A Brief History of the Pevensey & Courthouse:

 

By early Tudor times the Castle of Pevensey had fallen into disrepair and was no longer inhabited, but Pevensey, like the rest of England, was also recovering from the series of disasters which befell it during the 14th and 15th centuries, “The Black Death” Dead littered the streets everywhere. Cattle and livestock roamed the country unattended.

The Black Death was one of the worst natural disasters in history. In 1347 A.D., a great plague swept over Europe and ravaged cities causing widespread hysteria and death. One third of the population of Europe died. "The impact upon the future of England was greater than upon any other European country." The primary culprits in transmitting this disease were Oriental Rat Fleas carried on the back of black rats.Pevensey has its own history of the Black Death and plague pits that are scattered around the village.

Cinque Ports:

The key to the security of the realm was to control the English Channel. In exchange, the towns agreed to provide ships and sailors for defence when required by the crown bailiff and jurats would up hold on behalf of "the queen’s majesties court" at Pevensey as this was the only one in the Borough capable of initiating a project of this kind , other ports were later added Hastings in Sussex, and Hythe, in Kent. These five coastal towns made up the Five Ports (in Norman French the "Cinque Ports"). In the 13th century Rye and Winchelsea joined nearby Hastings and in the next century gained legal status as "Antient Towns", affiliated with the Cinque Ports.

The need for defence was so great that a large number of other towns became allied to the major ports. Thus, inland Tenterden became an ally of Rye, and Pevensey an ally of Hastings. This 'coastal confederation' reached a total of 42 towns at its medieval peak.

Geography lesson:

This is the basis of Pevensey history (see diagram above. This is Pevensey in Roman times and right through past Norman times.

All the water didn't begin to go away really until the late 13th century, when there were a series of rather nasty bits of weather which drowned Winchelsea and caused the river Rother to change course which isolated Rye and in Pevensey case it stirred up the seabed so that the silt from the river Ashburn couldn't get out, so it began to silt up.

Now the map shows an enlargement of the peninsular with Pevensey castle at the end so that the peninsular was sticking out into the English Channel. At the moment we're sitting on what was the bottom of the sea!

The bit to the north was sheltered and that originally was the anchorage of the Roman fleet, and later became the port of Pevensey, and when they were digging foundations for cottages just past the village hall they came across traces of landing stages and jetties so we know it was a port.

When William (the conqueror) came he knew what he was doing because at that time the whole of Sussex was isolated from the rest of England by what is now the Ashdown forest. But at that time there was no way William could move an army though that forest to get up to London, the only way was from Hastings, which is why he had to start at Hastings. Hastings, however, is sheer cliffs, and you wouldn't invade.

William I believe landed at Pevensey, after a good look round, because he had parking space for his 700 boats, a ready made fortress and he could then occupy Hastings from this side. It wasn't until 1287 that the tide really started to go out.

In 1204 King John got kicked out of his territorial positions on the continent, and the French had a nasty habit of crossing the channel and setting fire to the odd town etc. so he needed a bigger navy to control the straits, and he added Pevensey and Seaford to the confederation of Cinque Ports, which is why we have a town hall here. Even after its trade was finished, Pevensey still remained a member of the Cinque Ports and the Bailiff and Jurats continued to function in the Court House at Pevensey.

The Courthouse:

 

In 1541 the present Courthouse building was built in Henry VIII time. That was equipped with prison cells and the courtroom and originally there were quite a few cells. There is only two now but the house next door was built in about 1700 for the use of the Jailor, and in that house the foundations for about another 6 cells can be seen in foundation form.

There was no established law and order, you had the Beadle, he was responsible for law and order, court proceedings, and his original uniform is still in the courthouse along with his handcuffs, his wands of office and his rattle for summoning assistance if he wanted it!

Life for the poor in Tudor times was harsh:

The poor had to work hard and struggled to survive. Many poor people lives lived in villages doing farm work or making cloth in their own homes for very little pay. They worked six days a week and only had holy days and public holidays off work.

When the harvest failed it was tempting for poor people to steal food. When people did break the law, they risked public flogging or being hanged.

Document:

In the courthouse Dated from 1356 it states that a 'free man' of a Cinque Port had the privilege of not being hung but being bound by hands and ankles and thrown into the sea off of Pevensey bridge

Mary Taylor:

There is one story in there of a Mary Taylor, she pinched a bale of cloth and her punishment was being tied to the tail of a cart stripped to the waist and whipped all the way to Westham and back, until her back had been blooded. So that's the kind of punishments there were. The executions were very public as an example to everyone else. Then it became a public entertainment until about 1700's when they stopped making it public.

England:

William Harrison, a church minister, wrote a book called 'Description of England'. In it he describes four types of people living in Tudor England. We in England divide our people commonly into four sorts.' The first are gentlemen, which covers everyone from nobles to professionals; next come the citizens of the cities, who are free men with special privileges; next come the yeomen of the countryside; and finally the poor – farm workers, servants and vagrants, who have 'neither voice nor authority'. Whereby In 1886, by act of parliament they did away with rotten boroughs and places like this, like Pevensey they have to also change in character.

A lot of the history with in the courthouse can be found in thier own useful booklets that have been research and put together over the years by the voluntary staff or given to the courthouse by the public.

Comming soon......

On 27 September 1066

William of Normandy's fleet landed at Pevensey on the south coast. after having a good look round, because he had parking space for his 700 boats, a ready made fortress that he could then occupy. On 14 October, at Hastings, he defeated the Anglo-Saxon King Harold and seized the English throne. He was crowned William I on Christmas Day 1066.

The Black Death

was one of the worst natural disasters in history. In 1347 A.D., a great plague swept over Europe and ravaged cities causing widespread hysteria and death. One third of the population of Europe died. "The impact upon the future of England was greater than upon any other European country."

Dating back to the thirteenth century, it was one of the smallest old town hall and Jails in England.