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Views Wood - a History

Introduction, Boundaries and Size Views Wood, a 100 acre ancient, semi-natural woodland found between Uckfield and Buxted in East Sussex (64 acres owned and managed by the Woodland Trust) demonstrates good evidence of a past as a working woodland, servicing industries and past-times found in pre-21st century East Sussex. The wood has survived largely, though not completely, intact from its 19th century size. Figures 1 to 5 are maps of Views Wood in chronological order (dates on top of each map). The major loss to the wood came in the 60's when nearby Uckfield Place and some of Views Wood was developed for the Manor Park Estate. The fact that it remained the same size for so long indicates that up until recent times it always had a valid economic use. WT1 on figure 5 also shows a boundary which went further to the south and west, more proof that the southern most portion has been lost. Most of Views Wood remained as part of the Buxted Estate until 1979 when it was sold to a private buyer. Some was reported to have been sold off in lots in 1931 and these may have been the parts that were developed in the 1960's. In 1985 Wealden District Council decided not to develop it for housing but gave it a grant and with another from a Hugh Williams the Woodland Trust were able to buy 64 acres. Views Wood survival is mainly due to two things, being part of a large private estate until recently and its history as a sustainably managed coppiced woodland. Views Wood has been a coppiced woodland for centuries, providing timber for various uses. The two major ones are timber for charcoal production for the Wealden iron industry and timber for poles for the Sussex hop industry. Coppicing is a sustainable method of timber production and woodland management. Woodland that has been coppiced regenerates. All native deciduous trees, apart from beech, can be cut down at the base and will regenerate multiple stems. Different trees have different uses and take different amounts of time to regenerate. Although part of the massive wild forest of Andred (which stretched through Surrey, West Sussex and East Sussex) up until the emergence of Buxted Estate in the 9th century, Views Wood is likely to have been coppiced since Roman times.

Ownership While being documented as woodland from the 1600's it has been part of the Buxted Estate since the 9th century. Buxted is from the Saxon words 'Boc' and 'Stede' meaning place of the beeches. It is probable that the Archbishop of Canterbury owned it until the dissolution initiated by Henry VIII but it was leased to various owners.

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These are : Thomas Marinis - 1279 Roger Marynes - Lord of Buxted 1298 Sir Galfredus de Saye 1352 Sir John de Falvesley (time of Richard II) Sir John de Clynton 1397 Sir William Heron 1403 Sir William Clynton 1432 Richard Lewknor (time of Henry VII) John Hedney Thomas Walleys and the Walleys 1523 to 1620 Richard and Edward Amherst 1620 Edward and Mary Lindsays 1621 Stephen Penkhurst 1646 Humphrey Fowle Esq 1711 The Medleys - 1722 to 1796 including : Edward Medley - Barrister 1741 Thomas Medley Esq - a rich wine merchant who traded in Portugal. Also MP for Seaford and East Grinstead. He knocked down the old mansion and rebuilt it. Sir George Shuckburgh 1797 to 1804 Julia Evelyn-Medley who married Charles Cecil-Cope Jenkinson, Earl of Liverpool, a British Prime Minister who owned it in 1840 and was responsible for moving the village from its position in front of Buxted Place to its present location. 1804 to 1851 Lady Catherine Jenkinson and Colonel Harcourt 1851 to 1880 Mary Portman 1880 to 1899 Hon Henry Berkeley Portman 1899 to 1923 Hon Claud Berkely Portman 1923 to 1929 Basil Ionides - Architect 1931

Historical uses of Views Wood

Pre-Roman The separate woodlands we know today in East Sussex were once part of a vast forest wilderness called Andredeswald or Andred (Celtic word meaning untrodden spot) which stretched from West Sussex to Surrey to East Sussex. This forest was still considered almost impenetrable in the 8th century and had not been subject to the massive forest clearance carried out on the Downs and other richer land. For example by 1000BC fifty per cent of the wild wood in Britain had been cleared, and by 500BC all the chalk uplands had been cleared. However that does not mean people were not living and working in the forest.

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Iron has been made in the Weald since iron age times and probably before. At that time wrought iron was made in a bloomery heath. Alternate layers of iron ore and charcoal were piled in a mound and covered with clay. Bellows were inserted to heat up the fire and waste cinder tapped off. The plastic, malleable iron was collected at the bottom and hammered into a solid mass called a bloom, then extended by hammer into bars. Iron age people carried out open cast quarrying to extract the ironstone used in iron smelting. Woods such as Views Wood provided wood to make charcoal, iron stone for iron ore and water to cool the tools down. In Views Wood there is a irregular square and an irregular hollow which could be evidence of ironstone extraction (see WT8 and WT9 figure 5).

Roman Pieces of soapy pottery (iron cinder was used to make pottery) and burnt flint have been found as well as the remains of a corn drying kiln (identified 1967) just to the edge of Views Wood, indicating some kind of Romano-British settlement. As in pre-Roman times mining for the iron stone was done in open cast quarries of which the remains of a quarry (Q1 figure 6) plus the irregular hollow and square (WT8 and could show evidence. There is also a Roman forge at Oadlands, Buxted, and Roman coins have been found there. The Romans tended to carry on iron production from already existing Celtic sites as constant sources of iron were needed for the vast weaponry used by their armies. The slag and cinder by-products were used to make the base of Roman roads such as the London to Lewes Roman road which goes through Piltdown. To begin with, when timber was very plentiful, timber for charcoal for the bloomeries would not have been produced from coppicing but from straightforward forest clearance. However by Roman times it was thought advantageous to renewably supply timber for all purposes, including charcoal for iron production. The Romans were experienced coppicers and would have set up the practise in England. As probable evidence of Roman activity has been found in Views Wood they probably coppiced there too. During the Roman period thousands of acres of coppice was brought under management. The Weald was one of the centres of the Roman iron industry.

Post Roman and medieval times By this time open cast quarrying had changed to 5m wide, 12m deep minepits which were then backfilled to prevent damage to the woodland. No evidence of them has

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been found in Views Wood which would indicate iron production had stopped once the Romans left. However by Norman times and medieval times iron was being produced again. The Sherriff of Sussex in 1253 was asked for 30,000 horseshoes and 60,000 nails to supply Henry III WT3, an old 5 metre wide, 2 metre deep Hollow-way, (see figure 5) is marked on a 1790 map and is aligned on a modern map with a ridgeway linking High Hurstwood to Uckfield. It certainly predates 1790. This old track in Views Wood is probably a droveway used by the Saxons and medieval people to drive pigs and cows through the wood. They were brought down to forage in the rich woodlands in spring and summer before returning to settlements near the Downs when the weather got worse. The fact that Buxted estate was set up in the 9th century indicates the area was being used more. In 1279 a deerpark was established around the old manor, the site of which is now obscured by one of the lakes. At that time Views Wood was exploited through coppicing to provide a variety of timber products such as hazel for baskets, hurdle, wattles and peasticks, plus other coppiced wood for thatch, wattle, charcoal and poles. WT1 and 2 (figure 7) show internal boundaries, most likely from this period, relating to the areas of coppicing. WT 4 and 6 (figure 5) show old woodsmen tracks which may well have originated at this time. When reflecting on how intensively Views Wood was used it is important to remember that Buxted village was located right by the current Buxted Place, as was an ancient field system. Views Wood would have been the nearest wood to exploit. The site of the old village, which was moved by the Earl of Liverpool, is now a scheduled ancient monument.

The iron boom, 15th,16th,17th and 18th centuries In the 15th century a new iron making process was devised in the Namur region of France, spread to the Pays de Bray region in Normandy and then to the Weald in Sussex. This was the blast furnace. Blast furnaces were revolutionary because much larger pieces of iron could be cast. The furnaces were bigger and fed at the top. Water power was used to crush the ore and work the bellows. The temperature got hotter and molten iron came out. This was turned into cast iron. The first blast furnace and finery forge was introduced at Queenstock between Hadlow Down and Buxted in 1490. The Buxted area, including Views Wood, was ideal because it contained all the raw materials for iron production, timber for charcoal ( a lot more was needed ), fuel to break down the ironstone before smelting, ironstone in the claybeds, and water to run the water wheels which powered the bellows. What happened in Buxted in 1490 was equivalent to the first dot.com company in the internet boom of the early 90's . Views Wood and Buxted were a little like Silicon Valley in California but instead of clean expanses of light industry the area would have been a hive of relatively heavy industry, smoking with the fires of charcoal prodution, furnaces and forges, and ringing with the sounds of hammers and axes.

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Woodland providing charcoal for this revolutionary new process would have been found within a three mile radius of land which was one quarter to one third wooded. Charcoal could not travel a very long way on rough tracks as it disintegrated. Views Wood main use would have been to produce the timber to make charcoal for the iron industry. Cutting the timber for the charcoal was very labour intensive and employed a lot of people so Views Wood would have been a busy place at that time . The woodsmen tracks WT4 and WT6 (see figure 5) could have been used for this purpose. The charcoal would have been made within the wood. There are archeological remains of sawpits (figure 8, S1 and S2 ) and charcoal burners platforms (figure 6, CB1, 2 and 3) in Views Wood, good evidence that charcoal was made there. The best coppiced timber for charcoal making was birch, hornbeam and oak. Views Wood would have been predominantly oak at that time. Today the wood is predominantly sweet chestnut. This is because many sweet chestnut plantations were established in the 19th century to provide poles for the thriving hop industry. The iron industry boomed in East Sussex during the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries and a lot of people became very rich. A fascinating example and someone who probably used Views Wood charcoal for his highly successful ironworks at Hoggetts Farm between Buxted and Hadlow Down, was Ralf Hogg. Having worked for maverick, technological whizz vicar of Buxted, William Levett, a man of such prominence that Henry VIIIs Archbishop Thomas Cranmer temporarily removed him from post, Hogg cast the first iron cannon in a blast furnace in1543, precipitating Britains global domination through technogical innovation and plentiful weaponry. At the time of Hogg Henry VIIIs wars were providing an eager market for armaments and the Weald became a centre for armament production. Ralf Hogg went on to become a gentleman and built Hogg House in Buxted in 1583 which has a wonderful rebus of a hog over the front door. Plenty of names in the area show how dominant the industry was at one time. William Figgs 1812 map of Buxted Place shows Kiln Field and Kiln Plott at Hog House Farm, Buxted, Furnace Wood and Furnace Banks at Old Hendalls Farm, Buxted, Five Chimneys at Buxted Wood Farm and Kiln Field at Sleeches Farm, Buxted. A hollow in a hillside at Buxted Park is also thought to be a flooded mineral extraction pit. The whole village of Buxted was moved and the area relandscaped in the 18th century so lot of the evidence of iron production has disappeared. Iron production in the Weald reached its peak in 1620 and then went into a slow decline although most of the bar iron up until the 18th century and most British cannon until 1770 was made in the Weald. The decline came when coke replaced charcoal and Swedish iron ore replace Wealden.

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When reflecting on this boom period for the Weald and intensive use of woodlands like Views Wood it is also interesting to dwell upon the social and demographic changes it brought about. A large group of 'ordinary' men became rich because of their role as an ironmaster, the manager of a forge. Combined with the fairly isolated surroundings they found themselves in this could lead to some original thinking. One of the Lewes martyrs burnt at the stake on 22 June 1557 for refusing to give up the new religious thinking was Richard Woodman, an ironmaster originally born in Buxted. He may well have walked in Views Wood.

19th century and 20th century Since Roman times ale was brewed from fermented malt in houses and inns but by the 15th century hops were added to give flavour and this became the drink, bitter. Hops began to be grown in Kent and by 1700 commercial breweries had replaced homemade ale. By 1840 there were 50,000 breweries in rapidly expanding London and there was a huge demand for hops. An ordnance survey map of 1910 also shows a brewery in Uckfield. Kent and East Sussex became the centre for hop growing. Evidence for this are the oast houses where the hops were dried and the fact that hops still grow wild in the hedgerows, plus old maps showing hop fields. Round Views Wood were numerous hop gardens from the 18th century and on. With the coming of the London to Lewes railway in the 1800's many farms in the area converted to hops and hop fields were located right next to Views Wood. William Figgs map of Buxted Place in 1812 shows hop gardens at Old Hendalls Farm, Buxted Wood Farm and Sleeches Farm and figure 3, the 1874 OS map clearly shows hop fields right next to Views Wood. In the Buxted area there were 140 acres producing hops in 1833 but this was down to 22 by 1927. In Sussex the gardens tended to be small and found in sheltered valleys which is very much the case around Views Wood. In 1724 there were 11,854 acres growing hops in the south east, in 1835 37,963 and by 1878 there were 63,079. Views Wood, like many woodlands in the southeast at this time, was planted up with a sweet chestnut plantation to provide posts from which wire frameworks were suspended and hops were grown up an attached string. The chestnut was harvested on a 12 to 18 year cycle. The gardens were maintained by skilled workers on stilts and it became common for thousands of East Enders to come down and pick hops. They recorded the number of bins they had picked with specially produced tokens, unique to the hop growing area, some with beautiful pictures on them. They all lived in special hoppers hut and the experience was very much a holiday for them.

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Once picked the hops were dried in specially designed oast houses. The fires to dry them were originally powered by charcoal before the 19th century but this changed to coke in the 19th century. The charcoal could have come from Views Wood. The fires were tended by oasties who were highly skilled. Mr Jim Green (81) born and bred in Uckfield, worked on one of the last hop farms in the 1950's at Hempstead Farm, an ancient farm found on old maps of the area (see figures 3 and 4 which show the farm). He started work on the farm when he left the navy in 1954 and worked there until 1956 when he joined the post office. The farm was mainly a pig farm, producing Denys bacon, named after the owner Mr Denys, but it grew seasonal hops in the fields now occupied by the rugby club pitches. From maps (figures 2 and 3) it is clear that these fields had been hop fields for a long time. Mr Green did all sorts of work on the farm but also tended to the hops under the guidance of Cecil Chapman who was in charge of the hop growing section. "One of my jobs was to spray the hops. I remember getting the water out of the river and mixing up the stuff and spraying them. A bit later on the locals would come up and pick them for about two weeks. You got all sorts from the town, lots of young ladies, old people and families and my wife and her friends. It was a bit like a little family, everybody chatting and joking." Mr Green recollected how the pickers put their hops into holders and then they were poured into bushel bags. "Cecils wife did the measuring. People were paid per bushel. Then we used to drive the lorry down Browns lane and tip the bushels into the lorry. The bushels were taken to the big barn where they were spread out on the top floor and Cecil tended to them night and day, drying them out with big heaters underneath the floor." From Mr Greens memory Cecil was very skilled at hop production. As well as being an 'oastie" someone responsible for drying the hops, he was also skilled at stringing the hops by using a long pole with a hook on it, although he never wore stilts. "Once the hops were dried they were put through a hole in the floor and pressed into sacks called pokes. After that they were taken away but I don't know where they went." Mr Green also remembers hop picking from an earlier time. "In the 30's when I was a little boy my dad, who ran a shop in Church Street, used to rig up a box on wheels. My brother and I would pull it along and sell sweets and cigarettes to the hop pickers."

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Mr Green was sad to see the hop industry in Uckfield fold, although he likes Hempsteads Farm new use as a horse rescue centre. "It was always part of the year, something people got together for." Another use for Views Wood was rearing pheasants for the shoot at Buxted Place. Census records from 1881 show a George Wickens, Gamekeeper, age 55 from Rotherfield, living in Views Wood. 10 years later in 1891 he had been succeeded by Edward Hunter, age 37 from Norfolk, who lived in the wood with a wife and nine children! Remains have also been found in the wood of keepers bothies and a possible venison store. On the 1910 map it is possible to see a dwelling in Views Wood as well as a lodge at the beginning on the west side. Views Wood also contained an icehouse for Buxted Place, as can be seen on William Figgs 1812 map. Other local industries which used products from Views Wood included the local tanning industry, which required oak bark for its processes. The bark from oak standards was used for the tanning industry at the Tanyard on Framfield Road where the hammering was done on an 8ft whalebone until 1884. A photo is enclosed of Tanyard Farm, Buxted (figure 7) dated 1906 when its function as a tannery had probably ceased as the census recorded no tanners living there. Views Wood at the beginning of the twentieth century seems to have changed little in size and content but around the edge things were changing. By 1910 a pumping station and waterworks has appeared near Hempstead Mill and on the other side of the wood a reservoir appears. Although the hop industry was on the decline in the 20th century another use for the sweet chestnut was for a new chestnut fencing technique from France where cleft palings were joined by galvanised wire. Mr Knowlton of Buxted plied this trade in 1929 and a photo of local fence production can be seen in figure 8. By the second world war Views Wood appears to no longer be economically viable. Coppicing is very labour intensive and there were no markets for the coppiced timber. Significantly there was an attempt to sell it off in lots in the 30's and what was left of it, after a portion was built on in the 60's, was nearly developed for housing in the 80's. Woodland management was neglected leading to an invasion of choking shrubs like rhodedendrun and laurel, and the 1987 storm only helped to encourage their spread. Some conifer planting post World War II further suppressed the flora and fauna which had been encouraged by regular coppicing over the centuries. However there were some surprising survivors like the colony of wild daffodils, although these do not grow in the area owned by the Woodland Trust.

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Summary, further ideas for research and time involved Today Views Wood has a new use, that of a woodland used by the local community for leisure purposes and enjoyment of nature. It lies on the edge of a sizable town and so provides recreational opportunities for many people. As in former days it provided a route to Buxted Park and beyond so the opportunities for extending walks are many and varied (see figure 9, a view of Views Wood from 1908). As this report shows the wood and local area is steeped in history and there are many opportunities for further research which should result in more data and information relating to the wood itself. One route to follow is researching the various owners of Buxted Park who also owned Views Wood. During my research I came across a record of a map of Buxted Park and surrounding lands commissioned by Stephen Penkhurst in the 1600's but the Sussex Records Office have so far been unable to locate it. However once found this could provide important information. For example Views Wood seems a fairly contemporary name and by looking at old maps it is clear that woodland names do change. Figure 1, the 1795 map of Buxted, has no name recorded for Views Wood. If Views Wood was known under another name then this would make further research easier. Another area which could throw up more information about the wood is the local hop growing industry from its start sometime in the late 17th century to its demise in the 1950's. The early oasthouses used charcoal to dry the hops out and this may have been supplied by Views Wood. Hop poles were definitely being produced and by doing further research into the gamekeeping activities that went on in the wood, mention of coppicing and its products may come up. The fence making cottage industry in Buxted is also one that needs more research. More research into Views Wood use as a place to rear pheasants would also be interesting, particularly as it was a key use of the wood and one that is important in woodlands today, although not in Views Wood. It would be very interesting to find out when this use started and when and why it finished. Another idea to follow would be to accurately date the various archaeological remains in the wood as it would pinpoint exactly when activities like charcoal making and mining were taking place. This could be done with the help of local groups like the Sussex Archaeological Society. Certainly the Sussex iron industry is an area of local importance and heritage which is bizarrely underplayed in Sussex today. An interesting future project for the friends of Views Wood, if the archaeological remains are more accurately identified, is to put together a trail which incorporates the key functions of the iron industry, including coppicing, charcoal making and mining in Views Wood and iron smelting and forging in the nearby area. Charcoal hearths and sawpits could even be recreated.

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Finally to try and gather more 'memories' of the wood and its surrounds would be a great project. There must be more old people who remember the old days and interviewing them, perhaps through groups like the WI, old peoples groups and local historical societies, must be possible. It is very hard to predict how long this research would take. It is probably more a question of deciding a budget, prioritising an area and getting as much done as possible within those parameters. Whatever the decision there is no doubt the outcome will be very interesting. Bella Waters May 2011

Bibliography and information sources Bridging the Gap - a wood between two parishes – Dawn Harker 1999 Archaeological survey – David Brown 2010 Archaeological and Historic Landscape Resource of Views Wood and Buxted Park The Domesday Book Wealden Iron –Earnest Straker 1931 History of Sussex – Mark Antony Lower 1870 History of Lewes by Horsfield - 1827 Wealden Iron Research Group - www.wealdeniron.org.uk Felbridge and District History Group - www.felbridge.org.uk www.the sussexweald.org www.sussexpast.co.uk www.theweald.org the National Archives Access to Archives www.nationalarchives.gov.uk Sussex County Records Office Sussex Archaeological Society Uckfield and District Preservation Society The High Weald Group - www. highweald.org Wikipedia www.pastfinder.org.uk www.surreyhillcharcoal.co.uk www.devonwildlifetrust.org www.coppice.co.uk www.infobritain.co.uk www.forestry.gov.uk www.ukagriculture.com www.gloucestershirewildlife.trust www.woodlandtrust.org.uk www.lookback and remember.co.uk www.buxtedvillage.org.uk www.timetravel-britain.com www.summerhilloast.co.uk www.tokensociety.org.uk

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www.homesufficiency.com www.english-nature.org.uk www.transitionculture.org www.bodgersandbadger.co.uk

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Figure 1. 1795 map

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Figure 2. 1847 map

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Figure 3. 1874 map

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Figure 4. modern day

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Figure 4a. modern day

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Figure 5. archeological features

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Figure 5. archeological features table 1

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Figure 5. archeological features table 2

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Figure 6. archaeological features found on site - David Brown 2010

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Figure 6. table 1 – list of featured – David Brown 2010

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Figure 7. 1910 Tanyard Farm, Buxted

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Figure 8. Fence making near Buxted c.1929

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Figure 9. Views Wood leading to Buxted Park 1906