Hammerwood
| Hammerwood | |
| Sussex | |
|---|---|
 St Stephen's Church, Hammerwood | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TQ437391 |
| Location: | 51°8’1"N, 0°3’13"E |
| Data | |
| Postcode: | RH19 |
| Local Government | |
Hammerwood is a hamlet in the very north of Sussex, half a mile from the border of Surrey to the north. It is in the Weald, to the east of East Grinstead.
The name of this place comes from the Wealden iron industry and relates to the numerous hammer-ponds found in the area. Streams in the locality can still run red with the colour of iron in the water. A hammer-pond is a water reservoir created specifically for providing power to water-powered hammers, forges or blast furnaces. There were many Medway watermills in the area.
There is a village church, St Stephen's Church. The church was completed in 1880 funded by local landowner Oswald Augustus Smith and built to a design of E.P. Loftus Brock. Smith also funded the rebuilding of St Peter's Church in Holtye within the same parish. The church can be found on the main road. Inside the church is a pipe organ built by T.C. Lewis of Brixton in 1884.
Hammerwood Park, at the end of the lane, was the centre of what was a large country estate extending in its heyday to over 2,500 acres.
About the village
A Scouts' campsite in Hammerwood isowned and operated by the Lewisham North District Scouts.[1]
Hammerwood Park
- Main article: Hammerwood Park
Hammerwood Park is a country house south of the village: it is a Grade I listed building.[2] Built in 1792, it was the first work of the architect Benjamin Latrobe, who was also responsible for the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. It was one of the first houses in Britain built in the Greek Revival style.
The house was bought by the rock band Led Zeppelin in 1973, but left almost derelict, it was then bought in 1982 and restoration began: that restoration was award-winning and received a lot of television coverage.
The house is often used for filming, and is open to the public in the summer: concerts are often held there.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Hammerwood) |
References
- ↑ Camping – Hammerwood Scout Campsite
- ↑ National Heritage List 1191730: Hammerwood Park (Grade I listing)
