Cuckfield Museum's new jurassic exhibit

Cuckfield Museum’s dinorama

Cuckfield Museum tells the story of Gideon Mantell, a scientist who made one of the planet’s most unique discoveries; the existence of dinosaurs.

The story goes that in 1821 while waiting for her husband to visit a patient in Cuckfield, Mary Ann Mantell found some fossil teeth in a pile of roadside rubble.

The teeth were eventually traced back to the stone quarry at Whiteman’s Green and so it was that Dr Mantell gave the name Iguanodon to the first dinosaur known to science.

A number of the dinosaur fossils from Cuckfield can be found in museums throughout the world including the UK, New Zealand and the USA. Cuckfield Museum also have a number of the fossils on display. And more of the Iguanodon (dinosaur) teeth and thumb spikes, originally found in Cuckfield (Whiteman’s Green) can be viewed at the Natural History Museum in London.

Right now, Cuckfield Museum has a new dinorama display which is aimed especially at younger visitors. The scene created by local prop-maker Christopher Sutton recreates the Cretaceous period when the famous iguanodon roamed the landscape. They also have new dinosaur activities for children with dinosaur rubbings and fossil handling.

For further information about the display, please visit www.cuckfieldmuseum.org/dinosaurs

HH Rugby Club show visual of new clubhouse

By Tracey Spuyman

The vision of creating a new multi sports pavilion at Whitemans Green - with assistance from Fairfax and its education foundation Fairfax Building Young Futures - is becoming reality for Haywards Heath Rugby Club – as these realistic visuals indicate.

One glance at how the MSDC approved plans will look once built gives an idea of the transformative nature of these proposals resulting in expanded parking facilities, which will make the nearby roads safer for all Cuckfield residents to navigate. The project will also provide massively improved sport and social facilities, allowing for expansion of the Club and development of girls and ladies rugby and a 21st century community facility for use by other clubs of all kinds.

If anyone is in a position to help HHRFC accelerate efforts to build the new Clubhouse or contribute in any way to its fundraising activities, perhaps by donating an auction prize, please contact: rugby@hhrfc.co.uk.

Full information is available on the Club’s website at www.hhrfc.co.uk