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The Ashdown Forest Explorer
Originally a deer hunting forest in Norman times,
Ashdown Forest, in the county of East Sussex some
30 miles to the south of London is now the largest
free public access space in the South East. It is a
great place for walking and enjoying spectacular
views over the Sussex countryside and is known
the world over as the “home” of Winnie-the-Pooh.
The Forest is at the heart of the High Weald Area
of Outstanding Natural Beauty, perched on the
highest of the sandy ridges which means sudden
and rather marvellous views as you explore by
coach. The Forest has national and international
protection because of its wildlife. Nearly two thirds
of its 6500 acres are heathland, amounting to 2.5%
of the UK's extent of this rare habitat.
By 1283 the forest was fenced in by a 23 mile
pale
enclosing an area of some 20 square miles. The
pale
was an earth bank about five feet high topped
by an oak paling fence with a deep ditch on the
forest side so that deer could enter but not leave.
There were 34
gates
and
hatches
in the pale and
they are marked today in place names such as
Chuck Hatch and Chelwood Gate. The gates
allowed local people with Rights of Common to
enter to graze their livestock, collect firewood and
cut heather and bracken for animal bedding.
Today there are still 730 Commoners of Ashdown
Forest who enjoy specific Rights of Common over
Ashdown Forest although very few take advantage of
their grazing (pasture) and wood-cutting rights
(estovers). When back in 1965 Commoners were forced
by Act of Parliament to re-register their Rights roughly
half didn't bother and their properties ceased forever to
enjoy common rights. Because of this it is possible to
have a row of identical cottages, some with common
rights and some without. Historically commoners were
not necessarily "common" people; they were simply
people whose landholdings had Rights of Common on
the Forest attached to them. In practice they ranged from
lowly tenants and small, subsistence farm-holders just
scraping a living off the Forest to major landowners of
high social standing. Past commoners included the Duke
of Norfolk and the 3rd Earl of Sheffield.
Ashdown Forest's iron industry flourished when the
Weald was the main iron-producing region of Britain,
first in the Roman period and later in the Tudor period.
Iron working requires large amounts of wood to make
charcoal and iron ore. Ashdown Forest had both in
abundance and an additional advantage was that the
deep, steep-sided valleys (known locally as ghylls) could
be dammed to provide water to power the furnaces and
forges. Even grave markers were made of iron for a
while although some were pinched from the churchyards
to be used as fire backs in local houses, only being
returned a century or so later. You can see an example
of a iron grave marker showing signs of fire place wear
and tear in East Grinstead church.