Brays and Linders Land

The little detached portion of Ardingly lies to the north-west of Upper Ryelands bridge, and is cut in half by the railway. It goes by the name of Brays and Linders Land – the latter name has been transformed of late years, through ignorance, into Sinders Land and should be corrected. It pays rates and tithe to Ardingly, but for other purposes is in the parish of Balcombe, which surrounds it. It gets the name of Bray from the family who owned it in the 18^th and 19^th centuries with other property in Balcombe. The name of Linder is much older. The first notice that we have is dated 1464, when Thomas Lynder, with others, purchased land in Ardingly. Another record is the will of John Lynder, dated March 1^st, 1533. He desires his body to be buried in the Churchyard of St. Peter, Ardingly, and it is to this will that we owe the discovery of the dedication of the Church, which had been forgotten for generations. The date of this will has been wrongly given elsewhere as 1558.

Place Name Index