A BRIEF HISTORY OF ASHURST WOOD

Pre-History
The earliest fact known about Ashurst Wood is that Lewes Road - Hammerwood Road -Cansiron Lane has been a ridgeway track for animals and man for at least 5000 years.

Romans
The Romans left no visible remains in Ashurst Wood village, but there are many signs of the iron factory and tile works at the Holtye end of Cansiron Lane.

1066 and All That
By 1066 our area had been settled to the extent that we had a substantial farm group on either side of today's village; Brambletye to the south with its demesne farm, one large farmer and many smallholders; Shovelstrode to the north with a demesne farm, one large farmer and three smallholders.

Elizabethan Era
An era known as the 'Great Rebuilding' began during the Elizabethan period. Many of the substantial properties built here during that time still remain, albeit in much modified form. These include Grove Farm, Pock Hill, Great Surries, Great and Little Cansiron, Little Beeches (now sub-divided), Little Water, Homestall (Button Hall now added from Cheshire) and several others.

Civil War
Just before the Civil War in 1631 Brambletye House was built, a truly great house by any standard. Unfortunately it did not survive the perils of Oliver Cromwell and his men and by the end of that century was a ruin as you see it today.

18th Century
By 1725 the Three Crowns Inn or Public House appears in the records, although we do not know its precise age.

Victorian Times
It is only in the Victorian era that signs of a village as we know it appeared. Apart from more house building, the village gained a church, a school and another pub.
The church we now know as St. Dunstan's was originally built in 1859 as a Congregational church. The Church of England used the Mission Room built in 1884 (now a private dwelling) and only acquired the present building in 1977. It was rededicated in 1979.
The school opened in 1873 with 35 pupils and was situated in Hammerwood Road. Pupil numbers grew and in 1910 they moved to the site of the present school.
Records show that the recreation ground was used as a cricket ground as early as 1896, but football is not recorded until the I92o's.

20th Century
In the 2Oth century we gained the W.I. (1917), a war memorial (1921), the Village Centre (1930) and many more houses. In 1970 John Pears Field was dedicated as a memorial and has become a source of much enjoyment.

Source: Village Action Plan Spring 2007

See also: Ashurst Wood