Thinking of a move to Wadhurst or one of the villages nearby? This corner of East Sussex has centuries of history behind it, and having let and sold houses and cottages here for more than 25 years, we’ve come to know it well. Here’s a bit of background on the village, its history and its community, whether you’re already local or just weighing up the move.
Area
Wadhurst is a historic market town within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The landscape retains its medieval character of small, irregular-shaped fields and scattered farmsteads, often grazed by sheep or Sussex cattle. Oak and sweet chestnut dominate the wooded, rolling hills, and streams run red from iron ore in the local rock.
History
The High Street follows the line of an ancient trackway connecting prehistoric and Roman ironworking sites and communities. This became the old drovers’ road and, in 1767, the turnpike around which the village grew. Henry III granted Wadhurst its charter in 1253, allowing it to hold a market every Saturday and a fair on 29 June, the feast of St Peter and St Paul.
Oak and iron shaped the character of Wadhurst. The village still has a working blacksmith and an old converted forge, grand ironmasters’ homes, and the Parish Church of St Peter & St Paul, home to the finest collection of iron memorial slabs in England, dating from 1617 to 1799, and a memorial to the fallen of both World Wars. In the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, Wadhurst, like many towns and villages in the Weald, had a thriving iron industry. Two of the large Georgian buildings on the High Street, Hill House and The Old Vicarage, were both ironmasters’ houses, along with several other large houses on the outskirts of the village.
Local oak was used to build great wooden warships at Chatham Dockyard. It’s said that oak from the Whiligh estate in Wadhurst forms the hammer-beam roof of Westminster Hall, commissioned in 1393 by King Richard II, and it was certainly used to rebuild the roof after it was bombed in the Second World War.
Wadhurst was also the location of the Last Great Prize Fight, on 10 December 1863, when Englishman Tom King beat the American John Heenan.
Random Fact
The name Wadhurst, Wadeherst in early records, is Anglo-Saxon, and most likely derives from Wada, believed to be the name of a Saxon tribe that occupied the area and began clearing the forests in the 7th or 8th century. An Anglo-Saxon manor known as Bivelham once lay between the parishes of Wadhurst and Mayfield.
Local Community
There are walking and running groups to join, along with a drama club for all ages. Close by is Bewl Water, the largest body of fresh water in the South East, with an active water sports and trout fishing centre.
With thanks to wadhurst-pc.gov.uk for reference.
Talk to Us
If you’re thinking of buying, selling or letting in Wadhurst, we’d be glad to help.