Cowbeech is a small village in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

Herstmonceux Herstmonceux ( , ; ) is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England, which includes Herstmonceux Castle. The Herstmonceux Medieval Festival is held annually in August. History The name comes from Anglo-Saxon ...

in the Wealden district of

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...

, England. Its nearest town is

Hailsham Hailsham is a town, a civil parish and the administrative centre of the Wealden district of East Sussex, England.OS Explorer map Eastbourne and Beachy Head Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Dat ...

, which lies approximately south-west from the village.

The village

The village has a pub with 16th Century origins, The Merrie Harriers. It is also home to the Cowbeech Bonfire Society, a Charitable Trust which organises a series of events each year to raise funds for local causes. These events include, among others, the village show (called Dig for Victory) and a pantomime in addition to the annual bonfire which gives the Society its name.

History

The name Cowbeech was first recorded in 1261 as ''Coppetebeche'', referring to a ‘capped’ or pollarded beech tree, also recorded as ''Kopped(e)beche'' in 1296 and 1316. This was then shortened over the years to ''Coppebeche'' (recorded in 1517 and 1534), ''Cobbeach'' (recorded in 1622) and then to ''Cobeech'' (recorded in 1724), before taking its contemporary form of Cowbeech. The village was once a site of Wealden iron production. Cowbeech Forge (otherwise known as Crawle or Cralle Forge) stood alongside Hammer Lane, close to where it intersects with the Cuckmere River and produced iron between 1559 and 1693. In 1653 the forge was casting shot for the Office of Ordnance. Before 1826, when the village pub was renamed ''The Merry Harriers'', it was known at different times as ''The Old House'' or ''The Cow''. A conveyance document from 3 October 1417 transfers lands and tenements at Cowbeech in Wartling (Coppedebeche, Wortlynghe) from Thomas de Hoo, knight to Thomas Huchon of Uckfield (Ukkefeld), to Thomas Werm for the rent of a red rose at midsummer for Thomas’ life. This document makes reference to Stephen Synderford, William Stodenne, and Richard Stodenne whose family names live on in the Cowbeech area today as Cinderford Lane and Studdens Lane.

Notable people

Lord Shawcross Hartley William Shawcross, Baron Shawcross, (4 February 1902 – 10 July 2003), known from 1945 to 1959 as Sir Hartley Shawcross, was an English barrister and Labour politician who served as the lead British prosecutor at the Nuremberg War Cri ...

, Britain's Chief Prosecutor at the Nuremberg war crimes trials of 1945–46, lived at Cowbeech in the latter part of his life.

Elsie Bowerman Elsie Edith Bowerman (18 December 1889 – 18 October 1973) was a British lawyer, suffragette, political activist, and RMS ''Titanic'' survivor. Early life Elsie Edith Bowerman was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, the only daughter of Willi ...

, first woman barrister to appear at the Old Bailey,

suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...

and RMS ''Titanic'' survivor, moved to a house at Cowbeech Hill following the death of her mother and lived there until her own death in 1973. The Merrie Harriers inn was once owned by

Sir James Duke, 1st Baronet Sir James Duke, 1st Baronet (31 January 1792 – 28 May 1873) was a British Liberal Party politician. He was Lord Mayor of London in 1848–1849, and sat in the House of Commons from 1837 to 1865. Born in Montrose, he was elected at the 1837 ...

, British

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

politician who was

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powe ...

in 1848–1849.

References

External links

The Merrie Harriers website

The Cowbeech Bonfire Society Facebook page

The Cowbeech Bonfire Society website
Villages in East Sussex Herstmonceux {{EastSussex-geo-stub