Special Sub-Topic: Back down to Sussex Click Here To Play: Back down to Sussex

Which town is the county town of East Sussex?

Lewes. Americans have state capitals, songs, insects etc. We just have county towns. Lewes has been a town since Saxon times and in 1264 was the site of a historically significant battle between Simon de Montfort and King Henry III.

In which sport (though I use the term advisedly) does the World Championship get held every Good Friday at the Greyhound pub, Tinsley Green?

Marbles. Just like all other sports the Germans usually win. That maybe a slight exaggeration but Saxonia I were the winning team in 2002, '03 and '04. This is an international contest with teams from around the world as well as the local pubs. I am sure that it's popularity in the past had nothing to do with it being the only pub for miles around permitted to open Good Friday afternoon. More details may be found at http://www.marblemuseum.org/tinsley/tinsleygreen.html

Sussex is home to many beautiful parks and gardens which are open to the public. Which of the following parks and gardens is in East Sussex as opposed to West Sussex?

Sheffield Park. All of these are fairly close together in central Sussex. Wakehurst is part of the Royal Botanical Gardens. Leonardslee has wallabies (also known as assistant lawn mowers). Nymans and Sheffield Park are owned by the National Trust.

Winston Churchill's grandson, Nicholas Soames, was first elected to parliament for which constituency?

Crawley. He was elected MP for Crawley in 1983, 1987 and 1992. In the three subsequent elections he stood and was elected for MP for Mid Sussex.

Which famous poet of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, lived at Burwash in Sussex?

Rudyard Kipling. Kipling wrote a number of poems about Sussex including "Sussex by the Sea" and "The Run of the Downs". The house, Bateman's, where he lived from 1902 until his death in 1936, is owned by the National Trust and open to the public.

As Sussex is fairly close to the continent, it is no surprise that many fortifications have been built in the county. Which of the following castles is in West Sussex as opposed to East Sussex?

Bramber Castle. There is not much left of it now. It was destroyed during the civil war. Other castles, such as Bodiam seem barely damaged by the trials and tribulations of history.

In the churchyard of St Swithin's, East Grinstead is a memorial to three poor souls burned at the stake in East Grinstead in July 1556. What offence had they committed?

Heresy. Three Protestants who refused to renounce their faith, they were burned in the High Street. Years later, at an unknown date, memorial slabs were laid in the churchyard, but their actual graves remain unknown.

In 1973 a Grand Prix was held at Wisborough Green, the first time this particular event had been held. But what sort of transport were they using to race?

Lawn Mowers. Stirling Moss (yes that Stirling Moss) won the Lawn Mower Grand Prix in 1975 and 1976! Motorised barstools were considered a possibility by the founders before they settled for lawn mowers. The official site for the sport is http://www.racemower.co.uk/

In 1993 Richard Thompson, ex Fairport Convention guitarist and singer-songwriter recorded a live album at which Sussex venue?

The Hawth, Crawley. The album is called "Live At Crawley". According to Wikipedia, Richard recorded it to provide "a better quality alternative to the bootlegs".

The word martlet is to be frequently found around Sussex. What is a martlet?

Heraldic Device.. Generally represented as a legless swallow, there are six on the Sussex coat of arms. (To clarify that is a bird without legs, not one partial to alcohol.)