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Burnt Mill House (formerly Fernhurst - Morris family) and Reculver (formerly Ryderswells - Gilbert family), 33 and 36 London Road, Uckfield. By 2022 neither of the houses still had names.
Images and map by courtesy of Google.

A TALE OF TWO HOUSES IN LONDON ROAD, UCKFIELD

This is an account of the early days of two houses in London Road, Uckfield, whose histories were entwined for their first 20 or so years by family connections. Both built around the turn of the 19th / 20th centuries, they still stand today. One was originally named "Fernhurst", given the number 21 (later changed to 33), renamed "Burnt Mill House", but now reverted to "Fernhurst" again. The other was named "Ryderswells", given the number 30 (later changed to 36) and was renamed "Reculver" for a while, but now just No.36 London Road. Originally they were next to each other, but other houses have been built between them subsequently.

The link between these two houses is the Morris family of Lewes. Ebenezer Morris (1801-1888) set up an ironmongers shop and foundry business in Cliffe, Lewes in 1822, which was to prove very successful. All his thirteen children were born in a house attached to the shop (several of the boys were later to work for the family firm) and Morris Road, off Cliffe High Street in Lewes, commemorates the approximate site of the business to this day.

The Morris Iron business in Lewes and Eastbourne.

By the middle of the 19th century it was apparent that ironwork requirements from the rapidly developing town of Eastbourne were becoming a vital part of their trade, and it was decided to open a branch in the town. The shop in South Street, was opened in 1850, and Ebenezer delegated one of his sons, James Berry Morris (1828-1901) to run the branch, although James didn't move to the town straight away. James Berry Morris was married in Lewes in 1851 to Mary Sophia Wille, daughter of Charles Wille, a well-off Lewes timber merchant. The site of his old premises alongside the Ouse are also marked to this day by Timberyard Lane, further down Cliff High Street. The Morrises and the Willes were both staunch independent Protestant 'chapel' folk (Lewes is, of course, renowned for such sentiments, as anyone in town on bonfire night will be able to confirm!), and this may well be how James met Mary Sophia in the first place.

More information about James Berry Morris and his family

By 1853 it was apparent that the huge amount of Eastbourne trade - lamp standards, manhole and drain covers, street and seafront railings, and a host of other requirements, some of which can still be seen around the town today - justified the opening of larger premises. So a new shop was acquired in Seaside Road, Eastbourne, with a small foundry being set up nearby. James and Mary had one daughter in 1852, also named Mary Sophia, and a son in 1854 named, of course, James! In January 1856 Mary gave birth to another son, Herbert, and it was decided that the time had come for this growing family to move away from the premises in Lewes and set up a new home for themselves in Eastbourne. So James and his wife moved into the extensive accommodation over the shop in Seaside Road in February 1856.

The following year, baby Ellen Isabel arrived, the first to be born in the new house. The family continued to expand until a total of eleven children filled the premises, all healthy apart from little Ada Rose, who died of diphtheria in 1872 aged six. Business boomed, and the firm bought the building next door to the Eastbourne shop in 1860, doubling the size of their premises. James made sure that he and his family attended church regularly, and they adopted the Calvinistic Independent Chapel just down the road in Cavendish Place as their new place of worship. This had only been built in 1857, to replace an earlier structure that was attached to a nearby bakery run by David Gilbert, another local pillar of the Church.

Details of Cavendish Place Chapel.

With the Gilbert and Morris families actively involved in chapel affairs, and their respective children growing up into their teens and twenties together, it was not surprising that Ellen Isabel Morris (child number four, and the first to be born in Eastbourne) married David Gilbert's son, David (junior) in 1884 at the Cavendish Place Chapel, where she had been teaching at the Sunday School. Curiously her father, James, did not attend the wedding as he apparently had reservations about marriages being conducted in non-conformist chapels.

The honeymoon was at Leamington Spa, and the couple then settled at Gilbert's Bakery, 52 Seaside Road, which David Gilbert senior had vacated, having retired and handed over the business to his son. Their first child Ellen was born on 11 October 1885, a Sunday, and also the day on which David (junior) played for the first time the organ he had installed in Cavendish Place Chapel probably at his own expense.

More information about David Gilbert and his family

Details of Gilbert's Bakery, Eastbourne.

In 1892-93 a massive rebuilding programme took place at the bakery, involving the complete destruction of all the old buildings, and the attached former chapel (then in use as a store), and premises next door, in order to replace it with a brand new three-storey "steam bakery". This was another indication of the fine prospects for businesses in Eastbourne during these boom years, and there is no doubt that both the Morrises and the Gilberts were in the right place at the right time. David and Ellen Isabel Gilbert had six children, five born in the old bakery, and the last one born in the new premises.

Old Ebenezer Morris (the 'founder of the foundry') had died in 1888, and James Berry Morris was now the boss, running the business of E.Morris and Sons from Eastbourne, but in 1895 he decided to retire and officially hand over the reins to several of the next generation who had been working for the firm for some time. In fact his retirement was partial, to say the least, and he remained closely involved for the rest of his life.

By the late 1890s James was scouting around for a suitable place to settle in his retirement. Eventually it was decided to purchase a plot in London Road, Uckfield, more or less opposite the entrance to Brown's Lane, and James commissioned Charles Pelham, a builder of Uckfield High Street, to construct a house for him. Serious discussions on its design began in the summer of 1898.

By this time, most of James's eleven children had married and moved away, but three remained single and were still living with their parents. Mary Sophia, the firstborn, was now 46 and "unattached", as was her sister Alice Louisa, aged 39. And then there was Robert, born in 1865 who, although clearly a talented artist, writer and naturalist, had been increasingly beset by illness, and had wound up being a permanent piece of the furniture in Eastbourne, unemployed and possibly unemployable.

Robert had been apprenticed to an Eastbourne architect and later moved to Cambridge, but was taken ill in 1891 and returned home again. He worked for a while with Frederick A.Bourne, photographer of Langney Road, Eastbourne, but subsequently does not seem to have had any employment in the usual sense of the word, or indeed had the financial need for work, being apparently supported almost entirely by his parents.

He was a great diarist, keeping a natural history diary from the age of about 10, specialising in the recounting of bird observations, a subject in which he became a considerable expert. A staggering 134 of his ornithological diaries from 1882 to 1943 are now deposited with the East Sussex Record Office in Brighton. Robert was also party to the "Diary of the Den". The Den was a communal room at the Seaside Road house over Morris's shop, used by the bachelor Morris sons, and the diaries are written in different hands. Only two survive, 1891 and 1894, as all the other volumes were sadly destroyed. Nevertheless it would seem that other years were in existence when Robert started an additional two volume diary which covered the years from 1878-1915, and these appear to include large transcripts from the originals. Like the originals, these two volumes list local events, family activities, matters of national importance and (of particular interest here) great detail of the move to Uckfield and the developments that took place thereafter in connection with the two houses that are the subject of this webpage. As such, they are a major source of information for what follows.

Diarist Robert Morris in 1931.

It was decided that the new house in Uckfield should be large enough to accommodate James in his retirement, along with his wife Mary Sophia, the two spinster daughters Mary and Alice, and Robert. Robert appears to have moved to rented premises in Uckfield prior to the move, although whether this was to examine the area for possible sites, or to supervise the construction, or for other reasons is not known. Uckfield was a sensible choice for the family, providing easy rail connections to the old premises in Eastbourne, and to the main foundry business in Lewes.

The developments that then took place are best described by looking at the entries from Robert's diaries, as shown below. Note that in his diary Robert often refers to those around him by abbreviations. For example, his father James Berry Morris is described as "J.B.M." or "The Govr" (Governor) - presumably referring to how he was known by the men at the foundry. His mother is "Mrs.J.B.M.", his sister Ellen Isabel he refers to as "Mrs D Gilbert", and Frederick A Bourne the photographer is "F.A.B.".).

11 March 1898; "Have arranged to take Mrs. Hogg's house in Uckfield for a month."
11 July 1898; "J.B.M. discussing plans of proposed house at Uckfield."
27 August 1898; "Nothing has yet been settled about the house at Uckfield."
3 September 1898; "Plans etc. of Uckfield house to hand."
29 November 1898; "It seems that the new house at Uckfield has already been commenced and is supposed to be finished by June next."

(Surprisingly, it was very nearly finished on time!)

6 December 1898; "J.B.M. to Uckfield, the foundations of the new house are already laid."
8 February 1899; "J.B.M. to Uckfield this morning. The new house is almost ready for the roof."
15 February 1899; "J.B.M. to Uckfield, the new house has not yet got the roof on."
1 March 1899; "J.B.M. to Uckfield. The new house has the rafters on."
3 March 1899; "Mr.Pelham junr. the builder, of Uckfield, called this afternoon re house."
15 March 1899; "J.B.M. to Uckfield. The new house has almost been tiled."
4 May 1899; "Reg. to Uckfield to see the builder. The plastering is mostly finished and the staircase being put in, in the new house."
('Reg' was one of Robert's brothers)
14 June 1899; "Mrs. J.B.M. decided to call the new house 'Fernhurst'."

It is believed that this name was chosen because James and Mary Sophia had spent their honeymoon at Fernhurst, near Midhurst in West Sussex.

20 June 1899; "I and J.B.M. to Uckfield by 8:50 a.m. train. By 11 a.m. the first lot of furniture arrived at 'Fernhurst'."
21 June 1899; "J.B.M. and Mrs. J.B.M. arrived at 1 p.m."
17 July 1899; "Afternoon & evening hard at work getting furniture downstairs ."
19 July 1899; "Downs's men started removing furniture at 10 o'clock & finished about 3 p.m."

And so on 20 July 1899, the five members of the Morris family moved to Uckfield, and "Fernhurst" was occupied for the first time, although only basic furniture had been moved to the new house at this stage. What follows next in the diary is a very detailed account of how the house was set up for occupation, the moving of furniture and other items from Eastbourne, developments in the garden, interior decoration, the affairs of their domestic staff and so on.

4 September 1899; "Men started finishing the Bicycle House."
7 September 1899; "The Bicycle House finished today."
9 September 1899; "I left for Lewes to pay the men at Foundry at 9.51."

Robert was apparently trying to make himself useful at times. The extreme accuracy in relating the time surely refers to the departure of the train!

19 September 1899; "The cat is gone for good, not been here since Thursday or Friday (15th inst.). Been shot, or caught in a trap."
2 October 1899; "The gardener started work here this morning."
14 October 1899; "Both gates are up, though not quite finished. Gardener finished laying turf opposite the front."
19 October 1899; "Piper called this afternoon, and J.B.M. arranged for the fruit trees etc."
6 November 1899; "We discovered that the Terrace wall has given out a bit there being one crack, and the ground sunk about 6 inches."
10 November 1899; "Mr.Piper & 3 or 4 men started on the garden. By this afternoon they had quite altered the appearance of the place."
11 November 1899; "Mr.Piper, while supervising the garden at 11.30 a.m. was seized with lumbago, and had to be taken home."

James Berry Morris's main interest lay in books and local history (his letters and articles in Sussex papers have much invaluable content) and his increasing activity as a newspaper contributor in the late 1890s suggest a growing detachment from business. His book collection was huge and took some organisation to sell or move to Uckfield on his retirement, as detailed below;

From Robert Morris's (Uckfield) diary;
20 November 1899; "I, Mr. & Mrs.J.B.M. to Eastbourne. Mrs J.B.M. & Mrs D Gilbert turned out the drawers containing Ada's clothes and toys which have never been opened since her death (of diphtheria) 28 years ago. Lots were burned & others washed (& supposed disinfected). Started packing china etc."
21 November 1899; "J.B.M. & I packing china etc."
24 November 1899; "Books removed from large bookcase & one box packed with them."
25 November 1899; "Hard at work packing all day. In the afternoon I and Frank started at getting chests of drawers and boxes of china etc. downstairs into the Hall & Kitchen. It was nearly 12 p.m. by the time we finished."
27 November 1899; "Removed furniture today." (from Seaside Rd. Eastbourne) "4 van loads. I returned to Uckfield with J.B.M. by 5.30 p.m. train."
28 November 1899; "Bourner's people started loading at the Goods-yard soon after 9 o'clock, and in 3 loads brought everything up by about 4 p.m. and by 7 p.m. we had got it all into the house." 5 December 1899; "To Eastbourne by 10.54 train. Commenced on books on J.B.M.'s staircase, bringing them down to the drawing room to be sorted. A very dusty job."
20 December 1899; "We have finished for the present at Eastbourne & returned to Uckfield."
2 July 1900; "Commenced getting the books together for sale."
11 August 1900; "Commenced to bring down religious books, hymns &c. from Top Book room."
22 August 1900; "J.B.M. here. Started lotting religious works, made up 17 lots."
28 August 1900; "Finished tying up lots, which now number over 60 - over 1,100 books, & spent remainder of the day with poets; tied up 10 lots & looked out another 19 lots."
7 September 1900; "Altogether I have now tied up about 3,500 books."
15 September 1900; "Sorted Peninsular War & Napoleon, Nelson, Crimea &c."
27 September 1900; "I reckoned up this evening & conclude to have already tied up over 7,000 books."
28 September 1900; "J.B.M. arrived at mid-day & sorted sporting books etc."
2 October 1900; "Started on books again."
3 October 1900; "Started today on the shelves on back staircase in No.2."
5 October 1900; "I have now tied up over 8,000 books & made 500 lots."
8 October 1900; "J.B.M. here today. Gas Directors meeting. He spent but little time on the books."
12 October 1900; "We have decided to stop adding any more books, as we have quite enough for 2 days sale."
16 October 1900; "Hard at it all day. Have got together and entered in my book 201 lots."
18 October 1900; "J.B.M. here. He decided on remainder of lots for 1st day's sale & selected over 200 lots for 2nd day."
19 October 1900; "Finished getting 1st day's lots together for numbering & laid out 91 lots for the 2nd day. Left for Uckfield at 5.30 p.m. My lots for first day number 301."
25 October 1900; "J.B.M here today. We looked out 10 more lots of religious books for 2nd day's sale. I started this evening writing out 2nd catalogue."
26 October 1900; "Writing out 2nd day's catalogue all day."
27 October 1900; "Finished catalogue for 2nd day's sale. The 2 days will consist of 615 lots."
29 October 1900; "I have counted the number of books entered in the catalogue & find them to number 10,031 for the two days."
12 November 1900; "Catalogues to hand - several mistakes."
15 November 1900; "Took the books to Towner's Auction Room. Two furniture van loads, reckoned at about 7 tons weight. Besides Frank & I, we had French, the luggage porter & his son, Frank's apprentice & 2 shop boys. We finished about 6 p.m. A very hard day's work for all of us."
20 November 1900; "1st day of sale commenced at 2 p.m. & we considered went off very well. Vanity Fair, unfortunately, did not go. We reckoned it up tonight and make it £217. Telegraphed result to J.B.M. & sent my catalogue with prices."
21 November 1900; "2nd day of sale. We reckoned it up at £237. Telegraphed result to J.B.M. & sent priced catalogue this evening."
23 November 1900; "Took away 'Vanity Fair' from auction rooms this morning, and then, having secured services of a boy, got all loose books and pamphlets into drawing room."
5 December 1900; "I actually finished packing books for Uckfield today."
8 December 1900; "Safe got down from back book-room. Burnt the old shirts in which I have done all the work today."
17 December 1900; "To Eastbourne by 8.48 a.m. train. Frank & men packed all furniture & books."
18 December 1900; "Frank arrived at 10 a.m. and Bourner's people brought everything up in 3 loads. Frank filled up his bookshelves in the library this evening."
25 May 1901; "To Eastbourne. Messrs.Card & I started valuation of the books etc. in the drawing room. I returned to Uckfield at 10 p.m."
30 May 1901; "To Eastbourne by the 9.52 a.m. train. Mr.Card junr. finished valuations at Eastbourne. I called on Mr.Sutton and he looked over the books etc. in the drawing room. Arrived home 10 p.m."
12 August 1901; "Papers relating to the deeds of nos. 66 & 67 in possession of Barclay & Co. arrived to be signed this evening."
13 August 1901; "Miss Markwick witnessed our signatures to Barclay & Co. papers this evening."
4 December 1901; "I left by the 10.44 a.m. train for Eastbourne, and attended the sale of the remainder of J.B.M.'s books left over from last year's."
5 December 1901; "I have gone through yesterday's sale, and it amounts to £126.19.0 which is much better than we expected."
12 December 1901; "Mrs.J.B.M. received letter from Mary stating that she had sold remainder of the books at No.66 Seaside Rd. for 10/-. Not a very fat bargain."

"Mrs J.B.M.", Mary Sophia Morris around 1890. Photo: Frederick A Bourne, Eastbourne.

In January 1900 James Berry Morris went through a period of ill health - he was, after all, 72 years old. Robert recorded;

2 January 1900; "J.B.M. does not seem so well today."
15 January 1900; "J.B.M. downstairs at 10 a.m. Not quite so well this afternoon."
8 February 1900; "J.B.M. met with serious mishap just after 12 o'clock. In getting over a stile at The Budletts he fell & broke left thigh, and was brought home in a cart. Dr.(Brit?) was called in."
9 February 1900; "Dr.Langdale called this morning. J.B.M. as well as expected." (Dr.Henry M.Langdale lived in Newtown at the 1891 census.)
13 February 1900; "Drs.Lucas & Langdale set J.B.M.'s leg. Chloroform was used. James, Mrs.D.Gilbert, Alice and a professional nurse present. They took half an hour." (James was another of Robert's brothers)
15 February 1900; "Dr. Langdale altered splint reluctantly this morning. We got Pelham's old joiner, Mr.Cheal, to make ankle hole larger. Alec here fixing electric bell and gas stove, and he assisted. J.B.M. much easier."
17 February 1900; "J.B.M. had 2 hours sleep last night. Dr.called this morning and considered 'satisfactory'."
8 March 1900; "Dr. called this afternoon. Says everything is satisfactory - the bone supposed to be joining."
27 March 1900; "Dr. came about 4 p.m. and removed splint from J.B.M.'s leg. Foot much swollen etc."
30 March 1900; "Mr White brought crutches for J.B.M.'s use."
3 April 1900; "J.B.M. out of bed at about 11 a.m. & back again at 4 p.m. First time out of bed since accident. Leg swelled very much in consequence."
9 April 1900; "J.B.M. up at 12.30 & had dinner with us in back room. 1st time."
14 April 1900; "Mr.Bannister lent invalid chair, which we used and managed to get J.B.M. up to his bedroom. Cleared beds out of dining room and recommenced using it."
17 April 1900; "J.B.M. out (in chair) 1st time."
14 May 1900; "J.B.M. to Eastbourne to attend Gas Directors meeting. Mrs.J.B.M. & Alice accompanied him."
20 May 1900; "Sunday. We wheeled J.B.M. to chapel. He sat in one of the vestries. 1st time he has been there since last December."
26 June 1900; "J.B.M. to railway station and back in 55 minutes."
4 August 1900; "J.B.M. to the Foundry this morning. He went last Saturday too."

Clearly he had recovered somewhat, but his health was never to return to its former glory. Meanwhile matters surrounding Fernhurst continued;

1 January 1900; "Piper junr. with 2 men planted the fruit trees to-day."
3 January 1900; "Our cesspool overflowed this morning at bottom of garden. I went to Pelham and he shortly arrived."
6 January 1900; "To Lewes this morning to see the Foundry."
12 January 1900; "Gardener levelling bottom of garden."
1 February 1900; "Laurels planted by gardener both ends of terrace this afternoon."
7 February 1900; "Both gardeners at work; finished levelling garden etc."
15 February 1900; "Alec here fixing electric bell and gas stove."
26 February 1900; "2 lilacs arrived from Harry and planted at bottom of garden." (Harry was yet another of Robert's brothers.)
7 March 1900; "Bricklayers have almost finished the paving North side of house and drain-pipes have arrived for the new drain."
10 March 1900; "Men laying the drain today."
12 March 1900; "Drain practically completed, but bricklayer went off on the drink."
13 March 1900; "Thompson, the inspector, tried the drain with a rocket, & passed it. Bricklayer afterwards went off on the drink."
14 March 1900; "The drain across the side garden finished & bricks under gate."
29 March 1900; "Mr.Jabez White planted rhubarb."
11 April 1900; "Mowed lawns."
23 April 1900; "Paper-hanger started today."
26 May 1900; "Dora Fenner left us today. She has been with us since about 1895 or 94."
7 June 1900; "Mr.Piper & men started on the footpaths."
9 June 1900; "Mr.G.W.Piper has finished all his jobs here."
11 June 1900; "Kate Osborne, new maid, arrived this evening."
29 June 1900; "Two paper-hangers from Brighton turned up about 9 a.m. and started on staircase."
2 July 1900; "Paper-hangers finished this evening - so the house is now complete."

In October 1900 James sold out his interests in the foundry in Lewes, and by December had severed all connections with the Lewes business.

16 January 1901; "Made nest box for terrace wall."
23 January 1901; "Johnson junr. and an assistant here today. Pampas grass planted. Johnson Senr. set the pond out this morning which we are going to have at the bottom of the garden."

Not a great picture but the earliest we have of "Fernhurst", taken in 1902.

All seemed to progressing well but then, in the spring of 1901, tragedy struck. James's health took a downward turn once more, and he contracted what was initially described as influenza on 23 April 1901. By the following day his temperature had risen to 102 degrees, and by the 25th the doctor was calling it "pneumonia, serious". On the 27th this had changed to "critical" and James passed away peacefully just after noon on Sunday 28 April 1901, in the company of his wife and six of his children. James's daughter Ellen Isabel and her husband David Gilbert came up from Eastbourne soon afterwards to pay their respects and assist with arrangements. The funeral took place in Eastbourne on 2 May 1901.

Despite this, affairs at Fernhurst continued;

15 June 1901; "Cesspool pumped out."
22 June 1901; "Pettit fixed pump to cesspool."
23 July 1901; "James (jnr) arrived at 1 p.m. Mr.Carpenter (Vinalls office) arrived at 2.30 p.m. The Exors signed here, and took oath at Dawson's office. So the will has, at last, been proved. Gross £17,000."
10 February 1902; "We now know that Mr.Streatfeild has bought the next-door premises, he purchased it of Hollyman who recently purchased it of Brown. He gave £1000 for it. Hollyman made £300 out of it."
18 July 1902; "Summer house erected."
25 July 1902; "Letter box fixed near our front gate this morning."
30 July 1902; "Introduced a birdbath on the lawn."

In late 1902, tragedy struck again, but this time to the Gilbert household in Eastbourne. David Gilbert (junior) had frequently crossed to France on the ferry, and on 17 October 1902 he left for Paris for a brief holiday, returning on the 24th. On the 28th, a Tuesday, he became unwell, but no serious view of the illness was taken until the Thursday, when, it seems, diphtheria was recognised (in the family it was always assumed that this had been picked up in Paris - some reports suggested he caught it while exploring the Paris sewers!).

David and Ellen I Gilbert at the Bakery in Eastbourne in 1902.
David had died before the year was out.

Three of the Gilbert children were dispatched from the bakery to stay with the Morrises at "Fernhurst", Uckfield, probably partly to avoid the risk of infection, but also to reduce pressure on the Eastbourne household. Six days later, in the evening of Wednesday, November 5th, David died. His wife said that she had left his bedside for a brief meal when the end came. The nurse told her that he said "Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit", and did not speak again.

On 8 November 1902, Robert and Mary Morris caught the train to Eastbourne, had lunch with the widow (their sister Ellen Isabel) and then attended the funeral in the afternoon. Robert wrote "Happily, the rain left off. 36 or 37 carriages followed and there was a large assembly at the cemetery. The service was conducted by Mr.A.J.Baxter" - the same minister who had married David and Ellen back in 1884.

This circumstance left Ellen Isabel Gilbert in some difficulty, as David had left much of what he owned in trust for his children. It was subsequently to amount to more than £26,000, a considerable sum, but it took a very long time to sort it all out. In the meantime Ellen was fortunate to have inherited some money from her father, James Berry Morris, after his death in 1901. In any event, she decided that she did not want to continue the bakery business on her own, or indeed at all, and David Gilbert (senior), still alive and still living in Eastbourne, was dragged out of retirement to manage the firm temporarily once more until she could arrange her affairs.

Ellen I Gilbert and her six children moved out of the bakery in January 1903 into a substantial house in The Avenue, Eastbourne.

'Lulworth', 15 The Avenue, Eastbourne.

She then sold the goodwill of the business, and leased the premises to the new owner. The firm continued in operation until the 1930s, but the building was bombed beyond repair in 1943.

Back at "Fernhurst", normal daily life carried on;

21 November 1902; "Bourner's carriers brought the cannons from 'The Island' this morning."
27 December 1902; "James, Mrs.D.Gilbert, Reg and Frank arrived at 10 am. We mounted the 2 guns this morning."

These cannons were displayed as ornaments in the garden. With regard to 'The Island', Robert notes in his diary for 7 September 1909 "Miss Markwick called about filling up the old side ditch at The Island." This seems to indicate it was a place, not a ship! When the house and contents were sold in 1917, the cannons appeared as Lot 226 'Early 19th century ships gun and carriage', and Lot 227, 'a smaller ditto'. Both went very cheaply - 5 shillings and 13 shillings - with the smaller one fetching the higher price. Both were bought by the local dealer, Hollyman, apparently for Alice L.Morris. However, the larger and cheaper one appears later to have been re-purchased from Alice by Ellen I.Gilbert. What happened to them after this remains a mystery.

4 February 1903; "The oak tree on the south side of 'Fernhurst' felled at 10 am."
5 February 1903; "The oak tree was taken away this morning."
11 May 1903; "Mr.Benj. Etherington completed painting woodwork."
19 May 1903; "Painting finished."
21 May 1903; "Bought 2 photos of garden from Farrant, the builder."

This is presumably one of the garden photos purchased from Farrant the builder on 21 May 1903. The summerhouse on the left has already been erected (July 1902) but the flagpole (27 May 1903) has not. It seems to be taken from the same position as the 1908 photo shown below, by which time the plants and trees had grown up considerably.

27 May 1903; "Pelham erected flagpole this morning. It is 25 ft high."
6 June 1903; "Mr.Martin's children came into the garden this morning and hoisted the Union Flag."
2 October 1903; "Mrs.J.B.M. signed agreement of tenancy of adjoining garden."
13 October 1903; "We took possession of the adjoining garden today. Mr.Hollyman handed over the key."
15 January 1904; "Made entrance into our new premises, 'Hortensis', through laurel hedge."
(It is believed that the garden 'Hortensis' was in the area south of Fernhurst, now occupied by 32 London Road. The word 'Hortensis' has Latin origins, meaning 'vegetable garden'.)
11 November 1904; "New paths in back garden finished."

Meanwhile in Eastbourne, Ellen Isabel Gilbert had decided that she too would like a house in Uckfield, not so much as a permanent residence, but more in order to keep in touch with her aged and widowed mother, Mary Sophia Morris, still living at "Fernhurst". She could now well afford it, and it would also provide a holiday home for herself and her family.

No doubt the Morrises tipped her off that a Mr.R.W.Davey was building two sizeable houses further up the road from Fernhurst, towards Snatts Road, and was asking £850 each for them. Mr.Davey took Robert Morris around both of them in July 1905, and Ellen Gilbert was already showing interest. By the September she had bought one (using the legacy from her late father). The house was not quite complete yet, but Ellen had already decided on a name. The house was to be called "Ryderswells" after an impressive property near Wellingham in Ringmer parish. This original large, white house still stands, and is situated within the angle formed from "Earwig Corner" north of Lewes, between the B2192 Ringmer road and the A26 to Uckfield. Actually sited on the old Uckfield - Lewes road, this 'loop' has since been by-passed by recent road improvements, and the building now stands in splendid isolation.

"Ryders Wells", Wellingham, Ringmer.

James Berry Morris's wife Mary Sophia (Ellen's mother), as explained above, was the daughter of Charles Wille the Lewes timber merchant. Charles had moved into the original "Ryderswells" when he married Francis Morris (yes, another Morris!) in 1821. In fact it had belonged previously to the Morris family, as Frances' father John Morris bought the land around 1800 and commissioned the house to be built. Frances had been born there. So the family connection with this name was strong, and Ellen felt it appropriate to maintain the tradition.

There has been a long-running controversy about whether the name should be "Ryderswell" or "Ryderswells" and whether it should be one or two words, e.g. "Ryders Well". It seems that the word "Ryderswells" was painted on the double gate of the Uckfield house so that 'RYDERS' appeared on one gate, and 'WELLS' on the other, which led some family members to believe it was intended to be two words. Ellen's printed notepaper in 1915 bore the name as "Ryderswell", but there was an old pillowcase in the house marked "Ryders Wells" in Ellen's own handwriting. Robert Morris alludes to the Uckfield house several times in his diary as "Ryderswells".

Some years later, in 1923, Ellen bought a cottage in Vines Cross, near Horam, which was then named "Lilac Cottage", but which she claimed she renamed "Ryderswells Cottage". She said that at first, the name on the gate was "Ryderswells Cottage" but that in later repainting the final 'S' was inadvertently dropped. Other members of the family doubted the authenticity of this story, and always called it "Ryderswell Cottage", and that is what it was still called for many years. It is now named just "Ryderswell".

Ryderswell Cottage, Vines Cross, Horam..

The oldest known record of the name is on the 1775 map of the area at Wellingham where the first house was built. There, a spot on the map - presumably a well - is spelt "RIDERS WELL", two words. In the title of the map, the area is named "RIDERS-WELL" hyphenated. So, to be strictly accurate, the names of all three houses are spelled incorrectly.

In any event, work continued at the new house, as recounted by Robert;

18 September 1905; "Old Mr.Card dined with us. He looked over Mrs.Gilbert's new house, 'Ryderswells'. He will be 87 in about a fortnight."
22 September 1905; "The lower part of the staircase is being fixed at 'Ryderswells' today."
23 September 1905; "Window-sashes put in top and back rooms at 'Ryderswells'."
18 November 1905; "Mrs.Gilbert arrived at 10 am with Alec, to see about gas fitting at 'Ryderswells'."
30 November 1905; "Alec putting up gas fittings etc. at 'Ryderswells'."
1 December 1905; "Alec finished at 'Ryderswells'."
4 December 1905; "Ellen arrived at 1 pm to get the new house 'Ryderswells' ready, and Miss Chesterfield (her assistant) arrived at 5.30 pm."
(This would probably be Ellen, oldest daughter of Mrs.Gilbert.)
19 December 1905; "Mrs.Gilbert arrived at 1 pm to take up her abode at 'Ryderswells'."

"Ryderswells" photographed in 1908.

That last comment would suggest a permanent and total relocation, but evidence does not support this. Ellen and her children were always coming and going, and the house was often let (or lent) to friends of the family, but it does not appear to have been occupied as a total 'home' for any extended periods of time. Entries such as these from Robert's diary describe the activity;

1 March 1906; "Ellen arrived at 1 pm, and Mrs.Reg, Nelson, Marjorie, William & Richard arrived at 7 pm to spend a few days at 'Ryderswells'."
(William and Richard were two of Ellen's sons, and the others were Morrises.)
12 April 1906; "Mrs.Gilbert & Mary arrived this afternoon or this evening. They have taken up their quarters at 'Ryderswells'."
2 July 1906; "Mrs.Gilbert arrived this morning to get her house ready for James."
5 July 1906; "James, Mrs. and children arrived at Ryderswells at 1 pm."
20 July 1906; "James and family left at 8 pm for Eastbourne."
25 July 1906; "Mrs.Stenning and Mrs.Green, with their families, arrived at 'Ryderswells'."
25 August 1906; "Reg arrived at 2.30 pm to spend a day or two at 'Ryderswells'."
11 October 1906; "Mrs. Gilbert & family arrived at 10 am to spend the day at 'Ryderswells' celebrating Ellen's birthday. She is 21 today."

The garden at "Ryderswells", painted by Charlotte Gilbert on 16 June 1921. Perhaps that's her mother Ellen I Gilbert on the left.
The original is in the archive of the Towner Art Gallery in Eastbourne.

Back down the road at Fernhurst, work continued apace;

19 May 1905; "My sundial and pedestal arrived."
22 May 1905; "Frank and I fixed the sundial on the back lawn."
5 January 1906; "Mr.Taylor took measurement for Alice's greenhouse."
23 January 1906; "Peckham's men took down the flagpole and altered position of the wheel, and re-erected it this morning."
22 February 1906; "Taylor's men started on Alice's greenhouse this morning."
26 February 1906; "Alice's greenhouse being glazed."
19 March 1906; "Cockett laid down oil-cloth in my top room this morning."
14 August 1906; "Farrant, Peckham's plumber, started on the drain. Found nearly all pipes cracked owing to sinking of soil."
11 May 1907; "Kate left just after 5 pm, having been here nearly 7 years."
12 December 1907; "We hear that Pelham, the builder, died last night. He was the builder of 'Fernhurst'."
16 December 1907; "Pelham buried this afternoon."
8 February 1908; "Funeral of the King of Portugal today. I hoisted the flag at half-mast until 2 pm."
27 July 1908; "'Togo' is now very ill, with constant fits; he has been sent to the veterinary surgeon."
30 July 1908; "Photographer, Spice, took views of garden this morning."

This is one of the photographs of Fernhurst's garden taken on 30 July 1908, mentioned in Robert's diary. Photographer was A Windsor-Spice, High Street Studio, Uckfield.
From left to right can be seen the summerhouse (partly hidden in undergrowth), Alice Morris, the 25ft flagpole, Robert Morris with the roller, and the sundial installed in 1905. One of the cannons is visible at the bottom.

2 September 1908; "'Togo' had a fit or two last night, and another this evening."
26 October 1908; "Saw Peckham the builder this afternoon, about building on the end of the tool shed."
4 November 1908; "Mr.Peckham gave me plan and elevation of proposed extension of our tool shed."
6 November 1908; "Received Mr. Peckham's estimate for extension of tool shed - £29."
11 November 1908; "Alice informs me that 'Togo' was put to death by the Veterinary Surgeon a day or two since. He had constant fits."
13 November 1908; "Earth removed and trenches dug for foundations - tool shed extension."
16 November 1908; "Bricklayer started on tool shed."
23 November 1908; "Floor joists fixed in the new shed."
30 November 1908; "New shed tiled except the ridge."
5 December 1908; "The new tool shed extension finished today."
9 January 1909; "Alice finished outer borders of geometrical border this afternoon."
22 March 1909; "Daisy very unwell. Apparently an abcess in the ear."
23 March 1909; "Daisy at her home in bed."
25 March 1909; "Daisy still abed. Alice called there this evening."
26 March 1909; "Daisy unexpectedly returned this morning."
5 April 1909; "Mrs. Varnes has a child, a boy, and Daisy is needed at home."
6 April 1909; "Daisy came this afternoon, but will not be able to come in future. She had no sleep last night."
20 April 1909; "Daisy here for a short time this afternoon."
21 April 1909; "Water Co.'s man here fixed water meter to garden pipe. Daisy here from about 11 am till 6 pm."
22 April 1909; "Water meter finished."
19 June 1909; "New letter box built near front gate."
28 June 1909; "Peckham's man put glass in Box-room roof today."
14 October 1909; "Daisy left at 9 a.m. for London on week's holiday."
10 November 1909; "Peckham's man, Farrant, took down the flag-pole this morning / the halyards broke yesterday with flag hanging half mast."
11 November 1909; "Front gates painted & flag-pole painted."
3 December 1909; "My flag-pole re-erected by Peckham's men this morning."
11 December 1909; "Daisy intends leaving after Xmas - she is going as a hospital nurse."
13 December 1909; "Alice has practically finished geometrical border."

This is probably another of the photographs of Fernhurst's garden taken by Uckfield photographer Windsor-Spice on 30 July 1908.
Visible are Alice Morris, the sundial and one of the cannons from 'The Island'. "Miss Scarlett's house" is apparently the building at the top. (Post card)

And the comings and goings at "Ryderwells" continued;

31 October 1908; "Ellen, William and Richard arrived at 10 am to spend the day at 'Ryderswells'. David arrived this evening. Charlotte, Mary and Richard left for Eastbourne at 8 pm. William taken too unwell to return with them." (Ellen, William, Richard, David, Charlotte and Mary were the six Gilbert children)
18 December 1908; "Charlotte arrived at 5.30 pm. She sleeps here tonight and airs the beds etc.at Ryderswells tomorrow."
19 December 1908; "William and Richard arrived this afternoon on bicycles."
24 December 1908; "Ellen arrived at 'Ryderswells', and David arrived this evening."
29 March 1909; "Mrs.Martin took two ladies over 'Ryderswells' this afternoon. They desire to hire the house next May."
5 April 1909; "Mrs.Gilbert arrived at 'Ryderswells' at 1 p.m. with Miss Chesterfield & Charlotte, and Mary arrived this evening."
29 April 1909; "Mrs.Gilbert & Ellen left at 8 p.m. for Eastbourne."
17 September 1909; "Played croquet at Ryderswells this afternoon, where I saw Mr.Funnell, late of Midhurst."
22 December 1909; "Mary returned from Eastbourne, and Ellen arrived for Xmas at Ryderswells."
24 December 1909; "Remainder of the family arrived at Ryderswells this evening."
5 April 1910; "Frank arrived at Ryderswells to fit up panelling in the hall."
11 April 1910; "Frank arrived at Ryderswells this morning to finish his job. He brought his girl Alice."
15 June 1910; "Mrs. Gilbert had party of Sunday-school teachers at Ryderswells."
15 October 1910; "William arrived at Ryderswells from London this afternoon, and David arrived from Brighton this evening."
6 July 1910; "Mrs.Gilbert & Ellen here today, getting Ryderswells ready for the Misses Mitchell, who hire it from tomorrow for a month."
6 August 1910; "Misses Mitchell left Ryderswells this evening and Mrs. Gilbert & Charlotte arrived."
8 August 1910; Mary & May arrived at Ryderswells on bicycles at 1.45 pm." (This would refer to young Mary Gilbert, and her cousin May Morris)
31 December 1910; "Lit Kitchener, dining room fire, and fire in Charlotte's bedroom at Ryderswells. Shortly afterwards, received telegram from Mrs. Gilbert stating that she was not coming."

A watercolour painting by Mary Gilbert (1889-1976) of the front of Ryderswells when it was presumably fairly new.

The year 1910 also saw further developments at "Fernhurst", and there are hints that Robert and Alice might be getting a bit fed up with their sister Mary;

7 January 1910; "Daisy left this afternoon. She came here middle of May 1907"
10 January 1910; "Daisy Reed came today in place of Daisy Varnes."
1 March 1910; "The women are determined to believe that the people at 'Brownings' have put down rat poison and have thereby finished off 'Nick' (Cat found dead in the shed on 28th inst.)"
3 March 1910; "Mary has been stupid enough to write the people at 'Brownings' asking if they have put down any poison."
28 April 1910; "Frank's man started on walls in Mary's bedroom."
29 April 1910; "Mary's bedroom being papered, but the wrong paper has been sent."
3 May 1910; "Frank & man papered Alice's bedroom."
4 May 1910; "Alice's bedroom finished papering. Dining Room commenced."
5 May 1910; "Dining room finished papering."
6 May 1910; "Dining Room finished. Staircase & girls' room ceilings whitewashed."
9 May 1910; "Frank papering Mary's bedroom."
11 May 1910; "Frank finally finished his jobs here this morning and left for Eastbourne this afternoon."
4 June 1910; "Alice laying out centre of geometrical border. Mary bedding out side borders."
20 June 1910; "Miss Carr's bees swarmed on the willow at the bottom of the garden."
9 August 1910; "Daisy Varnes is in Uckfield in her nurse's uniform."
3 December 1910; "Alice finished the four outside borders of the geometrical border."
27 April 1910; "Ellen Gilbert's friend, Miss Bourne, visited the garden this afternoon. She is a B.A. I believe."
12 April 1911; "Mowed front lawn and middle of back lawn 1st time this year."
22 June 1911; "Coronation day. Very wet after 2pm. A disappointing day. We illuminated Fernhurst up to midnight. A wet and dismal night."
3 July 1911; "Miss Carr, the next door neighbour, asked me to cut back our laurels which overhang her garden."
5 August 1911; "Received some water plants from Miss Bray of Hailsham."
26 August 1911; "Received Bog Bean and Starry Clover from Miss Bray."
10 November 1911; "Old Thorn was buried yesterday, he brought many cartloads of soil to fill up round the house when we came here 12 years ago."
24 April 1912; "Dr.called and ordered a night nurse for Alice, and told Daisy she must go home for she has mumps. Daisy left this afternoon, and the trained nurse arrived at 6 pm."
8 September 1912; "Ellen, David and Richard arrived this morning to spend the day at Ryderswells."
4 October 1912; "Richardson not here today. His son called & informed us of his father having internally sprained himself and had been very bad."
5 October 1912; "We hear Richardson was taken to the County Hospital, Brighton, yesterday."
7 March 1913; "Queen Alexandra arrived in London for her marriage 50 years ago today. I have hoisted my flag in consequence."
7 May 1913; "Daisy is 21 today."
Mar 1914; "Richardson sold Mary and Alice some pot geraniums purchased by him at Hooke Hall today."
20 July 1914; "Aunts Ruth & Hannah visited us at 6 pm. We took up our abode at Uckfield 15 years ago today."
11 August 1914; "Daisy's mother is very unwell and she has left us for the time being."
14 August 1914; "Mrs.Reed, Daisy's mother, is very unwell; she is delirious and no hope of recovery."
15 August 1914; "Mrs.Reed died at about 10 o'clock this morning."
19 August 1914; "Mrs.Reed, Daisy's mother, buried at Buxted church this morning at 11 o'clock."
26 August 1914; "Edith, Daisy's sister came today."

"Fernhurst" in January 1908. The identity of the children on the right is not known.

Ryderwells was as busy as ever;

13 March 1911; "Mrs.Gilbert arrived at 1pm. I lit the Kitchener and 2 fires at Ryderswells."
6 April 1911; "Mrs. Gilbert here to meet people coming to see Ryderswells with a view to take in time for Easter - they did not arrive. She left this afternoon."
15 April 1911; "Mrs.Reg & May arrived at Ryderswells at 10pm."
4 May 1911; "Ryderswells is now let to a party of the name of Glazebrooke for a fortnight."
18 May 1911; "Mrs.Gilbert's visitors left Ryderswells."
1 August 1911; "Mary arrived at Ryderswells early this morning on her bicycle. She had breakfast with us. Charlotte arrived about noon."
5 August 1911; "Mrs.Gilbert arrived at Ryderswells this evening."
7 August 1911; "Ellen and Richard arrived at Ryderswells."
13 May 1912; "Ellen arrived to get Ryderswells ready for the Misses Mitchell."
1 August 1912; "Mrs.Gilbert & Ellen returned to Eastbourne. Ryderswells occupied by some people from Brighton."
26 September 1912; "Mary and Alice played croquet at Ryderswells."
28 September 1912; "Ellen, David & Richard arrived this morning to spend the day at Ryderswells."
4 October 1912; "Mrs.Soddy visited Mrs.Baxter at Ryderswells."
9 May 1913; "Ellen & Marjorie left for Eastbourne this afternoon, & Miss & Mrs.Soddy came to Ryderswells."
30 May 1913; "Mrs.Gilbert & Ellen arrived at Ryderswells. Miss Soddy & Mrs.G.Soddy left for Eastbourne."
9 July 1913; "Charlotte arrived from Mayfield this afternoon, & Mrs.Gilbert from Eastbourne this evening. The Misses Mitchell have left Ryderswells."
20 December 1913; "Mrs.Gilbert & Ellen left for Eastbourne, and Misses Mitchell arrived at Ryderswells. Some very good carol singing late this evening."
29 December 1913; "Mrs.Gilbert with William arrived here this evening. They slept here as the Misses Mitchell are still at Ryderswells."

A watercolour painting by Mary Gilbert (1889-1976) of the rear of Ryderswells when it was presumably fairly new.
Surprisingly most of the windows would appear to have wooden shutters.

But for both houses, the clouds of war were now gathering;

15 October 1914; "I hear Mrs.Gilbert is about to lend Ryderswells to a Belgian refugee family."
26 October 1914; "Police called about billeting soldiers this afternoon. We are to take three or four."
19 November 1914; "Mr.Thompson brought notice for numbering the house. Fernhurst is 21 London Road."
26 November 1914; "Numbers fixed on front gates to-day."
26 January 1915; "All street lamps out tonight and shop windows darkened. Soldiers stationed outside the house, stopped bicycles and motor cars. A German air-raid thought possible."
27 January 1915; "All lamps &c out tonight."
29 January 1915; "Lamps relit tonight - no soldiers on duty."
2 February 1915; "We cannot get coal now - the Government monopolizes all railways for the war."
5 February 1915; "We get neither coal nor milk today. The Germans are about to blockade Britain."

This is the last entry from Roberts diary, and we do not know how they fared during the following grim months. However, matters took a further downward turn when Mary Sophia Morris, "Mrs.J.B.M." died at Fernhurst on Tuesday 26 December 1916. The funeral took place at Ocklynge Cemetery, Eastbourne on Saturday 30th December. This was the end of an era, and now none of the occupants of "Fernhurst" or "Ryderswells" had reason to stay in Uckfield any more.

Alice, Mary and Robert Morris decided to return to Eastbourne (it was rumoured that Alice and Robert could no longer stand sharing the house with Mary!). On 26 and 27 April 1917, an extensive auction of the contents of "Fernhurst" took place and many surviving family items of furniture are listed in the catalogue, which also survives. Ellen Gilbert, living at "Ryderswells" at the time, bought many of the items, which accounts for their survival in the family to this day.

The freehold property of "Fernhurst" was valued by St.John Smith & Son in March 1917 at £880, and sold by auction at the Maidens Head Hotel, Uckfield, on 16 May 1917. Alice and Robert left Uckfield for a new house in Station Road, Hampden Park on 4 June 1917, and Mary Sophia moved to 21 Mayfield Place, Eastbourne. The link with the Morris family appeared to be finally severed, but not quite, as we shall see.

Ellen Gilbert hung on to "Ryderswells" for some years, although her family requirements were shrinking. Her son David had died in the First World War, while younger son William married in 1920 and moved to Suffolk. She had never really 'left' Eastbourne in any case, moving from her house in The Avenue to another in Old Orchard Road (behind the present public library) in 1909, and then to 22 Upper Avenue in 1921, a large house the family considered a true 'home' until it was bombed in 1940 and became unfit for further habitation.

22 Upper Avenue, Eastbourne.

None of the family was in a position to spend much time at "Ryderswells" any more, so Ellen sold it in 1923 and bought, instead, the cottage at Vines Cross mentioned above. This was to be their new country 'bolt-hole' and holiday home, and was to prove invaluable as an escape from the German "Hit and Run" raids that beset Eastbourne during the Second World War, and which were to result in the destruction of both the family home and the bakery.

Ryderswell Cottage, Vines Cross, Horam.

"Ryderwells" was to acquire the number 30 London Road at a later date, and was at some time renamed "Reculver", as No.36. "Fernhurst" changed from being No.21 to No.33. Remarkably, a link with "Fernhurst" was to reappear some 60 years later;

In 1980/81 the house was acquired by the Eastbourne Health Authority from the previous owners named Perrett. The Perretts had renamed it "Burnt Mill House" after a happy and romantic association with a place of that name in East Anglia. Since their marriage, all their houses had been named "Burnt Mill". Although the part of the garden on the left (south) side was also for sale, the Health Authority would not purchase this, and it sold separately and was built on subsequently. This was almost certainly the walled garden mentioned in the diary as "Hortensis".

On 28 April 1982 it opened as a local community mental health centre and its first co-coordinator was, by extraordinary coincidence, Jane Morris, grand-daughter of James Berry Morris, its first owner. Jane was the daughter of Reginald (1890-1982), referred to as 'Reg' in Robert Morris's diaries, and she had the opportunity to take her father, and her aunts May and Marjorie back to look at the house in the last years of their lives. They remembered much of what they saw, and it must have been a moving experience. In 1989 Jane wrote to me as follows;

"The bottom sections of the garden had obviously been sold off long before and have been incorporated into the gardens of properties built in the unmade road leading from London Road to Cambridge Way. Part of the 'walled garden' which my father and Aunt May and Marjorie remember is certainly incorporated in the garden of one of the bungalows there, as I noticed when visiting one day. Since I left Burnt Mill in 1986 I understand the remaining garden at the back has been made into a car park for the Centre. Some alterations to the interior have also been made to accommodate fire precautions and extra working facilities, but quite a lot of it was still original and recognisable by my father and aunts when I took them up there at that time."

"It was very strange to think that, after all those years, another member of the family (me) should have such close connections with the property. It does have a 'friendly' atmosphere though, and I am sure you would 'feel' the same. I like to think that I was part of the team which helped to get it established in Uckfield and thoroughly enjoyed my time there."

Burnt Mill House (formerly "Fernhurst") in 1984, while in use by the Local Health Authority.

The author of this webpage is one of two grandsons of Mrs Gilbert. My father, Richard, was her youngest child, and the only one to be born in the rebuilt Gilbert's Bakery building in Eastbourne. His (and his wife's) health was failing in 1987, and it became obvious that they could sadly no longer stay in their somewhat oversized house in Eastbourne, so they moved to warden-assisted accommodation at Millington Court in Uckfield during the December.

This was the first time that Richard had been to Uckfield in many years, and he was interested to see familiar places. I drove him to "Ryderswells" and parked outside. He was surprised to find that both houses were still standing, pointed at one of the upper bedroom windows and said "I had measles in there!" He died (but not of measles) five months later, aged 94, in the old (and now closed) Uckfield Hospital, not far down the road.

Ellen Gilbert died in Eastbourne in 1951, also aged 94. I remember her as a matriarchal, but anachronistic "Queen Victoria" figure, always wearing black, but with a white lace bonnet or 'mob cap', which was decidedly dated even back then. Ownership of the tiny Ryderswell Cottage in Vines Cross passed from Ellen to her oldest daughter (also Ellen Gilbert) in 1948, and was used as a retreat by her and other members of the family throughout the next two decades - my brother and I spent several holidays there.

By 1970 (when Ellen was 85 years old - she lived to be 102!) she decided that care of the cottage was too much for her, and she sold it very cheaply to the daughter of the family who lived next door and who was shortly getting married, on the understanding that the new owners would not change anything. The only change seems to have been the addition of a small extension containing the luxury of an inside toilet and bathroom, for which one can hardly blame them!

In May 2008, my family and I moved from Cross in Hand to Collingwood Avenue, Heathfield, and we renamed our new house "Ryderswell", the fourth Sussex residence in 200 years to acquire the name (or a variation of it). We have since moved again, to Uckfield. By 2022 Fernhurst (33 London Road) had regained its original name "Fernhurst" but Ryderswells had no name and was merely 36 London Road. When Ryderswells was first built, there were no other properties between the two, so they were effectively next door to one another, even if some distance apart. Now two houses and the entry to Uplands Drive separates them.

Hilary Richard Gilbert
November 2022