Born at Rotherfield on 28th April 1741, George Gilbert, who became known as the "Apostle of Sussex," frequently preached in the open air in Crowborough. In 1759 George Gilbert joined a regiment of light horse under General Elliott, who was engaged in defending Hanoverian dominions against the French. Gilbert was in three campaigns before he returned to England in 1763. It was while at Nottingham a short time afterwards that George Gilbert joined the Wesleyan Methodists and developed into a capable lay preacher. Then, when General Elliott, now Lord Heathfield, took him into his employ, he went around the Sussex villages conducting religious meetings. He first concentrated on Rotherfield, his native place, then came to Crowborough, and subsequently became pastor of a chapel at Heathfield where he continued his labours for some sixty years