Ashdown Forest
Ashdown Forest, from whence Ashdown Probus Club takes its name, is an ancient area of open heathland occupying the highest sandy ridge-top of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, its lowland heathland and deciduous woodland habitats are home to many rare and threatened species. Extending to approximately 10 square miles, it is situated some 30 miles south of London in the county of East Sussex. Rising to an elevation of 732 feet (223 m) above sea level, its heights provide expansive vistas across the heavily wooded hills of the Weald to the chalk escarpments of the North Downs and South Downs on the horizon.
Ashdown Forest has a rich archaeological heritage. It contains much evidence of prehistoric human activity, with the earliest evidence of human occupation dating back to 50,000 years ago. There are important Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Romano-British remains.
Ashdown Forest notably lacks any significant settlements within the large boundary defined by its medieval pale (the forest boundary fence). There are however a number of towns and villages situated on the edge of the forest. These include Nutley, Fairwarp, Danehill and Maresfield to the south west, Buxted and Uckfield to the south and Forest Row and Hartfield to the north. The town of Crowborough abuts the forest on its eastern side with Royal Tunbridge Wells a further 7 miles to the north east whilst the town of East Grinstead lies 3 miles to the north-west of the forest boundary – locations mentioned here as it is from these that Ashdown Probus Club attracts much of our membership.
Ashdown Forest is also famous as the magical landscape that inspired one of the world’s best loved children’s stories, the adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh. The iconic British character was created by A.A. Milne who lived on the edge of the forest and conjured stories inspired by explorations with his young son, Christopher Robin. The Hundred Acre Wood and Pooh Bridge are to be found close by.
Ashdown Forest’s origins lie as a medieval hunting forest created soon after the Norman Conquest of England. Thirty-four gates and hatches in the pale, still remembered in place names such as Chuck Hatch and Chelwood Gate, allowed local people to enter to graze their livestock, collect firewood, and cut heather and bracken for animal bedding. The forest continued to be used by the monarchy and nobility for hunting into Tudor times, including notably Henry VIII, who had a hunting lodge at Bolebroke Castle, Hartfield and who courted Anne Boleyn at nearby Hever Castle. At this time the forest was the centre of a nationally important iron industry when, in 1496, England’s first blast furnace was built at Newbridge, near Coleman’s Hatch, marking the beginning of Britain’s modern iron and steel industry.
In 1693, more than half the forest was taken into private hands, with the remainder set aside as common land. In 1988 Ashdown Forest was purchased by East Sussex County Council from William Herbrand Sackville, the 10th Earl de la Warr whose ancestral home was Buckhurst Park, Withyham. Today the forest is the largest area with open public access in South East England. The ecological importance of Ashdown Forest’s heathlands is reflected by its designation as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, as a Special Protection Area for birds, and as a Special Area of Conservation for its heathland habitats. It is part of the European Natura 2000 network as it hosts some of Europe’s most threatened species and habitats.
Crowborough
Crowborough, situated just south of Tunbridge Wells on the A26 has the largest population in inland East Sussex (21,688 in 2021) and at 794 ft (242 metres) above sea level is the highest town in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It borders the Ashdown Forest, a site of European significance for birds and heathland. The countryside around the town is a walkers’ paradise and there are also facilities nearby for horse riders, cyclists and rock climbers.
The town was really established in the 18th century after local benefactor Sir Henry Fermor bequeathed money for a church (All Saints) and charity school for the benefit of the “very ignorant and heathenish people”, as he described them in his 1732 will, who lived in Crowborough and Ashdown Forest. The town expanded with the arrival of the railways in 1868 and became a health and holiday centre – earning the soubriquet of Scotland in Sussex.
A heathland golf course – with magnificent views across Ashdown Forest and the south downs, a hospital and fire station were added between 1895 and 1905. Gradually the town grew to incorporate neighbouring Jarvis Brook, Poundfield, Whitehill, Stone Cross and Alderbrook, Sweet Haws and Steel Cross.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Crowborough’s most famous resident was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes and author of many novels written in the years he lived in the town.
His home between 1907 and his death in 1930 was Windlesham, Crowborough and he is commemorated by a statue standing at Crowborough Cross – the town’s main crossroads.
Other attractions that Crowborough can offer visitors include a country park, a thriving arts culture and various annual events including the Summer Fair, a Christmas Event, the traditional Bonfire Society carnival in September and the amazing annual fireworks event on 5th November annually.
