Dead and Buried in Sussex Multiple Choice Quiz | People by Country

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Mark Lemon was the first editor of the satirical magazine 'Punch'. In which churchyard in Sussex may his grave be visited?

Answer: St Margaret's, Ifield

Mark Lemon was an early commuter, living in the (then) village of Crawley and taking the train into London every day. Mark Lemon was also involved in the early days of the 'Illustrated London News' and 'The Field'. By 2000 'The Field' was the only one of these three magazines that survived. Mark Lemon's grave may be visited, but unless one knows where to look it may take a while to find.

There is a pub immediately outside the churchyard as well should one need to recover from such strenuous activity.

2. Born John Fuller, but better known as 'Mad Jack Fuller', an eccentric, sometime Member of Parliament for East Sussex, built a number of follies in Sussex. These include a sandstone pyramid, in which he is buried. In which village churchyard does this pyramid stand?

Answer: Brightling

John Fuller was born to a family that had made money with sugar plantations in the West Indies and from forging canons for the Royal Navy. Although a builder of follies he was also a philanthropist. The 'Belle Tout' lighthouse above Beachy Head was built with his funding. Elsewhere, I have seen the comment that as he avoided marriage and parenthood 'he can't have been that mad.'

3. John Olliver, a name familiar to few, was a miller in the 18th century who had both a mill near Findon and a reputation for eccentricity. Thirty years before he died he had constructed his tomb, and had his coffin on castors under his bed. His tomb may be found close to the summit of which of the South Downs?

Answer: Highdown Hill

Rumours abound about John Olliver. One thought is that he was heavily involved in smuggling, and that the coffin and tomb were built to hide contraband.
His tomb includes a carving of the grim reaper and the words:
"Why start you at that skeleton?'
'Tis your own picture that you shun.
Alive it did resemble thee,
And thou when dead like that shall be".
Cheerful thoughts!

4. In 1921 the Grand National was won by a horse called "Shaun Spada". The horse was buried at the racecourse near its home. Although the racecourse is closed, there is still a memorial to the horse. Which former racecourse, closed in 1964, is this?

Answer: Lewes

The ashes of the winning jockey, F.B. Rees, were also scattered at the same spot. With a bit of effort it is possible to view the memorial from the other side of a fence. The former Lewes racecourse is used for gallops and is to the northwest of the town, near the site of the battle of Lewes (1264) and on the southern slopes of 'Mount Harry'.

5. There is a town in Sussex which claims to be the smallest town in England to have its own mayor. Although this claim is debatable it is a matter of record that its first recorded mayor was Gervase Alard who is also claimed as the first English Admiral. One of the Goons is also buried within the town, but which town?

Answer: Winchelsea

The original town of Winchelsea was swept away by sea and storm in 1287. The new town of Winchelsea is also claimed to be one of the earliest examples of English medieval town planning. Winchelsea was originally one of the cinque ports, but the sea receded leaving it stranded inland. The goon referred to in the question is Spike Milligan.

6. In Lewes, in December 1836, people were killed in a disaster, the worst of its kind recorded in England?

Answer: Avalanche

Eight people are recorded as having lost their lives in this incident. The site of this disaster is now in South Street, where the aptly named Snowdrop Inn stands. The disaster is also remembered in the song by Sussex folk-rock band 'Touchstone' entitled "The Night that the Snow Came Down".

7. Sarah French poisoned her husband with arsenic in his onion pie so she could be with her boyfriend. Things didn't work out as planned and she became the last woman to be publicly hanged for murder in Sussex. Where did this unsavoury deed (the murder) take place?

Answer: Chiddingly

According to the website of the 'Pub Lunch Fellowship', "Sarah Anne French became infatuated with her sister's boyfriend and wanted to marry him and fortunately this was no problem for her sister, as she herself had eyes for another man." "The boyfriend decided he might be safer without her and so told her he he was no longer enamoured with her and wasn't tempted by her husband's inheritance money." Another question originally inspired by a song written and recorded by Sussex folk-rock group, Touchstone.

8. The French born poet, Hilaire Belloc died in Guildford in Surrey. But he is buried in Sussex. Where can you find his grave?

Answer: West Grinstead

To be more precise, he is buried in the churchyard of 'The Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation of West Grinstead'. West Grinstead is a small village in the county of Sussex. The 'Shrine of Our Lady' is a Catholic church and according to the church's own website, one of the priests who said mass there in centuries past was Francis Bell who was hung, drawn and quartered at Tyburn for being a 'popish priest'. East Grinstead is a much larger town, also in Sussex, where three martyrs were burnt for heresy in the 16th century, their heresy being a refusal to accept Catholicism during the reign of Queen Mary. North and South Grinstead are inventions.

9. Thomas Henry Sargent is better known by his stage name of Max Miller. He was born in Sussex, and in 2005 a statue of him was unveiled in the town he had been born in. Which town was this?

Answer: Brighton

The 'Max Miller Appreciation Society' states, (although they might be slightly biased) that Max Miller was "Britain's top comedian in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. He excelled as a stand-up comic playing to large audiences in variety theatres, where his skill was such that he could hold an audience in the palm of his hand.

He was master of the double entendre. He was mischievous, brash and quick-witted; he dressed over the top and he certainly lived up to the name the Cheeky Chappie". It should also be noted that he was banned by the BBC more than once as his material was considered too risqu�.

10. In which Sussex village will you find the grave of Mervyn Peake, author of Gormenghast?

Answer: Burpham

All of the four options are villages in West Sussex, with a population in the 2001 census of less than 200. But Burpham is the correct one. Not just Mervyn but several of his family are buried in the same churchyard, including his wife, brother and sister-in-law. The village of Burpham nestles under the South Downs near Arundel.

Source: Author paper_aero

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Dead and Buried in Sussex Trivia Quiz

Inspired by a book of the same name by David Arscott, this quiz is about graves and life ending incidents in Sussex - a nice and cheerful subject.

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