Help yourself to a serving of heritage and a soupçon of legend, with these inherently Sussex ingredients! According to an ancient poem by an unknown poet, there are allegedly Seven Good Things of Sussex when it comes to Sussex food lore:
Of a score of good things found outside heaven
The land of Sussex was granted sevenThe choicest of those I often feel
Is the oily, glutinous Pulborough eelThough the Selsea cockle would be the best
The Chichester lobster’s the lordliest dishThe herring of Rye is the tastiest dish
The mullet of Arundel would have my vote
If I could but forget the Amberley trout
The wheatear of Bourne whenever it’s about.
The Selsey cockle
Selsey is now better known for its crabs than its cockles, and in fact, more recently for its periwinkles which were found in a Medieval food basket at nearby Medmerry. That said, you can still buy cockles in Sesley from folk like D&D Fisheries who can trace their family fishing roots back to the 1600s. Traditionally, cockles were caught at Pagham Harbour but when it silted up, the trade declined.
Selsey’s other big claim to fame is being the place where the earliest evidence of fishing can be found. In 680 AD, St Wilfrid is believed to have taught the locals to fish with nets and thereby saved them from starvation. Selsey is also one of the few places where you can still watch the fishermen bringing in the catch.
The Chichester lobster
The historic city of Chichester has a regal feel, so it feels fitting that the majestic lobster is its heritage offering. There are plenty of places you can enjoy lobster there today from the Boat House at Chichester Marina to the Crab and Lobster at nearby Sidlesham Quay.
The Arundel mullet
The term ‘Mullet’ has been used for over 200 years to describe the people of Arundel because of the abundance of grey mullet that lived in the river Arun (which runs through the town). The expression is still used by some locals today. According to local Sussex historian, Peter Benner, St Thomas a Becket, who had connections with Sussex used to visit Tarring, where he dabbled in the cultivation of figs. On one journey across Sussex, he found some fishermen failing to find a catch below the bridge at Lewes. The Saint waved his hand and they produced four large mullets.
Talking of figs, some say that it was St Richard who cultivated the Tarring fig trees in the 13th century. There is still a fig garden in Tarring in a private garden which is open to the public on one day a year and which dates back to at least 1745 but is believed to have been cultivated from the Medieval figs.
The Amberley trout
Sussex food writer, Rosemary Moon, in her book A Feast of West Sussex gives a recipe of Trout Paté made with wonderfully Sussex Egremont Russet apples. She also has a recipe for Arundel Mullet cooked with capers and chervil.
The Pulborough eel
The idea of an oily, glutinous eel may not appeal these days, but it was once a popular dish and fished extensively in the muddier reaches of the Arun. Peter Benner enjoyed a Pulborough Eel Pudding cooked to a 19th century recipe in The Swan at Fittleworth in 1981, and at the same time, the menu was offering Arundel Mullet cooked to another traditional recipe. You may be relieved to learn that Pulborough is now better known for its vineyards and bagels!
The Rye herring
According to Sussex food lore, herring was a popular catch for Rye fisherman (who were not as violent as their brothers from Hastings who earned themselves the name of chop-backs due to their tendency for violence), and you can still head down to Rye Fish Market and Seafood Bar for a herring rollmop.
The Eastbourne wheatear
The last Good Thing of Sussex is a little hard to swallow as a wheatear is a small migratory bird that used to be very common on the South Downs. Local shepherds would trap the birds and sell them to hotels and poulterers in Brighton, Eastbourne and London, so much so that they became practically extinct. Peter Benner has a recipe book that contains a story about a wheatear pie that saved a Sussex Cavalier from the Roundheads who were going to make a “pye” of him! These days you might be lucky and spot a wheatear at Medmerry, although maybe in a giant periwinkle rather than a pie.
Our thanks to Peter Benner for his insights into the Seven Good Things of Sussex. If you’ve enjoyed this post about Sussex food lore, you may also like:
