Sussex Tours

09/11/2024

Published on this day in 1854, Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’. It remains in the public consciousness 170 years later, still familiar to us today.

We hear more about the events that inspired this poem and one local man’s part in the infamous Charge during our guided walking tour of Hove’s Old Cemetery.

https://facebook.com/events/s/mobster-mutiny-and-military-me/2248361802210404/

21/09/2023

Excellent news! The film will be on general release on Friday 6 October 🎬

Bernard Jordan, the 'Great Escaper', and his wife Rene were residents of Hove.

We hear more about Bernard's extraordinary adventure during the guided walking tour 'Bombs, Battlefields and Bravery Remembered'.

Michael Caine attended the premiere of his new film 'The Great Escaper,' based on a true story and co-starring Glenda Jackson, who died in June at 87. Caine, 90, recently suggested the movie is 'probably' is last

18/06/2023

With its mixture of pretty cottages and elegant Georgian Houses, quaint shops and galleries, and even a picture perfect duck pond, Rottingdean certainly is an attractive village. Combined with its wealth of history and the interesting people associated with it, it’s also a great place to explore on a guided tour.

What’s more, there are plenty of places to enjoy a Sunday lunch after the tour with several pubs, tea rooms and cafés available to visitors!

https://facebook.com/events/s/rottingdean-smugglers-and-stor/166888425979545/

10/06/2023

Originally from Belfast, Gary Moore made Brighton and Hove his home. Gary was perhaps best known as a guitarist in Thin Lizzy.

Other guitar players have referred to his influence, and he's been voted as one of the greatest guitarists of all time.

We hear more during our guided walking tour of Rottingdean - Smugglers and Storytellers
https://facebook.com/events/s/rottingdean-smugglers-and-stor/166888425979545/

04/06/2023

Charles 'Darby' Sabini came from Clerkenwell, London.

As leader of the Sabini Gang he dominated the London underworld and racecourses throughout the south of England for much of the early 20th century.

His gang obtained the core of its income from racecourse protection rackets operated against bookmakers. It was also involved in a range of criminal activities including extortion, theft, as well as operating several nightclubs.

At its peak, Sabini had extensive police and political connections including judges, politicians, and police officials.

In 1926 he moved from London to Brighton. He died in 1950 and was buried in Hove Cemetery.

He was immortalised as the gangster Colleoni in Graham Greene's novel 'Brighton Rock'.

He was also portrayed in the BBC series 'Peaky Blinders', were he was played by British-born Australian actor Noah Taylor.

We hear more about Sabini and his activities in Brighton & Hove during our guided tour of Hove's Old Cemetery - https://facebook.com/events/s/mobster-mutiny-and-military-me/613609947353874/

07/08/2022

Constantine Alexander Ionides was a stockbroker, collector and patron of the arts during the Victorian era.

When he died in 1900, he left his collection of paintings, prints, and drawings to the Victoria and Albert Museum, specifying that they were to be made available to the public. Today, the Ionides collection is one of very few surviving undispersed Victorian collections of progressive art.

Ionides himself left little documentary evidence about his collecting activity. Some surviving letters addressed to him are from Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and concern the commission and progress of one of his finest pictures, ‘The Day Dream’, a portrait of Jane Morris. In various letters, among other matters, Rossetti assures Ionides of a fair price, tactfully accepts his patron’s advice on matters such as ‘a darker background’, and gives detailed recommendations for how the painting should be displayed.

From these photos of the interior of his home in Hove circa 1890, we can see how Ionides decided to display the painting. It is still on display but now for the public to see at the V&A.

We hear more about C. A. Ionides during our guided walking tour of Hove’s Old Cemetery, ‘Mobster, Mutiny and Military Mettle’.
https://facebook.com/events/s/mobster-mutiny-and-military-me/681412862968946/

02/07/2022

St Mary's House and Gardens is a splendid Grade I house surrounded by formal and topiary gardens. The origins of St. Mary's date from the days of the Knights Templar, when the widow of Philip de Braose, the Lord of Bramber, gave the religious order the five acres of land. The present building was constructed in about 1450 to serve as an inn for pilgrims on their way to Canterbury.

We hear more about St. Mary’s during our guided walking tour of Bramber - Kings and the Castle.
https://facebook.com/events/s/bramber-kings-and-the-castle/1424772901311012/

On the same day as our tour, St. Mary’s is opening its gardens in support of the National Garden Scheme West Sussex. Why not round off your afternoon in Bramber with a visit to its garden and tea room!
https://ngs.org.uk/view-garden/11007?utm_source=NGS-app&utm_medium=referral

26/06/2022

Taxidermy was popular with the Victorians, including with Walter Potter, the son of the pub landlord in Bramber, Sussex, who began experimenting with taxidermy aged 15.

Walter developed his own twist on taxidermy by creating tableaux which told stories using numerous different animals. Aged 19, Walter had produced his first tableau for which he would become well known; ‘The Original Death and Burial of C**k Robin’ inspired by a book of stories belonging to his younger sister.

Walter produced 98 stuffed birds which made up the sorrowful funeral procession of C**k Robin together with the Sparrow who killed him with his bow and arrow, Parson Rook and the Owl who dug the grave, accompanied by the mourners, all of whom made their way through the graveyard.

Popular with customers when it was displayed in the summer house of his father’s pub, this tableau launched Walter’s career. He developed his collection and displayed it in a purpose built museum nearby, and which was for many years a draw for visitors to Bramber.

We hear more about Walter Potter and his extraordinary museum during our guided walking tour through Bramber - Kings and the Castle.
https://facebook.com/events/s/bramber-kings-and-the-castle/1424772901311012/

05/06/2022

Flora Robson was born in South Shields in 1902, she later made Brighton her home. A star of stage and screen, she made her theatrical debut in 1921 and featured in films in both Hollywood and Britain by the 1930s.

A talented actress, Dame Flora appeared in more than 100 stage plays and 60 films. She was famed for her portrayal of a diverse range of characters from murderer to royalty, including Queen Elizabeth I, who she played twice, first in the 1937 film Fire Over England and again in The Sea Hawk, 1940.

We hear more about Dame Flora and her remarkable life during our guided walking tour in Brighton ‘Special Agent, Suffragettes and Standard-Bearers’.
https://facebook.com/events/s/special-agent-suffragettes-and/1124338058348535/