TRIP to DITCHLING

Welcome to Ditchling! Set under the Downs and the Ditchling Beacon it's a surprizingly busy little place with a huge number of survived Tudor period architecture.

There are various stories about a witch or witches in Ditchling. The area is a mystical place. In one story the witch had the power to turn into a Hare, which she did one night but was attacked by a group of men with dogs and bitten on the leg before escaping by jumping through the window of her cottage. The next morning she was seen nursing her leg,. The witch could magically stop carts which passed her cottage. No matter how hard the horses pull, the cart would go nowhere until the witch let it go or the spell was broken by various means. 

"The men 'ud beat the hosses an' they'd pull an' they'd tug, but the waggon wouldn't move, an' the ol' witch 'ud come out a-laughin' an' a-jeerin' at 'em, an' they couldn't get on till she let 'em. But there wor a carter wot knew, an' he guessed he'd be even wid the ol' witch, so he druv he's waggon before her door, an' then it stopped, an' the horses they tugged, an' they pulled, an' they couldn't move it nohow, an' he heard this ol' witch a-laughin' in the cottage. Then this carter what knew, he took out a large knife an' he cuts notches on the spokes, an' there wor a screechin' an' a hollerin' inside, an' out come the ol' witch a-yellin' an' sloppin' blood, an' for every notch on the spokes there wor a cut on her fingers." 

Norman Triangular Carved Arch

Ditchling is also the location for Wing Place, another of Anne of Cleves' homes. given to her by Henry VIII upon their agreed divorce. The original name of the house was Ditchling Garden Manor, reflecting its position as the manor house of the estate of that name. It later became known as Wings Place. Like the property in Lewes, she never occupied it.  After her death in 1557, it was given back to the royal family, then given as a dowry to Henry Poole on his marriage to Margaret Neville, daughter of the Lord of the Manor. Henry Poole died on 28th March 1580. It's privately owned.Lucky ducks! 

These villages are always framed by the rolling green Downs as if they're being cradled in their protection. It gives them a warmth they wouldn't otherwise have.

'Blackdog Hill' is named for the haunting specter of a headless black dog . The path that runs diagonally over the hill points directly towards the next village and Westmeston Church and may be the remains of an old 'Corpse Way' or 'Coffin Road' along which the dead were taken along a straight line to be buried. A black dog is seen in folklore  as a protector of the dead. Or maybe he lost his master.

Tea time and lunch! This was a wonderful place, a warren of small rooms with truly old beams, a gas fire in a little hearth, low ceilings and chatty locals . You have to get off the trail and see the world too.