Wills reveal spelling and consciences of the departed

Mr James North, of Brighton, has written a deeply interesting article descriptive of the ancient parish churches near the river Ouse, and from it we cull the following [extract about Cuckfield]:

The tower has unusual trefoiled corbel tables. It is disfigured by the necessary addition of buttresses on its west and south side. The nave has Early English windows.

The first Cuckfield  man whose name has come down to us was named Adam de Cukufeld. There are twenty-eight places in North Sussex the names of which are compounded of ‘field’, first ‘clearing’ in the wood. In the 12th century it was called Cucufeld, in the 14th Cokefeld, and in the 17th century an attempt was made to change the name to Cockfield.

Some of the pre-Reformation wills are interesting:

‘In the yere of our Lorde God 1545 the 26 day of June, I, 'Thomas Gaston, of the pish [parish] of Cukefelde, syke in body hole and of ppt [perfect] memorie, ordene and make this my last will and test. and forme folling: First I bequethe my sowle to Alymyghty God or (our) lady St. Mary and all the holy company of begrying, my bodie to be buried in the church yarde of Cukefeld: it to the Mother Church of Chichester 4d; it to the hye alter of Cucktield £4.

Another Cuckfield testator in 1539 left to the high altar ‘for trythes and oblacions negligently fogetten vi pence’.

Mid Sussex Times, 20 July 1909

Contributed by Malcolm Davison.

Visit Cuckfield Museum, follow the link for details https://cuckfieldmuseum.org.