- Crowborough
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Coordinates: 51°04′N 0°10′E / 51.06°N 0.16°E
Crowborough 
Crowborough
Crowborough shown within East SussexArea 13.6 km2 (5.3 sq mi) [1] Population 20,000 (2007)[1] - Density 3,812 /sq mi (1,472 /km2) OS grid reference TQ518312 - London 33 miles (53 km) NNW District Wealden Shire county East Sussex Region South East Country England Sovereign state United Kingdom Post town CROWBOROUGH Postcode district TN6 Dialling code 01892 Police Sussex Fire East Sussex Ambulance South East Coast EU Parliament South East England UK Parliament Wealden Website Crowborough Town Council List of places: UK • England • East Sussex Crowborough is a town in the Wealden district of East Sussex, England. It is situated on the Weald and at the edge of Ashdown Forest, in the High Weald Area of Outstanding National Beauty 7 miles (12.8 km) south-west of Royal Tunbridge Wells and 35 miles (56 km) south of London. It has road and rail links and is served by a town council. It is the largest inland town (by population) in East Sussex.
Contents
History
Various derivations for the meaning of the town’s name have been put forward.[2] Before becoming a settlement as such, local documents use the names Crohbergh, Crowbergh, Croweborowghe, Crowbarrow and Crowboro. Croh (Old English: saffron or golden-yellow colour and berg means hill). Gorse, growing in profusion in the Crowborough Beacon area, and its yellow flowers might well have contributed to the meaning.
In 1734, a local benefactor, Sir Henry Fermor bequeathed money for a church and charity school for the benefit of the "very ignorant and heathenish people" that lived in the part of Rotherfield "in or near a place called Crowborough and Ashdown Forest".[3] The church, dedicated to All Saints, and school (primary) still survive today.
In the late 19th century it was promoted as a health resort based on its high elevation, the rolling hills and surrounding forest. Estate Agents of the time went as far as to call it Scotland in Sussex.
Governance
Crowborough as a place in its own right came into being in 1880, when an ecclesiastical parish was formed from that at nearby Rotherfield; a civil parish was established on 6 April 1905; which in turn became a Town Council on 24 May 1988.[4]
Crowborough shares the headquarters of Wealden District Council with Hailsham, 13 miles (20.8 km) to the south-west; this sharing is due to transfer Hailsham alone by 2010.
Geography
Crowborough Elevation 242 m (794 ft) Prominence c. 159 m Parent peak Leith Hill Listing Marilyn Location Location High Weald, England Topo map OS Landranger 188 OS grid TQ510305 The highest point in the town is 242 metres above sea level. This summit is the highest point of the High Weald and second highest point in East Sussex (the highest is Ditchling Beacon). Its relative height is 159 m, meaning Crowborough qualifies as one of England's Marilyns. The summit is not marked on the ground.
Transport
Crowborough is located on the A26 road between Tunbridge Wells and Lewes.
Crowborough railway station is on the line to Uckfield which is operated by Southern taking passengers to London Bridge station; the journey takes approximately one hour.
Education
Crowborough is served by one secondary school: Beacon Community College; and by seven primary schools:
- Whitehill Infant School
- Herne Junior School
- High Hurstwood CE (controlled) School
- Jarvis Brook County Primary School
- St Johns CE (aided) School
- St Mary’s RC School
- Sir Henry Fermor (aided) CE School
- Grove Park Special School
There are also two independent preparatory schools.
The town's location on the cusp of the Kent/East Sussex border means that the grammar schools in Kent are available for Crowborough pupils.
Health
Crowborough Hospital is a small, midwife-led maternity hospital. It has been threatened with closure numerous times but services are still offered in part due to a strong local campaign.[5] Non-maternity services are provided at hospitals in Pembury and Haywards Heath.
Sport and leisure
Crowborough has several recreation grounds, perhaps most notably Goldsmiths, which is the site of the local leisure centre. The Goldsmiths Recreation Ground was given to the parish by private owners in 1937. The town council has since purchased additional land and has developed the ground into a much needed recreation centre for the whole community. The ground houses a sports centre including a swimming pool, a boating lake and a miniature railway.[6][7]
The largest public recreation space within the town boundary is Crowborough Common.[8] This ancient common covers over 220 acres with full public access "for the taking of air and exercise". The common is home to Crowborough Beacon Golf Club. Most of the common is heathland and woodland, with less than half of the total area comprising golf links. The public may access all areas of the common on foot, including the golfing areas.
Crowborough Athletic F.C. and Jarvis Brook F.C. are the town's main football clubs, and Crowborough currently play in Sussex County League Division One.[9]
Crowborough Rugby Football Club won promotion from the Sussex leagues in 2006 and now plays in the London South 3 division.[10]
Crowborough Tennis and Squash Club has nine outdoor all-weather tennis courts and four squash courts, as well as offering racketball and other sporting activities. The club competes in county leagues in both tennis and squash, with the club's first team in squash playing in the Sussex Premier League.[11]
Crowborough Scout Group, the third largest in the UK,[12] is actively involved with the Crowborough community.
Notable people
- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930), the author of the Sherlock Holmes novels and short stories, whose statue stands in the town centre
- David Jason (born 1940), actor, most commonly known for playing the character Del Boy in the TV sitcom Only Fools And Horses lived in the town during the 1980s
- Mark Donovan (born 1968), screen actor, has lived in the town on-off since 2007
- Richard Jefferies (1848–1887): writer and naturalist[13]
- Jehst, hip hop artiste
- Lord Derek Rayner (Baron Rayner of Crowborough in the County of East Sussex) was a chairman and chief executive of Marks & Spencer plc
- James Dagwell (born 1974), British journalist, currently BBC News presenter
- Ross Kemp, best known for his role in Eastenders as Grant Mitchell
- Dylan Hartley, England Rugby Union player
- Piers Sellers, NASA astronaut
- Kim Woodburn, television presenter
- Tom Baker, most notable for playing the role of the fourth Doctor in Doctor Who
- Luxford House, on Luxford Road at the southern end of town, was once owned by the rock manager Tony Stratton-Smith of Genesis. His own in-house recording studio played host to, among others, Neil Diamond, Genesis and Van Der Graaf Generator, whose Pawn Hearts album cover features a photo of the house
- Crowborough is also home of the English Grand Lodge for Europe and Africa of the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC.
Literary connections
A WWII short story called 'The News in English' from Graham Greene's book The Last Word (1990) is set on a winter morning in Crowborough. Greene's parents lived in Crowborough through WWII.[citation needed]
Local traditions
A main event in the town's calendar is its celebration of Guy Fawkes Night, held annually on 5 November. An average attendance of 5000 people descend upon Goldsmiths Recreation Ground to witness this town council event. However this is overshadowed by the shenanigans of 'Carnival night' which sees the whole of the town taking to the streets. Donations on the night are traditionally collected by the local Lions Club, and donated to the mayor's charity. The town council also puts on a summer fair and a Christmas fair, for which the dates are agreed annually.
Twin towns
The town is twinned with:
See also
- List of places of worship in Wealden
References
- ^ a b "East Sussex in Figures". East Sussex County Council. http://www.eastsussexinfigures.org.uk/webview/. Retrieved 26th April 2008.
- ^ A newspaper article of 1933 suggested that, since iron smelting was carried on here,[citation needed] and that the Irish for iron was Croe that explained its derivation
- ^ "Historical Notes about Crowborough". http://theweald.org/P5H.asp?Pid=5050Crowbo.[dead link]
- ^ ’’The Weald of Kent, Surrey and Sussex
- ^ Hallett, Richard (8 July 2003). Mavis Kirkham. ed. The Crowborough birthing centre story. Elsevier Health Sciences. pp. 53–60. ISBN 978-0-7506-5497-5. http://books.google.com/books?id=YBQH8ft-FgQC&pg=PA53. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
- ^ "Crowborough Town Council official guide". http://www.localauthoritypublishing.co.uk/councils/crowborough/index.html. Retrieved 8th October 2011.
- ^ "website for Crowborough miniature railway". http://www.crowborough-mini-railway.vze.com. Retrieved 8th October 2011.
- ^ "Friends of Crowborough Common website". http://www.crowboroughcommon.org.uk. Retrieved 8th October 2011.
- ^ "Crowborough Rugby Football Club website". http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/crowboroughathletic/a/history-8255.html. Retrieved 8th October 2011.
- ^ "Crowborough Rugby Football Club website". http://www.crowboroughrugby.com. Retrieved 8th October 2011.
- ^ "Crowborough Tennis and Squash Club promotional website". http://www.crowboroughrackets.org.uk. Retrieved 8th October 2011.
- ^ "Crowborough Scout Group website".
- ^ Wilde, Arthur (June 2010). Richard Jefferies - A Tribute. Read Books. pp. 137–139. ISBN 978-1-4455-0696-8. http://books.google.com/books?id=mBVOmcfKucUC&pg=PA137. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
External links
- Crowborough at the Open Directory Project
- Crowborough Town Council
- Crowborough Official Guide
- Local information page from The Crowborough Partnership
- Crowborough Common - Information, history and map of Crowborough's 220 acre common
- Crowborough on VillageNet
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