anthony Bower. The book costs : £10.00

 

History of Hurst / Lords and Families / Slight Sketch

Editor: Anthony Bower These three old, out-of-print histories of Hurstpierpoint are being re-published in co-operation with West Sussex Library. We do not expect this book to be ready by May

 

Suffragettes Author: Frances Stenlake, formerly curator of Cuckfield Museum Price not yet known

All the above publications are still in print and are constantly updated by our researchers. We do not have many of them so expect to be coerced!

You should also pop into the Minthouse Bookshop where you will find other local history books.

 

 

 

Hurst History Study Group / Mid Sussex Roots

At last I am back online and looking forward to new interaction with all you members (and non-members if anybody is interested in our work).

In the last 4 weeks I have resettled in the UK and will ultimately find a home in the Haywards Heath area.

My car accident in February 2007 in Twineham has taken its toll on my health but I am now making rapid progress.

Before we embark on more new research I feel we have to consolidate and that our priorities should be:

1.    to finish the transcribing and proof-reading of the Borrer Diary where we are only a few frustrating chapters from completion. It is not the easiest writing to decipher and his writing varies over the years.
Nevertheless it is an important document as it gives a   different view to the conventional history book. If we do not complete our task we lose an important contribution.

Now all we need are volunteers. You, you and you!

2.    We have promised the West Sussex Library that        we will help reconstruct three short books  about
       Sussex. Most of the work is already done. All we           need is a dedicated person to finalise the text
       and insert the pictures provided.   

  Finally we need one or two proofreaders. In all this    project is our easiest.

3.     We have a couple of very short diaries already      transcribed and describing our ancestors leaving  Sussex for Australia. All we need here are a couple of historians who can research the reasons for their leaving Sussex and their life afterwards – if possible making family links up to the present day. A fairly easy task.

4.    The first diary we transcribed was that of our

    18th Century forbear, Thomas Marchant, some        years ago.  Some research has already been done      and integrated in italics into the diary itself.   

However there is a lot more important data to

    research and annotate. This job just demands

    tenacity and will be fun for the lucky volunteer.

I have certainly omitted some jobs here but will publish them to the website shortly.

Enjoy the rest of the UK Summer / New World Winter