WALK 1 – High Street – Northbridge Street – Beech House Lane – Bourne Lane – Higham House - Salehurst

Introduction

 

About the history.

Salehurst is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1085 and is described as having " 7 villagers and 8 cottagers, with 6 ploughs, a church and 16 acres", it is not much bigger now although I cannot comment on the number of villeins currently living there! Salehurst church was in existence at the time of Domesday and the present building dates, in part, from the 12th century. Robertsbridge, on the contrary, is not mentioned in Domesday but is now the main business and residential centre of the parish. The reason for this is the river Rother, or rather the bridge over it.

Sometime in the early 12th century a Cistercian Abbey was founded within the parish of Salehurst; the exact location of the original abbey is not known, but is believed to be somewhere near the site of the present George Inn. At that time the normal method of crossing the river was probably by ford or ferry near to the church. Around the middle of the century the then Abbott, one Robert, built a bridge over the river about a half mile west of the church; this was roughly at the site of the present bridge known as The Clappers.

With most of the traffic by-passing the old village in order to use the new bridge, the centres of growth occurred around the northern and southern ends of the bridge and subsequently became the hamlets of Northbridge Street and Robertsbridge. The two hamlets spread along the length of the road and by the mid-16th century the basic layout of the village had evolved. This can be clearly seen in the wealth of timber-framed buildings lining both sides of the High Street, much of which dates from the 15th and 16th century.

With the growth of the village, the Cistercian Abbey was moved to a site about 1 mile east of Robertsbridge and south of the river opposite the church at Salehurst. The remains of the Abbey are on private land and the Abbott’s house dating from the 15th century is now incorporated into a private residence. However, they are occasionally open to the public and well worth a visit.

At various times in the past suggestions have been put forward, notably by Hillaire Belloc, that the name Robertsbridge is a corruption of Rother Bridge but two pieces of evidence seem to show conclusively that this is pure fancy. Firstly, the earliest mention of the name is on a document from the 13th century which refers to Pons Roberti, the Latin for Robert’s Bridge and secondly, at that time the river was known as the Limm!

 

About the walks.

These walks, ranging in length from 2 to 5 miles, are chosen to cover much of the Parish of Salehurst and to give a good impression of the varied geography. For convenience, a common starting point has been chosen but, of course, they can be joined at any point. In order to make the walks circular some inevitable re-tracing of steps has been necessary on the return route, but this has been kept to a minimum.

All of the walks can be completed comfortably within 2 hours or so, but it is possible to link up walks to make a longer outing. Salehurst and Robertsbridge are fortunate in that the parish council has, for some years, had an active footpath committee and as a result the paths and stiles etc. are fairly well-maintained. However, even apart from seasonal problems such as mud and overgrown hedges, stiles do deteriorate and some landowners still crop over paths and do not restore them as required by law. The price of our footpaths is constant vigilance! If you do find problems with a path either contact the Highway Authority, East Sussex County Council, at Phoenix Causeway, Lewes (0273 481000) or contact the Parish Clerk. If you do contact either, please give a reasonably accurate position of the problem (map reference if possible) and the date of your discovery.

The parish council Footpaths Committee organise regular monthly walks - usually on Sunday mornings - lasting about 2 hours. The walks are taken at a leisurely pace and everyone is welcome to join, including well-behaved dogs and children but please, bring a collar and lead with you (for the dog as well! ) because farmers do have a habit of keeping livestock in fields!

 

Please remember to shut gates and generally observe the Country Code. Happy walking!

 

About the maps.

The sketch maps are not to scale and have been provided for orientation; together with the descriptions it should be easy to complete each walk without getting hopelessly lost! However, they are not a substitute for a good Ordnance Survey map, especially if you wish to find variations on the routes. The map for this area in the Pathfinder Series (1: 25, 000) is Sheet TQ 62/72.

 

 

Introduction

 

About the history.

Salehurst is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1085 and is described as having " 7 villagers and 8 cottagers, with 6 ploughs, a church and 16 acres", it is not much bigger now although I cannot comment on the number of villeins currently living there! Salehurst church was in existence at the time of Domesday and the present building dates, in part, from the 12th century. Robertsbridge, on the contrary, is not mentioned in Domesday but is now the main business and residential centre of the parish. The reason for this is the river Rother, or rather the bridge over it.

Sometime in the early 12th century a Cistercian Abbey was founded within the parish of Salehurst; the exact location of the original abbey is not known, but is believed to be somewhere near the site of the present George Inn. At that time the normal method of crossing the river was probably by ford or ferry near to the church. Around the middle of the century the then Abbott, one Robert, built a bridge over the river about a half mile west of the church; this was roughly at the site of the present bridge known as The Clappers.

With most of the traffic by-passing the old village in order to use the new bridge, the centres of growth occurred around the northern and southern ends of the bridge and subsequently became the hamlets of Northbridge Street and Robertsbridge. The two hamlets spread along the length of the road and by the mid-16th century the basic layout of the village had evolved. This can be clearly seen in the wealth of timber-framed buildings lining both sides of the High Street, much of which dates from the 15th and 16th century.

With the growth of the village, the Cistercian Abbey was moved to a site about 1 mile east of Robertsbridge and south of the river opposite the church at Salehurst. The remains of the Abbey are on private land and the Abbott’s house dating from the 15th century is now incorporated into a private residence. However, they are occasionally open to the public and well worth a visit.

At various times in the past suggestions have been put forward, notably by Hillaire Belloc, that the name Robertsbridge is a corruption of Rother Bridge but two pieces of evidence seem to show conclusively that this is pure fancy. Firstly, the earliest mention of the name is on a document from the 13th century which refers to Pons Roberti, the Latin for Robert’s Bridge and secondly, at that time the river was known as the Limm!

 

About the walks.

These walks, ranging in length from 2 to 5 miles, are chosen to cover much of the Parish of Salehurst and to give a good impression of the varied geography. For convenience, a common starting point has been chosen but, of course, they can be joined at any point. In order to make the walks circular some inevitable re-tracing of steps has been necessary on the return route, but this has been kept to a minimum.

All of the walks can be completed comfortably within 2 hours or so, but it is possible to link up walks to make a longer outing. Salehurst and Robertsbridge are fortunate in that the parish council has, for some years, had an active footpath committee and as a result the paths and stiles etc. are fairly well-maintained. However, even apart from seasonal problems such as mud and overgrown hedges, stiles do deteriorate and some landowners still crop over paths and do not restore them as required by law. The price of our footpaths is constant vigilance! If you do find problems with a path either contact the Highway Authority, East Sussex County Council, at Phoenix Causeway, Lewes (0273 481000) or contact the Parish Clerk. If you do contact either, please give a reasonably accurate position of the problem (map reference if possible) and the date of your discovery.

The parish council Footpaths Committee organise regular monthly walks - usually on Sunday mornings - lasting about 2 hours. The walks are taken at a leisurely pace and everyone is welcome to join, including well-behaved dogs and children but please, bring a collar and lead with you (for the dog as well! ) because farmers do have a habit of keeping livestock in fields!

 

Please remember to shut gates and generally observe the Country Code. Happy walking!

 

About the maps.

The sketch maps are not to scale and have been provided for orientation; together with the descriptions it should be easy to complete each walk without getting hopelessly lost! However, they are not a substitute for a good Ordnance Survey map, especially if you wish to find variations on the routes. The map for this area in the Pathfinder Series (1: 25, 000) is Sheet TQ 62/72.

 

 

WALK 1 – High Street – Northbridge Street – Beech House Lane – Bourne Lane – Higham House - Salehurst

 

Distance – approximately 4 miles

 

Leave the Car Park, turn right to the High Street, turn left and continue to Northbridge Street, crossing the River Rother by Scats Mill. Continue through Northbridge Street to the by-pass roundabout and cross the road, by the pedestrian refuge, into Church Lane. In 20 yards turn left along a surfaced path, keeping the houses on your right. In 175 yards, turn right into Rother View and continue along to the access road to the garages on the left. Turn left, and in a few yards cross a stile and continue steeply uphill, keeping the hedge on your right. At the top of the hill, on the right, is a pill-box dating from the Second World War with a commanding view of the Rother valley. Cross over a stile into Beech House Lane and turn left to Beech House Farm. Take the narrow path to the right of the drive and in 50 yards cross a stile and continue down hill keeping the hedge on the left. At the bottom of the hill keep left along the sunken lane (this can be difficult to see if overgrown in summer) and in a few yards cross a small stream go straight ahead uphill, go over a stile and at the top of the hill turn left.

Continue for about 100 yards, past a gate on the left, and at a large oak tree turn right along the line of an old hedge, now mostly removed but the bank is clearly visible. At the bottom of the field cross over a stile and stream and go straight ahead steeply uphill, then at the top turn left over a stile along a track. Continue straight ahead past several water-filled pits which are probably iron ore pits from the days of the Wealden iron industry in the 17th and 18th century. Notice also the depth of the track which was probably created by the heavy iron ore wagons.

In 150 yards cross a stile and continue through a small coppice towards Jollie’s Farm House, keeping the house on the right. Continue ahead and cross a stile onto the road by the side of the house. Turn right and continue along, passing Jollie’s Farm with it’s attractively converted oast house and in 150 yards past the junction of the road to Salehurst on your right. Keep straight ahead past the junction, passing Haiselman’s Farm and in 200 yards turn right through the drive of Lake Abbots. The right of way continues straight ahead through the garden, but, of course, the path was here before the gardem On the left is a nice duck pond (was the lake anything to do with the abbey one wonders? ). At the end of the garden go through a gate onto a surfaced drive and continue straight ahead to Higham House (Tradesman’s Entrance! ). Continue past the house and where the surfaced path turns left, keep straight ahead, through the garden and downhill along the line of the fence and at the bottom, turn right over a stile. Continue downhill through the wood and in 100 yards turn left to emerge from the wood into the orchard. There is a nice view of Salehurst church from here.

The path goes straight ahead through the orchard, but it may be easier to turn right and follow the path around the edge of the orchard keeping the spinney on your right. In about 300 yards, at the start of the hop fields, turn right and continue to a surfaced farm road, go through a gate, straight across the road and just to the right go through the gate opposite. Continue straight ahead and bear left past the rear of Parsonage farm and in a few yards turn right into the church yard. The path to the right of the church leads past some table tombs with terracotta plaques by Jonathon Harmer (1762-1849). The church is well worth a visit: it dates in part from the 12th century with a 14th century tower. Inside is some fine medieval glass with birds on it, a 12th century font allegedly given by King Richard the Lionheart, as thanks to the Abbott for helping to raise his ransom when imprisoned in Germany, and some cast iron grave slabs, another reminder of the iron industry.

In front of the church lies the little hamlet of Salehurst, once the main centre of the parish, but with the coming of the ’new’ bridge over the Rother in the 12th Century the centre formed further west and Robertsbridge evolved as the main village. Salehurst declined until it became what we see today, a church, a pub and a few attractive houses grouped around them.

Turning round to face the church, take the path to the right and walk straight ahead between the churchyard and the houses. Continue straight ahead, crossing the line of the former Kent & East Sussex Light Railway and in a few yards cross Church Bridge over the River Rother. Follow the path to join Fair Lane and turn right. Keep straight ahead and in about half-mile cross the footbridge over the by-pass and continue down Fair Lane to the High Street and return to the starting point.

 

 

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