Despite sitting in one of the more secluded areas of the county, the village of High Hurstwood certainly doesn’t lack substance.
For starters, it was only last year a poor villager suffered head injuries after being headbutted by a calf while putting up fence posts in a field.
The man, who still doesn’t want to be identified, was taken to King’s College Hospital in London by the Sussex Air Ambulance.
He made a full recovery – but there was no argument that he was milking it.
It was glorious and sunny the day The Argus paid a visit to the village, which sits five miles north of Uckfield and a lengthy 23 miles north of Brighton.
Its friendly population, though only a couple of hundred, gives the village a warm and welcoming aura and like the sun, shines brightly with enthusiasm for community and togetherness.
The first resident to make an appearance at the grand Holy Trinity church is 68-year-old Derek Miller.
He was born in Sun Harbour – an old wooden First World War army hut in Royal Oak Lane – and spent the early part of his life dodging bombs from Nazi warplanes.
One late evening in July 1944, Mr Miller’s mother, Ivy, had just put him into his cot ready for a peaceful night’s sleep.
But the sinister sound of a Second World War German V1 ‘flying bomb’, also known as a doodlebug, echoed from the skies above.
Doodlebug
Inevitably the doodlebug dropped on a neighbouring hut and completely obliterated it.
Sun Harbour, although damaged, narrowly avoided complete destruction.
Mr Miller said: “My mother and I were both saved from the flying glass by the wardrobe falling partly over us.
“My father Ted was safe as he was outside feeding the chickens at the time.
“After that, my family insisted that Ivy take me to our relations in Yorkshire as Sun Harbour was no longer habitable.
“As well as that, there were also lots of V1s falling in the area at the time.”
Before the bombs and aggressive calves, the founding of High Hurstwood can be traced back to 1872 and the ancient neighbouring parish of Buxted.
'Unusual ceremony'
An extract from the Hastings and St Leonards Herald and Observer from June 25, 1870, described how the Hurstwood area needed “improvement of spiritual welfare for Buxted’s scattered inhabitants.”
It read: “An effort has at length been made to supply this want, and it is believed that Col Harcourt has given the site and subscribed handsomely towards a new church which is in progress of building at Hurstwood, and the first stone of which was laid on Friday evening by Lady Catherine Harcourt, with the usual ceremony.”
The “usual ceremony” consisted of placing a dated glass bottle filled with coins underneath the first stone that was laid.
This marked the beginning of construction and acted as a time capsule.
But ironically, a rather unspiritual act marked the start of High Hurstwood’s existence.
The morning after the first stone was laid and the bottle placed underneath, workmen arrived to find the stone appeared to have been moved.
Robbery
The Herald and Observer report continued: “On further inspection it was clear some attempt had been made to raise it, and the stone being removed, it was seen that the glass bottle and its contents had vanished.
“The stone was not a massive one, and probably the facility with which it could be moved suggested the robbery.”
In modern language, the bottle and its contents had been stolen.
After two years of construction and a moment of criminality, the High Hurstwood Holy Trinity Church was finally complete.
Last year marked the 140th anniversary of its opening. It was an occasion that saw celebration, a special Sunday service and a mouth-watering, tasty hog roast.
'Interesting story'
Reverend David Tidswell has been leading spiritual proceedings as a vicar for the past 13 years and is probably one of the biggest advocates of High Hurstwood’s sense of community.
He said: “It’s been a long while since the bottle incident. It’s certainly an interesting story.
“It was amazing to be here for the 140th anniversary.
“It’s fascinating to think that in 1872 there were a similar set of residents doing what we did last year by celebrating its existence.
“We have a really strong community bond here with a busy schedule.
Scarecrow competition
“We have a big bonfire celebration every year, Christmas carols around the village tree in December and our thriving village fete too.
“This year, on June 15, we’ll have a fly-past of a Dakota and Spitfire war planes. It’s also going to see the return of our popular Scarecrow Competition.
“All the entrants make a scarecrow and have to dress it according to a particular theme.
“This year the scarecrows will be themed around James Bond.”
Perhaps the James Bond replicas could find out what happened to the church’s missing bottle?
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