Chanctonbury Community Land Trust

18/03/2026

The Chairman of Chanctonbury Community Land Trust by Chanctonbury Ring.

24/02/2026

Tonight at 7pm Chanctonbury Community Land Trust have been invited to speak at Thakeham Parish Council in the Village Hall, Abingworth Cresent RH20 3GW. Learn more about our role in Ashington, Billingshurst, Shipley, Storrington & Sullington, Thakeham,Washington and West Chiltington together with our discussions with Bellway an out the ex Mushroom Farm

27/01/2026

𝐒𝐔𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐗 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐘
𝗡𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 26

𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗡𝗮𝗺𝗲: Chanctonbury Hill
𝗦𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘅 𝗗𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻/𝗡𝗮𝗺𝗲:
Chanklebury

𝗠𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴: Hill of the brushwood thicket stronghold

𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀:
Hill of Changebury 1351 > Chanckberie Hill 1587

"According to Sussex legend, Chanctonbury was formed from a great clod of earth which was thrown from the Devil's shovel as he dug the Devil's D**e. Another legend concerns the Ring itself, believed to be haunted by the ghost of a bearded Saxon, killed at the Battle of Hastings, who returns to search for the treasure he had previously buried at this spot."

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Once a day, we will be posting a different place name from Sussex, including the local Sussex dialect pronunciation or name for each location.

These derivations and recordings have been taken from ‘The Place Names of Sussex’ collected and compiled by Judith Glover, and published in 1975.

The local dialect pronunciations and names have been taken from the following publications:-

• 'Contributions to Literature: Historical, Antiquarian, and Metrical', Mark Antony Lower, 1854.
•'A Compendious History of Sussex', Mark Antony Lower, 1870.
•'A Dictionary of Sussex Dialect’, William Douglas Parish, 1875.
•A Glossary of Dialectal Place-Nomenclature', Robert Charles Hope, 1883
•'A Handbook of Sussex' The Great Tower Street Tea Company, 1894
•'East Sussex Place Names by An Old-Fashioned Man', Walter Gillett, 1920, 1925 and 1933
•'The Place Names of Sussex', Judith Glover, 1975
•'A History of the People of Sussex', Chris Hare, 1995
•'The South Downs', Peter Brandon, 1998
•'Sussex as She Wus Spoke', Tony Wales, 2000
•'Sussex', Peter Brandon, 2006
•'Wunt be Druv!', David Arscott, 2006

It isn't particularly easy to put a specific time scale on each dialect name - some pronunciations have eroded far quicker than others. A number of these local names didn't continue to be used prominently far into the 20th Century and became extinct due to exterior influences, therefore the older population of today still may not have even heard some of these, even in early childhood. Many of these dialectal names have proven to go back many centuries. For example, the Sussex vernacular "Brighton" for the town of ‘Brighthelmstone’ can be traced back to at least 1416.

We hope that by publishing these Sussex names, you may learn something new about where you live and even reintroduce the local diction into your vocabulary.

Maybe you will have some nostalgic memories of these pronunciations? Do your friends and family still use this Sussex speech?!

24/09/2025

23/09/2025

Come closer! Find out more. Chanctonbury Community Land Trust is having its AGM on Friday 26 September at 8pm Chesswood Room, Thakeham Village Hall. All welcome. Take up membership then you can vote. https://www.chanctonburyclt.org.uk/agm-2025

23/09/2025

The Autumnal Equinox of 2025 takes place tonight, the 22nd September at 7:19pm

It traditionally marks the beginning of autumn though many will already be noticing the shorter days and leaves changing colour! 🍁🍂🍁

This panel, 'Studies of a Leaf' depicts the autumn leaves in colours very synonymous with this time of year!

Made between 1850-1860 by James Powell & Sons and was originally located at the Hall Estate in north Devon. You can read more about the house here: http://www.hallestate.co.uk/

This panel is a 'quarry' panel, from the French 'carré' meaning 'square', and are often used in multiples to make up whole windows or as decorative backgrounds.

Stamped quarries were made in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries by pressing or rolling soft glass into patterned moulds, producing designs of stylised flowers or leaves, or copies of medieval bird quarries. Glass paint and yellow stain were then applied to the indented pattern, and the glass was fired in the conventional manner. Once very common, this type of glazing is becoming rare. You can find out more about quarry glass in our video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NU9iN1Ko3v8

19/07/2025

France has just unveiled a groundbreaking wind turbine with no blades and no moving parts, and it's revolutionizing how we think about renewable energy.

Located on a windswept plateau in Normandy, this turbine uses a concept called vortex shedding. As the wind flows around a vertical cylinder, it creates alternating low-pressure zones that make the structure gently sway. This movement is then harvested using piezoelectric materials and magnetic induction to generate clean, usable electricity.

The best part is that this generator doesn’t rely on spinning blades or noisy gearboxes, making it incredibly low maintenance and much quieter than traditional turbines. It’s also safer for wildlife and doesn’t disturb the neighbors.

Each unit generates around 100 watts, perfect for off-grid homes, rural sheds, or areas where traditional turbines can’t fit. When grouped together, these minimalist turbines could create a microgrid, providing power for lights or small appliances, even in cloudy regions where solar might not be reliable.

What’s more, the system is modular, durable, and lightweight. No heavy concrete base or high-speed rotating parts means it’s super easy to transport and install, making it perfect for emergency setups in refugee camps or remote areas.

06/07/2025

This is a map of trees in Europe and why it is important not to allow developers to chop down or “accidentally damage” a mature native tree. Fine them to the value as calculated for the Sycamore Gap Tree in the trial of the perpetrators of that crime. Isn’t it funny how companies get way with it but little people get incarcerated?

05/07/2025

There was a community hub and a YMC in the same building as the gallery

05/07/2025

Complete our Survey to say what YOU the people who make up our community want from a Hub in Thakeham https://formsgle/W5vnumju6kdMCJQj7

02/07/2025

We hope to start our first project soon. We are making a bid to Thakeham Parish to run a community hub on the Abingworth estate. Your input to our survey will help https://forms.gle/W5vnumju6kdMCJQj7