OUT & ABOUT
EXTRAORDINARY
Sir Arthur’s hat for a practical joke. It was returned a few days later and reattached more securely. Ben out of ten verdict “Pretty cool – he’s a much more successful writer than you Uncle Robbie.” 8/10
The Kipling Statue in Burwash
Sussex Day will be upon us on 16th June and with that in mind we have looked to celebrate some of the less well known, but extraordinary things dotted about the county. Robert Veitch visited several with his nephew Benjamin, who offered a ‘Ben out of 10’ rating, while Sara Whatley flew solo and became enthralled by the whole experience
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e’ve been out and about, searching across Sussex and found just a few of those magnificent man-made minor marvels, that stand as monuments to people and to culture, spread across the county. We looked for the quirky, for some of the less well known, but all of them interesting in some way or other, and all of them freely accessible. There are plenty more out there, some prominent, some tucked away; it’s another list for another edition – tell us about them and we’ll tell Sussex. In the meantime, here’s our selection.
William Rees Jeffreys at High-and-Over
Crowborough’s Conan Doyle Statue
Looking towards Crowborough Cross, from his Clokes Corner plinth is a bronze Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who lived in the town from 1907 until his death in 1930. It was designed by
In Burwash is a bronze bench and life size sculpture of Rudyard Kipling, watching the world go by on the lime tree lined High Street. Created by local sculptor, Victoria Atkinson, it was unveiled in 2019. Kipling lived in the village from 1902 until his death in 1936. He sits 125m west of the war memorial that bears the name of his son who died in WWI. “This is the prettiest village and the sculpture is very lifelike – I thought he was going to turn and talk to me. The pavement bricks have book names in them. The war memorial has been made nicer, it’s easy to read the names, most are not much older than me.” 8/10
renowned sculptor David Cornell and unveiled in 2001. It’s not widely known beyond the town, but shortly after the unveiling a local resident snapped off
Little known, but hugely influential, William Rees Jeffreys (1872-1954) was a cyclist and road improvements campaigner from Wivelsfield Green. He championed the creation of a ring road around London, building the Severn Bridge, and helped devise the modern road numbering system. The very modest High-and-Over sandstone and brass memorial is one of 14 across
Rudyard Kipling statue in Burwash
he
June 2022 | SUSSEX LIVING 9
