I picked up a book in one of Rye’s charity shops the other day entitled A Sussex life: the memories of Gilbert Sargent, countryman, published by Barrie & Jenkins in 1989. Gilbert was born in Catsfield in 1889 and the book is a record of interviews with him by Dave Arthur in the 1980s.
I was much amused by his comments (on p.47) talking of the potholes or “stopples” as he called them, which were so deep that you could sink up to your knees if small. Think of the problems they had with horse-drawn carts and carriages!
Apparently there was a story that was told throughout the county (names of villages were changed accordingly):
A shepherd was walking on the top of the bank along the side of a lane between Battle and Catsfield when he saw a hat lying in the middle of the road. Leaning over the mud, he fished up the hat with his crook and discovered underneath a man’s head not yet sunk into the mire above the chin. He called for help, and with ropes and planks the traveller was hauled out. When he was finally standing safely on the bank he turned to the shepherd and said, “Thank you for rescuing me from an awful death, and now perhaps I might prevail upon you to see if you could pull up the horse I was riding.”!
It reminds one of the Vicar of Dibley sketch when the poor Reverend Geraldine landed up to her neck in a hole!
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Image Credits: Hannah Sindall & Clare Pasieka-Bloomfield .