A HISTORY OF SUSSEX 



seems hardly to have been practised in England 

 before the middle of Elizabeth's reign, and its 

 connexion with Sussex dates from the reign of 

 her successor. The East India Company early 

 in 1625 established works for the manufacture of 

 gunpowder _cn the borders of Windsor Forest, 

 but being compelled to close these, petitioned in 

 1626 for leave to erect others in Kent and 

 Sussex, 149 which petition, thanks to the good 

 offices of Sir John Coke, 180 was granted the same 

 year. 151 The company, however, did not avail 

 themselves of the permission so far as Sussex was 

 concerned, but it is clear that the making of 

 gunpowder was being carried on by private per- 

 sons, for amongst the unauthorized powder-mills 

 which were to be suppressed in 1627 was a water- 

 mill at Battle. 182 It was at Battle that the lead- 

 ing Sussex gunpowder factory was subsequently 

 established. In November, 1676, John Ham- 

 mond of Battle, joiner, obtained a twenty-one 

 years' lease of ' Peperynge Lands ' in that parish 

 with permission to erect a powder-mill. 163 This 

 lease was renewed to William Hammond, pow- 

 der maker, in i6()O, lM and again in I7io. 165 In 

 1750 George Matthews of Battle, late officer of 

 excise, gave security to Sir Thomas Webster, 

 George Worge, and William Gilmore, gunpow- 

 der maker, for the proper conduct of their powder 

 works at Battle. 156 About this time the reputa- 

 tion of the Battle factory was very high, Defoe 

 mentioning that the town was remarkable for 

 making 'the finest Gunpowder, and the best 

 perhaps in Europe.' 157 The quality of the 

 powder must have somewhat deteriorated, or at 

 least been surpassed by that of rival establish- 

 ments soon after this, as Young, writing at the 

 end of the eighteenth century, said : 



There is an extensive private manufactory of gun- 

 powder at Battle. The chief proprietors are Sir 

 Godfrey Webster and Mr. Harvey. Every sportsman 

 knows it ; but the Dartford is stronger and the quality 

 superior. 158 



There were also powder-mills at Brede from 

 about 1766 down to 1 82 5, 1S9 and one was work- 

 ing at Maresfield as late as i862. 160 



In a county employing so much shipping as 

 Sussex ROPEMAKING must always have been 

 practised to some extent, but few early notices of 

 it are to be found. Ropemakers occur at Playden 

 in 1572 and 1587 and at Rye in i6io 161 and 



149 Cal. S.P. Dam. 1625-6, p. 376. 



150 Catho&c Rec. Sue. i, 96. 



151 Cal. S.P. Dom. 1625-6, p. 407. 

 151 Ibid. 1627-8, p, 493. 



1K> Thorpe, Cal. Battle Chart. 164. 

 144 Ibid. 167. " 6 Ibid. 170. 



156 Ibid. 179. 



157 Defoe, Tour (ed. 1753), 182. 



158 Young, op. cit. 435. 



159 Suss. Arch. Coll. ii, 207. 



160 Ibid, xiv, 158. 



161 Cal. of Lewes Wills (Index Soc.). 



1626 ; 162 at the latter town the ropemakers were 

 amongst the trades which in 1680 paid 3^. a 

 quarter persons not being freemen of the town 

 paying 6^. 163 while in 1683 mention occurs of 

 the rope-walk on the north side of the town. 164 

 The allied manufactures of sacking and mats 

 were, and are, often carried on with that of ropes. 

 Manufactories of sacking were started for the 

 employment of the poor at Rye in I794 165 and 

 at Petworth about the same date, 168 but neither 

 appears to have been very successful. The num- 

 ber of persons employed in the rope and sacking 

 industry has remained pretty nearly constant at 

 about 140 since 1851, the chief seat of the 

 industry being at Hailsham, where from eighty to 

 ninety people were being employed in i84o, 167 

 numbers which are if anything exceeded at the 

 present time. The firm of Burfield & Sons, who 

 employ machinery, and the smaller firm of 

 Green & Sons, who use only hand labour, send 

 large quantities of twine, cordage, fibre-mats, 

 hop-sacking, &c., from Hailsham to all parts of 

 the kingdom. 



PAPER appears to have been made in Sussex 

 as far back as the beginning of the eighteenth 

 century, as tenements called ' the Paper mills ' in 

 Hooe were in dispute in I7O4. 168 At the end of 

 the century Young recorded that 'Paper is 

 manufactured at Iping and other places. Lord 

 Egremont has established a manufactory of it at 

 Duncton.' 169 Both the factories here mentioned 

 were working in i837, 170 and that at Iping, now 

 in the hands of Messrs. J. C. Warren, is the 

 last surviving mill in the county. Paper-mills of 

 considerable size existed on 'the Pells' at Lewes, 

 from about 1800 to about 1850; Thomas 

 Savage, papermaker, occurs in i8o3, 171 Thomas 

 Johnston in i8i8. 172 Johnston occurs again in 

 1826 with Charles Hester and George Munn 

 and three journeymen papermakers ; 173 in 1830 

 the trade is represented by Charles King, William 

 Thomas, papermaker's foremen, and a journey- 

 man, 174 while in 1835 Henry Savage and 

 William Thomas are both entered as paper- 

 makers. 176 In 1851 there were 41 persons 

 engaged in this industry, in 1871 only 12, but 

 this number had risen in 1901 to 24. 



At what date PRINTING was established in the 

 county it is difficult to say, but Sussex was early 

 provided with a newspaper of its own, the Sussex 

 Weekly Advertiser or Lewes Journal being started 



161 Sun. Arch. Coll. xvii, 133. 



163 Holloway, Hist, of Rye, 362. 



164 Ibid. 364. 1M Ibid. 357. 

 168 Young, op. cit. 34. 



167 Salzmann, Hist, of Hailsham, 64. 



68 Exch. Dep. by Com. i Anne, Easter, No. 2 1 . 



69 Young, op. cit. 436. 



170 Moule, English Counties DeRneated (s.v.). 



171 Poll Book, Lewes (1803). 



172 Ibid, (i 8 1 8). m Ibid. (1826). 

 174 Ibid. (1830). 17S Ibid. (1835). 



