Walks

On the Trail of the Polished Axe

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The earliest settlement in Sussex was on the chalk soils of the South Downs which were the easiest to work and farm in the county. The subsequent use of much of the downland as sheep pasture has tended to avoid the destruction of such remains by farming that is more modern. This short walk illustrates the range of remains that can be found within a small area.

Yeoman and Capons

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The Buckhurst Terrier was not a small Tudor dog, but a survey of land (in Latin “terra”) in the Withyham and Hartfield area made for Lord Buckhurst in 1598. Four hundred years later much of the landscape remains unchanged and can be explored on this walk around the beautiful Medway Valley concentrating on the individual farmers’ holdings and their strange rents.

A Vision of Hell

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“A Vision of Hell” would not be most people’s description of the area east of Mayfield today. However, in Tudor times this area was the iron-making, industrial capital of England, with the night sky lit up by the flames of furnaces and the glow of molten iron, accompanied by the turning of waterwheels and the blows of hammers. Today’s walk looks at the raw materials which led to the establishment of this industry and concludes at one of the ironmaking sites.

All at Sea

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Prior to the Norman Conquest, the area now known as the Pevensey Levels, was a part of the sea, at least at high tide. Today the Pevensey Levels are now a wetland of international importance. This walk moves from the historic coastline at Pevensey towards two former islands with the majority of the walk having once literally been “all at sea”.

The Defence of the Realm

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Although the exact line of the coast has moved through time, this coastline has been at the forefront of every invasion threat to England from Roman times to World War II. It is also the landing place of one invasion which did succeed – that of William the (soon to be) Conqueror who landed at Pevensey on 28 September 1066. This walk looks at what is left of these defences of varying ages and styles.

Mansions and Parks

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The Buckhurst Terrier was not a small Tudor dog, but a survey of land (in Latin “terra”) in the Withyham and Hartfield area made for Lord Buckhurst in 1598. Four hundred years later much of the landscape remains unchanged and can be explored on this walk around the beautiful Medway Valley taking in the family’s castle, mansion and hunting park.

The Village in the Middle

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The buckle badge of the Pelham family can be seen at many locations on this walk around Laughton and Halland. The family gradually appropriated huge areas of land for their two mansions and their associated hunting parks, which meant the poor villagers of Laughton found themselves being squeezed into an ever smaller space between the two Pelham estates.

Pelhams, Parks and Poachers

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The buckle badge of the Pelham family can be seen at many locations on this walk around Laughton and Halland. The walk takes in two of the family’s many mansions, various hunting parks (the poachers of which got very short shrift) and briefly touches upon the attempted assassination of Sir Thomas Pelham by a one-eyed assassin.

The Tower in the Marsh

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The buckle badge of the Pelham family can be seen at many locations on this walk around Laughton and Halland. The family gradually appropriated huge areas of land for their two mansions and their associated hunting parks, which meant the poor villagers of Laughton found themselves being squeezed into an ever smaller space between the two Pelham estates.

The Lords and the Yeoman

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The Neville/Abergavenny family dominates the history of the northern end of Rotherfield parish. Each house in the estate village of Eridge carries the family coat of arms, whilst surrounding the family home of Eridge Castle is one of England’s biggest and oldest deer parks. However, this park was continually “looked down upon” at its eastern end by the independent yeoman and small craftsmen of the hilltop village of Frant. This walk enables you to literally see both sides of this divide.