BYGONE SUSSEX - online book

Essays, Sketches and Illustrations of bygone Sussex

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	" THE world knows nothing of its greatest men " is the declaration of the poet, and it may safely be affirmed that thousands of the visitors who yearly flock to Hastings, St. Leonard's, Bexhill, and Eastbourne are unaware that an easy excursion would bring them into proximity with the smallest church, the largest "man," and the oldest inn in the United King­dom. From all the Sussex watering-places it is easy to reach Polegate Junction. From the station we descend into the Lewes Road, and turning to the right, we see a fingerpost which invites us to Jevington, but, resisting the tempta­tion, proceed steadily along the highway until we come to a third fingerpost, which indicates the road to Wilmington. The highway was mono­tonous and not particularly interesting, but this country by road is of a different quality. The lane is bounded on each side by steep hedgerows plentifully studded with wild flowers. The cottages have a quaint and old-fashioned air.