Why I love
Rushfields
Celebrated
PRODUCE
Ringmer
• Locally-reared Meat
• Award-winning Pies
and Sausages
• Rushfields Kitchen
ready-prepared meals
Traditional
Pork Pie
CHAMPION
• Sussex Cheeses
• Fresh seasonal V
egetables
• South Downs Milk
• Deli Counter
• Choice of locally
brewed Beers
Henfield Road, Poynings, Sussex BN45 7AY
01273 850015
www.rushfields.com
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I first became familiar with
Ringmer about 25 years ago when
I first met my husband Allistair.
Although he was born in Brighton
he spent virtually all his childhood
in Ringmer. Allistair and I lived
in Brighton and Worthing for a
while, but decided to move back to
Ringmer five years ago. Although
I am not Ringmer born and bred,
it felt like coming home. It is very
much where we want to stay and
raise our young family together.
It really is a fascinating village. It is
steeped in history - there has been
habitation in the area since Roman times,
although that’s probably not uncommon
for this area of the South East. The
village, originally called Ringmere
(meaning ring of pools), is mentioned in
the Doomsday Book. Some inhabitants
from more recent times add a little
historical flavour to the village. In the
1500s one of the village’s rectors, William
Levett, took over his late brother’s iron
foundry and became one of the country’s
leading armaments manufacturers,
and even produced the first cast iron
cannon from a blast furnace. Another
Ringmer resident, a gentleman by the
name of William Penn, founded the city
of Pennsylvania, USA. The American
connection continues as the founder of
Harvard University in the USA was one
John Harvard, who married the daughter
of the vicar of Ringmer. The village uses
as its symbol a tortoise, which you may
think is a little random. However, the
reason for this is that in 1780 a female
tortoise called Timothy (yes, I did say
female!) lived with Rebecca Snook at
Delves House in the village. Her nephew
was the naturalist Gilbert White, who
carried Timothy tortoise with him back
to his home in Hampshire. There, that’s
my little potted history and one of the
reasons the village is special to me. I love
a bit of history.
It is now one of the largest villages in
the south of England and still only has
a handful of streetlights. It can be black
as pitch walking home from the pub on a
winter evening so we tend to go armed
with a torch! Living here you can choose
between enjoying the peace and quiet
of a Downland village, or getting really
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