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ALFRISTON ARCHIVE |
Alfriston has always been popular with tourists. These pictures have been taken from postcards and photographs and illustrate how the house has changed over time.
(L) Possibly the first committee visit to the Clergy House. (R) Repairs underway at last. Both pictures date from 1893.
Pictures of the back of the house are really quite rare. It is strange to see the garden as it once was, and even rarer, (L), to see a picture of the garden with people in it. Who are they?
A long shot taken from the banks of the adjacent river Cuckmere. Although this is primarily of the church, you can make out a bit of the house to the extreme left and the beginnings of the orchard. The farmyard, with its thatched hayrick has made way for the overspill graveyard. This picture is dated 04/09/1911. The trees may have grown much bigger, but this scene has changed little since then.
There are clues that help to give a rough date as to when these photographs were taken. My favourite has to be the decline of the elm tree featured to the left in many of the shots.
An archway at the entrance. Now long gone, it appears to be the flowering currant. (Ribes Sanguineum)
Two views of another new fence and a new thatch. It has always been anecdotally recorded that the last full re-thatch took place in 1934. The flowering current is now the bush to the left. The right hand picture could possibly have been taken in the winter as the currant has lost its leaves.
(L) More changes.The house looks in need of some TLC but alterations have been made to the front wall and a new fence has been put up. (C) The elm has all but died but the arch is thriving. (R) A new ridge to the roof. What are those trees on the right behind the new fence? Where are the famous Box trees and can you date this photo from the cars in the foreground?
Here are two pictures I took in 1987.(L) This evergreen oak stood in the hedge line to the South of the garden. It had been deliberately cut to focus one's view along the river. (R) October 16th. The tree is now completely flattened following the "Hurricane". The lawn is at 90 degrees and there will be a lot of clearing up to do once the flood waters subside.