Wadhurst
Encyclopedia
Wadhurst is a market town
in East Sussex
, England
. It is the centre of the civil parish of Wadhurst, which also includes the hamlets of Cousley Wood and Tidebrook
. Wadhurst is twinned with Aubers
in France
.
Wadhurst is situated on the Kent-Sussex border seven miles (11 km) east of Crowborough
and about seven miles (11 km) south of Tunbridge Wells
. Other nearby settlements include Ticehurst
, Burwash
, Mayfield and Heathfield
in East Sussex, and Lamberhurst
, Hawkhurst
and Cranbrook
in Kent.
Physically, Wadhurst lies on a high ridge of the Weald
- a range of wooded hills running across Sussex
and Kent
between the North Downs
and the South Downs
. The reservoir of Bewl Water
is nearby. The River Bewl
, which is a sub-tributary of the River Medway
, and the Limden rise within the civil parish of Wadhurst.
Although Wadhurst was almost certainly in existence at the time of the Domesday survey in 1086, it was part of the Archbishop of Canterbury
's land and was therefore not mentioned. The earliest record relating to the area is a reference in the Cartulary of Battle Abbey to "Snape in the parish of Wadhurst".
Henry III
granted Wadhurst its charter in 1253, allowing Wadhurst to hold a market every Saturday and a fair on the feast of St Peter and St Paul, the 29 June.
In the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries Wadhurst, as with many towns and villages in the Weald, had a thriving iron industry. Two of the large Georgian buildings in the High Street, Hill House and The Old Vicarage, were both ironmasters houses, along with a number of other large houses on the outskirts of Wadhurst. Within the church of St Peter and St. Paul there are several iron ledger-stone memorials of ironmasters, which are unique to this area.
During World War I
, Wadhurst lost 649 men, out of a total village population of 3,500. The worst losses were during the Battle of Aubers Ridge
, where twenty five men from Wadhurst were killed in one day, comprising 80% of the men who from Wadhurst who went into no mans land that day.
On 20 January 1958 a Royal Air Force Gloster Meteor
night fighter WS661 was on a training flight from RAF North Luffenham
when it crashed into the High Street of the village after control of the aircraft was lost. A number of shops and buildings were destoyed or damaged in the crash. The accident killed both of the Meteor crew and two people on the ground.
.
There are three buildings of particular architectural interest in the town itself, and a good range of old manor houses and farms nearby. The Church of St. Peter and St. Paul dominates the centre of the town. Wadhurst's heritage as a centre of the iron industry is shown by the many iron gravestones in the church. There are two early Georgian houses on the High Street, the Old Vicarage and Hill House. On the outskirts is the nineteenth century Wadhurst Castle.
The rest of the town is in a variety of vernacular styles, dating from the 15th century onwards, though little in the centre of the town is very modern apart from a range of shops which replaced the Queens Head Hotel, demolished in a jet crash in the 1950s.
The Victorian era saw the town expand towards the new railway station, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north of the town. The station
(the highest in southern England) is on the line from London
Charing Cross
to Hastings
via Tunbridge Wells
, and was opened in 1851 by the South Eastern Railway
. The resulting expansion brought the hamlets of Sparrow's Green, Turners Green and Best Beech Hill into the town. In addition to the railway station, there are a bus services running to Tunbridge Wells, Crowborough
and Hastings
, as well as community transport and 'rail link' buses to Ticehurst
and Mayfield
.
In the centre of Wadhurst there are two churches: St. Peter and St.Paul is an Anglican church in the centre of Wadhurst, with parts of the church dating back to the 1100s CE. Wadhurst Methodist Church is also in the High Street and was founded in 1874. There is also a Catholic church in Mayfield Lane attached to the Sacred Heart school. The three churches also participate in Churches Together, an interdenominational organization, along with St John the Baptist, an Anglican church in Tidebrook, and St Peter in Stonegate
.
Places of worship in the parish also include two early 19th-century former Strict Baptist
chapels of similar design in the hamlets of Pell Green (Rehoboth Chapel
) and Shover's Green (the Shover's Green Baptist Chapel
). Both are listed at Grade II.
Wadhurst is home to two schools the state-maintained sector: a Church of England primary school (with a nursery) in Sparrows Green and Uplands, a community secondary school and sixth form with technology college status. The latter also has an affiliated youth and community centre. In addition, in Mayfield Lane there is an independent Catholic preparatory school, Sacred Heart. Wadhurst also used to be the site of Bellerbys College (formerly known as Wadhurst College and Micklefield Wadhurst), a private girls school on Mayfield Lane that has been defunct since approximately 2004.
Division Three in 2004. They left the league after the 2005–06 season, to rejoin the East Sussex Football League
. The club won the East Sussex League Division Two title in the 2008-09 season. They also have many junior teams of different ages.
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
in East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is the centre of the civil parish of Wadhurst, which also includes the hamlets of Cousley Wood and Tidebrook
Tidebrook
Tidebrook is a hamlet within the Parish of Wadhurst in East Sussex. It is located between the villages of Mayfield and Wadhurst. The brook for which the hamlet is named rises in the valley and forms one of the sources of the River Rother which meets the sea at Rye.-Area and buildings:The main part...
. Wadhurst is twinned with Aubers
Aubers
Aubers is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is west of Lille.-Heraldry:-References:*...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Situation
Crowborough
The highest point in the town is 242 metres above sea level. This summit is the highest point of the High Weald and second highest point in East Sussex . Its relative height is 159 m, meaning Crowborough qualifies as one of England's Marilyns...
and about seven miles (11 km) south of Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in west Kent, England, about south-east of central London by road, by rail. The town is close to the border of the county of East Sussex...
. Other nearby settlements include Ticehurst
Ticehurst
Ticehurst is both a village and a large civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England. The parish lies in the upper reaches of both the River Teise before it enters Bewl Water and in the upper reaches of the River Rother flowing to the south-east...
, Burwash
Burwash, East Sussex
Burwash is a rural village and civil parish in the Rother District of East Sussex, England. Situated fifteen miles inland from the South Coast port of Hastings, it is located five miles south-west of Hurst Green, on the A265 road, and on the River Dudwell, a tributary of the River Rother...
, Mayfield and Heathfield
Heathfield, East Sussex
Heathfield is a small market town, and the principal settlement in the civil parish of Heathfield and Waldron in the Wealden District of East Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, England.-Location:...
in East Sussex, and Lamberhurst
Lamberhurst
Lamberhurst is a village and civil parish in Kent although the latter parish was at first in both Kent and East Sussex. The line of the county border was adjusted following the Local Government Act 1894, which required that parish boundaries be aligned with counties...
, Hawkhurst
Hawkhurst
Hawkhurst is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England. The parish lies to the south-east of Tunbridge Wells. Hawkhurst itself is virtually two villages...
and Cranbrook
Cranbrook, Kent
Cranbrook is a small town in Kent in South East England which was granted a charter in 1290 by Archbishop Peckham, allowing it to hold a market in the High Street. Located on the Maidstone to Hastings road, it is five miles north of Hawkhurst. The smaller settlements of Swattenden, Colliers...
in Kent.
Physically, Wadhurst lies on a high ridge of the Weald
Weald
The Weald is the name given to an area in South East England situated between the parallel chalk escarpments of the North and the South Downs. It should be regarded as three separate parts: the sandstone "High Weald" in the centre; the clay "Low Weald" periphery; and the Greensand Ridge which...
- a range of wooded hills running across Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
and Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
between the North Downs
North Downs
The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. The North Downs lie within two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty , the Surrey Hills and the Kent Downs...
and the South Downs
South Downs
The South Downs is a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen Valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, near Eastbourne, East Sussex, in the east. It is bounded on its northern side by a steep escarpment, from whose...
. The reservoir of Bewl Water
Bewl Water
Bewl Water is a reservoir in the valley of the River Bewl , straddling the boundary between Kent and East Sussex. It is about 4 km south of Lamberhurst, Kent, England...
is nearby. The River Bewl
River Bewl
The River Bewl is a tributary of the River Teise in Kent, England. Its headwaters are in the High Weald, in Sussex between Lamberhurst, Wadhurst and Flimwell. The valley is deeply incised into Tunbridge Wells red sandstone, with a base of alluvium on Wadhurst clay.Between 1973 and 1975, a was...
, which is a sub-tributary of the River Medway
River Medway
The River Medway, which is almost entirely in Kent, England, flows for from just inside the West Sussex border to the point where it enters the Thames Estuary....
, and the Limden rise within the civil parish of Wadhurst.
History
The name Wadhurst (Wadeherst in early records) is Anglo-Saxon and most probably derives from Wada which is believed to be the name of a Saxon tribe which occupied the area and began the clearing of the forests in the 7th or 8th century. There is an Anglo-Saxon manor known as Bivelham which lay between the parishes of Wadhurst and Mayfield.Although Wadhurst was almost certainly in existence at the time of the Domesday survey in 1086, it was part of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
's land and was therefore not mentioned. The earliest record relating to the area is a reference in the Cartulary of Battle Abbey to "Snape in the parish of Wadhurst".
Henry III
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
granted Wadhurst its charter in 1253, allowing Wadhurst to hold a market every Saturday and a fair on the feast of St Peter and St Paul, the 29 June.
In the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries Wadhurst, as with many towns and villages in the Weald, had a thriving iron industry. Two of the large Georgian buildings in the High Street, Hill House and The Old Vicarage, were both ironmasters houses, along with a number of other large houses on the outskirts of Wadhurst. Within the church of St Peter and St. Paul there are several iron ledger-stone memorials of ironmasters, which are unique to this area.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Wadhurst lost 649 men, out of a total village population of 3,500. The worst losses were during the Battle of Aubers Ridge
Battle of Aubers Ridge
The Battle of Aubers Ridge was a British offensive mounted on the Western Front in 1915 during World War I.- Background :The battle was the initial British component of the combined Anglo-French offensive known as the Second Battle of Artois...
, where twenty five men from Wadhurst were killed in one day, comprising 80% of the men who from Wadhurst who went into no mans land that day.
On 20 January 1958 a Royal Air Force Gloster Meteor
Gloster Meteor
The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' first operational jet. It first flew in 1943 and commenced operations on 27 July 1944 with 616 Squadron of the Royal Air Force...
night fighter WS661 was on a training flight from RAF North Luffenham
RAF North Luffenham
RAF North Luffenham was a Royal Air Force station in Rutland, England, 1940 - 1998. It is near to the villages of Edith Weston and North Luffenham....
when it crashed into the High Street of the village after control of the aircraft was lost. A number of shops and buildings were destoyed or damaged in the crash. The accident killed both of the Meteor crew and two people on the ground.
Buildings and people
Wadhurst is a small market town, and has kept a very good range of shops considering its size. It has a traditional butcher, baker, ironmonger, hairdresser, bank, post office, gift shop, several pubs and much more. Such a wide range of small traders and services is almost unique in the villages in the locality. The population of the ward was 5,075 during the 2001 CensusUnited Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
.
There are three buildings of particular architectural interest in the town itself, and a good range of old manor houses and farms nearby. The Church of St. Peter and St. Paul dominates the centre of the town. Wadhurst's heritage as a centre of the iron industry is shown by the many iron gravestones in the church. There are two early Georgian houses on the High Street, the Old Vicarage and Hill House. On the outskirts is the nineteenth century Wadhurst Castle.
The rest of the town is in a variety of vernacular styles, dating from the 15th century onwards, though little in the centre of the town is very modern apart from a range of shops which replaced the Queens Head Hotel, demolished in a jet crash in the 1950s.
The Victorian era saw the town expand towards the new railway station, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north of the town. The station
Wadhurst railway station
Wadhurst railway station is on the Hastings Line in East Sussex in England, and serves the town of Wadhurst. The station is at the bottom of a fairly steep hill, with the town centre about a mile away at the top...
(the highest in southern England) is on the line from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
Charing Cross
Charing Cross
Charing Cross denotes the junction of Strand, Whitehall and Cockspur Street, just south of Trafalgar Square in central London, England. It is named after the now demolished Eleanor cross that stood there, in what was once the hamlet of Charing. The site of the cross is now occupied by an equestrian...
to Hastings
Hastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
via Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in west Kent, England, about south-east of central London by road, by rail. The town is close to the border of the county of East Sussex...
, and was opened in 1851 by the South Eastern Railway
South Eastern Railway (UK)
The South Eastern Railway was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1836 until 1922. The company was formed to construct a route from London to Dover. Branch lines were later opened to Tunbridge Wells, Hastings, Canterbury and other places in Kent...
. The resulting expansion brought the hamlets of Sparrow's Green, Turners Green and Best Beech Hill into the town. In addition to the railway station, there are a bus services running to Tunbridge Wells, Crowborough
Crowborough
The highest point in the town is 242 metres above sea level. This summit is the highest point of the High Weald and second highest point in East Sussex . Its relative height is 159 m, meaning Crowborough qualifies as one of England's Marilyns...
and Hastings
Hastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
, as well as community transport and 'rail link' buses to Ticehurst
Ticehurst
Ticehurst is both a village and a large civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England. The parish lies in the upper reaches of both the River Teise before it enters Bewl Water and in the upper reaches of the River Rother flowing to the south-east...
and Mayfield
Mayfield and Five Ashes
Mayfield and Five Ashes is a civil parish in the High Weald of East Sussex, England. The two villages making up the principal part of the parish lie on the A267 road between Tunbridge Wells and Eastbourne: Mayfield, the larger of the two villages is ten miles south of Tunbridge Wells; with Five...
.
In the centre of Wadhurst there are two churches: St. Peter and St.Paul is an Anglican church in the centre of Wadhurst, with parts of the church dating back to the 1100s CE. Wadhurst Methodist Church is also in the High Street and was founded in 1874. There is also a Catholic church in Mayfield Lane attached to the Sacred Heart school. The three churches also participate in Churches Together, an interdenominational organization, along with St John the Baptist, an Anglican church in Tidebrook, and St Peter in Stonegate
Stonegate
Stonegate may refer to:* Stonegate, Colorado* Stonegate, Fort Worth, Texas* Stonegate, a neighborhood of Davis, California* Stonegate-Queensway, a neighborhood of Toronto, Ontario* Stonegate, a rock band from Finland...
.
Places of worship in the parish also include two early 19th-century former Strict Baptist
Strict Baptist
Strict Baptists, also known as Particular Baptists, are Baptists who believe in a Calvinist or Reformed interpretation of Christian soteriology. The Particular Baptists arose in England in the 17th century and took their namesake from the doctrine of particular redemption.-Further reading:*History...
chapels of similar design in the hamlets of Pell Green (Rehoboth Chapel
Rehoboth Chapel, Pell Green
Rehoboth Chapel is a former Strict Baptist place of worship in the hamlet of Pell Green in East Sussex, England. Pell Green is in the parish of Wadhurst in Wealden, one of six local government districts in the English county of East Sussex, and stands on the road between the market town of...
) and Shover's Green (the Shover's Green Baptist Chapel
Shover's Green Baptist Chapel
Shover's Green Baptist Chapel is a former Strict Baptist place of worship in the hamlet of Shover's Green in East Sussex, England. Shover's Green is in Wealden, one of six local government districts in the English county of East Sussex, and stands on the road between the market town of Wadhurst...
). Both are listed at Grade II.
Wadhurst is home to two schools the state-maintained sector: a Church of England primary school (with a nursery) in Sparrows Green and Uplands, a community secondary school and sixth form with technology college status. The latter also has an affiliated youth and community centre. In addition, in Mayfield Lane there is an independent Catholic preparatory school, Sacred Heart. Wadhurst also used to be the site of Bellerbys College (formerly known as Wadhurst College and Micklefield Wadhurst), a private girls school on Mayfield Lane that has been defunct since approximately 2004.
Wadhurst United F.C.
Wadhurst United F.C. (based at the Recreation Ground, South View Road) is Wadhurst's local football team. They were formed in 1890 and joined the Sussex County LeagueSussex County Football League
The Sussex County Football League is a football league broadly covering the counties of East Sussex, West Sussex and southeastern Surrey, England.Formed in 1920, the league now has six divisions - three for first teams and three for reserve sides...
Division Three in 2004. They left the league after the 2005–06 season, to rejoin the East Sussex Football League
East Sussex Football League
The East Sussex Football League is a football competition based in England. It has a total of 8 divisions including the East Sussex Football League Premier Division. The Premier Division sits at step 7 of the National League System and is a feeder to the Sussex County League...
. The club won the East Sussex League Division Two title in the 2008-09 season. They also have many junior teams of different ages.
Notable people
- Jeff BeckJeff BeckGeoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
, guitarist, has lived in Wadhurst since summer 1975. His move came a few months after the release of his Blow by BlowBlow by BlowBlow by Blow is the seventh album by British guitarist Jeff Beck, released on Epic Records in 1975, and recorded in October 1974. It is the first under his name alone...
album, which reached #4 in the U.S. His large stone country house dates to 1591. - Caroline Augusta Foley Rhys DavidsCaroline Augusta Foley Rhys DavidsCaroline Augusta Foley Rhys Davids was an English Pāli language scholar and translator, and from 1923-1942 president of the Pali Text Society which was founded by her husband T. W. Rhys Davids whom she married in 1894.-Early life and education:...
, Pāli language scholar and translator - Davina McCallDavina McCallDavina McCall is an English television presenter and actress, most notable as the presenter of the UK version of Big Brother up until its move to Channel 5.- Early life :...
, television presenter, has a house in Wadhurst - Irfan OrgaIrfan Orgaİrfan Orga was a Turkish fighter pilot, staff officer, and author, writing in English. He published books on many areas of Turkish life, cookery, and history, as well as a life of Atatürk, and a universally admired autobiography...
(1908–70), exiled Turkish writer, lived at Spike Island, Wadhurst, 1961–70 - Hans RausingHans RausingHans Rausing, KBE, is a Swedish businessman based in the United Kingdom. He made his fortune from his co-inheritance of Tetra Pak , a company founded by his father Ruben Rausing and currently the largest food packaging company in the world...
, billionaire inheritor of Tetra PakTetra PakTetra Pak is a multinational food processing and packaging company of Swedish origin. It was founded in 1951 in Lund, Sweden, by Ruben Rausing. It was Erik Wallenberg who invented the tetrahedral package, today known as Tetra Classic...
, has a house and deer park in Wadhurst