History and folklore
A brief history of Ditchling Common
Ditchling Common is a rare surviving example of ancient common land. Remarkably, its boundaries have remained largely unchanged since the 14th century.
For centuries, it was owned by the Marquis of Abergavenny, forming part of the Manor of Ditchling. From mediaeval times until 1950, the Common was maintained through seasonal, stinted grazing. This was a traditional system where local copyholders had rights to graze cattle, limited to a maximum of 121 animals over the 273-acre site.
After the land was sold in 1950, grazing ceased, leading to ecological decline. The northern part of the Common (north of Folders Lane) became overgrown with scrub. Meanwhile, much of the southern section was ploughed and fertilised, reducing species diversity.
This decline prompted public outcry. As a result East Sussex County Council purchase the Common in 1974 and established it as a Country Park. At that time, commoners’ rights on the northern half were extinguished. The southern part, however, is under the stewardship of The Ditchling Beacon and Common Company and remains common.
The land thankfully avoided intensive modern farming. This means many historic landscape features - the “lumps and bumps” of centuries past - are still visible today.
Healing spring
In the middle of the Common is a chalybeate (iron rich) spring. The waters of this spring were once famed for their healing powers. In the 19th century, a bronze axe head and copper ingots were found nearby, possibly left as an offering to the spring.
Witches
A common folk tale in Sussex is that of a witch who could transform into a hare at night. One specific story links an unnamed witch from Ditchling Common to this legend. When chased by men and dogs, the hare was bitten on the leg, and the next day, an old woman from the area was seen with an injured ankle.
Another prevalent Sussex legend involves a witch who had the power to stop carts and wagons in their tracks. This is another tale specifically associated with an unnamed witch who lived on Ditchling Common. No matter how hard the horses pulled, the cart would not move until the spell was broken. This is a common theme in the folklore of several Sussex villages, including Plumpton, Findon, and Old Shoreham.
Jacobs Post
To the north of the Common near Jane’s Lane is Jacob’s Post. In 1734 Jacob Harris (Yacob Hirsch) a Jewish pedlar, put up his horse at the Royal Oak pub. He was alleged to have slashed the landlord’s throat and murdered his wife and a maid. The landlord lived long enough to identify the assailant. Jacob was tried and executed in Horsham, but his body was hanged from a gibbet on Ditchling Common. This became a site of pilgrimage with fragments of the post reputed to cure infertility and various diseases.
At Horsham gallows he was hanged there,
The 31st of August that same year;
And where he did the crime, they took the pains,
To bring him back and hang him up in chains;
It is a dismal sight for to behold,
Enough to make a heart of stone run cold
Wartime tragedy on the Common
On 20th June 1939, just months before the outbreak of World War II, Flight Sergeant Leonard Frank Davis tragically lost his life, when the Hawker Hurricane Mk I aircraft he was piloting was apparently struck by lightning and crashed on Ditchling Common.
This incident serves as a poignant reminder of the risks faced by pilots, even in training, on the eve of war.