PEASMARSH

The lovely little village that is home to Sir Paul McCartney and family, Peasmarsh lies on the crest of the ridge between the rivers Tillingham and Rother

Sexual harassment by a ghost? It happened at the 16th century Horse and Cart and the victim was the new licensee, Cilla Gurden.

She was reaching for the handle of a beer pump to serve a regular customer when some ‘saucy devil’ suddenly pinched her bottom. The culprit was invisible and Cilla turned back to find the customers smiling and giggling. It was Harry,’ they assured her, the name they had given to a ghost they described as rather cheeky’.

One of the bar staff, Maria Wall, was ‘attacked’ in similar fashion and yet another victim of the phantom pincher was Linda Piggott. “We just wish he would keep his hands to himself,’ said Cilla, “but we would never call in an exorcist, for he is rather fun to have around.’

When landlord Mick Pithie left the pub, he decided to give his old regulars a treat. They were all invited to the opening night of his new pub, The Curlew at Hurst Green. It promised to be a highly alcoholic affair and to avoid his former customers falling foul of drinking and driving Mr Pithie laid on a London doubledecker bus to get them all there and back safely.

A responsible approach which was seriously lacking in a son of Peasmarsh from an earlier age. William Pattison was born here in 1706, a gifted poet who while at school built up debts amounting to £10 with booksellers. With the creditors getting fiercer and no money in his pockets, Pattison literally wrote himself out of trouble by penning An Ode on Christmas Day and inscribing it to Sir Christopher Musgrave of Edenhall. He then introduced himself to the baronet who was so pleased with the ode that he immediately paid off all the debts.

Pattison got to Cambridge where, in today’s parlance, he seems to have had the wrong attitude’. He was threatened with expulsion but left of his own accord and set himself up as a professional poet. He was soon homeless and starving in London and died of smallpox at the age of 21. Lower laments: “With abilities of a high order, he had no steadiness of purpose, or depth of principle. From the extreme licentiousness of his poetry the world was a gainer by his death, and Sussex can take little credit to herself for having given him birth. Most of his poems were written before he was nineteen and they show a moral depravity quite remarkable for that early period of life.’ Strong stuff! But by modern-day standards the schoolboy poet’s work is unlikely to raise any shocked eyebrows at all.

Ss. Peter & Paul church. Peasmarsh church lies well away from the rest of the village, giving rise to theories of an earlier community being wiped out by the Black Death. It stands serene among meadows and nearby is Peasmarsh Place. 

The church is mostly Norman. It has a wonderful Norman chancel arch, decorated with carvings of stylised heraldic animals. The leopard-like creatures have been carved into the iron-sandstone of the arch masonry and are a unique feature of the church.

Similar carvings are found on the external chancel wall and buttresses. 

Reredos: (Set above chancel arch) Large painted panel, said to be of plaster with the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed and the Ten Commandments.  Almost certainly from a C17 or C18 reredos.

The bells are of great antiquity, four of them were cast in 1631. 

The East window 1936. It replaced an earlier one. 

Edward William Eric Mann was born on 15 May 1907 at Alderside, Reigate, Surrey, England. He was the son of Eric William Mann and Josephine Catherine Cameron. He married Helen Sholto Douglas, daughter of Francis William Douglas and Violet Eleanor June O'Ferrall, on 28 April 1932. He died on 13 December 1942 at age 35 in Libya, killed in action
     He was educated at Harrow School. He graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge University,  in 1929 with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) He gained the rank of Captain in the Royal Armoured Corps, 4th County of London Yeomanry. He fought in the Second World War.

William Lefebvre Brodrick born Jan 1904 Playden, Sussex, England, United Kingdom - 25 Nov 1941 Mediterranean Sea. Died when his battleship, HMS Barham was sunk by a U-boat. He was its Lieutenant Commander.

World War II memorial.

Thomas Pix and son. Thomas Pix (died June 24, 1853) was a prominent British banker and landowner based in Rye, East Sussex. Along with his partners John Bellingham and Thomas Smith Pix, he operated the Rye Bank. He passed away at Peasmarsh

Sarah Smith, who died aged 16 in 1807.

Elizabeth Delves (d1819). It comprises an oval inscription with a dove and foliage.

Rev. William Richard Brodrick, one time Dean of Sidney College. Cambridge and 37 years vicar of Peasmarsh, died 1897

Rev John Lettice (d1832) In the early 1800's the vicar of Peasmarsh Dr John Lettuce drew up plans for the evacuation of the civilian population in the event of the expected invasion by Napoleon. This was to have been carried out by going inland across country, leaving the main roads clear of refugees, allowing free movement by the army. He also created a list of essential items for the refugees to have carried. The Lettuce plan was revised in the 1940's by Winston Churchill to counter the suspected invasion by Hitler.

Rev. Jeremiah Smith left money in his will to be distributed to the old and needy who weren't eligible for Parish Relief on Christmas Eve every year.

The South Chapel is a memorial chapel to those who gave their lives in war.

The view of the west end of the nave

Self-explanatory, this one.