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Wadhurst is a market town in East Sussex, England. It is the centre of the civil parish of Wadhurst, which also includes the hamlets of Cousley Wood and Tidebrook. Wadhurst is twinned with Aubers in France.
[edit] Situation
Wadhurst is situated on the Kent-Sussex border seven miles east of Crowborough and about seven miles south of Tunbridge Wells. Other nearby settlements include Ticehurst, Burwash, Mayfield and Heathfield in East Sussex, and Lamberhurst, Hawkhurst and Cranbrook in Kent.
Physically, Wadhurst lies on a high ridge of the Weald - a range of wooded hills running across Sussex and Kent between the North Downs and the South Downs. The reservoir of Bewl Water is nearby. The River Bewl, which is a sub-tributary of the River Medway, and the Limden rise within the civil parish of Wadhurst.
[edit] History
The name Wadhurst (Wadeherst in early records) is Anglo-Saxon and most probably derives from Wada which is believed to be the name of a Saxon tribe which occupied the area and began the clearing of the forests in the 7th or 8th century. There is an Anglo-Saxon manor known as Bivelham which lay between the parishes of Wadhurst and Mayfield.
Although Wadhurst was almost certainly in existence at the time of the Domesday survey in 1086, it was part of the Archbishop of Canterbury's land and was therefore not mentioned. The earliest record relating to the area is a reference in the Cartulary of Battle Abbey to "Snape in the parish of Wadhurst".
It was Henry III who granted Wadhurst its charter in 1253. This allowed Wadhurst to hold a market every Saturday and a fair on the feast of St Peter and St Paul, 29 June.
In the 16th, 17th & 18th centuries Wadhurst had a thriving iron industry. Two of the large Georgian buildings in the High Street, Hill House and The Old Vicarage, were both ironmasters houses, along with a number of other large houses on the outskirts of Wadhurst.
[edit] Buildings and People
Wadhurst is a small market town, and has kept a very good range of shops considering its size. It has a traditional butcher, baker, ironmonger, hairdresser, bank, post office, gift shop, several pubs and much more. Such a wide range of small traders and services is almost unique in the villages in the locality. The population of the ward was 5,075 during the 2001 Census.[2]
There are three buildings of particular architectural interest in the town itself, and a good range of old manor houses and farms nearby. The Church of St. Peter and St. Paul dominates the centre of the town. Wadhurst's heritage as a centre of the iron industry is shown by the many iron gravestones in the church. There are two early Georgian houses on the High Street, the Old Vicarage and Hill House. Also to mention is The Greyhound Public House which was built in the 16th century.
The rest of the town is in a variety of vernacular styles, dating from the 15th century onwards, though little in the centre of the town is very modern apart from a range of shops which replaced the Queens Head hotel, demolished in a jet crash in the 1950s.
The Victorian era saw the town expand towards the new railway station, about 1.5 miles north of the town. The station (the highest in southern England) is on the line from London Charing Cross to Hastings via Tunbridge Wells, and was opened in 1851 by the South Eastern Railway. The resulting expansion brought the hamlets of Sparrow's Green, Turners Green and Best Beech Hill into the town.
[edit] Wadhurst Today
Wadhurst is a prosperous town and an important centre for London commuters, although it is far enough from London not to feel completely like a dormitory town. Wadhurst has a number of amenities, including several cafes. It has active clubs and societies, and two primary schools, along with a secondary school (Uplands Community College) that performs fairly well in the league tables and in 2006 received a positive Ofsted report. As with much of south-east England, traffic has become a problem in recent years.
[edit] Wadhurst United F.C.
Wadhurst United F.C. is Wadhurst's local football team. They were established in 1890 and joined the Sussex County Football League Division Three in 2004. They left the league after the 2005–06 season. They have been placed in Division Two of the East Sussex Football League. They also have many junior teams of different ages. Wadhurst Football Club is based at the Recreation Ground, South View Road.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
(Source: Wikipedia) |