page_title: Jacob's Post
hierarchical_section_title: Jacob's Post
caption_attribution_description: English: Jacob's Post. The metal bird attached to the top of the post has the date 1734 on it. The post is a reminder of a foul deed committed nearby on that date. An itinerant pedlar named Jacob Harris (Alternatively known by his Jewish name of Yacob Hirsch) lay in wait on the night 26th May to let all the customers leave the nearby 1446441 before returning to attack the landlord, Richard Miles, and his wife and their maid. The latter two died of their stabbing wounds whilst Miles was mortally wounded. Harris stole a coat worth ten shillings and when he discovered the supposedly dead Miles had disappeared, at which point he scarpered heading north to Turners Hill where he stayed at the Cat Inn. Although he had been stabbed in the throat and face Miles had been able to stagger to get help nearby and was able to identify his attacker who was a regular customer at the Royal Oak. A search party of soldiers was sent out to look for him and inadvertently discovered him at Selsfield House where they had retired from the rainy night, lit a fire that flushed him out of the chimney he was hiding in. Harris was tried and executed in Horsham and his body returned to hang in a gibbet at the northern end of Ditchling Common next to the highway and near the scene of his crime. The post itself took on a life of its own as people believed infertility and other ailments could be cured by touching the post and subsequently took away small pieces when visiting. This continued well into the 19th century despite the original post being replaced by another. The post used to be visible from the road but the common here has returned to scrub and has to be accessed via a track that starts next to the Royal Oak or from the farm drive or nearby Bankside Farm.
context_page_description: Jacob's Post is a hamlet to the east of Burgess Hill, in Lewes district, East Sussex, England.
  It is named after a traveling peddler named Jacob Harris who in 1734, according to local lore, killed the landlord, his wife and a serving maid at the pub at this spot, the Royal Oak. He was prosecuted for his crime at Horsham gaol and sentenced to be hanged at the place where he carried out his crime. Some time after the hanging a post was erected on the spot where he was put to death, and the area became known by the name Jacob's Post.
  The post itself has a metal bird nailed to the top. The Royal Oak is threatened with demolition.
context_section_description: Jacob's Post is a hamlet to the east of Burgess Hill, in Lewes district, East Sussex, England.
  It is named after a traveling peddler named Jacob Harris (also called Jacob Hirsch) who in 1734, according to local lore, killed the landlord, his wife and a serving maid at the pub at this spot, the Royal Oak. He was prosecuted for his crime at Horsham gaol and sentenced to be hanged at the place where he carried out his crime. Some time after the hanging a post was erected on the spot where he was put to death, and the area became known by the name Jacob's Post.
  The post itself has a metal bird nailed to the top. The Royal Oak is threatened with demolition.
caption: Jacob's Post
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