We were in a churchyard and had brought along a book call Who's Buried Where in England and we had come to see a 25ft high stone pyramid in Brightling Parish churchyard.
It was built in 1810 by the landowner "Mad Jack" Fuller MP. He was banned that year from the House of Commons for his outrageous conduct, and returned home to Sussex determined to leave his mark in a different way.
He believed it was the duty of the rich to provide employment for the poor, so he set about building a number of follies around his estate. He also financed the building of a four-mile estate wall to provide further employment, and a lighthouse on the Sussex coast.
The pyramid in the churchyard was probably inspired by the Battle of the Nile (1798) when the British chased Napoleon out of Egypt. It was used as a mausoleum when Fuller died in 1834.
As we stood in Brightling churchyard I noticed that my assistant was trying to look diligent: "What does it say in the book about `Mad Jack' Fuller?"
"Nothing," came the reply.
"Mad Jack" Fuller's Pyramid is at O/S grid reference TQ 683210
Magnus Mills
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