Maresfield
Coordinates: 51°00′N 0°05′E / 51.00°N 0.09°E
| Maresfield | |
 Maresfield
Maresfield shown within East Sussex |
|
| Area | 26.3 km2 (10.2 sq mi) [1] |
|---|---|
| Population | 3,246 (Parish-2007)[1] |
| - Density | 320 /sq mi (120 /km2) |
| OS grid reference | TQ466240 |
| - London | 36 miles (58 km) NNW |
| District | Wealden |
| Shire county | East Sussex |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | UCKFIELD |
| Postcode district | TN22 |
| Dialling code | 01825 |
| Police | Sussex |
| Fire | East Sussex |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Wealden |
| Website | http://www.maresfieldparish.org.uk/ |
| List of places: UK • England • East Sussex | |
Maresfield is a village and civil parish[2] in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. The village itself lies 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north from Uckfield; the nearby villages of Nutley and Fairwarp; and the smaller settlements of Duddleswell and Horney Common; and parts of Ashdown Forest all lie within Maresfield parish.
Contents |
[edit] History
The name of the village derives from the Saxon word for marsh or pool. Iron has also played an important role in the history of the area, during the time when the Wealden iron industry was flourishing. Within 2 miles (3 km) of Maresfield Church in the 16th century were five iron furnaces: Oldlands, Hendall, Old Forge, Lower Marshalls and Maresfield (powder mills). The Levett family owned and worked Oldlands, and it probably controlled Hendall as well, before it passed into the hands of Ralph Hogge, who formerly worked for the Levett family.
Among families long resident in the Maresfield area with historic ties to the old iron industry were the families of Levett, Pope and Chaloner, who had intermarried. William Levett of Buxted, a vicar who was a prime mover behind the iron industry in the Weald, had ties to the Maresfield area during his tenure as an ironmaster and supplier of armaments to Henry VIII.[3] Eventually the vicar's former servant Ralph Hogge, who had become a major ironmaster after Levett's death, operated four furnaces and one or more forges within a couple of miles of Maresfield Church.
[edit] Governance
There are 14 members on the Maresfield Parish Council, which has its offices in Nutley.[4]
[edit] Geography
Maresfield is on the southern edge of Ashdown Forest which was a deer hunting reserve from the time of King Edward II of England. The village has expanded in the past twenty years, and three substantial housing developments have helped to increase the village population.[5]
[edit] Nutley
Nutley is a village[6] on the main road (A22) north of Maresfield. It has its own church, dedicated to St James the Less, although the benefice is combined with Maresfield.[7]
[edit] Fairwarp
Fairwarp is a smaller village directly north of Maresfield. Its population and the village properties are altogether less modern than the others in the parish.[8] The church is Christ Church.[9]
[edit] Landmarks
The Site of Special Scientific Interest Rock Wood falls within the parish. This woodland is of biological interest, with uncommon mosses and ferns growing alongside the stream which flows through the site.[10]
[edit] Transport
The parish lies at the junction of two main roads: the A22 Eastbourne road; and the A272 cross-country road, the main road being on a bypass to the west of the village.
[edit] Education
Maresfield has its own primary school in Bonners CE Primary School,[11] although some children travel to Manor Primary School in Uckfield. Secondary school children travel into Uckfield Community Technology College.
[edit] Religion
See also notes on Nutley and Fairwarp above
The parish church of Maresfield, a united benefice with Nutley, is dedicated to Christ.[12]
[edit] Amenities
At the centre of the village is the 17th century Chequers Inn.[13]
[edit] References
- ^ a b "East Sussex in Figures". East Sussex County Council. http://www.eastsussexinfigures.org.uk/webview/. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
- ^ Maresfield Parish Council: includes photographs, map and notes on the village
- ^ Sussex Archaeological Collections Relating to the History and Antiquities of the County, The Sussex Archaeological Society, George P. Bacon, Lewes, 1862
- ^ Parish council members
- ^ Maresfield Local Development Framework (LDF): a considerable amount of useful information about the village
- ^ Nutley village - also LDF
- ^ St James the Less church
- ^ Fairwarp village - also LDF
- ^ Fairwarp Christ Church
- ^ (PDF) SSSI Citation — Rock Wood. Natural England. http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1003127.pdf. Retrieved 2008-09-25.
- ^ Bonners Primary School
- ^ Maresfield & Nutley churches
- ^ Chequers Inn
[edit] Further reading
- The Queen's Gunstonemaker: An Account of Ralph Hogge, Elizabethan Ironmaster & Gunfounder, Edmund Teesdale, Lindel Publishing Company, Seaford, Sussex, 1984
[edit] External links
Media related to Maresfield at Wikimedia Commons
