[Illustration:  THE EASTERN DOWNS.]

CHAPTER II

TO EASTBOURNE AND PEVENSEY

Two miles distant from Lewes on the Eastbourne road is Beddingham, whose church shows a medley of styles from Norman to Decorated.  About one hundred years ago a discovery was made near the village of a quantity of human remains together with weapons and accoutrements, pointing to the probability of a forgotten battle having taken place in the pass between the hills.  A religious house dedicated to St. Andrew is conjectured to have existed at one time in or near the village.  Monkish records relate that a ship hailing from Dunkirk and having on board a monk named Balger was driven into Seaford by a storm.  This Balger was of an enterprising turn; making his way inland he helped himself to the relics of St. Lewinna, a British convert, which reposed in St. Andrew’s Monastery.  The adventures that overtook the relics and their illegal guardian during the journey back to Flanders make up a medieval romance of much interest and throw a curious light on the mental attitude of the religious, as regards the rights of property, during the Dark Ages.

[Illustration:  FIRLE BEACON.]

A mile farther along the high road is the turning which leads to Glynde station and village, for which the most pleasant route is over the hills.  The name is possibly a Celtic survival and describes the situation between opposing heights.  “Glyn” is common throughout the whole of Wales.  The church is in a style quite alien to its surroundings and might well belong to Clapham or Bloomsbury.  It is a Grecian temple built about 1765 by the then Bishop of Durham, Dr. Trevor, and here the Bishop was buried.  There are few more charming groups of cottages in Sussex than this beautiful village.  Glynde Place, the seat of a former Speaker of the House of Commons, boasts the largest dairy in Sussex if not in England; between 700 and 800 pounds of butter are made here daily.  John Ellman, the famous breeder of Southdown sheep lived here for nearly fifty years (1780-1829.)

A short way farther, on the main road, is a turning to West Firle, on the east of which is the fine Firle Park belonging to the Gage’s, a very ancient local family whose tombs and brasses may be seen in the church.  The pedestrian is advised to press on to Firle Beacon from which a descent may be made to Alciston (pronounced “Aston”) on the high road.  The heap of flints on the summit of the Beacon is 718 feet above the sea, and therefore the hill is not so high as it looks, nor is it, as was formerly supposed to be the case, the second highest summit of the Downs.  The view is superb both northwards to the Weald and southwards over the Channel.  Alciston calls for little comment, the charm of the place consists in its air of remoteness and peace.  The small church is partly Norman, and in the walls of Court House Farm are the remains of a religious house.  Note the ancient barn and dovecote.  A mile to the north is another little hamlet called “Simson,” and spelt Selmeston.  The curious wooden pillars in the church were fortunately untouched when the building was restored.  The old altar slab has five crosses, and there are one or two interesting brasses.