FOREST ROW PARISH

Introduction

Forest Row is a village and a large civil parish[3] in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. The village is located three miles (5 km) south-east of East Grinstead. In January 2023, it ranked as Britain�s 3rd poshest village.[4] History The village draws its name from its proximity to the Ashdown Forest, a royal hunting park first enclosed in the 13th century. From its origins as a small hamlet, Forest Row has grown, first with the establishment of a turnpike road in the 18th century; and later with the opening of the railway between East Grinstead and Tunbridge Wells in 1866; the line, which included an intermediate station at Forest Row, closed in 1967 as a result of the Beeching Axe (a programme of closures put forward by East Grinstead resident and British Railways Board Chairman Richard Beeching). A part medieval public house the Yew Tree (now known as The Swan), was a centre of smuggling in the 18th century.[5] Brambletye House (known locally as Brambletye Castle) was built by Sir Henry Compton in 1631.[6] This building features in the 1826 Horace Smith novel Brambletye House. A mail coach robbery occurred at the bottom of Wall Hill on 27 June 1801. John Beatson and his adopted son William Whalley Beatson hid in a meadow at the foot of Wall Hill, by the entrance to an old Roman road. The mail coach made its way up Wall Hill, where it was stopped by them just after midnight. The Beatsons took between �4,000 and �5,000. Judge Baron Hotham sentenced the two men to death by hanging at the trial on 29 March 1802. Gallows were erected on the spot where the robbery took place, on 17 April 1802. Beatson and his adopted son were hanged in the presence of 3,000 people.[citation needed] John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, came to Forest Row in June 1963 during his visit to the UK,[7] attending mass at the Our Lady of the Forest church. At the time he was engaged in a series of discussions with the Prime Minister Harold Macmillan at his home in nearby Birch Grove.[7] There is a plaque commemorating the visit on Freshfield Hall. Forest Row became a Transition village in 2007 with the official unveiling in March 2008 at the Village Hall.

Wikipedia page

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Parish Information

Parish statistics

Area	3,365 hectares
Population	4,864 ⁽²⁰²¹⁾
Density	145 people/km²
Mean age	41.7
Ward	Danehill & Fletching
District	Wealden
Postcodes	RH18, RH19, TN7
ONS ID	E04003841