| Mayfield and Five Ashes | |
|---|---|
 St Dunstan's Church, Mayfield | |
  Mayfield and Five Ashes Location withinEast Sussex | |
| Area | 42.4 km2 (16.4 sq mi) [1] |
| Population | 3,718 (Parish-2011)[2] |
| • Density | 218/sq mi (84/km2) |
| OS grid reference | TQ585269 |
| • London | 37 miles (60 km)NNW |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | MAYFIELD |
| Postcode district | TN20 |
| Dialling code | 01435 |
| Police | Sussex |
| Fire | East Sussex |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | Parish Council |
| |
Mayfield and Five Ashes is acivil parish in the HighWeald ofEast Sussex, England. The two villages making up the principal part of the parish lie on theA267 road betweenRoyal Tunbridge Wells andEastbourne:Mayfield, the larger of the two villages, is ten miles (16 km) south of Royal Tunbridge Wells; withFive Ashes being 2.5 miles (4.0 km) further south.[3] On 1 April 1999 the parish was renamed from "Mayfield" to "Mayfield & Five Ashes".
Every September the village hosts its annual carnival. This is to commemorate the fourProtestants who were executed here on 24 September 1556, burnt at the stake on ground opposite what is now Colkins Mill Church in Station Road. They are also commemorated inLewes.[4] The festivals are part of theSussex bonfire tradition of marking the execution of Protestants by Queen (Bloody) Mary, and later, the discovery of the CatholicGunpowder Plot. The procession marches through the village by torchlight on the third Saturday in September, ending with a bonfire and firework display in the recreation ground. Four burning crosses are carried in the procession in memory of the four people who were martyred in 1556. The money raised through the street collection is donated to local charities.
Mayfield was a centre of theWealden ironworking industry.[5]
The village is also known for its biennial festival of music and the arts, held in even-numbered years. Having been founded in 1970, the Mayfield Festival predominantly features the performance of classical music.[citation needed]
Mayfield and Five Ashes Civil Parish falls within theelectoral ward simply called Mayfield. The population of this ward at the 2011 Census was 2,614.[6]
The early village was recorded in theDomesday Book of 1086 within theRape of Pevensey asMesewelle,[7] which may indicate a well on tableland or more likely "belonging to Meese", aNorman man's name, or less likely, a new well or well dedicated to theVirgin Mary. The meshing ofNorman French andAnglo-Saxon intoMiddle English meant that one person was often referred to by several spellings in a lifetime. Various spellings of Meese include Meece, Mese, Mece, Mees, Mey, and May.
The village name derives from both "Maghefeld"[8] (a field wheremayweed grows) and "maid's field" – the village sign depicts a maid.[9] A number of 17th-century emigrants to theNew World had the surname May rather than Maid, which indicates theMiddle English "mayde" in signage began as arebus. Mayfield used to be a part of the manor ofMalling, to the north west ofLewes, which belonged to the Kings ofWessex. Between 823 and 836 AD, KingEgbert of Wessex and his sonÆthelwulf gave it toCanterbury Cathedral: it became an Archbishop's 'peculiar' in the Diocese of Canterbury, and one of the Archbishop's palaces was built here. It was transferred to theDiocese of Chichester in 1846.
Mayfield was at its height during the boom in theWealden iron industry, and many of the fine houses date from that time.
During the early 18th century, Mayfield became a centre forowling -smuggling wool in exchange for brandy and silk. Gabriel Tomkins was the leader of the local gang: in 1721 he was chased fromBurwash toNutley and then was arrested. The gang had a reputation for not using violence; and also applying their profits to the benefit of the local community, unlike many other such gangs: theHawkhurst Gang in particular.
TheSwing Riots affected the area with army arriving on 15 November 1830. Some local workers were imprisoned or transported.
With the opening of the railway line in 1880 between Hailsham and Tunbridge Wells arailway station was built to serve the village. On 1 September 1897, there was a railway accident on a curved section of track between Heathfield and Mayfield near Clayton Farm. A six-carriage train pulled by the engineBonchurch was derailed and the driver was killed.[10] The station closed in 1965 following theBeeching Report. The station building in Station Road is now converted to a private house and the route of the railway is now occupied by the re-routed A267 bypass of the village.
Both village and church are said to have been founded by the Archbishop of Canterbury, StDunstan, in 960 CE, and there are legends surrounding his connection with the village. Dunstan is supposed to have become an ironworker and run a small forge next to the church. The legend goes that he was confronted by the devil, either making offensive remarks, or disguised as a young woman.[11][12] He pinched the devil's nose with the tongs; the devil then fled to Tunbridge Wells and doused his burnt nose with the spring water.[13][14] Some sources say that the story happened inGlastonbury rather than Mayfield, and that Dunstan may have in fact clamped tongs around someone's nose, with the story of it being the devil added later.[11]
TheAnglicanchurch is dedicated to Dunstan. In 1389 much of the village and most of the church were destroyed by fire; the latter was struck bylightning in the 17th century.[15] The church was subsequently rebuilt in the fifteenth century. The church is in a mostly Perpendicular style and has a "squat, shingled broach spire".[14] Inside the church there are a number of graves made of iron for the families of Mayfield's ironmasters.[9]
_(3).JPG)
There are three other religious buildings in Mayfield:[16] theRoman Catholic church of St Thomas of Canterbury (in Station Road), Colkins Mill Church[17] (a Free Church, also in Station Road), andMayfield Baptist Chapel (on South Street).
There are a large number of shops and other commercial properties in Mayfield High Street.[18]
There are two pubs in Mayfield: the Middle House (in the High Street) and the Rose and Crown (in Fletching Street).
The multi-award-winning retreat venue, Fair Oak Farm,[19] often frequented by celebrities and hired by internationally recognised brands, is located on Witherenden Road, a country lane just outside of the village.
St Leonards-Mayfield[20] Roman Catholic girls'boarding school, which has existed since 1872,[21] is situated on the High Street. The school consists of years seven up to thirteen. The head mistress is Miss Antonia Beary. The school is on the site of the Mayfield Old Palace which, after being founded bySt Dunstan, used to be a lodging place for archbishops before being given to Henry VIII.[22][23][24] It was rebuilt in the fourteenth century by ArchbishopSimon Islip, and was owned byThomas Cranmer before being given to Henry VIII in 1545. It was also used by Edward I and Queen Elizabeth I.[14] After this, it fell into ruin[25] but was purchased in 1863 by the Duchess of Leeds and given to the Society of the Holy Child, who established a convent there. The school was opened in 1872.[9]
Mayfield College, a now-defunct boys' boarding school run by the Xaverian Brothers, was located in nearby Little Trodgers Lane. Following its closure its main building, designed byE. W. Pugin, has been converted to luxury apartments.[26][27]
The village's Church of England primary school is mainlyEdwardian but has modern additions.[28]
Between Mayfield and Heathfield lie two small hamlets: Cross-in-Hand and Five Ashes. The latter is part of the same parish as Mayfield.
The small village church was dedicated to The Good Shepherd until its demolition and replacement by an end of life hospice in 2019.
There are no retail shops in the village apart from a Porsche car dealership. There is also a pub called The Five Ashes Inn.
There are two schools in Five Ashes. Five Ashes Primary School is a small voluntary controlled Church of England school with around 45 children on roll.[29] Skippers Hill Manor Preparatory School is a small private school founded in 1945 by Ray and Maureen Ward, remaining in the family until it was sold toBellevue Education in 2010.[30]
In Five Ashes, there is a large playing field where football and other games can be played and a skateboarding park. Adjoining the playing field and village hall is a children's playground.
In Stonehurst Lane, there is a park with wooded areas and ponds called Foxes Copse where dogs can be walked.[31]
Rising about 7 miles (11 km) south ofRoyal Tunbridge Wells, Argos Hill is between the villages ofRotherfield andMayfield. It is known for the landmark ofArgos Hill Windmill, agrade II* listed building that was built between 1831 and 1843 and operational until 1927.[14] It was restored in the 1960s, and was under threat of demolition in 2008.[14][32][33] In 1939Counties Ship Management renamed the cargo shipSS Canadian Constructor"Argos Hill".
