The Sussex Smuggler

The Ossuary of Hythe. The Port of Hythe. Hythe was an international port from the medieval times and had cinque port status granted by the Crown. The Cinque port status gave  ports the right to determine self governance and taxation, However the port in return had to raise a navy to defend the coast from attack. Hardly a professional navy !  Hythe attracted a lot of international trade and the evidence of this is found in the skulls and thigh bones found in the Ossuary at St Leonards Church. The time death from the bodies linked to the skulls range from the 12th century to the 15th century. The excavation of the bones started in the 13th century when the church was being extended   The Edwardians started  studying skulls.  The skulls were silent witnesses to their identity and cause of the death. Some showed disease or violence as there cause of death, this can be determined by the condition of the skull. Some have holes suggesting violence or extensions likely to be tumours  Some sku

Deal and Smuggling.  Deal and the Goodwin Sands. It would be doing Deal a disservice not to mention the Goodwin Sands when putting Deal into a maritime context.  Deal, Kent is a strategically placed town twenty five miles from the French coast. The town has been used for crossings to Europe for hundreds of years due to its close proximity. Deal is also a town of military importance since at least King Henry the eighth's rein for harbouring the Royal Navy. The Royal Navy would anchor in the 'Downs' the local name for the Goodwin Sands guarded by three castles. Taking advantage of this were the skilled fisherman and smugglers of Deal. However, between Deal and France stands the treacherous Goodwin Sands visible at low tide. The Goodwins are six miles off the Deal coast and ten miles long. The sands rest upon a chalk rock and proves difficult to navigate without local knowledge. The Goodwin Sands is responsible for between two thousand and three thousand five hundred shipwreck

Historic Book Review: The Crabchurch Conspiracy What a brilliant read, thoroughly enjoyed this book ! An excellent forward by Prof. Ronald Hutton setting the scene at England's most pivitol moment in history, strangely not touched on in schools. Mark lends a well researched local insight of Dorset's struggle against the crown during the English civil war. The book details the Sydenham's Bravery, Brutatality and Strategic intellect against Goring's superior force. Read and enjoy this fabulous testimony to Weymouth history. To buy a copy of the book click on the link The Crabchurch Conspiracy