Heathfield is a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

in the

Wealden District Wealden is a local government district in East Sussex, England. Its council is based in Hailsham. The district's name comes from the Weald, the remnant forest which was once unbroken and occupies much of the centre and north of the area. History ...

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. The town had a population of 7,732 in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

. With neighbouring Waldron, it forms the civil parish of the

Heathfield and Waldron Heathfield and Waldron is a civil parish within the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. Heathfield is surrounded by the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Governance The civil parish council has twenty one elected members rep ...

, which had a population of 11,913 in 2011.

Location

Heathfield lies near the junction of two main roads: the A267 between

Royal Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. ...

and

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...

; and the A265 from

Hawkhurst 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 south-east of Royal Tunbridge Wells and within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Nat ...

. It is almost equidistant from Tunbridge Wells and Eastbourne: approximately 16 mi (26 km).

History

Historically, Heathfield lay on an ancient

trackway Historic roads (historic trails in USA and Canada) are paths or routes that have historical importance due to their use over a period of time. Examples exist from prehistoric times until the early 20th century. They include ancient trackway ...

(The Ridgeway), connecting the

South Downs The South Downs are a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the east. ...

with the

Weald The Weald () is an area of South East England between the parallel chalk escarpments of the North and the South Downs. It crosses the counties of Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex and Kent. It has three separate parts: the sandstone "High Weald" in the ...

. Its market charter was granted in February 1316 during the reign of

Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to t ...

. The Wealden

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

brought prosperity to the town during the 16th and the 17th centuries. The coming of the railway (the

Cuckoo Line The Cuckoo Line is an informal name for the now defunct railway service which linked Polegate and Eridge in East Sussex, England, from 1880 to 1968. It was nicknamed the Cuckoo Line by drivers, from a tradition observed at the annual fair at ...

) in 1880 gave it another new lease of life. The latter was not a financial success/ and the branch line between

Eridge Rotherfield is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. It is one of the largest parishes in East Sussex. There are three villages in the parish: Rotherfield, Mark Cross and Eridge. The River Rother, which ...

and

Polegate Polegate is a town and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England, United Kingdom.OS Explorer map Eastbourne and Beachy Head Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It ...

closed in 1968. The trackbed is now named the

Cuckoo Trail The Cuckoo Trail is a footpath and cycleway which runs from Hampden Park to Heathfield in East Sussex. It passes through the towns of Polegate and Hailsham, as well as the villages of Hellingly and Horam. History The Trail largely foll ...

, part of the

National Cycle Network The National Cycle Network (NCN) is the national cycling route network of the United Kingdom, which was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout Britain, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the cha ...

. The original village, Old Heathfield, is now only part of the town, which has expanded over time.

Crime

The crime rates in Heathfield were lower than the national average:

Landmarks

The parish church in Heathfield is dedicated to All Saints: an example of a Harmer

terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based ceramic glaze, unglazed or glazed ceramic where the pottery firing, fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, a ...

decorated gravestone is in the churchyard. The town is the home of Heathfield Park Cricket Club, formed in 1878, and enjoying one of the most scenic positions of any cricket ground in Sussex. Braylsham Castle - geograph

The nearby mansion of

Heathfield Park Heathfield Park is an English country house and walled park in the village of Old Heathfield in East Sussex. History Originally called Bayley Park, the mansion was begun by James Plummer in 1677 and continued by Raymond Blackmore in the early ...

dates from the seventeenth century. In a corner of the estate stands a memorial named the Gibraltar Tower. To the north-east, on the edge of the parish, Braylsham Castle is a modern house begun in 1993 using traditional materials and building techniques, built in imitation of a moated medieval manor house, complete with working drawbridge. Approximately one mile from the town is the

Heathfield transmitting station The Heathfield transmitting station is a facility for FM and television transmission at Heathfield, East Sussex, UK (grid reference TQ566220). Opened in 1969, its antenna mast is a tall guyed structure, giving the transmitter a height of above ...

, a 145 m high mast (135 m to the bottom of the antenna shroud) which broadcasts TV and radio signals to East and West Sussex, as well as parts of south Kent.

Culture

The town holds an annual

fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Types Variations of fairs incl ...

named the Heffle Cuckoo Fair each April, the annua
Heathfield show
takes place each May in the summer. Heathfield is the home of

Heathfield Community College Heathfield Community College is a secondary school near the market town of Heathfield, East Sussex, England. School Enrollment The college draws its students from a large geographical area. There are currently over 1200 students on roll, with ...

, several primary schools in the area and 2 pre-Schools. Opposite the college is a leisure centre. There is an Anglo/French market called Le Marché held every year on the

August Bank Holiday A bank holiday is a national public holiday in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and the Crown Dependencies. The term refers to all public holidays in the United Kingdom, be they set out in statute, declared by royal proclamation or held ...

and a fair that visits during the summer. There is a fairly large football field and beside it a little playground. At Cross-in-Hand there is a rugby club for adults and children.

Heathfield Detachment - Sussex Army Cadet Force

Heathfield has an army cadet force detachment that is part of the Sussex Army Cadet Force group. This detachment is based in the Youth Centre on High Street, and is affiliated to

Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

. The Detachment meets on Monday and Wednesday evenings from 19:00 to 21:30 each week.

Heathfield Silver Band

The Heathfield Silver Band is a

silver band In Britain, a brass band (known regionally as a silver band or colliery band) is a musical ensemble comprising a standardized range of brass and percussion instruments. The modern form of the brass band in the United Kingdom dates back to the 1 ...

headquartered in Heathfield with a history dating back as far as 1880. The band has a large membership, with members spanning the ages of 9 to 80. Although women were not allowed to participate in years past, the band now accepts members regardless of gender. The rehearsal site on Alexandra Road in Heathfield was extended and refurbished following a steady increase in band membership. TV presenter

David Dimbleby David Dimbleby (born 28 October 1938) is an English journalist and former presenter of current affairs and political programmes, best known for having presented the BBC topical debate programme ''Question Time''. He is the son of broadcaster R ...

officially opened the newly extended band room on 3 September 2005. The Heathfield Silver Band plays at weddings,

garden parties A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...

, church functions, and fetes and regularly gives concerts. They are also a

marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands wear a uniform, ofte ...

, taking part in the local

bonfire A bonfire is a large and controlled outdoor fire, used either for informal disposal of burnable waste material or as part of a celebration. Etymology The earliest recorded uses of the word date back to the late 15th century, with the Catho ...

celebrations. During September–November they march in

Uckfield Uckfield () is a town in the Wealden District of East Sussex in South East England. The town is on the River Uck, one of the tributaries of the River Ouse, on the southern edge of the Weald. Etymology 'Uckfield', first recorded in writing as ...

Crowborough Crowborough is a town and civil parish in East Sussex, England, in the Weald at the edge of Ashdown Forest in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, 7 miles (11 km) south-west of Royal Tunbridge Wells and 33 miles (53 ...

, Mayfield,

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...

, and East Hoathly carnivals, as well as for their hometown Heathfield & District Bonfire Society. They also march on

Remembrance Sunday Remembrance Sunday is held in the United Kingdom as a day to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts. It is held on the second Sunday in Nov ...

St. George's Day Saint George's Day is the Calendar of saints, feast day of Saint George, celebrated by Christian churches, countries, and cities of which he is the Patronages of Saint George, patron saint, including Bulgaria, England, Georgia (country), Georgi ...

, and at Heathfield's Heffle Cuckoo Fair.

Heathfield & District Bonfire Society

Reformed in 2018 by a group of local enthusiasts (Founders Steve Thomas, Dave Shoebridge, Thomas Keep, Rachel Keep, Ken Brewster and Halina Keep), HDBS aims to enhance the sense of community in their town and surrounding area by holding the traditional celebration of bonfire and torchlight procession and joining in the annual season of events around Sussex representing Heathfield & District at other societies

events. HDBS is a non-profit organisation so any surplus money goes back into the community to help local charities and groups. 2019 was the first official HDBS Bonfire Night in 62 years to the day, bringing bonfire back to Heathfield. HDBS hopes to put on more bonfire nights for the community and are looking forward to building on and creating more connections with local organisations, businesses & schools in Heathfield.

Notable people

Famous residents include Olympic gold medallist

Jayne Torvill Jayne Torvill, OBE (born 7 October 1957) is a British professional ice dancer and former competitor. With Christopher Dean, she won a gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics and a bronze medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics, becoming one of the ...

, England rugby international

Joe Marler Joseph William George Marler (born 7 July 1990) is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a prop for Harlequins in the Premiership. He is also one of the hosts of The Joe Marler Show podcast with Tom Fordyce. Background Marl ...

, former ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' actor

Tom Baker Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is well known for his portrayal of the Fourth Doctor, fourth incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Wh ...

, guitarist

Fred Frith Jeremy Webster "Fred" Frith (born 17 February 1949) is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser. Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock ...

, musician and singer-songwriter

Mark Hollis Mark David Hollis (4 January 1955 – February 2019) was an English musician and singer-songwriter. He achieved commercial success and critical acclaim in the 1980s and 1990s as the co-founder, lead singer and principal songwriter of the band ...

, national badminton player Heather Olver and singer-songwriter

Rag'n'Bone Man Rory Charles Graham (born 29 January 1985), better known as Rag'n'Bone Man, is an English singer and songwriter. He is known for his deep baritone voice. His first hit single, "Human", was released in 2016, and his debut album of the same nam ...

References

External links

A page about George Augustus Eliott (Baron Heathfield)
*
Heathfield and Waldron Parish Council

Heathfield Silver Band

Heathfield & District Bonfire Society
{{authority control Towns in East Sussex Market towns in East Sussex Former civil parishes in East Sussex Wealden District