Sussex Day

Since 2006 the 16th June has apparently been Sussex Day. This has only come to my attention within the last few weeks and that above is the Sussex flag again of which I knew nowt! The six birds represent the six rapes [boroughs] of the county and the date is the one upon which St Richard of Chichester's body was moved to its current resting place in the nave in the cathedral in 1276.

Coincidentally I shall be down in Chi today attending a folklore talk with my chum W. To neatly dovetail the post I thought a short 16th century Sussex folklore tale about the giant of Brede was in order.

Sir Goddard Oxenbridge was a 7' giant of a man and the story goes that he ate a child every night after dark and could not be killed by any metal weapon. He met his demise when a group of angry Sussex children got him drunk and then killed him with a wooden saw at Groaning Bridge. In real life he was a god fearing gentleman and the owner of Brede Place [Brede is a small village nowadays]. He was knighted by Henry VIII in 1509 and is now buried in the local church. As for the story...Brede Place was a hiding place favoured by smugglers so they may well have fabricated the tale to keep certain people at bay.

Arilx