Peter Grants Resting Place

[Chris Birghton]

Hi. As a long time Led Zeppelin fan I recently took a trip to Hellingly in Sussex, England to see Peter Grant's Country House and to pay my respects at his final resting place. I could not find his Grave even though it is stated online he is buried there. I spoke with the caretaker of the grave yard and he looked in the records and could not find any record of a grave registered to Peter Grant, and I concluded that the information online might not be correct. Does anyone know if a grave exists?

Edited December 4, 2019 by Chris Birghton

[SteveAJones]

Chris,

I've visited Hellingly a few times over the years, to include his residence, Horselunges Manor and St. Peter & St. Paul Parish Church, where his memorial service was held.  However, Peter is indeed laid to rest in the Hellingly Cemetery, located on the B-2104. If that is the cemetery you visited, and was told he is not, they are gravely mistaken.

Here is Peter Grant's grave site as photographed on November 13, 2015.

 

 

 

 

 

[SteveAJones]

St. Peter & St. Paul's Parish Church, Hellingly

[SteveAJones]

Horselunges Manor, Hellingly

[SteveAJones]

Peter Grant's bedroom circa 1977-78. 

[PeaceFrogYum]

So nice to see his grave is being well kept and manicured. Just wrong, such a small, demure stone, a name, and maintenance which says "we don't give a single F***."

Sorry, but, such a shame.

He deserves better...much better.

Edited December 5, 2019 by PeaceFrogYum

[Chris Birghton]

Many thanks I will return at some point and pay my respects.

[Lightning]

Peter Grant was cremated I believe. 

[Walter]

11 hours ago, PeaceFrogYum said:

So nice to see his grave is being well kept and manicured. Just wrong, such a small, demure stone, a name, and maintenance which says "we don't give a single F***."

Sorry, but, such a shame.

He deserves better...much better.

That's the feeling that came over me as well.  A man of that stature to have such a small and inconspicuous head stone, that could be over grown, etc. so easily...  

[Stryder1978]

I thought the same at first, but some people (myself included) don't even want a plot, let alone a headstone. 

[Chris Birghton]

Maybe he wanted something unassuming. It is a lovely location. One thing I did find while I was there was the grave of a mother and her son (Heather Clarice Fishenden and her 10 year old son Nicholas Fishenden) who were buried in the same graveyard and who were the previous occupants of Horselunges Manor. They were both tragically killed in the Lakonia cruise ship disaster in the early 1960's. The husband who survived the disaster was buried there some year later in the 1970s. All are buried at the back of the grave yard looking out over the field to the manor house. This might be why Peter Grants daughter thought the house was haunted!

Edited December 5, 2019 by Chris Birghton

[Walter]

1 hour ago, Stryder1978 said:

I thought the same at first, but some people (myself included) don't even want a plot, let alone a headstone. 

Neither do I, however he does have one and it is not fitting, IMO. No birth year, no death year, no observance of being the top of his profession in the entire world...I just find it strange.  

[Stryder1978]

I agree...if he IS going to have one, it should be befitting his contributions to our culture...and his stature! 

[SteveAJones]

14 hours ago, Chris Birghton said:

Many thanks I will return at some point and pay my respects.

If you do please take and send along some photos to me if possible.

7 hours ago, Walter said:

That's the feeling that came over me as well.  A man of that stature to have such a small and inconspicuous head stone, that could be over grown, etc. so easily...  

Many famous people have relatively modest head stones. It's a personal decision. Regardless, I'm touched by the wilted flowers, which suggest someone had paid their respects not long before. 

4 hours ago, Chris Birghton said:

Maybe he wanted something unassuming. It is a lovely location. One thing I did find while I was there was the grave of a mother and her son (Heather Clarice Fishenden and her 10 year old son Nicholas Fishenden) who were buried in the same graveyard and who were the previous occupants of Horselunges Manor. They were both tragically killed in the Lakonia cruise ship disaster in the early 1960's. The husband who survived the disaster was buried there some year later in the 1970s. All are buried at the back of the grave yard looking out over the field to the manor house. This might be why Peter Grants daughter thought the house was haunted!

A tip of the cap to you. Generally speaking, outside of Peter Grant enthusiasts you'll find almost no one who knows anything about Horselunges Manor, and fewer still who know anything whatsoever about the Fishendens. I own a vintage hard cover book about Horselunges Manor published by the Sussex Archeological Society in 1928. It contains a detailed history of the manor complete with floor plans. This is something I have intended to have republished for quite some time. Your posts have gently reminded me to get on with it! 

Photo -- Horselunges Manor, circa 1977. Left to right: Cindy Russell Fossen, Richard Cole, Gloria Grant, Peter Grant.

[Walter]

1 hour ago, SteveAJones said:

If you do please take and send along some photos to me if possible.

Many famous people have relatively modest head stones. It's a personal decision. Regardless, I'm touched by the wilted flowers, which suggest someone had paid their respects not long before. 

A tip of the cap to you. Generally speaking, outside of Peter Grant enthusiasts you'll find almost no one who knows anything about Horselunges Manor, and fewer still who know anything whatsoever about the Fishendens. I own a vintage hard cover book about Horselunges Manor published by the Sussex Archeological Society in 1928. It contains a detailed history of the manor complete with floor plans. This is something I have intended to have republished for quite some time. Your posts have gently reminded me to get on with it! 

Photo -- Horselunges Manor, circa 1977. Left to right: Cindy Russell Fossen, Richard Cole, Gloria Grant, Peter Grant.

Steve, I forgot to thank you for posting those photos. They are very insightful, especially the diversity of close to far range. I agree that people want it that way and if that’s what he wanted, cool.  It just seems so minimal - not that it should be grandiose. But still, so common for an uncommon man. 

[The Only Way To Fly]

It's a family decision, not ours by any stretch. 

[Walter]

I guess that settled that... 🙄 

 

[PeaceFrogYum]

So I guess a crowd-funder to purchase a 10 meters long by 2 meters wide bronze zeppelin, shooting out of the ground is out of the question???

[Chris Birghton]

12 hours ago, SteveAJones said:

A tip of the cap to you. Generally speaking, outside of Peter Grant enthusiasts you'll find almost no one who knows anything about Horselunges Manor, and fewer still who know anything whatsoever about the Fishendens. I own a vintage hard cover book about Horselunges Manor published by the Sussex Archeological Society in 1928. It contains a detailed history of the manor complete with floor plans. This is something I have intended to have republished for quite some time. Your posts have gently reminded me to get on with it! 

 

I will be sure to take some photographs. I live quite close by (just down the road from Plumpton Place).  It was sad to learn about the totally tragic history of the Fishendens which I am sure Peter Grant was aware of. What happened is discussed in the book "The Life of Brian: a Boy and Man in the Royal Navy" which I found on google books while doing a bit of search:

 

"There was one body that we had to deal with that has always stuck in my memory; this was a young boy by the Name of Nicholas Fishenden. He was about 9 years old and had red hair, blue eyes and freckles. He was dressed only in his pyjamas that had his name sewn in them. I learned later from a book that I read about the disaster that he had been travelling with his parents. His Father had left his Wife and Nicholas in their cabin while he went away to fight the fire, As the fire spread it cut off both ends of the corridor to the Cabin and they were trapped. A Steward climbed over the side of the Ship and in through the Port Hole and rescued them both that way. When they arrived on deck the Father decided to put them in a Lifeboat and get them off the Ship. The Life Boat tipped up as it was lowered and threw all the occupants into the Sea. The Wife was rescued but Nicholas must have drifted away as we found him floating all on his own and he had drowned. We eventually collected 88 Bodies, 55 Men and 33 Women. This took us all day until 8 P.M. in the evening. There is a rule in the Navy about the issue of extra Rum for arduous duties at the Captain's discretion. He must have classed this job as arduous duties as Rum kept appearing all day long! After we had dealt with the last Body I went to the Regulating Office and commenced listing all the Valuables, which had been taken from the bodies and placed in their respective bags"

 

This account seems slightly incorrect because the wife also died in the disaster.

Edited December 6, 2019 by Chris Birghton

[SteveAJones]

18 hours ago, PeaceFrogYum said:

So I guess a crowd-funder to purchase a 10 meters long by 2 meters wide bronze zeppelin, shooting out of the ground is out of the question???

It would be awkward and inappropriate for the public to initiate anything without the expressed written consent of his two children. I'm sorry to say I have found Warren to be generally disinterested in any public inquiries about his father.

[Chris Birghton]

With thanks to SteveAJones I returned to Hellingly Graveyard and found Peter Grants final resting place. As requested I have posted a picture of the Grave. I assume some family members had recently visited. Merry XMas Peter Grant

 

 

[SteveAJones]

It was very thoughtful of you to return to pay your respects to Peter. I really appreciate it, and many thanks for sharing your photograph. 

[Chris Birghton]

18 hours ago, SteveAJones said:

It was very thoughtful of you to return to pay your respects to Peter. I really appreciate it, and many thanks for sharing your photograph. 

 

I would not have found it without your help. For those who might also want to visit the Resting Place of Peter Grant and pay their respects to this Legend of the Music industry, here is a link to the location on Google Maps:

 

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Hellingly+Cemetery/@50.8848284,0.2422686,36m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x47df6e5825cb951d:0xe75bfebf670b78fa!8m2!3d50.8852106!4d0.241899

 

It is a small grave stone next to the hedge in the row of graves at the center of that map zoom (second row back). If people are visiting Plumpton Place and the Half Moon Pub, which I am sure a number of Led Zeppelin Fans do over time,  this location is only 30 minutes drive away and is right next to Horse Lunges Manor which you can walk right up to via a public footpath that is accessed from a field to the south.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Hellingly+Cemetery/@50.8850842,0.2487578,108m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x47df6e5825cb951d:0xe75bfebf670b78fa!8m2!3d50.8852106!4d0.241899

I might do a site report on Plumpton Place and what you can see there as a member of the General Public. I live locally and I often walk in the secluded woods backing onto Plumpton Place which I am sure Jimmy Page used to walk through frequently when he lived there in the 70s. There is a public footpath which goes along the back of the grounds of Plumpton Place (which I dont think the current owner - an american billionaire - is entirely pleased about since he has planted a series of shrubs there to obscure the view of his property) where you can see the house and the locations shown in the Song Remains the Same.

Edited December 23, 2019 by Chris Birghton

[SteveAJones]

On 12/23/2019 at 7:00 PM, Chris Birghton said:

I might do a site report on Plumpton Place and what you can see there as a member of the General Public. I live locally and I often walk in the secluded woods backing onto Plumpton Place which I am sure Jimmy Page used to walk through frequently when he lived there in the 70s. There is a public footpath which goes along the back of the grounds of Plumpton Place (which I dont think the current owner - an american billionaire - is entirely pleased about since he has planted a series of shrubs there to obscure the view of his property) where you can see the house and the locations shown in the Song Remains the Same.

You are absolutely correct. Jimmy's local pub in Plumpton, The Half Moon, is just a short walk from Plumpton Place through an open field. I last visited Plumpton Place in 1998, and had a congenial chat with, if memory serves correct, a new owner who had recently moved in. I don't remember if he was an American billionaire, but I do recall he commented he had found one of Jimmy's check books while moving in. 

[Chris Birghton]

13 hours ago, SteveAJones said:

You are absolutely correct. Jimmy's local pub in Plumpton, The Half Moon, is just a short walk from Plumpton Place through an open field. I last visited Plumpton Place in 1998, and had a congenial chat with, if memory serves correct, a new owner who had recently moved in. I don't remember if he was an American billionaire, but I do recall he commented he had found one of Jimmy's check books while moving in. 

 

I believe that Plumpton Place is currently owned by the Estate of the American Multi Billionaire Tom Perkins (former husband of the Author Danielle Steel). He died in 2016 but I do not believe it has been sold since. From what I understand he liked to visit there in the Summer Months, it can be a bit bleak in the winter. As with most of the super rich he was probably very concerned about security and I often saw people patrolling about the grounds on quad bikes when I assume he was in residence.

Edited December 26, 2019 by Chris Birghton