info on cemetries

[martha t]

Hi, iv found that on my mothers side of the family (Burchfield) lived in Sussex and have managed to go back to 1777 and still have lots more to find. I would like to take my mum over to Sussex to see if we can find any burials but we are both unfamiliar with the area, we are travelling from Essex. My ancestors came from slaugham, warninglid, cuckfield, rusper, lower beeding, which i think these villages are quite close to each other, is there one main cemeteries or a few for this area. any help will be grateful,
many thanks
martha

[Jane Masri]

Hi Martha, me again,
As you're not familiar with the area I would advise that you plan a route & itinerary from now so that precious time is not wasted.  A good place to start would be GENUKI Sussex pages where you can find background information on the parishes you want to visit.  http://homepages.gold.ac.uk/genuki/SSX/  or do a Google search for information.
Most of the early burials (probably up to about 1850) would be in the parish church.  After that maybe the area had a municipal cemetery where your ancestors were buried, that's why you need to do as much background work as possible.
Don't be too disappointed as most if not all of the earlier burials will have very weathered & unreadable headstones, that is if they are still in situ & have not been moved 
Better than (well, easier, as I do like walking around churchyards  )
would be to check parish registers for burials.  I can help with Rusper if you like.  I note that WARNINGLID is a manor in the parish of Slaugham (I had to look that up 

jane

[sillgen]

Hi
Slaugham, Warninglid and Cuckfield are all very close together.  Rusper and Lower Beeding a bit further away.  Cuckfield has the largest churchyard and the main cemetery for that area is attached to that.  The burial records are held by a local undertaker, Gallagher of Haywards Heath.  They are very willing to look up names and tell you where the plots are.  You could spend all day wandering around it otherwise.    The Church office is in the Old School, opposite the church and again they are very willing to help you.  Cuckfield Museum, open Wed and Fri mornings and all day Saturday may have details of the families.  They have some parish magazines which have a wealth of information in them.  www.cuckfield.org/museum_home
I have looked in the Cuckfield parish register pre 1699 and there are no entries for Burchfield or Birchfield and no marriages in that area on the Sussex Marriage Index before about 1780 so they may not have originated around Cuckfield.   Where is your earliest date of 1777?
If you can give me names and dates for burials I have a fiche of Cuckfield Burials and Monumental Inscriptions but it is incredibly difficult to read so knowing what to look for is helpful. 
There is also a Cuckfield Online Parish Clerk who might be able to help you.
http://www.sussex-opc.org/OPCList.htm
Regards
Andrea

[martha t]

Hi Jane & Andrea, thank you for the info i will have to do a bit more research before me & my mum drive over to Sussex, she is so eager to see the villages and sourounding areas, from what iv read it looks to be a beautiful part of the country.
My uncle who has since passed away started the tree many years ago, and over the last 6 months i have added allot more to it thanks to the internet. He originally found James Burchfield & wife Mary 1977ish in Sussex & they had 10 children from 1795 to 1815 which some iv found as birth slaugham.
Iv also got my gggrandfather Alfred burchfield b1842 slaugham married Mary lewry 1845 hammer hill cuckfield. also his father Joseph 1807 slaugham married Rhoda overington 1806 b wisborough green.
I have found lots more over the past few months so I'm sure that i will find some trance of them in the area, I cant wait.
many thanks
Martha

[sillgen]

Hi
James Burchfield married Mary Ockenden 11 Jan 1787 in Cuckfield.   Both of this parish and the marriage was by banns.  I can find both Mary Lewryand Alfred in 1851 but I assume you have those entries.
Andrea

[martha t]

Hi Andrea, Happy Happy Happy, 
Big thanks for looking up James and Mary for me, iv now got Mary surname which i haven't been able to find.
many thanks
Martha 

[sillgen]

That information came from the Sussex Marriage Index - a CD you can buy from www.sfhg.org.uk    Very useful if you have a lot of Sussex ancestors.   Mary's baptism is on the IGI at www.familysearch.org - or at least a likely baptism for her.
There is a hotel called Ockenden Manor in Cuckfield so it is a well known name locally and the museum sell an information leaflet about its earlier history when it was a Jewish school called Macauley House.
Andrea