Our next talk is “Witches, Warlocks & Wellingtons”, by Dr. Janet Pennington, Friday 9th October 2026 at the Little Theatre, Steyne Road. Doors open 6:30pm.
This event requires pre-booking. Booking is open now. Book here
We all know about lucky horseshoes (but why are they lucky?) and many people have a special stone, often with a hole through it, that they feel is a useful item to keep on the kitchen window-sill. Do you have a shoe up your chimney or a symbol at the door?
Our ancestors used many of these and other objects to protect themselves and their animals from harm, or to bring good luck to their homes and families. Witches were to be feared in earlier times and anyone, male or female, convicted of witchcraft in England would have been hanged (not burnt at the stake – this is a common misconception).
This talk examines some of the ways people in the past protected themselves and their homes from evil. Protective items will also be on display and can be handled. There will hopefully be no witches or warlocks present, but a wellington may appear.
Do bring your own special object to the talk, if you feel you can leave your home unprotected for a few hours…
H H Evans Exhibition
Probably one of the most skilful, prolific and little-known artists to have come from Seaford in the late nineteenth century was Harry Harison Evans – nicknamed ‘Wingy’ by some because he had lost an arm. No photographs or portraits of Harry seem to have survived and we know remarkably little about him.
The museum is presenting a special exhibition to mark the centenary of his death and displaying many of his works. Local legend has Harry doing quick sketches on beer mats in return for a pint of beer. This seems unlikely, not least because beer mats were not widely introduced until the 1920s and no ‘quick sketches’ seem to have survived. Rather, we know of several hundred meticulously drawn pen and ink images of Seaford, each of which would have taken hours to complete.
There is a clear element of nostalgia in his drawings. Many of them look backwards depicting events that happened when he was an infant – the cliff explosion in 1850 – or while he served in the army in India, such as the great flood of 1875. His annotations under the images often refer to the date the particular buildings were demolished and therefore make a valuable contribution to our knowledge of how Seaford changed and developed. Few people inside or outside Seaford were aware of Harry’s work and he remains little known to this day.
Forthcoming Events 2026
All talks are held at the Little Theatre, Steyne Road, Seaford, BN25 1HA, unless otherwise indicated. The theatre has plenty of wheelchair access. If you can, please let us know if you need a wheelchair space and how many companions you will be with, so that we can organise places in advance.
Booking for talks will usually open on the Monday after the previous talk has taken place. There will be a link to the booking site on this page.
18th April 2026,opening of the HH Evans exhibition
09 October 2026 7:00pm “Witches, Warlocks & Wellingtons: the ritual protection of the home”, by Dr. Janet Pennington
13 November 2026 2:30pm “Newhaven and Seaford in World War One”, by Frankie Pulham of Newhaven Fort