Ashdown Forest, Sussex
Historical Description
Ashdown Forest, an ancient forest, now a heathland, midway between East Grinstead and Uckfield, Sussex. It lies within the manor of Maresfield, extending into five parishes. It once was fenced, covered with wood, and stocked with deer; but was laid open during the civil war in the time of Charles I., and allowed to be desolated. Most of its timber was consumed as fuel in the iron furnaces which formerly abounded in the neighbourhood; and only a few trees, scattered and on the lower grounds, now remain. The general surface is bare and wild, cut with ravines and glens, or rising into heights which command extensive views. The manor, with the forest, belonged to the honour of Pevensey; was given, among other lands, in lieu of Richmond Castle, to John of Gaunt, and took then the name of Lancaster Great Park; passed at the Restoration to the Earl of Bristol, and is now divided among various proprietors.
Maps
Online maps of Ashdown Forest are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Sussex newspapers online: