Following my previous article on the Fleet Blacksmiths in Sussex, another short article has come into my possession on the blacksmiths of East Dean, near Seaford in East Sussex. It is thought to have been written in longhand in the early 1960s by Mrs P Hughes, who with her architect son, refurbished The Forge Cottage about that time. It was recently transcribed by Esther Worsfold of East Dean who has also made invaluable contributions to this article.
The Forge
Friston Hill, East Dean
"We are now so used to taking mowers or motor vehicles to the garage on Friston Hill, known as "Forge Garage" that we forget that the cheery faces of Douglas RICHEY and Jimmy HOLTER were not always there, always willing to use their knowledge, their skill or strong arms to help us "keep going" or "get going" whatever the problem, or whatever the weather. Perhaps in a sense they were, and they are the modern version of those men who for centuries have kept the traveller on the road, by shoeing his horse, or have supplied the need of the local farmers for tools, or repairs to their ploughs or wagons.
For many centuries the Village Blacksmith has plied his trade on that same ground on Friston Hill and the anvil has been ringing as the craft and skill of the "smith" has been carried on and handed down from Father to son. Three families only, as far as is known have covered the years since the reign of Queen Mary.
Richard BURCHETT (was there in 1559) and his son no doubt sharpened pikes, or cutlasses when the Armada threatened and his great-grand-son another Richard was learning the trade at the Restoration of Charles II. There was one more Richard Burchett and his son John, a Churchwarden, and then the smithy passed to Richard GILL who married Charity BURCHETT in 1707 shortly after her brother died. Richard and Charity had a son Samuel who married Sarah and they had four sons and a daughter. Samuel died in 1785 and his last surviving son James died in 1825 and once more the "smithy" changed hands and the HILLS came upon the scene. Two generations have spanned the years from ----- to 1960 when the late Luther HILLS sold the "smithy" to the present owner Mr. THOMPSON, of the Forge Garage. Luther took over the Forge from his Uncle and sold the Forge but remained in the Cottage. Luther died at the age of 93.
Samuel and Sarah GILL interest us in modern East Dean as between the time of 1749 and 1773 they rebuilt the "Forge Cottage" into what it resembles today (only the back has been altered in the recent restoration. Samuel was a provident man and for his roof timbers he used ships' timbers, masts and oars, obviously from wrecks at Birling, and the rebuilding of his home covered many years of patient toil, as obviously his work on the smithy previously occupied his attention.
The little outhouse behind this cottage (the privy) neatly (sic possibly "recently") pulled down carried his initials S & S and date 1749, so all that time it was the latest "mod con." and on completion of the cottage in 1773 the same initials and the date were inscribed on a stone above the east door. The two stones are now preserved in the cellar which is itself an interesting feature. Its exact date is unknown and it may have been constructed many years before Samuel and Sarah. It is built of squared chalk blocks and the domed ceiling is also of chalk. It has two carefully cut arched recesses in the south wall, the object of which are as uncertain as the date of the cellar itself. One wonders the original purpose of this cellar; was it just for storage a possible hiding place for smuggled goods, or a secret Quaker or non-conformist meeting place?"
I have been trying to add some more detail to this account using the Census returns from 1841 to 1901. The problem with these, of course, is that they give only an imperfect snapshot once every ten years. They may, however, through the date and place of birth of a child, give details of family movements during the inter-censal years. From these records, one can begin to add some details to the above article.
The task was complicated because after substantial research it appeared that there were two forges in East Dean: two in one little village? The other worrying thing was a preponderance of wood and forestry occupations in a downland area 70 years before the planting of Friston Forest. Only after consulting a list of blacksmiths from a Sussex directory of 1882, did it become clear that the searches on the Census return were not distinguishing between East Dean, Eastbourne and East Dean, Chichester. Only in 1871, did the facsimiles bear completed details of Ecclesiastical District, Rural District, etc., and it became clear which was which. Beware researchers! It is dangerous out there. Once you know there is a possibility of confusion, the parish of birth can give a clue, but when all on the page were born in East Dean . . .
So, to East Dean, near Eastbourne.
The Forge at East Dean possibly 1940s
The Forge today
The article implies that when Samuel GILL's son James died in 1825, the smithy passed to the HILLS family. In the 1841 Census, John W HILLS (b.1800 Ripe) was recorded as a blacksmith in East Dean where he was living with his wife, Flora (b. 1802 Ripe) and daughter, Caroline (b.1829). Fortunately, Esther Worsfold had access to a transcription of the 1831 Census for the village* and in this she notes there is a John William HILLS aged 33, Flora HILLS (31) his wife and daughter Caroline HILLS (2), although no trades are shown. This confirms Mrs Hughes statement that the HILLS took over the forge from the GILLS.
In 1851, John William HILLS living in East Dean with his wife, Flora, is recorded as a blacksmith employing 1 man and in 1861 as Master Blacksmith with a blacksmith apprentice, Robert Dunsdale (b.Friston 1840) living with him at The Forge. Also present was his wife Flora and two grandchildren from his daughter Caroline, John William OSBORN (b. 1853 East Dean) and Maria (b. 1854 East Dean). By 1871, John W HILLS was 72 and still recorded as blacksmith with John W OSBORN aged 19 also a blacksmith.
In 1881, there is no record of John W. HILLS, nor his wife. However, in this year a Framfield branch of the HILLS family makes its appearance in East Dean. Their history is interesting and again illustrates the way blacksmithing, and presumably most other crafts and trades in these times, tended to follow family lines. We first come across the family in 1841 in Framfield. William HILLS (b.1805 Framfield) was a smith with sons, John (b.1833 Framfield), Henry (b.1837 Framfield) and William (b.1839 Framfield). In 1851, William HILLS and his son John were blacksmiths in Framfield but Henry had moved to join another HILLS family in Hadlow Down. Here in 1841, Charlotte HILLS (b.1773) is recorded as a blacksmith (!) and her son, George HILLS (b. 1818 Framfield) as a blacksmith journeyman. In 1851, George HILLS, still in Hadlow Down, was a Master Blacksmith, living with his mother, Sharley HILLS, now 70 and not active in the trade, and Henry HILLS (b. 1837 Framfield) living with them. This Henry is something of a puzzle; he is given in "Relation to Head of Family" as "Servant" and "Occupation" as "Servant" though there is a word or part of a word before "Servant" that I cannot decipher. I strongly suspect that the two families were related.
In 1861, Henry HILLS was married to Ruth (b.1839 Framfield) and was a blacksmith back in Framfield and in 1871 was in Lewes with his wife, Ruth, and sons, Henry (b.1865) and Luther (b.1871). Finally, in 1881 Henry HILLS (b.1837) was blacksmith and wheelwright in East Dean with his wife, Ruth, and son Henry (b.1865), a wheelwright, as well as Luther, born in Lewes in 1871 and a daughter Sarah in East Dean in 1874. So between these dates we can assume the family moved to East Dean. There is no record of J. W. HILLS in 1881 so it probably safe to assume that Henry took over The Forge on the death or incapacity of John W. HILLS sometime between 1871 and 1874. There was another blacksmith living in East Dean in 1881, Thomas FRENCH (b.1854 Alfriston), presumably working at The Forge.
In 1891, Henry HILLS (b.1837) is recorded as engineer and smith with a new wife, Caroline (b.1844 Hailsham) and his son Luther also a blacksmith.
Luther HILLS was married to Elizabeth (b.1870 Wannock) with no family in 1901, recorded as a blacksmith in East Dean, working on "own account" "at home" at The Forge.
The photograph shows Luther Hills at the Old Forge in East Dean 1820-30
The author of the article suggests that Luther took over the forge from his uncle. Now Henry HILLS was definitely Luther's father but it is not impossible that another Hills blacksmith took over for a time after Henry HILLS. George HILLS from Hadlow Down (who may or may not have been an uncle) was retired in 1891 but Henry's elder brother, John, was still a blacksmith in Uckfield in 1901. So this suggestion remains a possibility.
* published by PBN publications 22 Abbey Road, Eastbourne in 1989
Blacksmiths of East Dean in West Sussex
Since I had extracted all the records, let me tell you about East Dean, Chichester.
The records show that in 1841, Henry AUSTIN (b.1797 East Dean) was living in East Dean with his family and Thomas RAYLEY (b.1816 Sussex), a blacksmith journeyman. In my understanding, a journeyman could ply his trade but only in the employ of another, so I assume that Henry AUSTIN ran the forge. This is confirmed in 1851, when Henry AUSTIN is recorded as a blacksmith employing 1 man and 1 boy. His son, Charles AUSTIN (b.1836 East Dean) is also recorded as a blacksmith (presumably the "1 man"), I wonder if his younger son, Henry AUSTIN (b.1839) was "the boy". This dynasty continued through 1861 & 1871, with young Henry, or by then both were known as Harry, Harry AUSTIN qualifying as a blacksmith. In the 1881 Census, Harry AUSTIN the elder has died but Charles AUSTIN and Harry AUSTIN the younger are still recorded as blacksmiths in the village but by 1891, Harry AUSTIN appears to be on his own.
Also in 1851, there were a group of wheelwrights and machine makers. Friend NORRELL (b.1810 East Dean) and his son Friend NORRELL (b.1824 East Dean) were the operatives, and there was his wife Louisa (b.1809 Chichester) and four daughters all born in East Dean between 1839 and 1847. Living next door was a further wheelwright and machine maker, Henry BOXALL (b.1827 East Dean) together with his wife Ann (b.1823 Cocking) and two young daughters. Did they have a separate establishment from the HILLS and the AUSTINS?
Interestingly, in 1841 Friend NORRELL was just a sawyer journeyman as were so many in the village. There were in East Dean, Chichester, in 1861, 27 Labourers in Woods, 9 Hurdle Makers, 7 Hoop Makers, 5 Wood Sawyers, 2 Steam Sawyers and 1 Forester. In one year there was even a Truffle Hunter!
Pitfalls in Research or Where did I nearly go so wrong?
Online research does have its disadvantages in that one does not see the whole context of the documents one is viewing. I used Ancestry.co.uk to view Census records by year. I was fortunate to find a name, Austin, near the beginning of the alphabet that had records in East Dean and from there was able to move to the actual image. An indicator showed "2 of 9"; I moved to the first image, saved with an appropriate name any sheet that had blacksmith or wheelwright and so on. Later these were printed out, trimmed to landscape A4 which made them quite readable. The problem was that both East Dean's records were displayed without distinction until 1881. Sometimes, had I realised, a birthplace like West Hampnett or Chichester gave a clue but many sheets just had "Sussex: East Dean" throughout. Had I used a different search method and looked for an individual, I would have been shown initially a transcription which detailed the Registration District even if this was not shown on the image. I hope this will be of some help to other researchers.
