Hailsham Town News

HAILSHAM REMEMBRANCE SERVICE to remember and honour those who have lost their lives serving their country, as well as civilians who have been affected by conflict will be held at Hailsham Parish Church on Sunday 8 November at 9.30am, led by the parish clergy. Local councillors, veterans, Armed Forces representatives, families and local organisations will be among those attending.

Following the service, participants will make their way to the parade assembly point in the car park next to the Charles Hunt Centre in Vicarage Field. The parade will form from 10.35am, with those taking part asked to arrive by 10.20am and report to the Parade Master.

The Act of Remembrance and formal wreath-laying ceremony will take place at the War Memorial at 11am, including the Last Post and two minutes’ silence. Members of the public are warmly encouraged to attend and stand alongside those taking part to pay their respects.

After the ceremony, attendees will be invited back to Hailsham Parish Church for hot refreshments, continuing a valued tradition that provides an opportunity for the community to come together following the service.

Hailsham High Street and Vicarage Lane will be closed to traffic from approximately 9.30am until 12.30pm to help ensure the event can take place safely.

Poppies are now available in both the Quintins Centre and Tesco foyer most days between 8am and 2pm.

 VOICES IN HARMONY is a combining of the Hailsham and Eastbourne Community Pop Choirs on Saturday 7 November at 7.30pm. Performing together at The Winter Garden in Eastbourne to raise funds for the East Sussex Wildlife Rescue Ambulance Service, your attendance will be helping the charity continue its vital work rescuing and caring for injured, sick and orphaned wildlife across the local area.

Around 150 singers will join forces for their second collaborative performance when the audience can look forward to an uplifting programme of popular songs. Tickets cost between £7 and £14, plus online booking fees where applicable, and are available to purchase online at www.eastbournetheatres.co.uk or call 01323 412000 or in person from the Welcome Building box office. The concert will run for approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes, including an interval.

 ADJUSTING TO A DEMENTIA DIAGNOSIS is the subject of a talk at Bowes House Care Home, 25 Battle Road, Hailsham on Tuesday 10 November from 2 to 4pm. This is a free event and open to all. Dementia specialist Barbara Stephens share insights into how your journey with dementia might unfold following a diagnosis and how to live positively whether you or a loved one has been diagnosed with dementia, you would be very welcome to attend.

There will be complimentary refreshments and cake. You can register your interest by email at [email protected] or call 0333 434 3091.

 FRIDAY MARKET AND BOOT FAIR continues to run every Friday attracting more sellers each week as we go into winter. If you are looking to buy Christmas presents responsibly and are looking for pre-loved, good as new, recycled or just plain useful gifts, come along and see what the sellers have on their tables for you. The market and boot fair is getting busier by the week as people discover the only boot fair around that continues to trade through the winter months. There are plenty of stalls selling pre-loved and useful items as well as new and unused and trade market sellers. This boot fair runs all year round on hardstanding and only closes for Christmas week. The table fee is only £8 payable once you unpack. Buyers can enter from 7am to 1pm at the Cattle Market site, Market Street, along with the Market Café serving traditional breakfasts and light lunches.

 HAILSHAM CHORAL CHRISTMAS CONCERT is on Saturday 12 December at 4pm at Hailsham Parish Church. A seasonal programme, this concert will combine traditional Christmas favourites with more contemporary musical selections. The performance will be conducted by Barbara Edwards, accompanied by William Hancox. A retiring collection will be held during the event in aid of St Wilfrid’s Hospice. For further information about the concert and tickets, visit hailshamchoral.org/.

 SUSSEX BONFIRE TRADITION can be confusing for those that are new to the County or just generally bonfire bewildered. Local historian and author, Nicola Walker reminds us of what this tradition of processing through the Sussex Towns with torches by its townsfolk supported by surrounding Bonfire Societies every weekend from the beginning of September through to mid-November is all about.

If you are Sussex born and bred, you have probably grown up with the county bonfire traditions but others may be somewhat confused about it. If you are unsure about what it all means and why it is so important here is the history of what and why.

Bonfire and torchlight processions are a strong and long-standing tradition in East Sussex, steeped in history. Nearly forty community ‘societies’ celebrate annually during the Autumn months, getting together to parade through the streets, some go back to the C19th.

Remembrance of the infamous gunpowder plot is at the root of the tradition of course but here it has developed into something broader. Sussex bonfire particularly remembers those dissenters from our communities who were executed for steadfastly refusing to renounce their Protestant faith. There were over 280 documented martyrs burned alive in England during the reign of ‘Bloody Mary’, a shocking and barbaric punishment that served as a warning to others who did not conform.

There were 17 Protestant martyrs who were burned to death in Lewes High Street from 1555 to 1557. All 17 had been born during King Henry VIII’s reign and had seen much change in how they could practice their worship to God.

Having enjoyed hearing the words of the Bible read in English for the first time and of church services in English, many were reluctant to follow Queen Mary’s edict that the church should go back to Roman Catholicism and for the Latin services, rituals and routines to be restored.

Those martyred locally were Richard Woodman, who employed over a hundred men local to Warbleton producing iron. He was identified as a Protestant when he accused the Vicar of Warbleton of turning ‘head to tail and preaching contrary to what he had before’ following the accession of Queen Mary, who had returned the country to Catholicism. Richard initially escaped capture, fleeing to France but returned voluntarily to be imprisoned alongside one of his employees, George Stevens. It is thought that he was initially held in the Warbleton church tower before transferring to Lewes. Although he put forward a strong defence, Richard and George were condemned and burned in Lewes on 22nd June 1557.

Also executed were Thomas Miles of Hellingly - a cleric at St Peter and St Paul Parish Church.

Alexander Hosman, William Maynard and Thomasina Wood, William’s servant. Dennis Burgess Of Buxted. Ann Ashdown of Rotherfield, a married woman. Margery Morris and her son James of Heathfield. Local memorials stand in Mayfield, The ‘White Chapel’ graveyard at Chapel Cross and in the graveyard at St Mary the Virgin Church, Warbleton. A reminder of times before religious tolerance. “When William Maynard, his maid and man, Margery Morris and her son, Dennis Burgess, Stevens and Woodman, Groves wife and Ashdon’s to death were done, When one fire at Lewes brought them to death, We wished for our Elizabeth” (written in 1559).

Steve Thomas Chairman of the Heathfield District Bonfire Society explained that this Society carries two burning crosses on their night. If you look carefully James and Marjorie Morris have their names on the poles. Also, their banner only has two torches in the top (unlike many) in recognition to the Heathfield martyrs, and finally the two cuckoos on their banner or crest are to represent James and Marjorie.

 PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN actor, Jonathan Linsley, has been invited to switch on the lights at 6pm at the Hailsham Christmas Lights Switch-on event in Vicarage Field, on Friday 27 November in his pirate costume. Best known for his role as 'Crusher' Milburn in the popular TV series Last of the Summer Wine, he has appeared in various films and TV shows, including Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and At World's End.