Forest Row Sussex - (The Kings hunting party)

Forest Row is a small village just south east of East Grinstead, which lies on the A22.

From the 1200's the Ashdown Forest was the Kings deer and wild boar hunting park, Forest Row was where the King's hunting lodges were built to accomodate the hunting parties. King Edward III was one of those monarchs who enjoyed the hunting, together with his son .

The first mansion built in the area was Brambletye in 1631 for the East Grinstead MP Sir Henry Compton. It was bought from Sir Henry by Sir James Richards however Sir James was accused of high treason and escaped to Spain in 1683. The stately home was allowed to deteriorate and today only the ruins stand to be seen abandoned in a field.

In the 1724 Kidbrooke Park was built for Lord Abergavenney when his main residence at Eridge Park was destroyed by fire. The parkland was laid out by Humphrey Repton a famous landscape gardener of the time.

In 1801 the Brighton to London mail coach was held up at gun point by the Beatson brothers. The highwaymen were convicted by the court at Horsham , and were brought back to the location of their crime and hanged on April 7th 1802 at midday watched by a crowd of about 3000 locals.

In 1866 a railway was built to link Forest Row firstly to East Grinstead and then extending to reach London and Tunbridge Wells by 1882. Forest Row had become the perfect place for the admirable countryside. By 1911 it had become a popular resort. Between the two World Wars it continued to be an attractive retirement resort, and now is a fine place to commute from.