'Saltdean FROM OLD PHOTOGRAPHS' ChAPTER 1

ZoneZine is proud to bring to our readers the ​exclusive serialisation of Douglas d’Enno's new book 'Saltdean From Old Photographs'

​INTRODUCTION

Since my first book on this area The Saltdean Story published by Phillimore in 1985 went out of print, I have often been asked how a copy could be obtained or whether a sequel was planned. Fortunately, I have maintained my photographic and documentary interest in Saltdean since the 1980s, whether by collecting local postcards or archiving material from local newspapers, documents of the Residents’ Association and assembling other miscellaneous items including taped interviews with local residents. My intention has always been that this collection should be made available in some form to the community and now, through the good offices of Amberley Publishing, the best pictorial items from my archive can be presented publicly and in an organised way.

A proposal for a second book on Saltdean was in fact accepted by a local publisher some twenty years ago and in my draft of it much of the groundwork on which many captions within the present book are based was prepared. Due to non-completion of the work on account of intervening business commitments and the publisher’s subsequent shift in focus from local history to local walks and Sussex generally, my text stood unused over the following years. Much of it has thankfully found a new life as a textual source for the present compilation. It therefore gives me great pleasure finally to share these sometimes rare or unique images with readers from Saltdean and beyond.
 
Douglas d’Enno

Chapter 1: Ancient Finds and Early Maps

​This exquisite artefact, the Saltdean Bowl, was discovered in 1910 on the clifftop at Saltdean Gap by two schoolboys from Brighton, Edward Hales and George Wicks, who in 1914 sold it on to Brighton Museum (where it is now safely preserved). It contained both human remains and some pig bones and has been dated to around 200 BC.

Discovered in 1950, this small grey Saxon cup was unearthed by a fox near Tumulus Road at the rear of Saltdean. With it were the remains of at least two human beings and almost certainly a third. Nearby Saxon Close is so named on account of archaeological discoveries in Tumulus Road.

Above: An extract from the ‘Armada Map’ of 1587. The cartographers were the two Deputy Lieutenants of Sussex, who identified ‘Salt Dene’, then clearly a landing place, as a suitable defensive site against the anticipated invasion. A copy of the map is held in the Marlipins Museum, Shoreham-by-Sea.

Above: In this 1825 one inch to the mile map of this area Salt Dean Gap is clearly marked. To the north-east lies ‘The Banning’, reflected today in the road name Bannings Vale. The Droveway which would become Longridge Avenue passed north of The Banning and led to the hamlet of Telscombe, then ultimately to Lewes.

A great read and a great gift idea, Saltdean From Old Photographs is available online

​Also available from:

Saltdean Gift shop, 63 Longridge Ave
T. 01273 303280

The Whitecliffs Cafe
Tel. 01273 875719
or 07956 711859.

​www.amberley-books.com
Copyright © Douglas d’Enno, 2018