Jack Fullers Pub:

It's been a year since I posted about the sale of Jack Fullers Pub in Oxley Green (just outside Brightling). It was then listed at £795,000 by Forester Forman of Robertsbridge. Within the year, the asking price has been reduced to £695,000.

Excerpt from the listing:

SITUATION: In requested rural surroundings on the edge of Brightling village a noted local landmark within easy driving distance of Robertsbridge with its High Street shops and facilities, mainline station with regular trains to London Charing Cross and Cannon Street . There are many sporting and recreational facilities in the area, together with established state and private schools, footpaths, bridle ways and numerous places of interest, historic buildings and landmarks. The general area is regarded as being of outstanding natural beauty, yet is easily accessible by road or rail.

For full details go here.

New record for Turner masterpiece

A Turner masterpiece has set a new record for a British painting when it was sold for $35,856,000 (around £20.5 million) at Christie's in New York. (Pic: www.christies.com)
The painting of Venice - entitled Giudecca, La Donna della Salute and San Giorgio - has beaten the previous record of £12 million for Constable's The Lock, sold in 1990.
The Venice painting, last seen at public auction more than 100 years ago, has also beaten the world record for a Turner which had stood at £5.5 million for Seascape, Folkestone, bought in 1984. It has been sold by the not-for-profit missionary organisation, the St Francis of Assisi Foundation in New York State, and has been described as the finest Old Master to be sold at Christie's in New York since 1989.

Read full story here.

The Geograph British Isles project aims to collect a geographically representative photograph for every square kilometre of the British Isles and you can be part of it.

What is Geographing?

• It's a game - how many grid squares will you contribute?
  
• It's a geography project for the people
  
• It's a national photography project
  
• It's a good excuse to get out more!
  
• It's a free and open online community project for all

The Obelisk ( Brightling Needle)

The Brightling Needle stands to the north-west of Brightling Park. It is 65ft high and stands on the second highest point of Sussex, 646ft above sea level.The most obvious reason John (mad jack) Fuller had this built to celebrate Wellingtons victory over Napoleon in 1815. It is also a possibility that Fuller had it built just to provide work for the villagers during severe unemployment.This is one of Jack Fullers five follies.

Photo by Janet Richardson, with kind permission.

Sussex follies and Mad Jack

Inside Out - BBC South East: Monday January 30, 2006
Inside Out looks at some unusual features on the Sussex landscape, and asks if their creator John Fuller was mad or just slightly eccentric?
A pyramid isn't what you'd normally expect to see in an English graveyard.
But this pyramid isn't in Egypt - it's in Brightling, East Sussex.
It's not the tomb of an Egyptian pharaoh, it's the tomb of a Georgian squire - Mad Jack Fuller.

The real Mad Jack

So who was the real Jack Fuller?
Born John Fuller in 1757, Mad Jack was MP for Lewes and incredibly rich.
He got his nickname from the way he spent his money, trying to make sure he was remembered.
Today he is remembered, as 'Mad' Jack.
But how mad was he? To find out, Inside Out has assembled a team of experts:
Keith Leech - member of Mad Jack's Morris Dancers.
Celia Caulkin - leads walks around Mad Jack's follies.
Geoff Hutchinson - he's written a book about Mad Jack.

Read the full article here. There are one or two minor inaccuracies.
Photo courtesy of Mark Duncan.

Fuller's Pyramid

On Wednesday January 25, Tristan Forward published some excellent photos of Jack Fuller's pyramid and details of St Thomas Church, Brightling on his The Emotional Blackmailers Handbook blog which can be viewed here.