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Buxted in East Sussex

Google map showing area surrounding Buxted
(The first Iron Cannon in England)
Location: 50.989429,0.132351
General Details
Buxted Sussex - The villageThe village of Buxted in East Sussex lies on the A272 Heathfield to Uckfield road. The name of the village derives from Bloc Stede meaning the stand of beeches(A beech wood) In 1331 the export of unwashed wool was prohibited by King Edward III. He encouraged weavers from Flanders to settle in England. They brought their weaving and dying techniques to England, and at Buxted , they produced silk materials.

The cannon making industry in the Weald started at a furnace on the stream at Hoggets Farm lying to the north between Buxted and Hadlow Down .

The first cannon cast in east sussex was in 1543 at the furnace by Ralf Hogge(Huggett), and is immortalised by a small rhyme.

Master Huggett and his man John
they did cast the first cannon.

John was in fact a French cannon making expert whose name was Peter Baude and it is believed that his family were buried at Wartling on the Pevensey Marshes.

The area became rich from the iron industry, and the village benefited from supplying the forges and furnaces in the area.

On June 22nd 1557 during the reign of Queen Mary, Richard Woodman from Warbleton was burned to death with nine other martyrs in front of the Star Inn at Lewes , Richard was born in Buxted .

When the iron industry in the south east collapsed in the early 1800's the village reverted to its rural roots.

In 1831 the Swing Riots the last peasant revolt in the UK, created by low wages and poor conditions, erupted in Buxted but soon ended.

In the early 1800's Lord Liverpool, the Prime Minister, purchased Buxted Park, and wished to make the park bigger to enclose the village, and then remove it. His plans worked, as he didn't repair any of the houses in the village, and eventually the villagers left, and all the buildings except for the church of St Margaret were demolished by 1836. The villagers moved about 1 mile away to the current location. Queen Victoria visited Buxted Park in 1845 together with her family.

With the coming of the London to Lewes railway in the late 1800's , many of the farms in the area converted to the production of hops.

The current church of St Marys was built in the late 1800's and opened in October 1884, it is of unusual flint construction, more in line with the churches of the South Downs rather than the sandstone churches nearby.
Views
Buxted East Sussex - St Mary the VirginThe area is a very pretty rural area, with the best views being found to the south, down the narrow winding sussex lanes. These are magnificent in spring when the trees are covered in leaves.
Services
Buxted East Sussex - St Margaret the QueenBuxted in East Sussex is a small village with a few local services, its main shopping centre can be found at Uckfield a few miles south.

Trains pass through the village and stop at the station, providing a frequent service to Lewes and London.
Frequent services to Lewes?? I'm afraid the last train from Buxted to Lewes was almost forty years ago. The Buxted railway is but a single track branch line which ends at the next stop, Uckfield. The line from Uckfield to Lewes fell victim to the axe of Dr Beeching in the 1960's
Many thanks to Jan Luthman for this correction
Busses pass through the village from Heathfield to Maresfield .
Map
Buxted is shown as the red symbol on the map.

Nearby Villages

(click on symbol to see the village page)
Village= Town= Recorded in Domesday=
Blackboys (Charcoal and Soot)2.17 miles
Broad Oak (Smallpox at the Academy)6.81 miles
Cade Street (Jack Cade and the Kentish rebellion)6.82 miles
Cross in Hand (The Crusaders Assembly)4.15 miles
Fairwarp (Charcoal and the Army)2.74 miles
Five Ashes (Vast collection of rock plants)3.94 miles
Fletching (Simon de Montfort and Jack Cade)
4.32 miles
Framfield (380 years without a church tower)1.74 miles
Hadlow Down (Wealden Cannons and Charcoal)2.30 miles
Heathfield (19th Century Natural Gas)
5.66 miles
Horam (Which Station do we get off at ?)6.21 miles
Isfield (Simon de Montfort and the Lavender Line)4.80 miles
Maresfield (Soldiers and Iron)2.04 miles
Mayfield (Saint Dunstan and the Devil)
6.09 miles
Newick (Killer Cricket and Dirk Bogarde)5.24 miles
Nutley (Edward III and the Post Mill)
4.47 miles
Piltdown (The Piltdown Man hoax)3.48 miles
Rotherfield (Source of the rivers Rother and Uck)
5.47 miles
Sheffield Park (Capability Brown and the Bluebell Line)5.44 miles
Uckfield (Traction Engine destroys bridge)2.26 miles
Vines Cross (Cannons and Doodlebugs)6.89 miles
Waldron (Fullers Earth)
4.07 miles
Copyright Villagenet 1998-2024
 
Local Interest
Just click an image
Roman, Saxon and Norman History of the South East
Rye Museum
World War 2 Vehicle database
Battle Museum of Local History
(Hard to find but worth the Visit)
Wealden Iron Research Group
Winchelsea Museum
Hastings Area Archaeological Research Group
The Rudes as lots of people call us, are an outdoor touring theatre company specialising in taking new & original theatre to mainly small rural communities and a few towns across the South of England. We were founded in 1998 & first toured in the Summer of 1999. Currently we tour only in the summer performing 50+ times nightly during June, July & August. https://therudemechanicaltheatre.co.uk
Bexhill Museum
For all things mosaic, commissions workshops etc please contact Hannah
Battle and District Historical Society
Wadhurst History Society