Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for HEATHFIELD

HEATHFIELD, a village and a parish in Hailsham district, Sussex. The village stands on a headstream of the river Cuckmere, adjacent to the line of projected railway from Hailsham to Tunbridge Wells, 6 miles SW of Ticehurst-Road r. station, and 8 N of Hailsham; has a post office‡ under Hurst-Green, a good inn, and a weekly market on Thursday; and gave the title of Baron to General Elliot, the defender of Gibraltar. The hamlet of Heathfield-Common is about a mile to the ENE, and also has a post office under Hurst-Green. The parish contains also the hamlets or places of Cade-Street, Punnetts-Town, Street-End, and Runtington. Acres, 7, 970. Real property, £8, 022. Pop. in 1851, 2, 208; in 1861, 1,892. Houses, 330. The property is subdivided; and the manor belongs to Earls Ashburnham, Chichester, and Delawarr. Heathfield Park belonged to the Dacres; passed to General Elliot, Lord Heathfield; was sold, by his successor, to Francis Newberry, Esq.; and is now the seat of Sir Charles W. Blunt, Bart. The house has been greatly altered; but the grounds, which are very fine and have noble views, contain a memorial of General Elliot in a tower, erected in honour of him by Mr. Newberry. The tower stands on a spot about 600 feet above sealevel; is a mark for the entire weald, in Kent and Sussex; and commands a prospect, over 40 churches, to a great extent of coast. Cade-Street, about ½ a mile N of the village, disputes with one or two other localities the claim of being the death place of Jack Cade. A very large iron furnace was formerly about a mile S of the village; produced cannon of high repute; and has left some traces. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Chichester. Value, £400.* Patron, the Bishop of Chichester. The church is ancient; consists of nave, aisles, chancel, and SE chapel, with tower and spire; and was partly rebuilt, partly restored, in 1860 and previous years. One act of the restoration had reference to the spire, which is about 60 feet high, and was 2¼ feet out of the perpendicular, and is supposed to have been so from the time of its erection about 500 years before; and this act consisted in bringing it to the perpendicular, without taking it down, and was successfully performed. There are chapels for Independents and Baptists, and a national school.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a village and a parish"   (ADL Feature Type: "populated places")
Administrative units: Heathfield AP/CP       Hailsham RegD/PLU       Sussex AncC
Place: Heathfield

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