Which Sussex village would you like to live in ?

[Superfreds Mullet]

second vote for East Preston!! Do I know you Wigman?

 

[otk]

When I was at the Uni. of Brighton years ago, someone had written on the inside of a WC door, 'How far must I go to gain respect?' and someone had written underneath 'Bexhill'. Made me chuckle

 

[Gwylan]

Have always had a love of Amberley, some of my forefathers lived there, at the foot of the Downs I can't think of many nicer places to live.

Same here. My great-grandfather emigrated from Amberley to Brighton but several generations of my family lived there before that. I go back there ever year just to walk around it and look at the family name on the gravestones. If I had the money, I'd like to live there.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

So many to choose from! I like Alfriston, but would probably choose....Jevington.

 

[Gully]

Gwylan, it was my nan whose family came from Amberley, their family names were Ruff and Mitchell...they were a mixture of farm labourer types and limeburners at the chalk pits. There was a story about one member of the family running away to work on the railway, he went to West Grinstead when the line opened and ended up as station master at Ockley on the line from Horsham to Dorking. I must go back there sometime and have a look in the graveyard, would also be interesting to look at the church records if that is possible as I am sure some of the family births and deaths would be registered there.

 

[crasher]

I'm very happy to live in Ardingly. Beautiful countryside round here - 25 minutes to the sea and 1 hr from London.

And I was brought up in Isfield. Sussex is packed with good places.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Gwylan, it was my nan whose family came from Amberley, their family names were Ruff and Mitchell...they were a mixture of farm labourer types and limeburners at the chalk pits. There was a story about one member of the family running away to work on the railway, he went to West Grinstead when the line opened and ended up as station master at Ockley on the line from Horsham to Dorking. I must go back there sometime and have a look in the graveyard, would also be interesting to look at the church records if that is possible as I am sure some of the family births and deaths would be registered there.

I've had a look at the census records. The guy who ran away to work on the railway was William Ruff, who was a signalman at Ockley in 1901. His father and grandfather were fishermen at Amberley. Here is his life, up until 1901, in ten-yearly instalments:-

1851 census record:-
High Street, Amberley, Sussex
John Ruff, head of household; married; age 63; born Amberley, Sussex; Fisherman
Sarah Ruff, wife; age 63; born Arundel, Sussex
John Ruff, son; married; age 28; born Amberley, Sussex; Fisherman
Sarah Ruff, daugher in law; married; age 21; born Houghton, Sussex
William Ruff, grandson; age 1 month; born Amberley, Sussex

1861 census record:-
Amberley, Sussex
John Ruff, head of household; married; age 38; born Amberley, Sussex; Fisherman
Sarah Ruff, wife; age 31; born Houghton, Sussex
William Ruff, son; age 12; born Amberley, Sussex; Scholar
John Ruff, son; age 9; born Amberley, Sussex; Scholar
Francis Ruff, son; age 7; born Amberley, Sussex; Scholar
Emily Ruff, daughter; age 5; born Amberley, Sussex; Scholar
Sarah Ruff, daughter; age 3; born Amberley, Sussex
Christopher Ruff, son; age 2; born Amberley, Sussex
Alfred Ruff, son; age 2 months; born Amberley, Sussex

1871 census record:-
West Grinstead, Sussex
John Botting, head of household; married; age 38; born West Grinstead, Sussex; Farm Labourer
Eliza Botting, wife; age 31; born West Grinstead, Sussex
Eliza Botting, daughter; age 10; born West Grinstead, Sussex
Alice Botting, daughter; age 7; born West Grinstead, Sussex
Emily Botting, daughter; age 5; born West Grinstead, Sussex
John Botting, son; age 2; born West Grinstead, Sussex
Henry Botting, father; widower; age 69; born West Grinstead, Sussex; Farm Labourer
William Ruff, boarder; age 20; born Amberley, Sussex; Railway Porter
William Balchin, boarder; age 15; born Brighton, Sussex; Railway Clerk
John Ruff, visitor; age 19; born Amberley, Sussex; Farm Labourer

1881 census record:-
Ockley Station
Wm Ruff, head of household; married; age 30; born Amberley, Sussex; Railway Signal Porter
Eliza Ruff, wife; age 28; born Wootton, Surrey
Wm Ruff, son; age 4; born Capel, Surrey; Scholar
Maude E Ruff, daughter; age 3; born Ockley, Surrey
Gertrude Ruff, daughter; age 1; born Ockley, Surrey
Harry Vogelgrove (?), lodger; age 20; born Crossbuck, Lyminster, Sussex; Porter

1891 census record:-
Ockley Station
William Ruff, head of household; married; age 40; born Amberley, Sussex; Railway Signal Porter
Eliza Ruff, wife; age 38; born Surrey
William Ruff, son; age 14; born Capel, Surrey; House Decorator (Apprentice)
Gertrude Ruff, daughter; age 11; born Ockley, Surrey; Scholar
Francis Ruff, son; age 3; born Ockley, Surrey
Kate Ruff, daughter; age 1; born Ockley, Surrey

1901 census record:-
Station Cottage, Ockley
William Ruff, head of household; married; age 50; born Amberley, Sussex; Signalman
Eliza Ruff, wife; age 48; born Wotton, Surrey
Francis J Ruff, son; age 13; born Ockley, Surrey; Scholar
Kate Ruff, daughter; age 11; born Ockley, Surrey; Scholar
Sydney Ruff, son; age 8; born Ockley, Surrey; Scholar
William Howard, lodger; widower; age 49; born Rudgwick, Sussex; Carter (Brickyard)

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

Rudgwick was very nice today; the 'quick' pint of Harveys Best in the King's Head at lunchtime was delightful but strangely didn't get home until 4:30?

 

[SeagullTim]

Steyning's quite nice, but I'd rather be where I am in Brighton tbh

 

[Spicy]

Cuckfield for the beautiful countryside and I spent a lovely day there recently.

 

[tedebear]

I love Shoreham, and living by the water...its something I need to do, even thought I don't see it everyday I know its there....

Problem for us is that our business is going to outgrow our workshop one day soon (if not already) and to buy a house with a bigger garden to build a bigger workshop in shoreham would put us in the £6-750k price bracket...which is a bracket too far for us....

So if we HAD to move, I'd like a place up the Coombes Road with a view of the sea, sort of Steyning way....

 

[n1 gull]

I love living in hurstpierpoint, but also like Henfield.

 

[Gully]

Cheers LB, that is fascinating stuff, it certainly bears out the story of someone running away to work on the railway at West Grinstead. I will have to ask my olds if they know any names but I think that Kate Ruff, who was 11 at the time of the 1901, census may have been my great grandmother...in fact I am 99% certain she was.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Preston Village

 

[Napper]

Bramber is v.nice

 

[withdeanwombat]

Knoll Village.

 

[NMH]

I'm very happy to live in Ardingly. Beautiful countryside round here - 25 minutes to the sea and 1 hr from London.

And I was brought up in Isfield. Sussex is packed with good places.

I was about to type Ardingly! Next to the reservoir on the road from Balcombe. There's that little nest of houses on the winding lane, just by the lake - a sort of cluster of hobbit houses.
For 'village life' it couldn't get more rustic and rural than that.

 

[goldstone]

I'm very happy to live in Ardingly. Beautiful countryside round here - 25 minutes to the sea and 1 hr from London.

And I was brought up in Isfield. Sussex is packed with good places.

Not a bad village, but really spoiled by too much traffic on the B road, particularly during the South of England Show. And having the showground on the doorstep also spoils the village.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Cheers LB, that is fascinating stuff, it certainly bears out the story of someone running away to work on the railway at West Grinstead. I will have to ask my olds if they know any names but I think that Kate Ruff, who was 11 at the time of the 1901, census may have been my great grandmother...in fact I am 99% certain she was.

There's a record of a Kate Ruff marrying Edwin R Botting in 1912 in Sussex. I wonder if that's the same individual. You'll see from the 1871 census record that William Ruff was lodging with the Botting family in 1871, when he first "ran away" to West Grinstead.

 

[tedebear]

There's a record of a Kate Ruff marrying Edwin R Botting in 1912 in Sussex. I wonder if that's the same individual. You'll see from the 1871 census record that William Ruff was lodging with the Botting family in 1871, when he first "ran away" to West Grinstead.

What web site are you using Lord B. I'd love to see where my great grandparents were from!!