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Cuckfield Brides 1885-2010

Cuckfield Museum is celebrating the royal wedding with a display of our own Cuckfield brides over the years. We have six wedding dresses with a Cuckfield connection. The three oldest come from our collection and we have been lent three.

The oldest is from 1885 when Mary Ann Gander of Paynes Place Farm married Henry Burt of Barnsnape Farm, Broxmead Lane. The couple were at the farm for over 60 years. The dress has a tiny fitted waist and a little peplum flounce and is brown which was typical of the time - white or cream grew in popularity after the wedding of Queen Victoria in 1840 but was only worn by the wealthy - otherwise the dress would very likely have been worn again for Sunday best.

Our most recent dress was worn by Helen Burgess last year at her wedding. It was worn for a Humanist celebration of marriage to Matthew Hodson (after the registry office ceremony) - which makes it very different from our other weddings which were all in church. Helen lived in Cuckfield from the age of 2, firstly in Deaks Lane and then Courtmead Road. The dress was worn at Knepp Castle.

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The Cuckfield Royal Observer Corps Display

The recent display on The Royal Observer Corps attracted much interest. The ROC opened a post in Cuckfield in 1925, close to the church. The post was manned throughout WW2, day and night and in all weathers, tracking enemy aircraft as they flew in across the Downs. It was part of Britain's first line of defence from air attack.

The post continued to operate after the war and with the advent of the Cold War the underground nuclear bunker was constructed. During this period the central role of the ROC was to serve as a warning system for nuclear attacks and to monitor the fall out pattern afterwards. The underground post was closed in 1991, at the end of the Cold War. Recently it has been carefully restored by two enthusiasts, Mark Russell and Ed Combes, to show its operational status as it would have been around 1980. It was opened to the public for the first time last summer and more open days are planned in future.

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The Jenner Display

The ephemera of a lifetime was recently on display at the Cuckfield Museum. The Jenners were a well established local family and under the terms of the will of Mary Jenner, who died earlier this year, the museum were offered some fascinating items. The family lived in their home in Cuckfield for over 80 years, buying the house in 1929 for the princely sum of £507.

They were obviously people who cared for their belongings and threw very little, if anything, away so that we have a unique record of a Cuckfield household which supported the local community, where simple toys were cherished and useful items kept to hand on to the next generation. There is something very poignant about seeing all these items that we all remember so well.

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Forthcoming Events

Tuesday 4th June 2013

Cuckfield Museum Talk
'THE MASS OBSERVATION ARCHIVE AT SUSSEX UNIVERSITY'. Our speaker, Prof Dorothy Sheridan, was Director and Archivist of the Mass Observation Archive from 1974 to 2010 and remains as a Trustee and consultant. She was instrumental in reviving the project in 1961 as a written record of thoughts and reactions to everyday events by people in all walks of life providing a fascinating and valuable social history begun just before the start of World War II. Venue: The Council Chamber, Queen's Hall. Price: £3 for Museum members, £4 for non members. To book please contact Ann Went on events@cuckfieldmuseum.org or 450982. Our events are often over-subscribed so please book early. If you have booked a place but are then unable to attend, please also contact Ann as we usually hold a waiting list.

Time: 2.30pm