Buxted

Buxted is an East Sussex village on the edge of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, just over a mile north of the small town of Uckfield.

Buxted is unusual insofar as nearly all the old village was uprooted or deserted, not because of plague or other disaster, but because of the whim of the the then prime minister, Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool.

Buxted Park

It was common for the houses of the great nobility to dominate the nearby villages and Buxted is a classic example of this.

The great mansion at Buxted Park was originally built in 1725. But within a century Lord Liverpool decided he wanted a bit more peace and quiet and decided that the only way to achieve this was to force his tenants to move.

Something of a Mexican stand off resulted, although Lord Liverpool can be said to have won in the long run, successfully moving most of the villagers away from his deer park.

Buxted Park is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest because its acidic grassland and marshland habitats are very rare and support an unusual array of invertebrates like beetles and flies.

The mansion house, which was badly damaged by fire in 1940, at Buxted Park is now a posh hotel.

Places of interest around Buxted

Interesting places in and around Buxted include:

• The Church of St Margaret the Queen is dedicated to Margaret, Queen of Scotland and was first built in 1250. Notable rectors include William Levett, who was one of the drivers of the armaments industry in 16th century East Sussex;
• Hogge House was built for Levett's employee Ralph Hogge, another important mover and shaker in the 16th century Sussex cannon-making industry - Sussex canonry was cutting edge military technology at the time. Hogge, cast the first solid canon in 1543 and this was a cornerstone of English naval power at the time of the Spanish Armada.
• The Vanguard Way passes the eastern and southern sides of Buxted

More about Buxted

The hamlets of Five Ash Down, Heron's Ghyll and High Hurstwood are all part of Buxted parish's spiritual jurisdiction.

Richard Woodman, one of the Protestant Martyrs burned at Lewes in 1557 was born in Buxted.

Buxted travel notes

Buxted has a railway station connecting it to Uckfield and Oxted.

The A272, one of the major roads in Sussex, runs through Buxted.