author
Mark Antony Lower
1813–1876
Best known as a pioneer of Sussex local history, this Victorian schoolmaster and antiquary helped turn the county’s past into a lively subject for ordinary readers. His books range from family names and folklore to churches, legends, and the history of Sussex itself.
1 Audiobook
The Curiosities of Heraldry
by Mark Antony Lower
About the author
A schoolmaster by profession, he became one of the best-known writers on Sussex history in the 19th century. He was born at Chiddingly on 14 July 1813 and spent much of his working life in education, while steadily building a reputation as an antiquary, historian, and collector of local tradition.
He is especially remembered as a founder of the Sussex Archaeological Society, which helped give the county a lasting home for historical and archaeological study. His writing was wide-ranging and energetic, including works on English surnames, local dialect, and Sussex customs, as well as larger historical surveys such as A Compendious History of Sussex.
His career also reflects some of the sharper religious arguments of Victorian England, and modern accounts note his role in promoting the memory of the Sussex Martyrs. Even so, his lasting appeal comes from the sheer breadth of his curiosity: he wrote in a way that preserved not only official history, but also the names, stories, and everyday culture of Sussex life.