Cuckfield Village Hall (formerly Cuckfield Youth Club) renamed and officially open

Cuckfield Village Hall (formerly London Lane Youth Club)
Ken Gregory opening the renamed Hall in Cuckfield

Cuckfield resident, three times Mayor of the village and long-standing parish councillor Ken Gregory had the pleasure of officially renaming and opening the new Cuckfield Village Hall last month.

Cuckfield Parish Council secured a loan to buy the property in 2014, and the building came into its ownership in February this year.

Nigel Page, chair of the Parish Council, thanked a number of people in his speech at the event. Firstly he thanked the users of the hall for working to ensure continuation of use. Also noted were Annette Jones, Nicky Sage, Frances Jones and Piers Harrison. There were also representatives from Building Heroes who worked on the repairs and also a number of people from the local community who gave up their time to give the hall a spring clean before the start of the new term.

Cuckfield Village Hall is now operated by the Parish Council. Enquiries for hire bookings should be directed to 01444 451610.

Rose & Crown wins Best Eatery Award

Last month Cuckfield restaurant The Rose & Crown won the coveted Best Eatery award at the Bright Awards 2015.

Father and son business owners Mark and Simon Dennis picked up the award at the ceremony organised by local radio station Bright FM.

Paul Williams, who presented the award, commented: The Rose & Crown was praised for its relaxed and comfortable atmosphere, its cleanliness and its varied, ever-changing menu. Nominations gushed about the wonderful Sunday lunches, the monthly steak nights and the incredible attention to detail provided on all dishes. The fact they welcome walkers muddy boots and their dogs also went down well.”

Rose and Crown Cuckfield

Cuckfield to be featured in TV Show

Legendary TV personality Penelope Keith was filming in the village earlier in the year, following the decision to include Cuckfield in the More4 series Penelope Keith’s Secret Villages. The show in which Cuckfield is featured is rumoured to be airing in September.
     Secret Villages takes Penelope on a journey through a part of the country during each show. Cuckfield is part of the second episode of the series, which covers Kent and Sussex. A small team researches different stories for each area and comes together to share what it found with the production company and Penelope herself.
     Series producer and director Owen Rodd explained: “Once we heard about Cuckfield it was certain we would use it for the programme! The primary story we followed was that of the donkey races on Whitemans Green in the 1950s & 60s and then the subsequent formation of the Independent State of Cuckfield.”
     Penelope, who went to school in Seaford, met up with Cuckfield Mayor Rob Helliwell at his pub The Wheatsheaf, along with Martin Ingebretson, to learn more about the village.
     The series will start on More4 at 9pm on 1st September. Cuckfield features in episode two.

Also available on page 4.