Our Publications
Articles by members of the group have appeared in Ashdown Forest News (the magazine of The Society of the Friends of Ashdown Forest) and various other publications. We have also produced a number of illustrated booklets collated from the group's exhibitions. All these publications are listed below, organised by topic. Click on the links to view or download.
The Sale of Ashdown Forest, 1987-88
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Ashdown Forest for Sale! 18
The fascinating story of how a local fundraising campaign in the late 1980s secured the purchase of Ashdown Forest by East Sussex County Council in order to save it for posterity. -
The Sale of Ashdown Forest, or How the Forest was Saved 16
A brief earlier article by the research group appealing for information from those who took part in the fundraising campaign.
World War One
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Researching the Men of Ashdown Forest who Fell in the First World War: Overview and Findings
To mark the centenary of the First World War the Ashdown Forest Research Group wrote profiles of all the men who fell in the war and who are commemorated by the war memorials at Forest Row, Coleman's Hatch, and Hartfield - 113 studies in total. This essay (also available online) provides an overview of the project with maps and key findings.
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Ashdown Forest Men who Fell in WW1
17
A brief article from 2019 outlining the group's First World War project to readers of the Royal British Legion magazine.
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Forest Row Men who Fell in the Great War
5
An article written early on in our First World War project about the men commemorated on Forest Row War Memorial, pointing out that only a minority named there were local to the parish and explaining why.
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Researching the Men of Ashdown Forest who fell in the First World War
12
A short article from 2017 analysing the age at death of the 113 men commemorated on the three war memorials, and the year of the war in which they died.
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Officers and Other Ranks who Fell in the Great War: The Kekewich and Maskell Brothers
13
A 2018 article contrasting two sets of brothers from opposite ends of the social spectrum who are commemorated on the three war memorials, all officers in the case of one family, and 'Other Ranks' in the case of the other.
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Researching the Men of Ashdown Forest who Fell in the Great War: A Case of Mistaken Identity
14
A forensic article from 2019 explaining how a case of mistaken identity occurred when writing the article (above) about the Kekewich and Maskell brothers — now corrected.
World War Two
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The Bomber Crash and Airman's Grave 80 years on
15
In 1941 a Wellington bomber crashed on Ashdown Forest with the loss of all six crew members. The site is marked by a memorial that's popularly known as the Airman's Grave. This 2021 article for Ashdown Forest News described the general background to the crash and the creation of the memorial, and appealed for eye-witness information relating to the crash.
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The 1941 Bomber Crash and the Airman's Grave: Remembering the Men who Died
19
In 1941 a Wellington bomber crashed on Ashdown Forest with the loss of all six crew members. The site is marked by a memorial that's become known as the Airman's Grave. In a previous article (see above) we discussed the background to the crash and the creation of the memorial. This 2023 article for Ashdown Forest News focuses on the airmen themselves. We hoped that by so doing these brave men, currently merely names on the memorial, would become more real and recognisable in the minds of readers.
Transport History
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The Turnpike Roads of Ashdown Forest - A Forgotten History?
10
The development of turnpike roads played a crucial role in England's economic growth in the 18th and early 19th centuries. What impact did they have around Ashdown Forest, and what can we still see today? -
The Development of Railways around Ashdown Forest before the First World War
8
The 19th century has been called the age of the railway. How did railways develop in the Ashdown Forest area up until the First World War, and what impact did they have? -
The Development of Railways around Ashdown Forest, 1850-1914
A booklet produced for our 2017 exhibition 'Ashdown Forest in a Time of Change, 1850-1914'. A fascinating illustrated account of 19th century local railway development with particular focuses on East Grinstead, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Forest Row and the Upper Medway Valley, Uckfield, and Crowborough.- Transport Improvements around Forest Row in the 18th and 19th Centuries
Forest Row benefitted from being on the principal turnpike road from London to East Grinstead, Lewes and Brighton in the 18th and 19th centuries, and from the extension of the Three Bridges to East Grinstead railway to Tunbridge Wells in 1866. This article provides more background.- Map of the Railways around Ashdown Forest in 1914
A diagrammatic map in the style of the London Underground of the railways around Ashdown Forest at the outbreak of the First World War, showing the dates on which they were opened to passenger traffic. The data were obtained from the standard authoritative reference sources pertaining to the history of railways in the south-east of England.Occupations
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Occupations in a 19th Century Forest-Edge Rural Community4
This article looks at the forest-oriented occupations found in the 1851 census for Forest Row — before the arrival of railways and new technologies transformed the traditional economies of the forest-edge communities.
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Traditional Ashdown Forest Occupations
This illustrated booklet drawn from the group's 2015 exhibition looks at a number of traditional Forest occupations of the late 19th century and the local people who performed them.
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Aspects of Change in Ashdown Forest Occupations, 1850-1914
This illustrated booklet from the group's 2017 exhibition, 'Ashdown Forest at a Time of Change: 1850-1914', looks at how in the later 19th century occupations around the Forest changed in agriculture, brick-making, quarrying, and road maintenance.
Social History
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Ashdown Forest at a Time of Change, 1850-1914: A Timeline
A fascinating illustrated timeline highlighting the key events that affected Ashdown Forest and its communities from 1830 to 1926, alongside major events at national and international level. -
Ashdown Forest in a Time of Change
1
This article takes two contrasting rural communities on the northern side of Ashdown Forest, Forest Row and Hartfield, and reviews how they changed in the second half of the 19th century using data from the 1851 and 1881 census. -
Ashdown Forest in a Time of Change: 1850-1914
11
A short article reflecting on changes in the Ashdown Forest area, a precursor to the group's 2017 exhibition, 'Ashdown Forest at a Time of Change: 1850-1914'. -
Life & Leisure on Ashdown Forest, 1850-1914
This well-illustrated booklet drawn from the group's 2017 exhibition, 'Ashdown Forest at a Time of Change: 1850-1914', looks at a number of sports closely associated with Ashdown Forest — stoolball, cricket, and golf — as well as local children's leisure and pastimes. -
Who Were the Census Enumerators? Forest Row 1851-1881
2
A note about two local men who helped to carry out the national census of population in Forest Row in the 19th century. -
Family Names on Ashdown Forest
3
Are you called Bowrah, Comber, Everest, Farnes or Gander? If so, the chances are that your ancestors have had connections to this area for a very long time. All of these names appear on the 1851 census for Forest Row. This article tells you about these and other family names commonly found in the area.
Architectural History
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Forest Row: Houses on the Forest Edge
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Changing Architectural Styles on the Forest Edge, 1850-1914
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An Exploration of the Ashdown Forest Centre Barns
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New Insight into the Origins of the Ashdown Forest Centre Barns
7
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The Origins of the Barns at the Ashdown Forest Centre
Forest Fires
Footnotes
1 Ashdown Forest Life, 15, Spring/Summer 2013, p.10 and Ashdown Forest Life,16, Autumn/Winter 2013, p.8
2 Ashdown Forest Life, 15, Spring/Summer 2013, p.10
3 Ashdown Forest Life, 16, Autumn/Winter 2013, p.9
4 Ashdown Forest News, 65, Autumn 2013, p.10
5 Ashdown Forest News, 67, Autumn/Winter 2014, p.9
6 Ashdown Forest Life
7 Ashdown Forest Conservators Volunteers' newsletter, 27-01-2015
8 Ashdown Forest News, 68, Spring 2015, p.11
9 Ashdown Forest News, Spring 2016
10 Ashdown Forest News, Autumn/Winter 2016
11 Ashdown Forest News, Spring 2017
12 Ashdown Forest News, Autumn/Winter 2017
13 Ashdown Forest News, Autumn/Winter 2018
14 Ashdown Forest News, Spring/Summer 2019
15 Ashdown Forest News, Autumn/Winter 2021
16 Ashdown Forest News, Autumn 2019
17 Journal of the Royal British Legion, East Grinstead Branch, Edition 32, July-August 2019
18 Ashdown Forest News, Winter 2022
19 Ashdown Forest News, Autumn/Winter 2023
Ashdown Forest Research Group © 2023
- Transport Improvements around Forest Row in the 18th and 19th Centuries