72-463: Firle ( / ˈ f ɜːr l / ; Sussex dialect : Furrel / ˈ f ʌr əl / ) is a village and civil parish in the Lewes district of East Sussex , England. Firle refers to an old-English / Anglo-Saxon word fierol meaning overgrown with oak . Although the original division of East Firle and West Firle still remains, East Firle is now simply confined to the houses of Heighton Street, which lie to
144-480: A Gypsy family in a caravan was burned, sparking a controversy that resulted in members of the bonfire society being arrested. On a local level, Firle is governed by Firle Parish Council, which meets every two months in the Firle village memorial hall. Its responsibilities include footpaths, street lighting, playgrounds and minor planning applications. The parish council has five seats available which were uncontested in
216-637: A distance of up to 7 mi (11 km) southwards. Viewed from high points further north in the High Weald and on the North Downs, the scarp of the South Downs presents itself as a steep wall that bounds the horizon, with its grassland heights punctuated with clumps of trees (such as Chanctonbury Ring ). In the west, the chalk ridge of the South Downs merges with the North Downs to form
288-501: A largely indigenous population, particularly the West Country . In many other areas they are declining because of RP and Estuary accents moving to the area; for instance, strong Isle of Wight accents tend to be more prevalent in older speakers. As well as rhoticity, here are common features of West County accents: In traditional Southern rural accents, the voiceless fricatives /s/, /f/, /θ/, /ʃ/ always remain voiceless, which
360-692: A lowland grassland on the west and south facing scarp slopes of the Meon valley; and Beacon Hill, a high quality chalk grassland 5 km west of Old Winchester Hill. In 1923 the Society of Sussex Downsmen (now the South Downs Society) was formed with the aim of protecting the area's unique landscape. The South Downs are a popular area for ramblers with a network of over 2,000 mi (3,200 km) of well-managed, well-signed and easily accessible trails. The principal bridleway, and longest of them,
432-676: A poem "On the South Downs". The South Downs have been home to several writers, including Jane Austen who lived at Chawton on the edge of the Downs in Hampshire. The Bloomsbury Group often visited Monk's House in Rodmell , the home of Virginia Woolf in the Ouse valley. Alfred, Lord Tennyson , had a second home at Aldworth, on Blackdown ; geologically part of the Weald , Blackdown lies north of
504-488: A result there are many winterbournes along the northern edge. The South Downs are a long chalk escarpment that stretches for over 110 km (68 mi), rising from the valley of the River Itchen near Winchester, Hampshire , in the west to Beachy Head near Eastbourne , East Sussex , in the east. Behind the steep north-facing scarp slope, the gently inclined dip slope of undulating chalk downland extends for
576-727: A thin band of cream-coloured nodular chalk known as the Melbourn Rock marking the boundary between the Lower and Middle units. The strata of southeast England, including the Chalk, were gently folded during a phase of the Alpine Orogeny to produce the Weald-Artois Anticline , a dome-like structure with a long east-west axis. Erosion has removed the central part of the dome, leaving the north-facing escarpment of
648-472: Is a family of similar strongly rhotic accents, now perceived as rural. It originally extended an even larger region, across much of South East England, including an area south of the " broad A " isogloss , but the modern West Country dialects are now most often classified west of a line roughly from Shropshire via Oxfordshire . Their shared characteristics have been caricatured as Mummerset . They persist most strongly in areas that remain largely rural with
720-466: Is about a case that Holmes solves whilst living there. The author Graham Greene 's first published novel, The Man Within (1929), is set largely on and around the South Downs. The book's principal character, Andrews, travels by foot across the Downs to reach Lewes and attend the Assizes. Greene provides a detailed description of both the landscape and its 'feel'. The author H. G. Wells published
792-664: Is also a war memorial , The Chattri , dedicated to Indian soldiers who died in the Brighton area, having been brought there for treatment after being injured fighting on the Western Front in the First World War . Rudyard Kipling who lived in Rottingdean described the South Downs as "Our blunt, bow-headed whale-backed Downs". Writing in 1920 in his poem The South Country , poet Hilaire Belloc describes
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#1732772414739864-455: Is from Old English dūn , meaning 'hill'. The word acquired the sense of 'elevated rolling grassland' around the 14th century. These hills are prefixed 'south' to distinguish them from another chalk escarpment , the North Downs , which runs roughly parallel to them about 30 mi (48 km) away on the northern edge of the Weald. The South Downs are formed from a thick band of chalk which
936-633: Is possible that some Sussex and Kentish rhoticity lasted until as recently as the early 21st century in certain pockets. The vowel /ɒ/ (as in LOT ) is very occasionally used for the STRUT vowel, normally /ʌ/ ; it has been reported as a minority variant in Kent and Essex. In the 18th and 19th centuries, in Essex, Kent, and east Sussex, plus several other South East areas including London, Suffolk, and Norfolk, /v/
1008-595: Is the South Downs Way . The Monarch's Way , having originated at Worcester , crosses the South Downs and ends at Shoreham-by-Sea . Sports undertaken on the Downs include paragliding , mountain-biking , horse riding and walking . The popular Beachy Head Marathon (formerly Seven Sisters Marathon ), a hilly cross-country marathon, takes place each autumn on the eastern Downs, starting and finishing in Eastbourne. The South Downs Trail Marathon starts in
1080-707: Is the main difference from West Country accents. Features which can be found in East Anglian English (especially in Norfolk ) include: There are differences between and even within areas of East Anglia: the Norwich accent has distinguishing aspects from the Norfolk dialect that surrounds it – chiefly in the vowel sounds. The accent of Cambridgeshire is different from the Norfolk accent, whilst Suffolk has greater similarities to that of Norfolk. The East Anglian feature of yod -dropping
1152-639: Is the resulting mainstream accent that combines features of both Cockney and a more middle-class RP. Less affluent areas have variants of Estuary English that grade into southern rural England outside urban areas. Outside of South East England, West Country English (of South West England ) and East Anglian English survive as traditional broad dialects in Southern England today, though they too are subject to Estuary English influence in recent decades and are consequently weakening. London and greater Thames Estuary accents are non-rhotic : that is,
1224-730: Is the traditional accent of the working classes of the areas immediately surrounding the City of London itself (most famously including the East End). It is characterised by many phonological differences from RP: Multicultural London English (abbreviated MLE), colloquially called Blockney, is a dialect (and/or sociolect ) of English that emerged in the late 20th century. It is spoken mainly by youths in multicultural parts of working-class London. The speech of Jamaicans , or children of Jamaican parents, in London shows interesting combinations of
1296-572: The Greensand Ridge on the Weald 's western margins. A list of those points on the South Downs above 700 ft (210 m), going from west to east, is given below. Archaeological evidence has revealed that the Downs have been inhabited and utilised for thousands of years. Neolithic flint mines such as Cissbury , burial mounds such as the Devil's Jumps and Devil's Humps , and hill forts like Chanctonbury Ring are strong features in
1368-670: The Hampshire Downs . In the east, the escarpment terminates at the English Channel coast between Seaford and Eastbourne , where it produces the spectacular white cliffs of Seaford Head , the cross-section of dry valleys known as the Seven Sisters and Beachy Head , the highest chalk sea cliff in Britain at 162 m (531 ft) above sea level. The South Downs may be said to have three main component parts:
1440-671: The Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head , in the Eastbourne Downland Estate , East Sussex, in the east. The Downs are bounded on the northern side by a steep escarpment , from whose crest there are extensive views northwards across the Weald . The South Downs National Park forms a much larger area than the chalk range of the South Downs, and includes large parts of the Weald. The South Downs are characterised by rolling chalk downland with close-cropped turf and dry valleys , and are recognised as one of
1512-559: The Lewes to Alfriston coach road. It was also the village court room where the rents for tenants farmers were collected and set. The area in front of the Ram is called the Beach, not to be confused with the Dock which is further up the street. Firle Cricket Club was founded in 1758 and is said to be one of the oldest in the country. Even earlier in 1725 Sir William Gage, 7th Baronet challenged
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#17327724147391584-591: The South Downs and Firle Beacon , which reaches a height of 712 feet (217 m). The beacon was once a lighting beacon used as part of a warning system during the time of the Spanish Armada in 1588. On the site there are also around 50 Bronze Age burial barrows . Firle Bonfire Society is first mentioned in 1879 in a diary of the then vicar of Firle, Reverend Crawley, though it was re-formed in 1982 to encourage and promote traditional bonfire festivities in
1656-768: The Wealden Greensand , the Low Weald and the Pevensey Levels to the north and the South Hampshire Lowlands and South Coast Plain to the south. The downland is a highly popular recreational destination, particularly for walkers, horseriders and mountain bikers. A long distance footpath and bridleway , the South Downs Way , follows the entire length of the chalk ridge from Winchester to Eastbourne, complemented by many interconnecting public footpaths and bridleways. The term 'downs'
1728-426: The 19th century, all of which are also shared with rural traditional East Anglian English . Modern Kent, and Sussex English is usually associated with non-rhotic Estuary English, mainly in urban areas receiving an influx of East London migrants since World War II. However, rhoticity used to characterize the traditional rural accents in Kent, Surrey, and Sussex, though it has long been a recessive feature. Still, it
1800-463: The 20th century (Kerswill & Williams 2000; Britain 2002). This involved a process of levelling between the extremes of working-class Cockney in inner-city London and the careful upper-class standard accent of Southern England, Received Pronunciation (RP), popular in the 20th century with upper-middle and upper-class residents. Now spread throughout the South East region, Estuary English
1872-729: The Duke of Richmond to a game of cricket, one of the first recorded matches. The club continues to be central to village life and has two teams which both compete in the East Sussex Cricket League. The Firle 1st XI are in ESCL Division 3 and the Firle 2nd XI are in ESCL Division 9. Previously both teams played in the Cuckmere Valley League; 2007 was their first year in the ESCL. South of the village lie
1944-732: The East Hampshire Downs, the Western Downs and the Eastern Downs, together with the river valleys that cut across them and the land immediately below them, the scarpfoot . The Western and Eastern Downs are often collectively referred to as the Sussex Downs . The Western Downs, lying west of the River Arun , are much more wooded, particularly on the scarp face, than the Eastern Downs. The bare Eastern Downs –
2016-557: The Garter and lying beside his wife Philippa. It also has a John Piper stained-glass window in warm colours, depicting Blake's Tree of Life . There are also memorials for those named Bolney, Moreton, Levett, Swaffield and others. The current vicar is the Reverend Peter Owen-Jones . The Ram Inn is the only remaining one of the village's three original public houses , that previously all acted as resting stops on
2088-599: The Jamaican accent with the London accent. For example, in Jamaican English , /θ/ is replaced by [t] , for example both /boːt/ . In London, word-final /t/ is realised as [ʔ] , as mentioned above. In Jamaican-London speech, glottalization of /t/ applies also to /t/ from /θ/ , for example both of them [bʌʊʔ ə dem] . Hypercorrections like [fʊθ] for foot are also heard from Jamaicans. John C. Wells 's dissertation, Jamaican pronunciation in London ,
2160-508: The May 2007 election. On 8 March 1971 the parish was renamed from "West Firle" to "Firle". The next level of government is the district council. The parish of Firle lies within the Ouse Valley and Ringmer ward of Lewes District Council which returns three seats to the council. The election on 4 May 2007 elected two Liberal Democrats and one Conservative . East Sussex County Council is
2232-417: The South Downs along its southern margin with the south-facing chalk escarpment of the North Downs as its counterpart on the northern side, as shown on the diagram. Between these two escarpments the anticline has been subject to differential erosion so that geologically distinct areas of hills and vales lie in roughly concentric circles towards the centre; these comprise the Greensand Ridge , most prominent on
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2304-516: The South Downs as "the great hills of the South Country". In On The South Coast , poet Algernon Charles Swinburne describes the South Downs as "the green smooth-swelling unending downs". The naturalist-writer William Henry Hudson wrote that "during the whole fifty-three mile length from Beachy Head to Harting the ground never rises above a height of 850 feet, but we feel on top of the world". Poet Francis William Bourdillon also wrote
2376-484: The South Downs but is included in the South Downs National Park. In the introduction to Arthur Conan Doyle 's short story collection His Last Bow , Dr. Watson states that Sherlock Holmes has retired to a small farm upon the Downs near Eastbourne. In the story "His Last Bow" itself, Holmes states that he "lives and keeps bees upon the South Downs". Furthermore, the short story " The Lion's Mane "
2448-807: The UK, simply, Southern English ) is the collective set of different dialects and accents of Modern English spoken in Southern England . As of the 21st century, a wide class of dialects labelled " Estuary English " is on the rise in South East England and the Home Counties (the counties bordering London), which was the traditional interface between the London urban region and more local and rural accents. Commentators report widespread homogenisation in South East England in
2520-510: The area has supported a large population, particularly during Romano-British times. There is a rich heritage of historical features and archaeological remains, including defensive sites, burial mounds and field boundaries. Within the South Downs Environmentally Sensitive Area there are thirty-seven Sites of Special Scientific Interest , including large areas of chalk grassland. The grazing of sheep on
2592-549: The coasts of France and the Netherlands. A universal feminine gender pronoun was typical, reflected in a joking saying in Sussex that "Everything in Sussex is a she except a tomcat and she's a he." South Downs The South Downs are a range of chalk hills in the south-eastern coastal counties of England that extends for about 260 sq mi (670 km ) across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from
2664-696: The consonant / r / (phonetically [ɹ] ) occurs only before vowels. General characteristics of all major London accents include: Features of working- or middle-class Estuary English, spoken in the counties all around London in the 21st century, include: It retains some aspects of Cockney, such as the vocalisation of [ɫ] ( dark L ) to [o] , and yod -coalescence in stressed syllables (for example, duty [dʒʉːʔi] ) and replacement of [t] with [ʔ] (the glottal stop ) in weak positions, or occasionally with d). Wells notes traditional aspects of rural South East speech as lengthened [æː] in trap words and use of [eɪ] or [ɛʊ] in mouth words. Cockney
2736-517: The constituency MP since 1997, before losing his seat in the 2015 general election to the Conservative Maria Caulfield . She had her majority reduced to just over 2,000 in the 2019 general election by runner up Lib Dem candidate, Oli Henman. The 2024 general election returned Liberal Democrat James MacCleary as MP with a majority of just over 12.5k Firle Escarpment is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) within
2808-439: The county's west having Estuary English speech features and the county's east having the traditional Essaxon and East Anglian features. The region largely south of London, including Surrey, Sussex, and once even Kent, used to speak with what today would be lumped under a South West England or "West Country" dialect. In all these counties, front MOUTH , front START , and high (or even round ) PRICE vowels predominated in
2880-466: The downland to graze. However, starting in 1940 with government measures during the Second World War to increase domestic food production – which continued into the 1950s - much grassland was ploughed up for arable farming, fundamentally changing the landscape and ecology, with the loss of much biodiversity. As a result, while old chalk grassland accounted for 40-50% of the eastern Downs before
2952-732: The east of the Firle Park. West Firle is now generally referred to as Firle although West Firle remains its official name. It is located south of the A27 road four miles (9 km) east of Lewes. During the reign of Edward the Confessor (1042–66) Firle was part of the Abbey of Wilton's estate. Following the Norman Conquest the village and surrounding lands were passed to Robert, Count of Mortain . Half-brother of King William I , Robert
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3024-604: The enquiry process a number of boundary questions were considered, so that the National Park contains areas not in the former AONBs, and vice versa. The South Downs contain a number of national nature reserves (NNRs). The NNRs on the Sussex Downs comprise Kingley Vale , near Chichester , said by Natural England to contain one of the finest yew forests in Europe, including a grove of ancient trees which are among
3096-739: The fact that, in his words, "Old customs, old beliefs, old prejudices die hard in the soil of England". Gower described certain standard English words with nonstandard pronunciations in the Surrey dialect: Gowers mentions: Acrost for across; agoo for ago; batcheldor for bachelor; brownchitis (or sometime brown titus) for bronchitis; chimley or chimbley for chimney; crowner for coroner; crowner's quest for coroner's inquest; curosity and curous for curiosity and curious ; death for deaf; disgest for digest, and indisgestion for indigestion; gownd for gown; scholard for scholar; nevvy for nephew; non-plush'd for non-plussed; refuge for refuse; quid for cud, " chewing
3168-498: The first member of the family named lord of Firle in 1316. On the bankruptcy of lord of the manor Thomas Levett in 1440, the ownership passed to Bartholomew Bolney, whose daughter married William Gage in 1472. Following the death of Bolney in 1476 without a male heir, the seat of Firle Place was passed to William Gage and has remained the seat of the Viscount Gage ever since. During the Second World War , Firle Plantation to
3240-483: The government announced its decision to make the South Downs a national park on 31 March 2009. The South Downs National Park finally came into operation on 1 April 2011. Within its boundary are included not only the South Downs proper but also part of the western Weald , a geologically and ecologically quite different district. The South Downs National Park has replaced two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)s : East Hampshire AONB and Sussex Downs AONB . During
3312-528: The increasingly disappearing feature of rhoticity. In addition to the above features, namely rhoticity, the traditional Sussex accent showed certain other features, like an extremely narrow PRICE vowel and th-stopping . Reduplicated plural forms were a grammatical feature of the Sussex dialect, particularly in words ending -st , such as ghostesses in place of the standard English ghosts . Many old Sussex words once existed, thought to have derived from Sussex's fishermen and their links with fishermen from
3384-412: The landscape. It has been estimated that the tree cover of the Downs was cleared over 3000 years ago, and the present closely grazed turf is the result of continual grazing by sheep. Proposals to create a national park for the South Downs date back to the 1940s. However, it was not until 1999 that the idea received firm government support. After a public enquiry that took place between 2003 and 2009,
3456-510: The late 1800s. Many words are unique to 19th-century Essex dialect, some examples including bonx meaning "to beat up batter for pudding" and hodmedod or hodmadod meaning "snail". Several nonstandard grammatical features exist, such as irregular plural forms like housen for "houses". Modern Essex English is usually associated with non-rhotic Estuary English, mainly in urban areas receiving an influx of East London migrants since World War II. The Essex accent has an east–west variation with
3528-483: The manor. The Levett family would later include founders of Sussex's iron industry, royal courtiers, knights, rectors, an Oxford University dean, a prominent early physician and medical educator, and even a lord mayor of London. An ancient bronze seal found in the 1800s near Eastbourne, now in the collection of the Lewes Castle Museum , shows the coat-of-arms of John Livet and is believed to have belonged to
3600-502: The most important chalk landscapes in England. The range is one of the four main areas of chalk downland in southern England . The South Downs are relatively less populated compared to South East England as a whole, although there has been large-scale urban encroachment onto the chalk downland by major seaside resorts, including most notably Brighton and Hove . The South Downs have been inhabited since ancient times and at periods
3672-533: The mudflats near Rochester and created a comic character Sam Weller who spoke the local accent, principally Kentish but with strong London influences. Modern Estuary dialect features were also reported in some traditional varieties, including L -vocalization e.g. old as owd , as well as yod-coalescence in Kent. A unique dialect existed as recently as the late 19th century in the historic county of Surrey , in western Kent , and in parts of northern Sussex , though it has now almost entirely died out. It
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#17327724147393744-510: The next tier of government, for which Firle is within the Ouse Valley East division. The council has responsibility for education, libraries, social services, civil registration, trading standards and transport. Elections for the county council are held every four years. The Liberal Democrat Thomas Ost was elected in the 2005 election. The UK Parliament constituency for Firle is Lewes . The Liberal Democrat Norman Baker served as
3816-469: The north side of the Weald, where it includes Leith Hill , the highest hill in south-east England, the low-lying clay vales of the Low Weald, formed of less resistant Weald Clay , and finally the more highly resistant sandstones of the High Weald at the centre of the anticline, whose elevated forest ridge includes most notably Ashdown Forest . The chalk, being porous, allows water to soak through; as
3888-431: The northern fringe of Friston Forest north-west of Eastbourne, one of the largest areas of chalk heath in Britain. The NNRs on the East Hampshire Downs comprise Butser Hill , near Petersfield, a large area of chalk grassland on the highest point in the South Downs (a large area is also designated as a scheduled monument reflecting its historical significance, particularly in the Bronze and Iron Ages); Old Winchester Hill ,
3960-580: The older rhotic accent can still be heard amongst some speakers, for example in the speech of John Arlott , Lord Denning and Reg Presley . Since the 1960s, particularly in Andover and Basingstoke, the local accent has changed reflecting the arrival of East Londoners relocated by London County Council. It can be argued that Hampshire is a borderline county moving East, linguistically. "Estuary-isms" can be found in Portsmouth or "Pompey" English, some of which may actually originate from Portsmouth rather than London. South West England or "West Country" English
4032-406: The oldest living things in Britain (the reserve is also one of the most important archaeological sites in southern England, with 14 scheduled monuments ); Castle Hill , between Brighton and Lewes, an important example of ancient, traditionally managed grassland; Lewes Downs ( Mount Caburn ), a traditionally managed chalk downland (and also an important archaeological site); and Lullington Heath , on
4104-429: The only part of the chalk escarpment to which, until the late 19th century, the term "South Downs" was usually applied – have come to epitomise, in literature and art, the South Downs as a whole and which have been the subject matter of such celebrated writers and artists as Rudyard Kipling (the "blunt, bow-headed, whale-backed downs") and Eric Ravilious . Four river valleys cut through the South Downs, namely those of
4176-416: The parish which extends into the neighbouring parish of Beddingham . The site is an extensive area of chalkland which hosts a wide range of flora. The rarest of these is the early spider orchid Ophrys sphegodes . [REDACTED] Media related to Firle at Wikimedia Commons Sussex dialect English in Southern England (also, rarely, Southern English English ; Southern England English ; or in
4248-414: The quid; "sarment for sermon; varmint for vermin; sloop for slope; spartacles for spectacles; spavin for spasms. I knew an old woman who was constantly suffering from "the windy spavin;" taters for potatoes; wunstfor once; wuts for oats, etc., etc." Syntax of the Surrey dialect included: Phonological features included long-standing yod-coalescence , now typical of dialects throughout England, as well as
4320-531: The rivers Arun, Adur , Ouse and Cuckmere , providing a contrasting landscape. Chalk aquifers and to a lesser extent winterbourne streams supply much of the water required by the surrounding settlements. Dew ponds , artificial ponds for watering livestock, are a characteristic feature on the downland. The highest point on the South Downs is Butser Hill , whose summit is 271 m (889 ft) above sea level. The plateau-like top of this irregularly shaped hill, which lies just south of Petersfield, Hampshire ,
4392-594: The south of the village was the operational base of a four-man Home Guard Auxiliary Unit . The commonly used word greengage is linked with another branch of the Gage family who lived at Hengrave Hall in Suffolk. It would appear that Sir William Gage, 2nd bart ( c. 1650 –1727), introduced the Gross Reine Claude fruit tree to England from France ca. 1725, and later became known as the greengage plum. Francis Young, author of The Gages of Hengrave, Suffolk Catholicism 1640-1767 St Peter's Church notably contains an alabaster effigy of Sir John Gage wearing his Order of
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#17327724147394464-561: The thin, well-drained chalk soils of the Downs over many centuries, and browsing by rabbits, resulted in the fine, short, springy turf, known as old chalk grassland , that has come to epitomise the South Downs today. Until the middle of the 20th century, an agricultural system operated by downland farmers known as 'sheep-and-corn farming' underpinned this: the sheep (most famously the Southdown breed) of villagers would be systematically confined to certain corn fields to improve their fertility with their droppings and then they would be let out onto
4536-469: The village of Slindon (near Arundel) and ends at the Queen Elizabeth Country Park (to the south of Petersfield.) Longer events that take in the South Downs Way include a 100-mile running 'ultramarathon' and mountain biking 75 mile night time race from Beachy Head to Queen Elizabeth Country Park. Three of the landmarks on the Downs are the Long Man of Wilmington and the Litlington White Horse being chalk carved hill figures , and Clayton Windmills . There
4608-433: The village. The society forms part of a network of bonfire societies in the Lewes area which serve the purpose both of remembering the Gunpowder Plot and of recalling the fate of the Sussex Martyrs . The village holds its celebrations in October before the main event in Lewes. Traditionally the Firle Bonfire Society Pioneers wear Valencian costumes. It is customary to burn an effigy other than Guy Fawkes; in 2003 an effigy of
4680-404: The war, only 3-4% survives. This and development pressures from the surrounding population centres ultimately led to the decision to create the South Downs National Park , which came into full operation on 1 April 2011, to protect and restore the Downs. The South Downs have also been designated as a National Character Area (NCA 125) by Natural England . It is bordered by the Hampshire Downs ,
4752-401: Was common in Essex. In addition, Mersea Island (though not the rest of Essex) showed some rhoticity in speakers born as late as the early 20th century, a feature that characterised other rural dialects of South East England in the 19th century. Th-fronting , a feature now widespread in England, was found throughout Essex in the 1950s Survey of English Dialects , which studied speakers born in
4824-405: Was deposited during the Cretaceous Period between 100 and 66 million years ago within a shallow sea which extended across much of northwest Europe. The rock is composed of the microscopic skeletons of plankton which lived in the sea, hence its colour. The chalk has many fossils , and bands of flint occur throughout the formation. The Chalk is divided into the Lower, Middle and Upper Chalk,
4896-451: Was first documented by Granville W. G. Leveson Gower (1838–1895), of Titsey Place , during the 1870s and first published by him in A Glossary of Surrey Words in 1893. Gower was first made aware of the dialect after reading a letter in a local newspaper. Following that, and after his own enquiries, he expressed a fear that improved transport and the spread of education would cause such local dialects to disappear and be forgotten despite
4968-417: Was in regular use through prehistory. It has been designated as a national nature reserve . Within the boundary of the South Downs National Park, which includes parts of the western Weald to the north of the South Downs, the highest point is Blackdown , West Sussex, which rises to 280 m (919 ft) above sea level. However, Blackdown geologically is not part of the South Downs but instead forms part of
5040-409: Was pronounced as /w/ in pre-vocalic position: thus, village sounded like willage and venom like wenom . In the 19th century, across all of Southern England, arter without an f (non-rhotically, / ˈ ɑː t ə / ) was a common pronunciation of after . The pattern of speech in some of Charles Dickens ' books pertains to Kentish dialect, as the author lived at Higham , was familiar with
5112-435: Was published by the Philological Society in 1973. Berkshire and Hampshire are on the modern-day border between Estuary English and West Country English . Berkshire is predominantly non-rhotic today, but traditional accents may still be found across the county. Parts of West Berkshire may still be rhotic or variably rhotic today, though this feature is quickly becoming ever less frequent. In country areas and Southampton,
5184-497: Was the largest landowner in the country after the monarch. The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, referred to as 'Ferla'. The value of the village is listed as being £44, which was amongst the highest in the county. The manor house, the site on which Firle Place now stands, was occupied from the early 14th century by the 'de Livet' ( Levett ) family, an ancient Sussex gentry family of Norman descent who owned
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