INDUSTRIES 



cast some bells for Eastbourne in 1651, but his 

 business must have been very small as only two 

 specimens of his work now remain, at Cliffe, 

 bearing the date 1649. An establishment of 

 more importance was that of William Hull, who 

 acted as foreman to a great London bell-founder, 

 John Hodson, between 1654 and 1671, in 

 which capacity he superintended the re-casting 

 of the Hailsham peal in 1663. About 1672 

 he appears to have worked for Michael Darbie, 

 his initials occurring on two of Darbie's bells at 

 Withyham in 1674 ; finally in 1676 he set up 

 for himself at South Mailing, where during the 



next eleven years he produced more than a 

 score of bells, the largest being the tenors of 

 Catsfield and St. Clement's, Hastings. Upon 

 his death in 1687 he left his business to his son 

 John Hull, who, however, seems to have only 

 cast one bell, that at Kingston, bearing the date 

 1687, which was probably in the foundry at the 

 time of his father's death. This was most likely 

 the last bell cast in the county, and since this 

 date Sussex has been supplied with bells almost 

 entirely by the Whitechapel foundry, from which 

 some four hundred bells in this county derive 

 their origin. 



POTTERY 1 



That earthenware was made in Sussex 

 previous to and during the Roman occupation 

 is certain, but no particular characteristics 

 appear by which the products of this district 

 may be distinguished. Traces have been found 

 of a Roman pottery and brickfield at Bignor, 2 

 and recent excavations at Pevensey suggest that 

 part at least of the tiles there used were manu- 

 factured on the spot. It is not until the late 

 twelfth century that any distinctive Sussex pottery 

 appears, but to that date may be assigned two 

 remarkable objects, of which one, found at 

 Lewes in 1846, is a rude representation of a 

 man on horseback, while the other, found at 

 Seaford in 1858, is of somewhat similar 

 design, being in the shape of an animal of which 

 the flanks are ornamented with small grotesque 

 figures in relief. Both are hollow and were 

 apparently designed to contain liquids, and the 

 glaze in each case is a light green. 3 From com- 

 parison with a number of fragments found with 

 the remains of several kilns at ' Bohemia ' in 

 Hastings, 4 it seems highly probable that they 

 were products of these Hastings potteries. 



To the thirteenth century may be ascribed a 

 number of green glazed pitchers and jugs found 

 in 1867 at Horsham, and evidently of local 

 origin, as the iron tool with which they had 

 been roughly ornamented was found with them. 5 

 Some more pieces of a similar ware were found 

 at Horsham in the summer of 1906, and the 

 site of the kilns was probably commemorated by 

 the name Pottersfield, which occurs in a rental 



1 I am indebted to the kindness of Mr. Heneage 

 Legge for most of the items from the Lambeth Court 

 Rolls relating to Ringmer and Mayfield. 



* Suss. Arch. Coll. xi, 139. 



3 Ibid, x, 193-4 ; cf. the example found in Wilts.; 

 Arch. Ji,urn. No. 102, p. 188 ; and the miniature 

 specimen showing a female figure mounted on a pig (?) 

 in brown pottery, found at Hastings ; Suss. Arch. 

 Coll. xviii, 190. 



4 Suss. Arch. Coll. xi, 230 ; xii, 268. 



5 Ibid. * Antiquary, Oct. 1906. 



of 1532.' Midhurst would seem to have been 

 another seat of the industry at this time, 

 as an inquisition of 1283 mentions a rent 

 of 361. %d. called ' Potteresgavel,' 8 this being 

 presumably a payment similar to that of the 

 potters of Ringmer. In this latter parish a sum 

 of f)d. was paid yearly by each potter for licence 

 to dig clay on the Broyle Common ; this 

 customary payment can be traced back to 1 3 1 2^ 

 when however the number of potters paying is 

 not given. 9 In 1349 there were six potters at 

 Ringmer paying 4*. 6J. ; 10 in 1388 the three 

 potters then working gave in addition to their 

 customary dues of 2*. 3^/., a further 300 eggs 

 for licence to dig clay in the forest of the 

 Broyle. 11 There were four potters in I395, 12 

 but next year it is noted that three had died ; I3 

 their numbers subsequently rose to six or seven, 

 but again an epidemic, possibly the 'sweating 

 sickness,' attacked them, and in 1457 no pay- 

 ments are recorded from the potters ' because 

 they are dead and no one has taken their place.' ] ' 

 The industry subsequently revived, and in 1485 

 there were seven potters working, 15 and the 

 same number as late as I53<D. 16 The sites of 

 two of the Ringmer kilns were opened up in 

 1894." The dimensions of the bricks, or blocks 

 of roughly moulded unbaked clay, of which the 

 kilns were built, were unusual, in the one case 

 being 7^ in. by 3^ in. by 2^ in., and in the 

 other gf- in. by 4f in. by 2\ in. They appear 

 to have been cemented by the use of a sandy 

 loam which vitrified under the heat of the 

 furnace. The beds of the kilns inclosed longi- 

 tudinal passages covered in with narrow arches, 

 the spaces between which apparently served to 



' Suss. Arch. Coll. v, 260. 



8 Cat. Inq. EJtv.I, No. 533. 



9 Min. Accts. bdle. 1 128, No. 4. 



10 Lambeth Ct. R. 1301. " Ibid. 927. 



11 Ibid. 929. 13 Ibid. 937. 



14 Ibid. 1302. '"Ibid. 1311, 



16 Ibid. 1328. 



17 Suss. Arch. Coll. xlv, 128-38. 



251 



