Lindfield Village Day

Welcome to Lindfield Life’s Lindfield Village Day event page. Here you will find our most recent information for our wonderful community day.

Lindfield Village Day is a celebration for the community and a fundraiser for the King Edward Hall.

See also, King Edward Hall
Village Day Facebook page

Details regarding 2026’s Lindfield Village Day will be here early next year!

Success in 2025!

By David Tingley, co-chair
In case it passed you by, a small team of volunteers orchestrated one of Lindfield’s largest community events last month, ably assisted by an army of around 50 helpers on the day. Although the visitor numbers are anything but concrete, we estimate that up to around 10,000 people came to enjoy Lindfield Village Day – which included the procession down the High Street, live music on the RTFJ Stage, the Leonardslee Food & Drink Quarter, the competition tent, kids' dog show, arena performances and, of course, over 130 stalls spread out around the Common.
This huge event is a tremendous feat in organisation, put on by the team led by myself and Katherine Alcock – so we’d like to say a massive thank you to all of them for making it happen. Profits from the day go to Lindfield’s King Edward Hall – and will be announced in due course. In the meantime, enjoy this reminder of the day…

Drone photo by © Gibson Blanc Photography

Your digital pull-out guide to 2025

Inside June’s Lindfield Life magazine is a full 12-page pull-out guide for Lindfield Village Day. Below is a digital copy of that guide.
We hope you have a great time at the fair this year - 31st May!

Lindfield Village Run

Welcome to Lindfield Life’s Lindfield Village Run event page. Here you will find our most recent information for the race.

The Lindfield Village Run is a well-established event that sets out two cross county runs: a 10k Village Run and a 5k Family Run. Both take place mostly on paths and tracks through the West Sussex countryside in the immediate vicinity of the village of Lindfield. They are old fashioned cross-country runs with multi-terrain, some slippery surfaces and the odd cow in fields!

See also, King Edward Hall
Village Run Facebook page

2026’s Lindfield Village Run will be announced early next year.

2025 success!

At Lindfield Village Run this year, nearly 650 people took part in the run, which enjoyed near-perfect running conditions on Sunday 18th May.

Full results are online now: www.kingedwardhall.org.uk/village-run

Photo credits include: Mark Tampion and Ray Turner

Mid Sussex District Council celebrates Mid Sussex Applause Awards

Celebration for the unsung heroes of Mid Sussex

Unsung heroes were celebrated at the Mid Sussex Applauds Awards 2025 - an annual event that recognises those people who go the extra mile for their community. More than 100 people attended a special ceremony that was organised by Mid Sussex District Council and held at the South of England Showground, Ardingly. Hosted by Cllr Rodney Jackson, Chairman of Mid Sussex District Council, and the High Sheriff of West Sussex, Dr Timothy Fooks, there were 37 individuals, groups or businesses who were recognised for their contribution to the district.

These included nine winners, 10 highly commended and 18 commended nominees. Sponsors of the awards were: Community People, Glendale, Jobs Go Public, Orchards Shopping Centre, Places Leisure, City Science, MUFG and Chroma Vision. For a list of all winners, including those highly commended and commended, visit www.midsussexapplauds.co.uk

To see our showcase of winners and to read the full article, please click the images to enlarge them or pick up your copy of July’s August Life.

Lindfield Bowls Club issues a history challenge

Click to enlarge

https://www.lindfieldbowlsclub.co.uk/
By John Bartlett

We have a challenge for you. Can you identify an ancestor?

A recent posting on Facebook group of the photo below was a surprise, because a copy hangs in our more modern clubhouse. Taken in 1914, it depicts members of the bowls club in front of the original pavilion.
We would love to put more names to faces and we hope villagers of today may be able to help. We have identified one of them: Mr C W Masters an ancestor of the village business Masters and Sons. We showed it to them and they identified him. It worked once, so we hope it can again.

On 18th October 1904 a plot of land on the Common was offered for use as a bowling green subject to the agreement that a slight wire fence be placed around it but removed when required by the council. Times have changed!
Bowling began in 1905. Mrs Annie Clarke was one of the councillors in 1904, charged with the duty to oversee the project. Her husband Dr Cuthbert Clarke was elected as president of the club in 1910 and Mrs Clarke acted as the Hon Secretary. How do we know this? Because we have the handwritten minute book from 1904 to 1925. How it survived is somewhat of a mystery, but it gives us the names of the officers and members of the club around the time the photograph was taken. It’s reasonable to assume some are featured.

However, as the minutes book is handwritten our interpretation maybe not perfect. First names or initials were not always recorded. At that time the playing club membership was men.
OFFICERS in 1910 – President: Dr. G. Cuthbert Clarke, General Committee: Messrs Higgs, Shepherd, Ward, James Law and R. Longley, Match Committee: Messrs Foster, Humphrey and Charman, Captain: C. Featherstone Snr, Vice-Captain: Chas. W. Masters (The only one recognised so far), Hon Sec: Mrs Annie C. Clarke (this is how she signed the Minutes book), Treasurer: C. Wheeler.
MEMBERSHIP in 1910 / 1914 (in no specific order) – F.H.J. Beeny, James Law, J. Box, L.T. Wratten, C. Wheeler, A. Jenner, T.E. Charmen, Brown, A. Shepherd, G. Ward, Parker Auscombe, C. Featherstone Snr, F. Edwards, F.H. Levauchy, F. Comer, W. Comer, Spiers, E. Mitchell, W.G. Jeffrey, C. Higgs, F. Hills, T.B. Hames, J. Edmed, C.W. Masters, Longley, C. Featherstone Jnr, H.C. Foster, L. Broadbridge, H. Howell, A. Smith, E. Patching, H. Marchant, E. Stevens, J.W. Driver, Woolcock.

The club had several Vice Presidents, including ladies, who no doubt helped the club in some way. Miss Catt certainly did by lending them her roller! The VPs are named as W. Sturdy, G. Coller, W. Knowles, W. Tower, L. Weedon, Mrs. Rogers and Mrs. Clarke. It seems logical to assume some of the aforementioned gentlemen would be included in the picture.

We have tried hard to identify them. Indeed, Dr Clarke, a surgeon, could be in the photo as he was again elected as president for 1914. Condolences to Mrs Clarke were recorded in the minutes book following Dr Clarke’s death later that year, which gave us the means to trace them on Ancestry.com. We do know he was in Great Walstead farm when the 1911 census was taken along with his wife. They were classed as visitors and staying as guests of Mrs Rogers, his cousin and one of the vice presidents. They had two children and hopefully we have a link.

We can find little detail on the others. So, if anyone recognises family names and can identify the individual, we would be very interested to hear from you. Please contact us by email to receive a copy to enlarge or if you wish to visit the club as we can supply an A4 copy.
But there’s another challenge… The sign above the door in the photo now hangs inside our clubhouse. It was rescued from a skip during later refurbishment. Within the club its meaning is taken as ‘An honest man is without bias’, but we would be interested in hearing from anyone if they have a different view.
The sign has initials PA carved at the end are thought to be the initials of the person who made it, possibly Parker Auscombe who was active in the club.

We owe all those folk who worked so hard to establish our club a massive vote of thanks. It has become one if not the best bowling club in Sussex with around 140 active members, both male and female, with many successes on the green at county and national level. We hope we have been worthy of their efforts. Responses please to: secretary@lindfieldbowlsclub.co.uk.

Lindfield Arts Festival

Welcome to Lindfield Life’s Lindfield Arts Festival event page. Here you will find our most recent information for the event.

Lindfield Arts Festival is an annual art exhibition on a trail around Lindfield, featuring many talented local artists.

See also, Lindfield Arts Festival on Facebook

2025’s Lindfield Arts Festival will be held on Sunday 1st June.

Click to enlarge

The roadmap for Lindfield Arts Festival this 1st June 2025 is as follows:

No 1 - 12 Compton Road
Irene Burns

No 2 - 222 The Welkin
Carrie Britton

No 3 - 36 Noahs Ark Lane
Herta Kingdom
Jenny Sturrock
Nick Gardiner

No 4 - Little Gravelye, Gravelye Lane
Hilary Steel

No 5 - 63 Bentswood Crescent
Suzi Alfred
Ayo

No 6 - 42 Meadow Lane
Carol-Lynne Duffy
Elizabeth Ockford
Hilary Kennett
Nicola Baker
Rebecca Herrington

For more info contact hilary.kennett@lindfieldarts.com.

Lindfield Parish Council news - June 2025

Clerk’s update

By Santi Gil, Clerk to Lindfield Rural Parish Council
The Lindfield Village Day is being held on Saturday 31st May, starting at noon and finishing at 5pm at Lindfield Common RH16 2LD. This is a great day for the whole family with many stands and things to do, including a dog show, live music, competition tent, food and drink quarter and (drum role please) our very own Lindfield Rural Parish Council stand. On our stand we will have the Big Cuddly Toy free competition (always a hit for your children and free to enter, just guess its name?), you can meet our councillors, ask questions and see information about LRPC, of course Sarah and I will be there to chat with you and out two little mascots Alfie the Bearded Collie and Lissi the Rough Collie - if that isn’t enough we always have a few jars of sweets and dog biscuits for you and your four legged friends!!

Again, we would love to see you there and have a chat Permission has been granted by the Planning Inspectorate for 90 dwellings with open space to be built at the Walstead site. Mid Sussex planning reference number DM/24/0446 for the location at Scamps Hill, Lindfield, RH16 2GT. LRPC opposed this application as a consultee and Cllr. Christian Bode attended the inquiry on behalf of the council. Below is a small section of the final finding for you to view.

To read the full newsletter, pick up a copy of June’s Lindfield Life or click the images to enlarge rhem.

The bells' peal at All Saints Church, Lindfield

By Jacqui Allen

It has been six years since a set of new bells were installed at All Saints Lindfield, as part of the re-ordering of the church building and, since then, they have rung out for Sunday services, weddings and funerals and for significant events in the UK such as the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the coronation of King Charles III.

During this period, there have been a total of 19 quarter peals rung but, as of yet, a full peal has not been attempted. The last time a peal was rung at All Saints was in 2002.
A full peal is a marathon event. It is a continuous ringing of the bells for approximately three hours. It is both physically and mentally demanding on the ringers. The physical demands will be obvious to all but the mental demands less so. Ringing a peal requires concentrating for a full three hours without letting your thoughts wander from the order in which your bell is struck. During a peal the sequence in which individual bells are struck will change approximately 5,000 times and each ringer will have to keep track of what they should be doing now, what they should be doing next and when they change.

The peal is scheduled to start at 10am on 31st May – Lindfield Village Day – and finish at 1pm. Assuming a calm day or a wind from the north, it should be heard on the Common as the stalls are being set up and the early birds explore what is on offer from the stall holders this year.

Look out for the Royal British Legion stall at Village Day, as this peal is also being rung in commemoration of the 80th anniversary of VE (Victory in Europe) Day which is 8th May.

Orla now serving in Lindfield High Street

Previously featured in the January issue of this magazine, where Lindfield resident Ian Brunsdon had got to the quarter finals of MasterChef, we are now happy to report that Ian has opened his own restaurant on the High Street.

Ian and his wife Ellen met working in hospitality back in 2015, and vowed one day to open their own place together. Orla Restaurant & Rooms is the reality of that vision, which they have named after their two children.
“We have felt so welcomed into the village,” Ian said, “with people looking through the windows and popping in for a chat while renovations were ongoing. “Now that we are open, we are looking forward to welcoming both familiar and new faces into the restaurant.”

Ian has been working in kitchens since he was 15, and has worked in France and Australia, returning to work in Jeremy’s at Borde Hill and, more recently, head chef at Bolney Wine Estate – which he did for six years.
“Ellen and I had been researching and looking around for a few years, but when we found 67 High Street, it felt like the perfect location.”

They have been hands-on for the refurbishment, which took five weeks, and now includes a ‘sit at the pass’ area where guests can be fully immersed next to the chefs. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Orla offers an a la Carte menu with lunchtime classics and evening tasting menus with wine pairing.

Newsletter from Mid Sussex District Council - April 2025

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Raising awareness of heat pumps

Heat pumps are relatively rare in residential properties in the UK – there are only around 250,000 currently. This means that the vast majority of people will never (knowingly) have seen a home with a heat pump.

Nesta, the charity that focuses on innovation including a sustainable future, wants everyone in the UK to be able to visit a heat pump near them and get the support they need.

Visit a heat pump combines a digital platform along with recruitment and training of heat pump hosts, providing a full end-to-end service for the public to visit a heat pump and get further support to help them build their confidence. So far, nearly 400 hosts are listed and Nesta is aiming for over 1,000 visits in the next few months.

Anyone interested in being a host or visiting a heat pump can register their interest at: www.visitaheatpump.com

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Sign up to our digital newsletter!

Want to keep in the loop with what’s happening in your local community? Then sign up to our digital Mid Sussex Matters newsletter, a monthly email to help residents stay up to date with what’s going on at the Council and in the wider district. Scan the QR code or visit our website www.midsussex.gov.uk to subscribe and join thousands of residents who are already taking advantage of this valuable resource. Let’s work together for a better Mid Sussex.

To read the full newsletter, click the images to enlarge them or pick up April’s Lindfield Life today.

Churches of Lindfield Easter services

Welcome to Lindfield Life’s churches of Lindfield Easter services event page. Here you will find our most recent information for everything Easter in our churches.

See also, All Saints Church, Lindfield United Reformed Church, Lindfield Evangelical Free Church, St Augustine’s Church, Scaynes Hill

All Saints Church

www.allsaintslindfield.org/christmas
Email: allsaints@lindfield.info

Good Friday 18th April

10am – A service for all ages as we explore the meaning of Good Friday followed by an opportunity to make your own Easter garden and enjoy hot cross buns.

12noon – An hour’s service of music, prayer, Bible readings and short reflective talks around the Cross.

7pm – Good Friday Requiem Concert New Sussex Singers will be performing a concert of beautiful music for Good Friday including works by Stanford, Lotti and Duruflé. The evening will culminate in a performance of Matthew Coleridge’s ‘Requiem’, featured in the 2023 Classic FM Hall of Fame. The Requiem will be sung by a choir of over 50, as NSS are joined by singers from All Saints and the local community.

Tickets £15 or £5 for under 21s, available at www.allsaintslindfield.org/requiem

Easter Sunday 20th April

8am – Holy Communion

9.30am – Easter All Age Celebration with Communion followed by an egg hunt for the children in The Vicarage garden.

11.15am – Easter Communion Service

6pm – Lively Easter Celebration led by young people, also including communion.

Some of our services will be livestreamed: www.allsaintslindfield.org/live

Lindfield United Reformed Church

Good Friday 18th April

10am – Remembering the Cross

Saturday 19th April

10am - 2pm – Easter Egg Hunt, starting from the church explore the village, and return for a reward.

Easter Day 20th April

10am – Celebrating the hope we know through the resurrection of Jesus. You are invited to bring cut flowers to help decorate the Easter Cross on the High Street before the service begins

Our services can be accessed online at www.lindfieldurc.org.uk

Lindfield Evangelical Free Church

www.lefc.co.uk

Good Friday 18th April

10.30am – ‘Who Did Jesus Die For?’

Easter Sunday 20th April

10.30am – ‘How Can We Know?’

St Augustine’s Church, Scaynes Hill

www.sash.org.uk

Palm Sunday 13th April

10am – Holy Communion – Meet on Scaynes Hill Common 10am, with service in church to start at 10.15am

Maundy Thursday 17th April

7pm – Parish Supper followed by Tenebrae Service

Good Friday 18th April

2pm – Hour at the Cross

Easter Day 20th April

6am – Sunrise Service followed by breakfast

10am – Family Communion followed by Easter Egg Hunt

Karate dojo open at Oathall in Lindfield

There is a new beginner’s class, for those wanting to learn karate in Lindfield.

The class started last month at Oathall Community College on Monday evenings, and Becky MacSweeney is the leader.
Becky’s own journey into the sport, begun when she went along to classes with her own children just over two years ago. She loved it so much, she started competing nationally and has ten gold medals to date, including regional champion two years in a row!
“I love watching people learn karate,” Becky explained. “Seeing them learn a form of self defence, growing in confidence and winning medals, as they do.”

Becky – who still trains six hours a week – is helped by Senpai Marli and Maddie, plus also Sachin, at Oathall (part of the Haywards Heath, Burgess Hill and Cuckfield dojo).
Lindfield resident Stuart Todd, who trains with Becky, said: “I love the elements of discipline, control and confidence that karate brings to me and those that I train with, from young children to those more advanced in years. My fitness levels and flexibility have been positively impacted and also been a huge advantage in every day life.”

For more information about karate, email: skrycler@ gkrkarate.com.

https://www.gkrkarate.com/locations/listing/gkr-karate-haywards-heath-occ/

Denmans Lane Dash in Lindfield

Welcome to Lindfield Life’s Denmans Lane Dash event page. Here you will find our most recent information for the exciting Boxing Day race.

Denmans Lane Dash is a Boxing Day beer race, racing the length of Denmans Lane and back for charity.

See also, Denmans Lane Dash Facebook page

All photos © Mark Tampion (Click to enlarge)

2024’s Dash complete

By Ray Gower

Another Boxing Day Denmans Lane Dash has passed and what a brilliant day we had! This year’s Dash was the best supported yet. The weather stayed kind to us again which encouraged many more people to come out and watch the competitors, adorned in their various festive and fancy dress costumes.

As usual the ladies set off first at a sensible pace. We had a couple of former champions including last year’s winner Sophie Grimaldi defending her crown. But this year saw another name added to the illustrious winners list – Emily Phillips.
Emily was closely followed by Mae Robinson – a member of the formidable Robinson family. Competing in her first Dash, Mae was just edged out by Emily.

The men raced off up Denmans Lane at a rate of knots and included not just one, but two Dinosaurs who bravely tackled the race in what must be very awkward costumes to run. The race would not be the same without our resident dinosaurs taking part.
Still racing hard across the line, the men’s race was won by Charlie Payne competing in his first Dash, followed closely by Ben Rebeiro and former champion Lio Robinson, another member of the lovely Robinson family.

This year’s Fancy Dress winner, judged by Mark and Sarah Tampion Lacey, went to Rob Watts who wrapped himself up as a Christmas present.

I was blown away by the amount of support we had this year. The Dash has grown to become such a wonderful fun community event, giving everyone a bit of relief from the normal Boxing Day festivities and the chance to grab a bit of fresh air.
It also gives us an opportunity to raise money for deserving charities and this year I wanted to do something for the ladies. This year’s charity was Breast Cancer Now - a fantastic charity that supports not just women suffering from the awful disease, but a number of men and families who have relatives with the disease.
We all know someone who has had breast cancer or has had a friend or family member with it. It touches all our lives, so for me it was the charity I wanted to support this year. A total of £2,193.96 was raised for this great charity and I can’t thank all donators enough. It just shows how generous and kind our community is.

As always, I want to thank the community for their support and the competitors for taking part and making a huge effort with their fancy dress costumes. A massive thanks goes to all those who help me put this event on each year - I couldn’t do it without them.
Andi Frost and the team at the Stand Up were fantastic, as always. A special thanks goes to Andi for supplying the bottles of bubbly for the winners and my wonderful supportive friends from Lindfield Bonfire Society who manage the marshalling of the event for me. This year was the smoothest ever!
Thanks also to my dear friends Ian and Lorna Towner who managed the registration brilliantly, our fabulous Denmans Lane resident Roger Seymour for his traffic management and Mark Tampion Lacey who took so many wonderful photographs.

To conclude, I just want to thank our fabulous, kind and supportive community for the support shown in good times and not such good times. Lindfield.... you are the best! See you next year when the Dash will be ten years old!

Video round-up of 2023 Denmans Lane Dash

Lindfield Horticultural Society

By Christine Cawley

Lindfield Horticultural Society (LHS) has been at the heart of village life since its inception back in 1945. Much has changed in the intervening 80 years, but gardening remains a passion for many Lindfield residents, and new generations are bringing a fresh outlook to how we tend our gardens.

The LHS is keen to embrace change, whilst still maintaining the traditions for which it is known and loved, and is inviting members and non-members alike to a Coffee Morning at the King Edward Hall on Saturday 8th February from 10am to 12noon.

As well as providing an opportunity to meet fellow gardeners and enjoy tea, coffee and home-made cakes, this event will highlight current and future projects planned by the LHS.
It will also feature the annual seed swap and the unveiling of the new 2025 schedule.

Other local organisations, including Greener Lindfield, the Eastern Road Nature Reserve and Lindfield in Bloom, will also be there to showcase their own aims and activities.
Along with the traditional flower and produce shows, talks and outings, the LHS is trying out some innovative new ideas in 2025, with gardening masterclasses, flower arranging workshops, visits to members’ gardens and a special rose event.
This coffee morning will showcase these and much more, and there will also be the opportunity to chat to the committee and to put your gardening questions to a team of experienced gardeners.

If you’re interested in joining the Lindfield Horticultural Society, you can do so on the day, visit www.lindfieldhorts.org.uk or contact Membership Secretary, Jacqui Essen, at membership@lindfieldhorts. org.uk.

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