The historian Michael Wood, came to the locality to begin filming his landmark BBC2 series ‘The Great British Story- A People’s History’. He started the series here in Pevensey with the words ‘this is where it all began’.;xNLx;The inspiration for the project came from his words and the notion that by learning how to ‘weave some code', like the Bayeux Tapestry, the villagers, working together, could create something iconic for the modern age that would leave a lasting legacy in the locality and become a key profiling tool for the visitor economy.;xNLx;The Pevensey Timeline Association gratefully acknowledges the support of the Big Lottery Fund in establishing this project. Two technical staff and three tutors are supporting the work of up to 20 villagers, all learning how to research, edit and code the timeline for a public audience. We hope you enjoy browsing the timeline!!!!;xNLx;;xNLx;Dianne Dear, Chair, Pevensey Timeline Association, 9 September 2014
Through time the bedrock underlying the Pevensey Levels was deposited during the Cretaceous, when the sands of the Hastings Group were laid down in a freshwater–brackish flood plain environment. The Weald Clay was laid down in lagoons and tidal deltas.
Prehistoric: There has been one excavation within the area that has produced limited evidence of prehistoric activity: Old Farmhouse, High Street (1994) produced six Neolithic or Bonze Age waste flint flakes in residual contexts.
....the results began to take my breath away, the long lost mysterious lagoon formed in front of my eyes and what was more I could fly
ANDERIDA the Roman fort, later known as Pevensey Castle is one of a chain of nine forts 'of the Saxon Shore; which was built as part of a huge programme of defensive works undertaken by the Romans during their occupancy of Britain.
Both the Roman fort, and the medieval town and castle of Pevensey were dependent on the coastal location.
Caer-Anderida is Pevensey (Anderitum). It is mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles as a British stronghold overrun by the invading South Saxons under King Aelle in 491.
The name Pevensey means island or marsh of Pefen or Peofena, a Saxon
King Aelfwald Hands the Crown to King Ecgberht and Wessex
As in the Roman period, Late Saxon development of the site was doubtless influenced by the substantial coastal embayment of what later became the reclaimed land of Pevensey Levels.
From Exile in Flanders
Duke William Lands near Pevensey - The Normans Invade England. The Norman invaders found an undefended sea, and an undefended coast when they reached England
Domesday Book records
From the man who wrote the book when it comes to contemporaneous accounts, a new entry on the timeline storms the stage. Continuing our 'as it happened' sequence of stories, timeline graduate Peter Roper puts himself back in the frame. Fled east from fallen Lewes with two-hundred loyal men, joining William Rufus and his forces here at Pevensey, his dramatic account unfolds as the siege to the Norman Castle is underway. 'Again we smiled', comments the author 'and praised God'.
In 1216 the parish church of St Nicolas was built very close to the seashore, on the site of an earlier Saxon chapel
Anderida—The Black Forest
FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT : in a series of stories on the timeline, composed by villagers, we present various eye-witness style accounts of aspects of the history of Pevensey written from a contemporaneous point of view. Here, in the third of a sequence of accounts, timeline graduate, Peter Roper, reports on the Jack Cade Rebellion and the Bailiffs of Pevensey. The year is 1450, the date is 13th July, the location a small hamlet near Heathfield and the story details what happened, as if it was yesterday.....
From a borough total of around 90 in 1564, the population fell to around 70 for the whole parish by 1676 (possibly as a result of epidemics at this time), then rose to around 117 in 1724. Thereafter population continued to grow, reaching 191 by 1801
Pevensey has 12 surviving buildings (or groups of buildings) that date from between 1500 and 1800.
Built in 1541, the old Pevensey Courthouse museum and jail remains as a rich slice of history,
A board on the outside of this house states that it was the former residence of Andrew Borde, Court Physician to Henry VIII, and was once occupied by Edward VI. Ye Olde Mint House is a Grade II Listed building dating from the 16th Century
Not an awful lot happened at Normans Bay but when it did it was something big. The area is named after the Norman invasion of 28th September 1066 however at this time, the whole area here would have been under water and William and his troops would have probably landed a little further to the east at Bulverhythe.
Smugglers have used the isolated shore here for hundreds of years to land their contraband, no doubt using the nearby Star Inn which was known to have been selling beer as early as 1596.
In 1703 there was more excitement in Norman's Bay during the great storm of 24th November when a 70 gun third-rate ship-of-the-line HMS Resolution was dashed ashore here.
Smuggling was widespread. It was not unknown for mounted dragoons to be attacked by a band of smugglers. It was not only the collecting of goods from boats, but taking bales of wool to be smuggled into France. At one time Pevensey had its own Militia (see badge at the Court House).
The majority of the buildings in Pevensey date from this period, not so much through loss of earlier buildings, but through largely piecemeal redevelopment of vacant plots. This was very small scale between 1840 and 1914, with the most significant developments being the creation of the cattle market on the site of the manor house (demolished c.1850174) and construction of Castle Terrace on the High Street east of the Mint House in the late 19th century. Also of the late 19th century are the vicarage (now Marsh Hall) and the National School (1876), both east of the church.
There was more activity at Normans Bay on 13th February 1822 when over 300 smugglers armed with clubs fought with excisemen who had ambushed them as they waited to land contraband from the ship Queen Charlotte.
Meeting
Visits Pevensey Castle
With loss of life
The London Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) opened a line from Lewes to St Leonards in 1846
In a storm at Pevensey Bay
A short history of Pevensey Cattle Market
Four dead!
Embark on first archaeological examination.
At 8pm on Monday 13th November 1865, William Richards, the Coastguardsman at nearby Pevensey Sluice spotted what appeared to be the upturned hull of a ship off the coast. He alerted Mr Bussell, the chief-officer of the watch and the two men watched as it headed towards the beach under a strong south-westerly wind. It was not a boat it was a whale - a huge Finback whale over 70 feet long and weighing more than 50 tons.
Re-opens!
MY DEAR GABRIEL, Thanks for your letter in proportion to its welcomeness what a word ! SOURCE: THE FAMILY LETTERS OF CHRISTINA ROSSETTI
In a terrible Snow Storm at Pevensey Bay.
Sheep shearing on the Pevensey Levels, 1890. IMAGE CREDIT: Hastings Museum and Art Gallery
Boy Crushed To Death
Pevensey Bay railway station serves Pevensey Bay in East Sussex, England. It is on the East Coastway Line, and train services are provided by Southern. It was opened by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway on 11 September 1905, and was originally named Pevensey Bay Halt.
Roman Well Found!
Aberdeen Woman charged with the murder of her baby in Pevensey Bay!
Pevensey Vicar
For Pevensey Church
Welcome Home Dinner Held
Washes ashore
Dies in Pevensey Bay
Peter Pevensie is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia series
Lands on the beach at Pevensey Bay
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