Newmarket Hill, Sussex
Encyclopedia
Newmarket Hill is situated in the parish of Kingston near Lewes
. It is located midway, within walking distance, between two of the most important population centres in Sussex, Brighton
and Lewes
.
, and its southern slopes are in the parish of Rottingdean
. It is 200m (656 feet) high, and is the highest hill in the area, with a prominence of 105m. It has therefore been classified as a Hump.
of Newmarket Hill is that of a bedrock of upper chalk
, partially overlain by clay-with-flints
.
ceremonial axe head was found. An ancient route passed over the hill from Brighton
to Lewes
which was presumed to have been used in Roman
times. A small hoard
of Roman coins is recorded as having been found adjacent to it on or near the hilltop (TQ363070). The route is known as Juggs Road (otherwise known as Juggs Lane, or Juggs Way), after the Brighton fishwives who transported their fish for the market in Lewes by donkey in either baskeks or earthenware jugs.
. Large military reviews and sham fights for the spectacle of the general public were often held on the Downs beyond the Brighton Racecourse
during the following 100 years. Newmarket Hill, the highest hill in its vicinity, is often mentioned as being involved in such mock battles.
On one occasion in 1797, with the Prince of Wales
in attendance on Newmarket Hill, a giant water-spout defeated the whole army and soaked the spectators. It was the exact shape of an inverted church steeple.
In 1810, again with the Prince of Wales and many other individuals from high society in attendance, some 10,000 troops were watched by 30,000 spectators in the vicinity of Newmarket Hill. This was at a time when Brighton had a population of only about 10,000 people , and the nearby county town of Lewes, less than 3,000.
With the later advent of railways, in 1862 19,000 troops were able to be involved in the Battle of White Hawk Down. One of the purposes of this exercise was to evaluate the use of rail transport as an aid for troop movements. The railway network successfully transported that day over 132,000 troops and other passengers for the occasion. Again, Newmarket Hill was a strategic point in this exercise.
and moles
. By this means he taught himself astronomy, French, Latin, Hebrew, mathematics, and European history. Thus it was that he was soon able to become a school teacher in Lewes.
It was occupied for a little over a hundred years until its requisition in 1942 by the military authorities. All of the surrounding downland between Woodingdean and Kingston near Lewes was similarly requisitioned for military exercises, which resulted its destruction and subsequent demolition by the end of the war.
Kingston near Lewes
Kingston near Lewes is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book and is located two miles south of Lewes on the slopes of the South Downs....
. It is located midway, within walking distance, between two of the most important population centres in Sussex, Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
and 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...
.
Geography
Whilst the top of Newmarket Hill is in the parish of Kingston near Lewes, its northern slopes are in the parish of FalmerFalmer
Falmer is a small village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England, lying between Brighton and Lewes, approximately five miles north-east of the former. It is also the site for Brighton & Hove Albion's new stadium....
, and its southern slopes are in the parish of Rottingdean
Rottingdean
Rottingdean is a coastal village next to the town of Brighton and technically within the city of Brighton and Hove, in East Sussex, on the south coast of England...
. It is 200m (656 feet) high, and is the highest hill in the area, with a prominence of 105m. It has therefore been classified as a Hump.
Geology
The geologyGeology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
of Newmarket Hill is that of a bedrock of upper chalk
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
, partially overlain by clay-with-flints
Clay-with-Flints
In geology, Clay-with-Flints was the name given by W. Whitaker in 1861 to a peculiar deposit of stiff red, brown or yellow clay containing unworn whole flints as well as angular shattered fragments, also with a variable admixture of rounded flint, quartz, quartzite and other pebbles...
.
Prehistory
In 1976 half of a polished NeolithicNeolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
ceremonial axe head was found. An ancient route passed over the hill from Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
to 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...
which was presumed to have been used in Roman
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
times. A small hoard
Hoard
In archaeology, a hoard is a collection of valuable objects or artifacts, sometimes purposely buried in the ground. This would usually be with the intention of later recovery by the hoarder; hoarders sometimes died before retrieving the hoard, and these surviving hoards may be uncovered by...
of Roman coins is recorded as having been found adjacent to it on or near the hilltop (TQ363070). The route is known as Juggs Road (otherwise known as Juggs Lane, or Juggs Way), after the Brighton fishwives who transported their fish for the market in Lewes by donkey in either baskeks or earthenware jugs.
Military Reviews and Sham Fights
When the Brighton Pavillion became a Royal residence in 1783, troops were stationed in BrightonBrighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
. Large military reviews and sham fights for the spectacle of the general public were often held on the Downs beyond the Brighton Racecourse
Brighton Racecourse
Brighton Racecourse is a horse racing course at Brighton, East Sussex in England, for flat races of up to about one and a half miles. The course is one of three courses in Britain which is not a circuit and forms a figure like three sides of a square, sloping, with wide left-hand turns and an...
during the following 100 years. Newmarket Hill, the highest hill in its vicinity, is often mentioned as being involved in such mock battles.
On one occasion in 1797, with the Prince of Wales
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
in attendance on Newmarket Hill, a giant water-spout defeated the whole army and soaked the spectators. It was the exact shape of an inverted church steeple.
In 1810, again with the Prince of Wales and many other individuals from high society in attendance, some 10,000 troops were watched by 30,000 spectators in the vicinity of Newmarket Hill. This was at a time when Brighton had a population of only about 10,000 people , and the nearby county town of Lewes, less than 3,000.
With the later advent of railways, in 1862 19,000 troops were able to be involved in the Battle of White Hawk Down. One of the purposes of this exercise was to evaluate the use of rail transport as an aid for troop movements. The railway network successfully transported that day over 132,000 troops and other passengers for the occasion. Again, Newmarket Hill was a strategic point in this exercise.
John Dudeney
John Dudeney (his surname was pronounced like the word scrutiny) was one of Sussex's most famous shepherds. He tended the Kingston flock of 1,400 sheep on Newmarket Hill from 1799 to 1802. It was here that he dug himself a library out of the chalk for his books which he bought with money from catching wheatearsWheatear
The wheatears are passerine birds of the genus Oenanthe. They were formerly considered to be members of the thrush family Turdidae, but are now more commonly placed in the flycatcher family Muscicapidae...
and moles
Mole (animal)
Moles are small cylindrical mammals adapted to a subterranean lifestyle. They have velvety fur; tiny or invisible ears and eyes; and short, powerful limbs with large paws oriented for digging. The term is especially and most properly used for the true moles, those of the Talpidae family in the...
. By this means he taught himself astronomy, French, Latin, Hebrew, mathematics, and European history. Thus it was that he was soon able to become a school teacher in Lewes.
Newmarket Farm
In about 1830, at or shortly before the Kingston Enclosures, a farm labourers cottage and barn was built, "at the northern crest of the hill, a cattle fold, with barn and outbuildings, and a cottage for a labourer to attend to the stock. The cottage is an unusually substantial and comfortable house, built of flint and surrounded by a little patch of garden land.It was occupied for a little over a hundred years until its requisition in 1942 by the military authorities. All of the surrounding downland between Woodingdean and Kingston near Lewes was similarly requisitioned for military exercises, which resulted its destruction and subsequent demolition by the end of the war.
Walks
There are many walks that have been described:- The South Downs WaySouth Downs WayThe South Downs Way is a long distance footpath and bridleway running along the South Downs in southern England, and is one of 15 National Trails in England and Wales...
- EastbourneEastbourneEastbourne 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...
, Newmarket Hill, WinchesterWinchesterWinchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...
- 160 km (99 miles) - A walk to visit Newmarket Hill - LewesLewesLewes 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...
, Newmarket Hill, BalmerBalmer-People:* Edwin Balmer , American science fiction writer* Florian Balmer , independent software developer living in Switzerland* Jack Balmer , English football player...
, Lewes - 20.07 km - WalkingWorld.com - Lewes, Breaky Bottom, Undercliff Walk, Brighton MarinaBrighton MarinaBrighton Marina is an artificial marina situated in Brighton, England. The construction of the marina itself took place between 1971 and 1979, although developments within it have continued ever since. The marina covers an area of approximately...
- 12 miles - Peter Lovett's ramblings - WoodingdeanWoodingdeanWoodingdean is an eastern suburb of the city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, separated from the main part of the city by downland and the Brighton Racecourse.-Source of name:...
, BalsdeanBalsdeanBalsdean is a deserted hamlet in a remote downland valley east of Brighton, East Sussex, England, on record since about 1100. It was formerly a chapelry of the parish of Rottingdean, and its territory touched that of the mother parish only at a single point...
, Newmarket Hill, Woodingdean - 6 miles - Woodingdean Circular - Woodingdean, Newmarket Hill, South Downs Way, Balsdean, Woodingdean - 7 miles