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Coordinates: 51°02'N 0°13'E? / ?51.04, 0.22
Rotherfield is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. It is one of the largest parishes in East Sussex. There are three villages in the parish: Rotherfield, Mark Cross, and Eridge.
[edit] Etymology
The name Rotherfield derives from the Anglo-Saxon redrefeld meaning cattle lands.
[edit] History
There are written records of Rotherfield in the 8th century; it was also included in the Domesday Book and in various other medieval documents[2]. In Tudor times three of the inhabitants were burned at the stake for their religious beliefs[3]
In the 18th century, the road through the village became part of the Turnpike Trust road between Tunbridge Wells and Lewes. Until 1880, when a new ecclesiastical parish was formed, Crowborough was also part of the parish; in 1905 the latter also became a civil parish in its own right.
[edit] Governance
The Parish Council consists of thirteen members, three representing the Eridge and Mark Cross ward and ten representing the Rotherfield Ward.[4]
[edit] Geography
Rotherfield parish lies to the south of Tunbridge Wells in the High Weald, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Rotherfield has been designated as a conservation area because of the quality of the buildings, including the Grade 1 listed St. Denys church.
[edit] The villages
[edit] Rotherfield
Cottages in the main street
Rotherfield was originally a Saxon settlement in an area generally covered with oak forest. The church stands at the top of a hill, and was then surrounded by cleared land. The areas nearest to the valley bottoms, where water was available, were farmed. Rotherfield became a royal hunting estate in the times of Kings Alfred the Great, Athelstan and William Rufus.
[edit] Mark Cross
Mark Cross[5] is located to the east of Rotherfield, at the junction of the A267 and B2100 Lamberhurst to Crowborough road. There is a house converted windmill in the village.
[edit] Eridge
Eridge is a small village sitting high on a sandstone ridge on the border of East Sussex and Kent in England. It commands many far reaching views across the Kent and Sussex countryside. Although the village is in East Sussex, it has a Kent postal address. It is located on the A26 between Tunbridge Wells (Kent) and Crowborough (East Sussex).
The name Eridge derives from the term "Eagles Ridge"[citation needed]. It is located north of Rotherfield, and also contains the ecclesiastical parish of Eridge Green. Formed on 5 February 1856 out of the parts of the parishes of Frant, Rotherfield, Eridge Park and Eridge Castle—the latter being the seat of the Marquess of Abergavenny.
In 1792 the Henry Nevill, 2nd Earl of Abergavenny converted the old Eridge House into a Gothic castle, which he named Eridge Castle. It was replaced by a Neo-Georgian mansion in the 1930s. The area also contains several follies, including the Saxonbury Tower and several ornamental buildings near the Sham Farm business park.
Eridge has one of several sandstone outcrops in the area used for climbing.
[edit] Railway
Eridge railway station used to be the junction for a crosscountry railway to Hailsham Polegate, and Eastbourne.At present it serves Southern railway services between Uckfield,Edenbridge,Oxted,East Croydon and London. The preserved Spa Valley Railway is hoping to reconnect services from Eridge to Tunbridge Wells in the near future.
[edit] Education
There are three schools in the parish: Rotherfield Primary School, located in North Street;[6]; Mark Cross CE Primary School [7]; and the Jamahat-ul-Islamyah special school, also in Mark Cross.
[edit] Religion
There are six churches in Rotherfield parish: Rotherfield’s 11th century parish church is dedicated to St Denys [8]. A timber church was first built on the site in 792 AD; and the present sandstone church occupies the same site: the original church is believed to have been under the north east corner of the current building, in the area now known as the Nevill chapel. The Nevill family were lords of the manor from 1450. The building was extended at various times, with the last major alteration being the addition of the tower, porch and spire in the 15th century. The original spire was destroyed by a storm in October 1987 and reconstructed using a steel frame raised to the roof by helicopter. Construction of the tower meant that a new porch and entrance had to be constructed on the north side of the nave, to replace the west door obstructed by the tower. A new west door was also built.
Also in Rotherfield are the Methodist Chapel; the Providence Chapel (Strict Baptist); and the Roman Catholic Church dedicated to St Peter, Prince of Apostles [9].
The church in Mark Cross is dedicated to St Mark; that at Eridge Green, Holy Trinity.
[edit] Transport
The A267 road between Tunbridge Wells and Eastbourne passes through the parish.
The one railway station still operating in the parish is at Eridge, on the Uckfield branch of the Oxted Line. The parish used to be served by Rotherfield & Mark Cross railway station on the so-called “Cuckoo Line” which closed in 1968: the line has now been developed as the long-distance footpath, the Cuckoo Trail. The preserved Spa Valley Railway is hoping to reconnect services from Eridge to Tunbridge Wells in the near future.
[edit] Leisure, Culture and Sport
In the Eridge area is one of several local sandstone outcrops used for climbing.[10]
It has two pubs; in Rotherfield, The Cats Inn and The Kings Arms; in Mark Cross, The Mark Cross Inn[11]; and in Eridge, The Huntsman and the Nevill Crest and Gun.
[edit] Notable residents
- Richard Jefferies (1848–1912), writer, lived briefly at Rehoboth Villa (now Brook View House), Jarvis Brook, Rotherfield.[12]
- Sophia Jex-Blake (1840–1912), one of the first women doctors, lived in Mark Cross: she is buried in Rotherfield graveyard.
[edit] References
- , a b East Sussex in Figures. East Sussex County Council. Retrieved on 2008-04-26.
- , Historical notes about Rotherfield: The Weald of Kent, Surrey and Sussex
- , Rotherfield Countryside: history notes
- , Parish Council
- , The Mark Cross Village Website
- , Rotherfield Primary School
- , Mark Cross CE Primary School
- , St Denys church
- , Rotherfield churches
- , Eridge Climbing guide
- , Mark Cross Inn
- , A. Rossabi, "(John) Richard Jefferies (1848-1887)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford: OUP, 2004).
(Source: Wikipedia) |