In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Heathfield like this:
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.
Heathfield through time
Heathfield is now part of Wealden district. Click here for graphs and data of how Wealden has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Heathfield itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Heathfield, in Wealden and Sussex | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/8593
Date accessed: 04th May 2024
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