Location
50°59'N
0°10'E
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Hadlow Down
(Wealden Cannons and Charcoal)
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Origin of Village Name |
Hadlow Down is probably derived from the Anglo Saxon hæth leah (Heather clearing or
possibly Headda's clearing) with down added afterwards to denote a hill. In the twelfth
century it was known as Hadelegh, later on in the same century down was added so it
became Hadledowne.
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General Details
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Hadlow Down is a very small village lying on a ridge between
Cross in Hand and Buxted on the main A272 road from Heathfield
to Uckfield .
It was a rural farming community with the centres of population
lying either side of the main road, and until the Wealden Iron
Industry was a quiet and secluded spot.
The cannon making industry in the Weald started at a furnace
on the stream at Hoggets Farm lying to the north between
Buxted and Hadlow Down .
The first cannon cast in east sussex was in 1543 at the furnace
by Ralf Hogge(Huggett), and is immortalised by a small rhyme.
Master
Huggett and his man John
they did cast the first cannon.
John was in fact a French cannon making expert whose name was Peter Baude
and it is believed that his family were buried at Wartling on the
Pevensey Marshes.
Hadlow Down lies between Blackboys and the farm and it is likely that
many of the charcoal burners providing fuel for the furnaces came from
the two villages .
When the iron industry in the south east collapsed in the early 1800's
the village reverted to its rural roots, and is now a farming area.
The first chapel for the village was erected in 1836, with a gift of
land from from the Earl De La Warr, and a contribution of £100 from
the then Prime Minister Lord Liverpool who lived in nearby Buxted Park.
The building was rebuilt and extended just before the First World War .
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Services
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 Hadlow Down has a few local services, but the major shopping centre
of Uckfield only lies a few miles to the west, and Heathfield about
the same distance to the east.
The busses pass regularly through the village on their way from
Heathfield to Uckfield .
The nearest trains can be caught at Buxted .
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Views
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 Hadlow Down is on a hill so has good views to north and south, with
the northerly view towards Rotherfield being the nicest.
There is one other view that is good, this is at the Annual traction
engine event held in the village in early June, with the steam
driven monsters taking pride of place in the village.
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