When the Glynde Estate purchased Pear Tree Cottage from William Wisdom in 1815, the house was divided into two and there was probably already a shop attached to the western end of the house. William Wisdom probably continued living in the left half of the house, later known as Pear Tree Cottage, because the Glynde poor rate shows him paying poor tax on a house in 1814 but only on part of a house in 1815 when Robert Tugwell began paying poor tax on the other part of a house, ‘late Wisdom’s’, the same year. In 1816 Tugwell was paying tax on the same property but now described as ‘part of house and shop’. Tugwell disappears from the tax record in 1822 but soon after this date the shop was definitely occupied by Stephen Lusted, who had the principal occupation of a carpenter.

Stephen died in 1837, aged 47, and his unmarried daughter Mary and her brother George, a gardener at Glynde Place, took over the rent for the premises. Mary married Henry Mockett Weller, butcher, in 1838 (her brother, Stephen Lusted the younger, a carpenter like his father, would marry Henry’s sister Mary Weller in 1846) and they lived at the shop, employing Mary’s unmarried sister Maria as a shop woman. Henry continued to rent the village butcher’s shop, attached to the east end of Rambler Cottage, as from 1854 to 1863 Henry was paying £24 5s a year for shop, house and butcher’s shop. Henry and Mary were living at the shop until 1863 when they met their deaths in a dramatic thunderstorm on Ranscombe Brow travelling back from Brighton to Glynde.

One consequence of this tragedy is that an inventory of Henry Mockett Weller's goods was made which survives and lists the goods, who purchased them and the price they fetched. The most valuable item was a stack of hay, which was sold for £19. Livestock including cows, calves, pigs, ducks & chickens raised just over £55 altogether. Items you probably wouldn't find listed in the equivalent auction catalogue today include Quantity of mould (5 shillings), the slightly sinister sounding Hay cutter, nearly new, and 3 stumps (4s 6d), 10 prongs (7s 6d), Cask, stollage and 2 tilters (2s), an American oven (1s 6d), and a total of 6 Copper spittoons (13s).

Maria Lusted now became the shopkeeper and sub-postmistress from 1863 to 1884, paying £12 a year rent, while William Chandler took over the butcher’s shop attached to the eastern end of Rambler Cottage. Maria’s nephew Fred (Frederick William), youngest son of Stephen Lusted the younger, went to live with her and took over the shop and post office on 1 Jan 1885 on Maria’s retirement.

Frederick Lusted died in 1946 and his unmarried daughters, Lizzie (Elizabeth) and Gladys took over the tenancy until they retired in 1953 and moved to Wisdoms. The shop was taken over by their nephew Bob (Robert) Lusted, grandson of Fred, who moved from Polecat Cottages, Firle, with his wife Irene, neé Pickard, and their children Jane and Andrew. In 1978 Bob and Irene Lusted left the shop and ended over 150 years of the Lusted family’s tenancy.

Geoff and Pat Riley become the new tenants, Pat running the shop, and were succeeded by Mr and Mrs Thomas who, in turn, were succeeded by Terry and Linda Lloyd in 1994. After 7 years Pip (Philip) McBrown took over the shop and, in 2005, also took over the tenancy of Little Cottage and converted it into the Little Cottage Tearooms.