Ashurst Wood
Encyclopedia
Ashurst Wood is a village
and civil parish
in the Mid Sussex
district of West Sussex
, within the historic county of Sussex, England
. It is 1 miles (2 km) to the southeast of East Grinstead
, just off the A22
arterial road. The village is in the Mid Sussex district of the county, and has a parish population of 1,771. Ashurst Wood is within the High Weald Area of Natural Beauty
and has an SSSI inside its boundaries. In 2000, Ashurst Wood became a civil parish and a parish council was formed.
The village has a history of agriculture
and farming, and contains a church, village hall, primary school, two public house
s, a general shop, post office
and several small business premises. There is an independent school
on the boundary of the village, called Brambletye School
, and a former one, Stoke Brunswick School
(the former junior school of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill
), which closed in 2009.. Bus
routes run through the village with destinations of East Grinstead, Crawley
and Tunbridge Wells
.
Road (now part of the A22) were used as a ridge-way track for animals and people 5,000 years ago. There is also evidence of a Roman
ironworks
in the village.
By 1066 the area had two established farms, the tracks between them are still in use today as roads. The name of Ashurst Wood dates back to 1164 when the region was known as Aesehyrst Wilde. There was no village then and the name was used for a common area. During the reign of Henry II
, the area that is now Ashurst Wood was called, Esseherst. The names Aisherst, Askhurst and Eseherst were in use in the years 1186, 1248 and 1279 respectively. Around 1300, the oldest surviving house in the village was built. Part of this building remains as the Headmaster's drawing room in Stoke Brunswick School, and has been designated by English Heritage
as a grade II* listed building.
By the time of the reign of Elizabeth I, Ashurst Wood had prosperous farms, with Water Farmhouse being built in the 16th century, Great Surries dating from the 17th century, and its barn being slightly more recent. The population grew and more houses were built in the village. in 1855, the nearby town of East Grinstead was connected to London
by rail
, and another rail connection to the area in 1884 meant that Ashurst Wood was more accessible. Many wealthier people bought property in the area and this provided work other than that of the agricultural type.
In 1910, the village school moved to new premises built for 240 children. It is still in use as the primary school today. The school began at its new location on 1910-09-30. During World War I
, many villagers volunteered to serve in the armed forces. Back in the village efforts to help the war included making sandbag
s to be sent to the front
. In 1931, construction was complete on St Dunstan's Hall, which is now the Village Centre. The hall was immediately put to good use for many activities by villagers. Ashurst Wood experienced World War II
first hand with bullets from planes hitting the school. Dogfight
s were regularly seen in the skies above and around the village, and buildings that used to be part of Stoke Brunswick School (closed last year)were used for nursing allied
airmen. In 1944, the village was hit by a series of V-1 flying bomb
s, Doodlebugs, leaving craters
that are still visible as of today. Since the Second World War, the village has been expanded by suburban development. In December 1978, construction started on the United Reformed Church
in the village to convert it into the new and current St. Dunstan's Church. The work was completed in Summer 1979 and dedicated
in September by the Bishop of Horsham
. The lease for St. Dunstan's Hall was taken over by the Ashurst Wood Community Association from the church and became the Village Centre in 1980. The hall was then renovated by local builders and has since been put to use by youth club
s, local theatre and many more activities.
, there were residents in the ward of Ashurst Wood, which includes the parish plus the south east section of the East Grinstead parish. As of 2001, Ashurst Wood is slightly less diverse ethnically than the national average. 96.5% of the village residents are white, 1.6% are of mixed race, 1% Asian, 0.1% Black, 0.4% Chinese and 0.4% are of other ethnicity. The village is fractionally more diverse than the regional average. The mean
age for residents of the village is 39 and the median
age is 38. Figures released in 2006 and 2007 show that crime in the village is lower than the national averages. There are zero robberies per one thousand people, 4.7 burglaries per thousand and 7.5 vehicle thefts per thousand.
For the Census 2001, the people of Ashurst Wood indicated their religion. 71.8% stated their religion as Christian
, 0.43% as Buddhist, 0.32% as Hindu
, 0.36% as Jewish, 1.26% as Muslim
, 0% as Sikh
, 1.04% as other religions, 17.28% indicated they had no religion and 7.51% did not state their religion. The majority of residents are economically active. 43.91% and 14.12% of the population are in full and part time employment
. 12.08% of residents are self employed and 1.28% are unemployed. This figure is lower than the local, regional and national percentages of unemployment. Economically inactive residents are made up of 13.1% retired, 3.28% students, 5.22% looking after their home or family, 2.1% permanently sick or disabled and 1.94% are economically inactive for other reasons.
on 3 May 2007, there are nine councillors. The parish council meets ten times per year which can be attended by the public. In the 1870s the ecclesiastical parish of Forest Row
was formed and much of Ashurst Wood was included in its governing. In 1894 the civil parish of Forest Row was formed and the village was a ward within this parish, in the administrative county of East Sussex
. In 1934 the village was transferred from the Forest Row parish council to the East Grinstead Urban District Council then in East Sussex. Under the 1974 local government reorganisation, East Grinstead Urban District Council was abolished with a new parish authority East Grinstead Town Council formed within the new Mid Sussex
District. Under these changes the East Grinstead parish was also moved from East to West Sussex. Ashurst Wood was then governed by East Grinstead Town Council until 2000.
Up until 1992 Ashurst Wood was split by the administrative boundary of East and West Sussex, which meant parts of the village were under the control of Forest Row Parish Council and other parts East Grinstead Town Council. A plan to transfer land on the East Sussex part over to West Sussex County Council was submitted to the Secretary of State for the Environment
, and in 1993 the boundary changes came into force.
Ashurst Wood is now in the District of Mid Sussex which is mostly covered by the Mid Sussex (UK Parliament constituency)
. Nicholas Soames
, grandson of UK Prime Minister
Sir Winston Churchill
, is its Conservative
Member of Parliament
. In the 2005 local elections
Nicholas Soames held his seat by winning the vote with 48.0%, a 1.8% increase than the previous election. The Liberal Democrats
followed with 36.1%, a 5% increase. Labour
received 12.7% of the vote, down 6.3% and The United Kingdom Independence Party
received 3.2% of the vote, up 0.7% on the previous election.
In 2005 a committee formed with the aim of creating an action plan to implement progress for the village. In 2006 a comprehensive questionnaire was produced and given to the villagers to ascertain what actions should be taken. 55% of the questionnaires were returned and general population data recorded by this questionnaire echoed the findings of the 2001 census. The questionnaire resulted in a document called the Ashurst Wood - Village Action Plan which was published in April 2007. The document contains time scales for targets and actions that will be taken.
Ashurst Wood is situated on a prominent ridge
1 miles (2 km) to the southeast of East Grinstead and is 400 feet (122 m) above sea level, This means the area is not prone to heavy flooding. Several farms are within the boundaries of the village which keep various livestock
such as sheep and pigs, but Ashurst Wood is primarily a residential village.
The village primarily stands on Tunbridge Wells Sand and Wadhurst Clay. Areas that are set on sandstone
were quarried for the production of glass to use in the building of The Crystal Palace
in London for the Great Exhibition of 1851. The combination of permeable and impermeable types creates an abundance of streams and springs in woodland areas. These are known Ghyll
springs and streams, and are common in the High Weald.
Mills Rocks in the north of the village is a Site of Special Scientific Interest
. It is an area consisting of outcrop
s of sandstone, and is currently designated as Unfavourable recovering, which means that it is not yet fully conserved but all the necessary management measures are in place. Provided that the recovery work is sustained, the SSSI will reach favourable condition in time.
junior school.
The John Pears Recreation Field and The Recreation Ground are the two recreational fields in Ashurst Wood. John Pears Recreation Field became council property when it was donated by local resident Mrs Pears as a memorial
to her husband. The land covers just over two hectare
s and contains a pavilion, barbecue
for public use, a tennis area, fenced-off play area and a basketball
hoop. The field is maintained by the local council. The field used to be home to the Strawberry Fair which was an annual event held in the village, the first of which took place in 1978 and was opened by BBC Radio 2
DJ Don Moss. In 2003 the pavilion was burnt down in an act of arson
. After some fundraising, steps were made to have a new one built. Construction was completed in 2005 and opened on 2 June.
The other recreational field known locally as The Rec, is where the Mid-Sussex Football League
division 2 team Ashurst Wood F.C. plays its home games. The team was formed around the early 1920s. The recreation ground was also home to the village cricket
team which had been running for over 100 years, but folded due to lack of participants in 1999.
bus service, with final destinations of Crawley, Royal Tunbridge Wells and Uckfield
. There is also a community funded bus service called EG Bus that provides a ride to East Grinstead for the elderly and disabled. The bus picks up people from various places in the village to take them to the shops in East Grinstead and relies on volunteer drivers
. In the village there is Allan Martin Meats, an award winning butchers shop
. The shop gets its meat locally and is a supplier to local public houses. In 2008 the butchers provided meat for television chef Gordon Ramsay
for a programme aired on Channel 4
.
, in January 2000 some residents of Ashurst Wood unofficially declared independence
from the United Kingdom. The new state
was known as The People's Republic
of Ashurst Wood, a Nation State, which gave the acronym P.R.A.W.N.S.
. This was reported in the local and national media, notably by the radio DJ Chris Moyles
during his show on BBC Radio 1
.
The "revolution" was said to be justified because of a ruling by King Ethelred
in the year 979, specifying that the village of Ashurst would be immune from taxation after he fell ill there.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
and civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
in the Mid Sussex
Mid Sussex
Mid Sussex is a local government district in the English county of West Sussex. It contains the towns of East Grinstead, Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill....
district of West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
, within the historic county of Sussex, 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 1 miles (2 km) to the southeast of East Grinstead
East Grinstead
East Grinstead is a town and civil parish in the northeastern corner of Mid Sussex, West Sussex in England near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders. It lies south of London, north northeast of Brighton, and east northeast of the county town of Chichester...
, just off the A22
A22 road
The A22 is one of the two-digit major roads in the south east of England. It carries traffic from London to Eastbourne on the East Sussex coast...
arterial road. The village is in the Mid Sussex district of the county, and has a parish population of 1,771. Ashurst Wood is within the High Weald Area of Natural Beauty
High Weald AONB
The High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is situated in south-east England. Covering an area of , it extends across the counties of Surrey, West Sussex, East Sussex and Kent. It is the fourth largest Area of Outstanding Beauty in England and Wales...
and has an SSSI inside its boundaries. In 2000, Ashurst Wood became a civil parish and a parish council was formed.
The village has a history of agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
and farming, and contains a church, village hall, primary school, two public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
s, a general shop, post office
Post Office Ltd.
Post Office Ltd is a retail post office company in the United Kingdom that provides a wide range of products including postage stamps and banking to the public through its nationwide network of post office branches.-Structure:Post Office Ltd...
and several small business premises. There is an independent school
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
on the boundary of the village, called Brambletye School
Brambletye School
Brambletye was founded at Sidcup Place, Kent in 1919 and moved to its present glorious location in rolling Sussex countryside on the southern outskirts of East Grinstead in 1933. The large country house, in its own wooded estate of 100 acres, overlooks Ashdown Forest and Weir Wood Reservoir. The...
, and a former one, Stoke Brunswick School
Stoke Brunswick School
Stoke Brunswick School was a small co-educational day and boarding independent school for children aged 3 to 13 years, situated in Ashurst Wood, West Sussex, near the town of East Grinstead. It was the former junior school , of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill...
(the former junior school of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
), which closed in 2009.. Bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
routes run through the village with destinations of East Grinstead, Crawley
Crawley
Crawley is a town and local government district with Borough status in West Sussex, England. It is south of Charing Cross, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town of Chichester, covers an area of and had a population of 99,744 at the time of the 2001 Census.The area has...
and 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...
.
History
The exact date of when the village was formed is not known, but two of the main roads in the village and LewesLewes
Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town...
Road (now part of the A22) were used as a ridge-way track for animals and people 5,000 years ago. There is also evidence of a Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
ironworks
Ironworks
An ironworks or iron works is a building or site where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and/or steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e...
in the village.
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
, the area that is now Ashurst Wood was called, Esseherst. The names Aisherst, Askhurst and Eseherst were in use in the years 1186, 1248 and 1279 respectively. Around 1300, the oldest surviving house in the village was built. Part of this building remains as the Headmaster's drawing room in Stoke Brunswick School, and has been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a grade II* listed building.
By the time of the reign of Elizabeth I, Ashurst Wood had prosperous farms, with Water Farmhouse being built in the 16th century, Great Surries dating from the 17th century, and its barn being slightly more recent. The population grew and more houses were built in the village. in 1855, the nearby town of East Grinstead was connected to 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...
by rail
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...
, and another rail connection to the area in 1884 meant that Ashurst Wood was more accessible. Many wealthier people bought property in the area and this provided work other than that of the agricultural type.
In 1910, the village school moved to new premises built for 240 children. It is still in use as the primary school today. The school began at its new location on 1910-09-30. 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...
, many villagers volunteered to serve in the armed forces. Back in the village efforts to help the war included making sandbag
Sandbag
A sandbag is a sack made of hessian/burlap, polypropylene or other materials that is filled with sand or soil and used for such purposes as flood control, military fortification, shielding glass windows in war zones and ballast....
s to be sent to the front
Front (military)
A military front or battlefront is a contested armed frontier between opposing forces. This can be a local or tactical front, or it can range to a theater...
. In 1931, construction was complete on St Dunstan's Hall, which is now the Village Centre. The hall was immediately put to good use for many activities by villagers. Ashurst Wood experienced World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
first hand with bullets from planes hitting the school. Dogfight
Dogfight
A dogfight, or dog fight, is a form of aerial combat between fighter aircraft; in particular, combat of maneuver at short range, where each side is aware of the other's presence. Dogfighting first appeared during World War I, shortly after the invention of the airplane...
s were regularly seen in the skies above and around the village, and buildings that used to be part of Stoke Brunswick School (closed last year)were used for nursing allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
airmen. In 1944, the village was hit by a series of V-1 flying bomb
V-1 flying bomb
The V-1 flying bomb, also known as the Buzz Bomb or Doodlebug, was an early pulse-jet-powered predecessor of the cruise missile....
s, Doodlebugs, leaving craters
Impact crater
In the broadest sense, the term impact crater can be applied to any depression, natural or manmade, resulting from the high velocity impact of a projectile with a larger body...
that are still visible as of today. Since the Second World War, the village has been expanded by suburban development. In December 1978, construction started on the United Reformed Church
United Reformed Church
The United Reformed Church is a Christian church in the United Kingdom. It has approximately 68,000 members in 1,500 congregations with some 700 ministers.-Origins and history:...
in the village to convert it into the new and current St. Dunstan's Church. The work was completed in Summer 1979 and dedicated
Dedication
Dedication is the act of consecrating an altar, temple, church or other sacred building. It also refers to the inscription of books or other artifacts when these are specifically addressed or presented to a particular person. This practice, which once was used to gain the patronage and support of...
in September by the Bishop of Horsham
Bishop of Horsham
The Bishop of Horsham is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester, in the Province of Canterbury, England...
. The lease for St. Dunstan's Hall was taken over by the Ashurst Wood Community Association from the church and became the Village Centre in 1980. The hall was then renovated by local builders and has since been put to use by youth club
Youth club
A youth club or youth social club is a place where young people can meet and enjoy activities such as football, soccer, basketball, table tennis, or video games, and other religious, sports activities are frequently sponsored by a community center....
s, local theatre and many more activities.
Demography
At the time of the United Kingdom Census 2001United 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 were residents in the ward of Ashurst Wood, which includes the parish plus the south east section of the East Grinstead parish. As of 2001, Ashurst Wood is slightly less diverse ethnically than the national average. 96.5% of the village residents are white, 1.6% are of mixed race, 1% Asian, 0.1% Black, 0.4% Chinese and 0.4% are of other ethnicity. The village is fractionally more diverse than the regional average. The mean
Mean
In statistics, mean has two related meanings:* the arithmetic mean .* the expected value of a random variable, which is also called the population mean....
age for residents of the village is 39 and the median
Median
In probability theory and statistics, a median is described as the numerical value separating the higher half of a sample, a population, or a probability distribution, from the lower half. The median of a finite list of numbers can be found by arranging all the observations from lowest value to...
age is 38. Figures released in 2006 and 2007 show that crime in the village is lower than the national averages. There are zero robberies per one thousand people, 4.7 burglaries per thousand and 7.5 vehicle thefts per thousand.
For the Census 2001, the people of Ashurst Wood indicated their religion. 71.8% stated their religion as Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
, 0.43% as Buddhist, 0.32% as Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
, 0.36% as Jewish, 1.26% as Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
, 0% as Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
, 1.04% as other religions, 17.28% indicated they had no religion and 7.51% did not state their religion. The majority of residents are economically active. 43.91% and 14.12% of the population are in full and part time employment
Employment
Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. An employee may be defined as:- Employee :...
. 12.08% of residents are self employed and 1.28% are unemployed. This figure is lower than the local, regional and national percentages of unemployment. Economically inactive residents are made up of 13.1% retired, 3.28% students, 5.22% looking after their home or family, 2.1% permanently sick or disabled and 1.94% are economically inactive for other reasons.
Governance
Ashurst Wood is a ward and a civil parish since 2000. Following the local electionUnited Kingdom local elections, 2007
The 2007 UK local government elections were held on 3 May 2007. These elections took place in most of England and all of Scotland. There were no local government elections in Wales though the Welsh Assembly had a general election on the same day. There were no local government elections in Northern...
on 3 May 2007, there are nine councillors. The parish council meets ten times per year which can be attended by the public. In the 1870s the ecclesiastical parish of Forest Row
Forest Row
Forest Row is a village and relatively large civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. The village is located three miles south-east of East Grinstead.-History:...
was formed and much of Ashurst Wood was included in its governing. In 1894 the civil parish of Forest Row was formed and the village was a ward within this parish, in the administrative county of 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:...
. In 1934 the village was transferred from the Forest Row parish council to the East Grinstead Urban District Council then in East Sussex. Under the 1974 local government reorganisation, East Grinstead Urban District Council was abolished with a new parish authority East Grinstead Town Council formed within the new Mid Sussex
Mid Sussex
Mid Sussex is a local government district in the English county of West Sussex. It contains the towns of East Grinstead, Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill....
District. Under these changes the East Grinstead parish was also moved from East to West Sussex. Ashurst Wood was then governed by East Grinstead Town Council until 2000.
Secretary of State for the Environment
The Secretary of State for the Environment was a UK cabinet position, responsible for the Department of the Environment . This was created by Edward Heath as a combination of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Public Building and Works on 15...
, and in 1993 the boundary changes came into force.
Ashurst Wood is now in the District of Mid Sussex which is mostly covered by the Mid Sussex (UK Parliament constituency)
Mid Sussex (UK Parliament constituency)
Mid Sussex is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
. Nicholas Soames
Nicholas Soames
Arthur Nicholas Winston Soames MP , known as Nicholas Soames, is a British Conservative Party Member of Parliament for the constituency of Mid Sussex....
, grandson of UK Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Sir Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, is its Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
. In the 2005 local elections
United Kingdom local elections, 2005
Elections for local government were held in the England and Northern Ireland on 5 May 2005 along with the 2005 general election across the entire United Kingdom...
Nicholas Soames held his seat by winning the vote with 48.0%, a 1.8% increase than the previous election. The Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
followed with 36.1%, a 5% increase. Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
received 12.7% of the vote, down 6.3% and The United Kingdom Independence Party
United Kingdom Independence Party
The United Kingdom Independence Party is a eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Whilst its primary goal is the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, the party has expanded beyond its single-issue image to develop a more comprehensive party platform.UKIP...
received 3.2% of the vote, up 0.7% on the previous election.
In 2005 a committee formed with the aim of creating an action plan to implement progress for the village. In 2006 a comprehensive questionnaire was produced and given to the villagers to ascertain what actions should be taken. 55% of the questionnaires were returned and general population data recorded by this questionnaire echoed the findings of the 2001 census. The questionnaire resulted in a document called the Ashurst Wood - Village Action Plan which was published in April 2007. The document contains time scales for targets and actions that will be taken.
Geography
Ridge
A ridge is a geological feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for some distance. Ridges are usually termed hills or mountains as well, depending on size. There are several main types of ridges:...
1 miles (2 km) to the southeast of East Grinstead and is 400 feet (122 m) above sea level, This means the area is not prone to heavy flooding. Several farms are within the boundaries of the village which keep various livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
such as sheep and pigs, but Ashurst Wood is primarily a residential village.
The village primarily stands on Tunbridge Wells Sand and Wadhurst Clay. Areas that are set on sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
were quarried for the production of glass to use in the building of The Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and glass building originally erected in Hyde Park, London, England, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. More than 14,000 exhibitors from around the world gathered in the Palace's of exhibition space to display examples of the latest technology developed in...
in London for the Great Exhibition of 1851. The combination of permeable and impermeable types creates an abundance of streams and springs in woodland areas. These are known Ghyll
Ghyll
Ghyll is a Lexicon game . The world as it stands is roughly one of humorous fantasy.The game appears to have died circa 2006, apparently due to the host's pregnancy....
springs and streams, and are common in the High Weald.
Mills Rocks in the north of the village is a Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
. It is an area consisting of outcrop
Outcrop
An outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. -Features:Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficial deposits are covered by a mantle of soil and vegetation and cannot be...
s of sandstone, and is currently designated as Unfavourable recovering, which means that it is not yet fully conserved but all the necessary management measures are in place. Provided that the recovery work is sustained, the SSSI will reach favourable condition in time.
Education
There are two schools in Ashurst Wood: a state primary school and an independentIndependent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
junior school.
- Ashurst Wood Primary School is a co-educational, non-denominational state school for children aged four to eleven years, and has been in its current location since 1910. As of the 2006 OfstedOfstedThe Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills is the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England ....
inspection, there were 116 pupils enrolled at the school. In the Ofsted report, the school received satisfactory grades in the overall Inspection Judgements. In 2006, Ashurst Wood Primary School received the International School Award. To receive this award, the school is involved in an international link with Mervin Iverson Elementary in Las Vegas, NevadaLas Vegas, NevadaLas Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Members of staff have visited each school and the students are in contact with each other and are involved in joint activities. - Stoke Brunswick SchoolStoke Brunswick SchoolStoke Brunswick School was a small co-educational day and boarding independent school for children aged 3 to 13 years, situated in Ashurst Wood, West Sussex, near the town of East Grinstead. It was the former junior school , of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill...
was an independent co-educational day and boardingBoarding schoolA boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
school for pupils aged three to thirteen years. The school was previously based in HoveHoveHove is a town on the south coast of England, immediately to the west of its larger neighbour Brighton, with which it forms the unitary authority Brighton and Hove. It forms a single conurbation together with Brighton and some smaller towns and villages running along the coast...
, where it was called Brunswick School, and educated British Prime Minister Winston ChurchillWinston ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
. During the Second World War, the school relocated to CheshireCheshireCheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, and then to Ashurst Wood, where it was reconstructed piece-by-piece, and remained until closure in Summer 2009. In 2003, there were 148 pupils, of whom 18 were boarders. In a report by the Independent Schools InspectorateIndependent Schools InspectorateThe Independent Schools Inspectorate is an organisation responsible for the inspection of independent schools in England which are affiliated to the Independent Schools Council . The Inspectorate is a separate company, owned by the Independent Schools Council and has its work monitored by the...
, there were overall good findings for the school, including children achieving good academic standards. - Brambletye School is an independent co-educational day and boarding school for pupils aged seven to thirteen years. The school's grounds cover 140 acre (0.5665604 km²) to the south west of the village. The preparatory school has been coeducational since 2000 but the pre-prep school has always accepted girls. In 2001, the Independent Schools Inspectorate found that there were 206 pupils at the school, 99 of which are boarding there. The ISI report findings showed that the school was doing very well with small room for improvement.
Sports and recreation
Memorial
A memorial is an object which serves as a focus for memory of something, usually a person or an event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or art objects such as sculptures, statues or fountains, and even entire parks....
to her husband. The land covers just over two hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s and contains a pavilion, barbecue
Barbecue
Barbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...
for public use, a tennis area, fenced-off play area and a basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
hoop. The field is maintained by the local council. The field used to be home to the Strawberry Fair which was an annual event held in the village, the first of which took place in 1978 and was opened by BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
DJ Don Moss. In 2003 the pavilion was burnt down in an act of arson
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
. After some fundraising, steps were made to have a new one built. Construction was completed in 2005 and opened on 2 June.
The other recreational field known locally as The Rec, is where the Mid-Sussex Football League
Mid-Sussex Football League
The Mid-Sussex Football League is a football competition in England. It has a total of 13 divisions headed by the Premier Division which sits at step 7 of the National League System...
division 2 team Ashurst Wood F.C. plays its home games. The team was formed around the early 1920s. The recreation ground was also home to the village cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
team which had been running for over 100 years, but folded due to lack of participants in 1999.
Other facilities
Ashurst Wood is served by the MetrobusMetrobus (Go-Ahead Group)
Metrobus is a bus operator with routes in south and south-east London, and parts of Surrey, Kent, West and East Sussex. The company operates many routes on tender from Transport for London. Formed through a management buyout of Tillingbourne Ltd...
bus service, with final destinations of Crawley, Royal Tunbridge Wells and Uckfield
Uckfield
-Development:The local Tesco has proposed the redevelopment of the central town area as has the town council. The Hub has recently been completed, having been acquired for an unknown figure, presumed to be about half a million pounds...
. There is also a community funded bus service called EG Bus that provides a ride to East Grinstead for the elderly and disabled. The bus picks up people from various places in the village to take them to the shops in East Grinstead and relies on volunteer drivers
Bus driver
A bus driver, bus operator or omnibus driver is a person who drives buses professionally. Bus drivers typically drive their vehicles between bus stations or stops. They often drop off and pick up passengers on a predetermined route schedule. In British English a different term, coach drivers, is...
. In the village there is Allan Martin Meats, an award winning butchers shop
Butcher
A butcher is a person who may slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat or any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat, poultry, fish and shellfish for sale in retail or wholesale food establishments...
. The shop gets its meat locally and is a supplier to local public houses. In 2008 the butchers provided meat for television chef Gordon Ramsay
Gordon Ramsay
Gordon James Ramsay, OBE is a Scottish chef, television personality and restaurateur. He has been awarded 13 Michelin stars....
for a programme aired on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
.
P.R.A.W.N.S.
To celebrate the millenniumMillennium
A millennium is a period of time equal to one thousand years —from the Latin phrase , thousand, and , year—often but not necessarily related numerically to a particular dating system....
, in January 2000 some residents of Ashurst Wood unofficially declared independence
Declaration of independence
A declaration of independence is an assertion of the independence of an aspiring state or states. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another nation or failed nation, or are breakaway territories from within the larger state...
from the United Kingdom. The new state
Micronation
Micronations, sometimes also referred to as model countries and new country projects, are entities that claim to be independent nations or states but which are not recognized by world governments or major international organizations...
was known as The People's Republic
People's Republic
People's Republic is a title that has often been used by Marxist-Leninist governments to describe their state. The motivation for using this term lies in the claim that Marxist-Leninists govern in accordance with the interests of the vast majority of the people, and, as such, a Marxist-Leninist...
of Ashurst Wood, a Nation State, which gave the acronym P.R.A.W.N.S.
Prawn
Prawns are decapod crustaceans of the sub-order Dendrobranchiata. There are 540 extant species, in seven families, and a fossil record extending back to the Devonian...
. This was reported in the local and national media, notably by the radio DJ Chris Moyles
Chris Moyles
Christopher David Moyles is an English radio and television presenter and author, who currently presents The Chris Moyles Show on BBC Radio 1 and Chris Moyles' Quiz Night on Channel 4....
during his show on BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
.
The "revolution" was said to be justified because of a ruling by King Ethelred
Ethelred the Unready
Æthelred the Unready, or Æthelred II , was king of England . He was son of King Edgar and Queen Ælfthryth. Æthelred was only about 10 when his half-brother Edward was murdered...
in the year 979, specifying that the village of Ashurst would be immune from taxation after he fell ill there.