History
Medieval Robertsbridge was granted a market charter in the 13th century, [4] and quickly became prosperous. The Seven Stars dates from this era of early prosperity. The earliest surviving building in the village is only 10 years older. [5]
Folk history surrounding the building has rumoured that Charles II is said to have been confined there for a time [6] [7] during his escape from England following the Battle of Worcester. This is unlikely as Charles eventually escaped by ship from Shoreham, having travelled from the west.
Smugglers
Robertsbridge was within the area controlled by the Hawkhurst Gang, a criminal organisation involved in smuggling between 1735 and 1749. [8] [9] [10] John Amos, a prominent member of the gang, lived in the village. The gang's influence extended from Kent to Dorset and they operated freely enough to use as many as 500 pack-horses to carry contraband, raiding a government customs house [11] to recover captured goods. [12] Robertsbridge itself was the site of a famous ambush. Thirty smugglers assembled, fortified with alcohol, and ambushed a wagon-load of seized contraband tea on Silver Hill, killing a customs officer in the process. [8]
Member of Parliament Horace Walpole reported a miserable journey that ended at Robertsbridge in one of his letters to Richard Bentley, dated 5 August 1752. [13] Arriving in "Rotherbridge" after passing Silver Hill, they found only one available bed, "all the rest were inhabited by smugglers".
Hawkhurst is village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. The village is located close to the border with East Sussex, around 12 miles (19 km) south-east of Royal Tunbridge Wells and within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Burwash, archaically known as Burghersh, is a rural village and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England. Situated in the High Weald of Sussex some 15 miles (24 km) inland from the port of Hastings, it is located five miles (8 km) south-west of Hurst Green, on the A265 road, and on the River Dudwell, a tributary of the River Rother. In an area steeped in history, some nine miles (14 km) to the south-east lies Battle Abbey and eight miles (13 km) to the east is Bodiam Castle.
Robertsbridge is a village in the civil parish of Salehurst and Robertsbridge, and the Rother district of East Sussex, England. It is approximately 10 miles (16 km) north of Hastings and 13 miles (21 km) south-east of Royal Tunbridge Wells. The River Rother passes through the village.
The Sussex Bonfire Societies are responsible for the series of bonfire festivals concentrated on central and eastern Sussex, with further festivals in parts of Surrey and Kent from September to November each year.
Hurst Green is a village and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England, and is located south of the East Sussex / Kent border at Flimwell.
Hooe is both a small village and a civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex; the village being located about two miles (3 km) north-west of Bexhill, and north of the A259 coast road, on the B2095 road from Ninfield. The parish name takes account of local usage, and the location of the parish church; in fact the main population centre is to the north, and is called Hooe Common.
Alfriston is a village and civil parish in the East Sussex district of Wealden, England. The village lies in the valley of the River Cuckmere, about four miles (6 km) north-east of Seaford and south of the main A27 trunk road and part of the large area of Polegate. The parish had a population of 829 at the 2011 census.
Mayfield and Five Ashes is a civil parish in the High Weald of East Sussex, England. The two villages making up the principal part of the parish lie on the A267 road between Royal Tunbridge Wells and Eastbourne: Mayfield, the larger of the two villages is ten miles (16 km) south of Royal Tunbridge Wells; with Five Ashes being 2.5 miles (4 km) further south.
Frant is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England, on the Kentish border about three miles (5 km) south of Royal Tunbridge Wells.
Parham Park is an Elizabethan house and estate in the civil parish of Parham, west of the village of Cootham, and between Storrington and Pulborough, West Sussex, South East England. The estate was originally owned by the Monastery of Westminster and granted to Robert Palmer by King Henry VIII in 1540.
Nutley is a village in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. It lies about 5 mi (8.0 km) north-west of Uckfield, the main road being the A22. Nutley, Fairwarp and Maresfield together form the Maresfield civil parish.
The Hawkhurst Gang was a notorious criminal organisation involved in smuggling throughout southeast England from 1735 until 1749. One of the more infamous gangs of the early 18th century, they extended their influence from Hawkhurst, their base in Kent, along the South coast, to Dorset, where they successfully raided the customs house at Poole. After they were defeated in a battle with the Goudhurst militia in 1747, two of their leaders, Arthur Gray and Thomas Kingsmill, were executed in 1748 and 1749.
Stopham is a hamlet and civil parish in the District of Chichester in West Sussex, England, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of Pulborough on the A283 road. It is in the civil parish of Fittleworth.
The Hawkhurst branch line was a short railway line in Kent that connected Hawkhurst, Cranbrook, Goudhurst and Horsmonden with the town of Paddock Wood and the South Eastern and Medway Valley lines, a distance of 11 miles 24 chains.
Fitznells Manor is the last surviving manor house in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England. It is a Grade II listed building.
Shover's Green Baptist Chapel is a former Strict Baptist place of worship in the hamlet of Shover's Green in East Sussex, England. Shover's Green is in Wealden, one of six local government districts in the English county of East Sussex, and stands on the road between the market town of Wadhurst and the village of Ticehurst in the neighbouring district of Rother. Founded by Strict Baptists from nearby Burwash in 1816, the chapel—one of three Baptist places of worship in Wadhurst parish—continued to serve the community until the 1970s, when it was sold for conversion to a house. Its design is similar to that of the nearby Rehoboth Chapel at Pell Green. The chapel is protected as a Grade II Listed building.
The Mermaid Inn is a Grade II* listed historical inn located on Mermaid Street in the ancient town of Rye, East Sussex, southeastern England. One of the best-known inns in southeast England, it was established in the 12th century and has a long, turbulent history. The current building dates from 1420 and has 16th-century additions in the Tudor style, but cellars built in 1156 survive. The inn has a strong connection with the notorious Hawkhurst Gang of smugglers, who used it in the 1730s and 1740s as one of their strongholds: Rye was a thriving port during this period. Some of the smugglers, their mistresses and other characters are reported to haunt the inn.
Sir Cecil Bishopp, 6th Baronet, later Bisshopp, was a British politician. He succeeded to the title of 6th Baronet Bishopp, of Parham, co. Sussex on 25 October 1725. He was Member of Parliament for Penryn between 1727 and 1734, having been returned unopposed on the interest of the Boscawen family into which he had married. He also represented Boroughbridge between 1755 and 1768. He married Hon. Anne Boscawen, daughter of Hugh Boscawen, 1st Viscount Falmouth and Charlotte Godfrey, in 1726. In addition to Parham Park, Sussex he was also the owner of a house at 11 Berkeley Square, London which Horace Walpole purchased from Bisshopp's heirs in 1779 and in which Walpole lived until he died there in 1797. Sir Cecil died on 15 June 1778 at the age of 77.
Cripps Corner is a village in the civil parish of Ewhurst and the Rother district of East Sussex, England. It is in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and on a southern ridge of the valley of the River Rother which flows through Bodiam, 2.5 miles (4 km) to the north of Cripps Corner.
Thomas Kingsmill was one of the leaders of the notorious Hawkhurst Gang of smugglers that operated, from its base in Kent, along the South Coast of England from 1735 until 1749. One of the more infamous gangs of the early 18th century, they extended their influence from Hawkhurst, their base in Kent, along the South coast, to Dorset.
