AD THE QUEENS HEAD 1632

This inn Known by the name and sign of the Queens Head situate and lying within the parish of Icklesham, was built in the 7th year of Charles 1 in 1632. When first built the premises comprised of two dwelling houses, referred to on record as farm tenements or messuages, with outbuildings and adjoining hempsland and barkside.

Each dwelling was occupied by farm workers bound to the estate of Gervais Redding, yeoman of Udimore, who held title to these dwellings and land along with others in the parishes of Udimore and Sedlescombe. In 1648 Redding made the two dwellings plus two others at Udimore over in his will to his eldest son Nusell. At the time of the transaction one Elias Wintle, farm labourer and his family occupied one dwelling, Whist a Thomas Drayton, described as a keeper of keen (cows) and his family was in occupation of the other.

These families remained in occupation here for over a generation to follow and as was typical of the times the head of the family was succeeded by the eldest son who took over the house and continued to work for the estate, however should the head of a family die and leave no male successor to work the land then more often than not that family was evicted. Such was the case of the Wintles who lived here. Elias Wintle died in 1679 and left a widow Naomi and three daughters, Naomi Wintle had originally bore him eight children, two of which were sons, but as was usual of the times not all of these survived the perils of infancy. The high infant mortality rate left only three daughters who were considered incapable of working the land and by 1860 the family had been evicted.

One Jacob Wray farm worker took over the Wintles dwelling, whilst William Drayton upon the death of his father in 1683, took over the other.