Portslade History Trail. 1000 years of history in a one mile walk

Portslade History Day 2025

Saturday, September 6th. Free entry and activities

Venues: St Nicolas Church, Portslade manor ruins and Emmaus

Now in its third year, Portslade History Day is a fun - and free -day out for the whole family. For kids there is medieval art, dressing up and hands-on history stalls. For local history fans there are a number of short talks and guided heritage walks from leading historians and writers. See the full line-up below

Free activities suitable for kids and families

Portslade history cinema – midday to 3pm

Film schedule to include: Portslade pubs; Portslade rich list; Portslade playground games; Portslade villains and many more. Playground games from our childhood.

Kids medieval and Tudor dress up – 11am to 2pm

Our friends at Gladrags will be on hand to create kings, Queens, knights and much more with their array of stage costumes. Perfect for photos in the manor grounds. Gladrags Costume Hire

Kids medieval art – 11am to 3pm

11am to 2pm. Medieval art for kids. Design and colour in your own sword, shield or work of medieval art. Free for all the young nobles and peasants of Portslade. Children must be supervised by an adult.

Portslade pop-up museum – 11am to 4pm

A selection of artifacts from 19th and 20th century Portslade, including childhood memorabilia from the 1960s to 1980s

Portslade Artists & Makers (PAM) -10am to 4pm

PAM is a group of local artists and makers living and/or working in BN41, promoting creativity in the area through engagement with the local community. Several of their members will be displaying their work.

Archeological artefacts - hands-on experience – 10 am to 2pm

Archaeologists from the Brighton and Hove Archaeological Society will be displaying some of their finds and answering any questions you may have. Bones, pottery and much more in this hands-on experience.

World war artefacts – hands-on experience 11 am to 3pm

1pm to 3pm. Portslade historian Zac Down will be displaying his unique collection of World War medals, equipment & weapons for people to look at and handle

Medieval games 11am to 3pm tbc

Win free chocolates in our medieval games section, including ‘kick the peasants head into the bucket.’ Also, play chess, quoits and 'gamble' in our Tudor dice game.

Easthill Park tours – 9.30 am onwards

Head to the Easthill Park Community Cafe to get your free map in this self-guided tour. Stories of Rich Victorian, great storms and heroic pilots are all included in this free 21-minute downloadable tour. Download the tour here: Portslade History Trail. 1000 years of history in a one mile walk

12.15pm to 12.45pm - Medieval cookery

Feast like a Lord with venison, scavenge like a peasant with veg. A talk and cooking demo of medieval food. Suitable for Lords, peasants and vegetarians.

Walks and tours

Easthill Park tours – 9.30 am onwards

Portslade’s medieval manor house ruins 10am to 3.30pm

A self-guided tour of this historic site. Once home to Lords of the Manor of Portslade, including a Prime Minister of England and a Lord sentenced to death for treason. Also, it has the oldest toilet in the city. Travel back to 1066 and the era of the Normans.

Emmaus grounds tour 11am to midday - must be booked in advance

A stroll around the Emmaus site (including the secret garden) and a history of the Georgian manor house, former convent site, and an insight to the Emmaus community. Book your free space at: freshstartsussex@hotmail.co.uk

Old Village Conservation area tour – midday to 1pm - must be booked in advance

Historian Trevor Povey will transport you back to medieval, Tudor and Victorian Portslade with stories of the how life once was in our little, but desirable village. Book your free spaces at: freshstartsussex@hotmail.co.uk

Emmaus tour 2pm to 3pm - must be booked in advance

Talk schedule in St Nicolas Church – The Altar Stage

9.30 to 10.10am

Portslade Stories: The planned German invasion of Portslade

The German high command had their eye on our Gas works and infrastructure. The German 9th Panzer army was tasked with invading Portslade. Would the Portslade Home Guard be up to the task? Led by Portslade historian, Zac Down

10.20 to 11am -

Dora The Explorer – the forgotten plant hunter of Peru

In the 1930s, Dora Strafford managed a syndicate of wealthy collectors and botanical gardens to fund her expeditions to the Andes mountains. Her exploits made the headlines in newspapers. A story that starts in Sussex and ends in a warehouse in herbariums in Chicago and London. A talk by Heritage Consultant, Hamish MacGillivray

11.10 to 11.40am -

Portslade stories. My life at Gatwick airport.

Vicky Lynch spent 25 years working at Gatwick airport. In her career she met the Queen, saw the building of the North terminal and was on duty the night of the Lockerbie disaster. Fasten your seat belts

11.50 to 12.30pm

Backstage Brighton – Brighton's theatre history.

Backstage Brighton’ looks at aspects of the theatre history in the resort, in the form of a pictorial guided walk around the central city looking at sites of theatres and music halls. Dr Geoffrey Mead will be your compere.

12.40pm to 1.20pm

Brighton Boozers – a liquid history

A pictorial guided walk round some of the historic inns and taverns of the city, past and present. Dr Geoffrey Mead will be your barman and guide.

1.30pm to 2.10pm

In search of my hero, an engineering genius.

Our journey starts in the 1820s in the Stroud valleys, Glos ending in Hassocks, West Sussex in the present day. You will hear of relatively unknown genius inventor responsible for creating the lawn mower and other items still in use today. A talk by Clive Gravett, Curator of Museum of Gardening, Hassocks

2.20pm to 3pm

Portslade Stories: The Naughty Boys School – a second chance.

Many will remember the ‘naughty boys school’, perched on top of the west hill of Portslade. This is the history of Portslade Industrial School, its activities and what went on behind closed doors. A revealing talk by historian, Trevor Povey

3.05pm to 3.35pm

Portslade Stories: BHAFC footballers and Portslade in the 1950s/60s

Julie Ryan, author of ‘In and out of the Lion’s Den: Poverty, War and Football’, and daughter of former Albion star, John Shepherd, looks back to the days of the £20 per week footballer and when Portslade was the place for BHAFC footballers to call home.

Talk schedule within the manor grounds – The Medieval Stage

12.15pm to 12.45pm - Medieval cookery

Feast like a Lord with venison, scavenge like a peasant with veg. A talk and cooking demo of medieval food. Suitable for Lords, peasants and vegetarians. Balderick will be you chef.

1pm to 1.25pm - World War One cookery.

During World War One, Portslade was home to a military cooking school which trained 14,000 men to produce hot meals on the front line. Keep calm and try army food. Captain Darling will be your CO.

To find out more about our guest speakers and their expertise, click here

Refreshments

Cream teas and Ploughman's lunches in the Parish Centre

A range of hot food and drinks in the Emmaus Cafe .

Easthill Park Cafe for hot drinks and ice creams (3 min walk)

How to get here

Postcode. BN41 2PA

What 3 words - ///enjoy.occupy.caves

Bus – The number 1 and N1 stop at St Nicolas Church/Old Village. The venue is a one minute walk from here.

The number 6 stops in Foredown Drive. The venue is a five minute walk from here . Brighton & Hove Buses

Train – Portslade station is a 1.2 mile walk. There are regular trains from Brighton and Worthing. The number 6 bus can be caught in Station Road or Carlton Terrace. Train Tickets | Book Train Tickets Online | Buy Train Tickets | Southern Railway

Car – There is limited street parking around the venue .

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