A TRIP DOWN LITTLE TRODGERS LANE. MAGICAL MAYFIELD.

November 2025. Mayfield.

My mystery trip into the Sussex Weald took us from Batemans to Mayfield, a village half an hour from the in-laws; a journey that Mrs RM made far too regularly when her mum drove my brother-in-law to the Catholic Boys School on Little Trodgers Lane when she couldn’t be trusted to be left home alone.

This is what the Xaverian College used to look like;

now it’s a gated community with £1m + starter homes.

Photo : Fearless LeChien

Mrs RM came to detest this journey, and back then didn’t even get to see the gorgeous village centre, let alone its pubs.

As Paul Bailey found out last year, it’s an unsung gem of a place, relatively untroubled by traffic, but still maintaining a decent collection of artisanal coffee shops.

Somewhere like Thaxted in Essex or Codicote in Herts would be a good comparison.

I actually noticed Paul’s visit on Untappd, his highly rated pint of Long Man suggesting the Middle House might yet join the Rose & Crown in the GBG one day.

Not a lot to do apart from walk and up and down the high street,

pop in St Dunstans,

admire the Glubb windows,

and finally notice the devil fighting St Dunstan for the key that opens the bound edition of the first Sussex CAMRA pub guide*.

There’s worse ways to spend half an hour. Trust me on that.

*Apocryphal

Unknown's avatar

Published by retiredmartin

Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.

10 thoughts on “A TRIP DOWN LITTLE TRODGERS LANE. MAGICAL MAYFIELD.”

  2. “A TRIP DOWN LITTLE TRODGERS LANE. ”

    I checked Google Maps. Yup, the ‘r’ is supposed to be in Trodgers.

    “a journey that Mrs RM made far too regularly when her mum drove my brother-in-law to the Catholic Boys School on Little Trodgers Lane when she couldn’t be trusted to be left home alone.”

    Yes but, can Mrs RM be trusted to be left alone, now?

    “now it’s a gated community with £1m + starter homes.”

    Starter? Blimey!

    “and back then didn’t even get to see the gorgeous village centre, let alone its pubs.”

    I had to chuckle at the thought of leaving Mrs RM alone in a pub back then.😊

    “but still maintaining a decent collection of artisanal coffee shops.”

    Every time I see that word ‘artisanal’ I break into three smaller words. 😉

    “suggesting the Middle House might yet join the Rose & Crown in the GBG one day”

    Certainly looks good from the outside.

    “admire the Glubb windows,”

    Oooh! I know him. He wrote that Fate of Empires thingy.

    “and finally notice the devil fighting St Dunstan for the key that opens the bound edition of the first Sussex CAMRA pub guide*.”

    (slow golf clap)

    “There’s worse ways to spend half an hour. Trust me on that.”

    No argument here.

    “*Apocryphal”

    There’s a lot of that about lately. 😏

    Cheers

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I think you can safely leave Mrs RM alone with a) a phone, b) a phone charger (hers will have run out), c) a message to her phone reminding her where she is and where the campervan is parked.

      Like

      Reply

  3. Mayfield is very pretty and the surrounding countryside is pretty too. It’s always an uphill walk at the end if starting from Mayfield. A by pass was built in the late 1980s using the disused railway track bed which helps to keep the High Street quiet.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  4. What a cute looking place. Have you noticed those knitted figures on postbox toppers can never stand up straight? They all need a thick piece of wire woven into their wooly bodies to aid in their posture.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment