Cuckfield's Cuckoo Fayre

Welcome to Cuckfield Life’s Cuckoo Fayre event page. Here you will find our most recent information for everything regarding the fayre.

The annual Independent State of Cuckfield Cuckoo Fayre takes place on May Day Bank Holiday Monday every year in the Recreation Ground, from 12noon, with the official opening by the current Mayor at 1pm. Entry is free.

See also, The Independent State of Cuckfield
Cuckfield Parish Council

Our next Cuckoo Fayre will be announced early 2026.

2025 Cuckoo Fayre success!

By Mike Schlup

The Cuckoo Fayre returned on the May Day Bank Holiday, determined to make up for last year’s rain enforced cancellation.

It was a chilly start to the day but the sun showed its face and the crowds came out in force. There were over 50 stalls selling all variety of goodies and raising funds for local good causes, plus plenty of tasty food and drink options. Live music from Made In The Shade, Kirsty Bishop, Jess and Paul and Alex Dew kept everyone entertained, and for the younger visitors Tomfoolery was onhand with his fun show.

The Tug of War competition was a closely fought battle with HHRFC just edging reigning champions the White Harte Tractor Boys to lift the Ted Murphy memorial trophy. And - new for this year - was the barrel toss challenge which proved a big hit with the crowds.

The Independent State of Cuckfield would like to thank all the volunteers who helped to make the Cuckoo Fayre such a success this year. For more information or to get involved email info@cuckfieldstate.org.

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Mid Sussex District Council newsletter - May 2025

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Council takes next steps to secure new cultural offer at Clair Hall

Mid Sussex District Council will go out to the market to take plans for a new cultural offer at Clair Hall to the next stage. Cabinet councillors have agreed to go out to procurement to find a cultural partner who can work with the Council to provide a three-screen cinema with a food and drink offer at Clair Hall. The aim is that the largest cinema would also be able to host and stage live performances. The Council hopes to have found an operator by the summer so that the next step to find a developer for the scheme can begin. Visit www.midsussex.gov.uk for more information.

Skate Fest is back for May half term!

Fancy brushing up on some skateboarding skills or even trying it for the first time? Then come along to one of our free community Skate Fest events during May half term. You don’t need to book, just turn up on the day at any one of three events during the school holidays. All ages are welcome. The events will be happening on: Tuesday 27th May @ St John’s Park, Burgess Hill 2 – 4.30 pm Wednesday 28th May @ Victoria Park, Haywards Heath 2 – 4.30 pm Thursday 29th May @ King George’s Field, East Grinstead 2 – 4.30 pm Cllr Anne-Marie Cooke, Cabinet Member for Communities and Communications, said: “It’s great that we’re holding these skate events again as they’re always so popular for all ages. Grab your skateboard and come and join us!”

To read the full newsletter, pick up your copy of May’s Cuckfield Life or click the images to enlarge them,

Cuckfield Defibrillators Update - How to use a defib machine

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At Cuckfield Life, we’d like to encourage everyone living and working in the village to familiarise themselves with the sites of the life-saving defibrillator machines in Cuckfield and Bolnore and learn how to use them.

Inside defibrillators:
Golf Centre on Staplefield Rd
Rugby Club Whitemans Green
Cosmos Football Club (Portable) Whitemans Green
Holy Trinity School on Glebe Rd
Warden Park, Broad Street
Holy Trinity Church on Church St
The Queen’s Hall on High Street

Outside defibrillators:
Whitemans Green playing fields
Cuckfield Baptist Church, Polestub Ln
Mansell McTaggart, High Street
Cricket Club, South Street
Staplefield Village Hall, Cuckfield Road
Staplefield Old phone box, Cuckfield Road
Bolnore School, Updown Hill
The Woodside, 120 Middle Village in Bolnore
Deaks Paddock, Ansty

We need your help to keep our defibrillators operational for the future.
We have two defibrillators paid for by our Cuckfield community. One is located on Whitemans Green (widely used for sports, picnics and recreational activities for all our residents from footballers to dog walkers), the other is located in the heart of the High Street, adjacent to The Talbot pub on the wall of Mansell McTaggart. We need £900 every six years to fund the pads and batteries and in the future we will need to fundraise to replace the actual units when they get too old. We now have a dedicated ISOC defibrillator facility for donations towards keeping these essential units operational.
If you would like to contribute to the upkeep of these units, you can make a bank transfer direct to Independent State of Cuckfield - who will ringfence any donations made with a reference ‘defibs’. ISOC Bank Account: Sort Code 20-49-76, Acc No. 20513253

Why are defibrillators so essential in our communities?
Defibrillators AEDs (Automated External Defibrillators) are the only treatment for outside hospital cardiac arrest, when available and used alongside CPR, (chest compressions) they will give our residents the very best chance of survival. The more units we have available in our community, the better the chances of survival are, as deploying them is time-critical. Every minute of delay to CPR and defibrillation will reduce the probability of survival by 10%.

Any local clubs should aim to register their details with the South East Coast Ambulance Service to enable any 999 call handlers to tell them where their nearest unit is in the village.

For those readers who aren’t sure what they would do, should they be needed to use a defibrillator in an emergency - there is an app recommended by the Resuscitation Council. To download the app, visit the website: www.resus.org.uk/apps/lifesaver

* If you know of updates to this map, do please let us know by sending an email to editor@cuckfieldlife.co.uk. *