Heathfield, East Sussex
Encyclopedia
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
.
and Eastbourne
; and the A265 from Hawkhurst
. It lies almost equidistant from Tunbridge Wells and Eastbourne: approximately sixteen miles (26 km).
(The Ridgeway), connecting the South Downs
with the Weald
. Its market charter was granted in February 1316 during the reign of Edward II
. The Wealden iron
brought prosperity to the town during the 16th/17th centuries; the coming of the railway (the Cuckoo Line
) in 1880 gave it another new lease of life. The latter was not a financial success and the branch line between Eridge
and Polegate
closed in 1968. The trackbed is now named the Cuckoo Trail
, part of the National Cycle Network
.
The original village —Old Heathfield— is now only part of the town, which has expanded over time.
The nearby mansion of Heathfield Park
dates from the seventeenth century. In a corner of the estate stands a memorial named the Gibraltar Tower. To the north-east, on the edge of the parish, Braylsham Castle is a modern house begun in 1993, built in imitation of a moated medieval manor house, complete with working drawbridge.
Approximately one mile from the town is the Heathfield transmitting station
, a 135 m high mast which broadcasts TV and radio signals to East and West Sussex, as well as parts of south Kent.
named the Heffle Cuckoo Fair each April, the annual Heathfield show takes place each May and a carnival happens in the summer. Heathfield is the home of Heathfield Community College
and several primary schools. Opposite the college is a leisure centre. There is also a French market held every year on the August Bank Holiday and a fair that comes to visit during the Summer for about 5 days. There is a fairly large football field, beside it a little playground. At Cross-in-Hand there is a rugby club for adults and children.
There is a small youth centre next door to the Co-op Supermarket. Within the town there are two florists, several churches, a couple of hair and beauty salons, 2 boutiques, an electrical shop, two bookshops, 2 ironmongers, five charity shops, two pubs, a green grocer, a butcher, a baker, two antique shops, a Budgens Supermarket and a Tesco Express, and a number of banks, estate agents, take-aways and restaurants. A large retirement home has recently been built, as well as several blocks of flats and new houses.
There is a bus service which is expensive and not very frequent.
(ACF) Detachment)
which is part of the Sussex ACF group. This detachment is based in the Youth Centre on the High street, and is affiliated to PWRR. The Detachment meets on Monday and Wednesday evenings from 19:30 to 21:30 each week.
The rehearsal site on Alexandra Road in Heathfield was extended and refurbished following a steady increase in band membership. TV presenter David Dimbleby
officially opened the newly extended band room on 3 September 2005.
The Heathfield Silver Band plays at weddings, garden parties
, church functions, and fete
s and regularly gives concerts. They are also a marching band
, taking part in the local bonfire
celebrations. During September they march in Uckfield
, Crowborough
, Mayfield, Lewes
, and East Hoathly carnivals, as well as marching on Remembrance Sunday
, St. George's Day, and Heathfield's Heffle Cuckoo Fair.
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...
of Heathfield and Waldron
Heathfield and Waldron
Heathfield and Waldron is a civil parish within the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. Heathfield is surrounded by the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.-Governance:...
in the Wealden
Wealden
For the stone, see Wealden GroupWealden is a local government district in East Sussex, England: its name comes from the Weald, the area of high land which occupies the centre of its area.-History:...
District 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:...
, 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...
.
Location
Heathfield lies near the junction of two main roads: the A267 between Tunbridge WellsRoyal 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 Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
; and the A265 from 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...
. It lies almost equidistant from Tunbridge Wells and Eastbourne: approximately sixteen miles (26 km).
History
Historically, Heathfield lay on an ancient trackwayTrackway
A trackway is an ancient route of travel for people or animals. In biology, a trackway can be a set of impressions in the soft earth, usually a set of footprints, left by an animal. A fossil trackway is the fossilized imprint of a trackway. Trackways have been found all over the world...
(The Ridgeway), connecting 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...
with 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...
. Its market charter was granted in February 1316 during the reign of Edward II
Edward II of England
Edward II , called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed by his wife Isabella in January 1327. He was the sixth Plantagenet king, in a line that began with the reign of Henry II...
. The Wealden iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
brought prosperity to the town during the 16th/17th centuries; the coming of the railway (the Cuckoo Line
Cuckoo Line
The Cuckoo Line is an informal name for the now defunct railway service which linked Polegate and Eridge in East Sussex, England, from 1880 to 1968. It was nicknamed the Cuckoo Line by drivers, from a tradition observed at the annual fair at Heathfield, a station on the route...
) in 1880 gave it another new lease of life. The latter was not a financial success and the branch line between Eridge
Eridge railway station
Eridge railway station serves a rural district around Eridge in East Sussex. Mainline train services from the station are provided by Southern, and the station is on the Uckfield branch of the Oxted Line. Also heritage services connecting to Groombridge, High Rocks and Tunbridge Wells West are run...
and Polegate
Polegate railway station
Polegate railway station serves Polegate in East Sussex, England. It is on the East Coastway Line, and train services are provided by Southern.-First Station:...
closed in 1968. The trackbed is now named the Cuckoo Trail
Cuckoo Trail
The Cuckoo Trail is an footpath and cycleway which runs from Hampden Park to Heathfield in East Sussex. It passes through the towns of Polegate and Hailsham, as well as the villages of Hellingly and Horam.- History :...
, part of the National Cycle Network
National Cycle Network
The National Cycle Network is a network of cycle routes in the United Kingdom.The National Cycle Network was created by the charity Sustrans , and aided by a £42.5 million National Lottery grant. In 2005 it was used for over 230 million trips.Many routes hope to minimise contact with motor...
.
The original village —Old Heathfield— is now only part of the town, which has expanded over time.
Crime
The crime rates in Heathfield were lower than the national average:| Offence | Locally | Nationally |
|---|---|---|
| Robbery | 0.25 | 1.85 |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 1.87 | 4.04 |
| Theft from a motor vehicle | 5.35 | 9.59 |
| Sexual offences | 0.52 | 1.17 |
| Violence against a person | 10.14 | 19.97 |
| Burglary | 2.82 | 5.67 |
Landmarks
The parish church in Heathfield is dedicated to All Saints: an example of a Harmer terracotta decorated gravestone is in the churchyard. The town is the home of Heathfield Park Cricket Club, formed in 1878, and enjoying one of the most scenic positions of any cricket ground in Sussex.The nearby mansion of Heathfield Park
Heathfield Park
Heathfield Park is an English country house and walled park in the village of Old Heathfield in East Sussex. It is privately owned.Originally called Bayley Park, the mansion was begun by James Plummer in 1677 and continued by Raymond Blackmore in the early eighteenth century...
dates from the seventeenth century. In a corner of the estate stands a memorial named the Gibraltar Tower. To the north-east, on the edge of the parish, Braylsham Castle is a modern house begun in 1993, built in imitation of a moated medieval manor house, complete with working drawbridge.
Approximately one mile from the town is the Heathfield transmitting station
Heathfield Transmitter
The Heathfield transmitting station is a facility for FM and television transmission at Heathfield, East Sussex, UK . Opened in 1969 it uses as its antenna mast a 135 metre tall guyed structure, giving average transmitter height 256 metres above sea level...
, a 135 m high mast which broadcasts TV and radio signals to East and West Sussex, as well as parts of south Kent.
Culture
The town holds an annual fairFair
A fair or fayre is a gathering of people to display or trade produce or other goods, to parade or display animals and often to enjoy associated carnival or funfair entertainment. It is normally of the essence of a fair that it is temporary; some last only an afternoon while others may ten weeks. ...
named the Heffle Cuckoo Fair each April, the annual Heathfield show takes place each May and a carnival happens in the summer. Heathfield is the home of Heathfield Community College
Heathfield Community College
Heathfield Community College is a secondary school located just outside the market town of Heathfield in the heart of the Wealden district of East Sussex. The school is a specialist Arts College.-School Enrollment:...
and several primary schools. Opposite the college is a leisure centre. There is also a French market held every year on the August Bank Holiday and a fair that comes to visit during the Summer for about 5 days. There is a fairly large football field, beside it a little playground. At Cross-in-Hand there is a rugby club for adults and children.
There is a small youth centre next door to the Co-op Supermarket. Within the town there are two florists, several churches, a couple of hair and beauty salons, 2 boutiques, an electrical shop, two bookshops, 2 ironmongers, five charity shops, two pubs, a green grocer, a butcher, a baker, two antique shops, a Budgens Supermarket and a Tesco Express, and a number of banks, estate agents, take-aways and restaurants. A large retirement home has recently been built, as well as several blocks of flats and new houses.
There is a bus service which is expensive and not very frequent.
Heathfield Detachment - Sussex ACF
Heathfield has an Army Cadet ForceArmy Cadet Force
The Army Cadet Force is a British youth organisation that offers progressive training in a multitude of the subjects from military training to adventurous training and first aid, at the same time as promoting achievement, discipline, and good citizenship, to boys and girls aged 12 to 18 and 9...
(ACF) Detachment)
Detachment (military)
A detachment is a military unit. It can either be detached from a larger unit for a specific function or be a permanent unit smaller than a battalion. The term is often used to refer to a unit that is assigned to a different base from the parent unit...
which is part of the Sussex ACF group. This detachment is based in the Youth Centre on the High street, and is affiliated to PWRR. The Detachment meets on Monday and Wednesday evenings from 19:30 to 21:30 each week.
Heathfield Silver Band
The Heathfield Silver Band is a silver band headquartered in Heathfield with a history dating back as far as 1880. The band has a large membership, with members spanning the ages of 9 to 80. Although women were not allowed to participate in years past, the band now accepts members regardless of gender.The rehearsal site on Alexandra Road in Heathfield was extended and refurbished following a steady increase in band membership. TV presenter David Dimbleby
David Dimbleby
David Dimbleby is a British BBC TV commentator and a presenter of current affairs and political programmes, most notably the BBC's flagship political show Question Time, and more recently, art, architectural history and history series...
officially opened the newly extended band room on 3 September 2005.
The Heathfield Silver Band plays at weddings, garden parties
Garden party
A garden party is a social gathering with food provided, in the open in a park or a garden. An event described as a garden party is usually more formal than other similar gatherings, which may be called just parties, picnics, barbecues, etc,...
, church functions, and fete
Fête
Fête is a French word meaning festival, celebration or party, which has passed into English as a label that may be given to certain events.-Description:It is widely used in England and Australia in the context of a village fête,...
s and regularly gives concerts. They are also a marching band
Marching band
Marching band is a physical activity in which a group of instrumental musicians generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments...
, taking part in the local bonfire
Bonfire
A bonfire is a controlled outdoor fire used for informal disposal of burnable waste material or as part of a celebration. Celebratory bonfires are typically designed to burn quickly and may be very large...
celebrations. During September they march in 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...
, 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...
, Mayfield, Lewes
Lewes
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...
, and East Hoathly carnivals, as well as marching on Remembrance Sunday
Remembrance Sunday
In the United Kingdom, 'Remembrance Sunday' is held on the second Sunday in November, which is the Sunday nearest to 11 November Armistice Day. It is the anniversary of the end of hostilities in the First World War at 11 a.m...
, St. George's Day, and Heathfield's Heffle Cuckoo Fair.