There were farm-houses at High Broom and at Redbridge, both claiming to be of very old date, but the present buildings have been either extensively repaired, so as to leave little of the old building remaining, or have been altogether rebuilt.

For many years the only place of worship at Crowborough was the chapel built by Sir H. Fermor, Bart. The Nonconformist chapels were built long after, the oldest being the one on the Lye Green Road, close to, but not in Crowborough parish, known as Forest Fold, which has been in existence between sixty and seventy years. Before the present building was erected, Worship was performed in a barn.

The shop first established in the parish was on Chapel Green, in the building opposite to Mr. Turk's present grocery store. Here might be had a little drapery and grocery, but the stock and variety were very limited.

The shops at the Cross were established long after, within the memory of persons now living.

Carriers brought from Lewes and London the little that was required for the small community.

A coach passed over the Beacon Hill in its journey from Brighton to London, via Tunbridge Wells. Another coach ran over the Duddleswell Road and Church Hill, past the Five Hundred Acres, from Brighton through Uckfield, Maresfield, and Tunbridge Wells to London.

The postal arrangements of the period would be intolerable to us now. The nearest post office was at Rotherfield, and letters were not delivered, but were retained at the office till applied for.

The postage, which was paid by the claimant, was never under 1s. 2d. Mr. Howis, who lived at the Warren, always sent for his letters to Forest Row, a distance of seven miles or more. Probably the postal service to that place was more frequent and regular than at Rotherfield.

There was but one turnpike at Crowborough, and that was placed a little beyond the Crow and Gate Inn. It was done away with about sixteen or seventeen years ago.

Few, if any, of the people of the place had learned to read or write, there being no opportunity of getting instruction until after the Fermor School was established in 1734, and then only a limited number of children could be received into the school. Neither were there any churches or chapels nearer than Rotherfield. A few of the farmers attended at Rotherfield Church, but none of the labouring population ever thought of entering a place of worship. Even after the Fermor Chapel was built very few persons attended it.

The population must have been very small previously to the Warren being occupied by Mr. Howis, as there were then not more than twenty cottages scattered about the place. But immediately after Mr. Howis's arrival the extensive building operations commenced by him brought a large number of labourers to the spot. Many of these erected little huts of turf on the waste land, but were speedily driven away by the Lord of the Manor. Cottages were then built for them on the Warren estate.

The wages of the agricultural labourer, within the recollection of many now living, were only 7s. a week. At this time sugar was sold at 10d. per lb., tea at 7s. or 8s. per lb., rice at 4d., and flour varied from 2s. 4d. to 3s. 6d. per gallon. It is not to be wondered at, therefore, that with articles of food at these high prices the labourers showed a spirit of discontent at the inadequate remuneration for their labour. This on one occasion manifested itself in what almost amounted to a riot.

A few men collected at Mayfield and marched towards Rotherfield. On the way considerable additions were made to their number, so that by the time they reached that village a large body of men had assembled, demanding in a threatening manner from all employers an increase of wage. They proceeded on to Crowborough, where they were joined by most of the labourers there, and, marching to the Warren, demanded of Mr. Howis, then the principal employer of labour there, a higher scale of pay. He treated them with great tact and discretion, appeasing them by several gallons of beer, and promising a favourable consideration of their demand. Satisfied with this, they then quietly dispersed.

Very little, if any, advantage, however, resulted to the labourer from this outburst of feeling and remonstrance against starvation wages.

On the same day that this outbreak occurred there was a vestry meeting at Rotherfield, at which Lord Liverpool, at that time the occupant of Buxted Park, was present.

Some angry words passed between him and a man of the name of Vinal, and a serious altercation took place, terminating in a scuffle, in which Vinal threw his lordship flat upon his back to the ground. Lord Liverpool, who seems to have been an admirer of physical strength, showed no resentment at this rough handling, but magnanimously said to Vinal: "I shall not prosecute you for this, but will make you my gamekeeper," which he did, and placed him in a snug cottage at Five Ash Down.

Our next drive, or ramble, will be over the Beacon Hill. The road to the Beacon runs past Christ Church, Free Church of England, Crowborough House, Prospect House, and the Highlands, on the right. On the left is a beautifully situated boardinghouse, Belle Vue; and beyond, at various distances, several private residences, two observatories, and a lodging-house, lately built.

On the right, upon the summit of the hill, is the entrance gate to the Warren, a beautiful estate, abounding in romantic glades and woods. There are also in the valley several pieces of water surrounded by graceful foliage. These, with hill and vale, combine by their variety and beauty to delight the lover of natural scenery, and to exercise a talismanic influence over him. A fuller description of this charming estate will be given when mention is made of the attractive spots of the neighbourhood.

In a field close by this entrance gate to the Warren may be seen a stone slab let into the turf, which indicates the spot where the beacon fires were lighted to signal inland to other beacons the approach of any danger, such as an invasion or the appearance of an enemy. Huge piles of wood were kept on the spot ready to be lighted at any instant upon the alarm signal from some other height. The last occasion upon which all the beacons were lighted as danger signals was upon the appearance of the ships of the Spanish Armada, in 1588.

Continuing along the Beacon Road, some cottages and an old inn are passed, and we arrive at the Common. Just at this spot a delightful residence is situated, called Beacon House, from which one of the finest panoramic views in the county is to be seen.

Crowborough Common is one of the chief attractions of the village. Notwithstanding the many encroachments made upon it, it is still an extensive open space, covered with heather and gorse, and studded with many brilliant-coloured wild flowers. The air is pure and invigorating - every inspiration of it is a tonic. The road runs straight on across the Common to Uckfield, Maresfield, and Lewes.

The Warren is perhaps the most picturesque and romantic estate in the vicinity of Crowborough. Part of it is within the parish of Withyham, part in that of Buxted, and part in Rotherfield parish. It comprises a valley one mile and a half long, and the two hills which form its sides.

The hill nearest Crowborough has a more gradual slope than the other, but both have long sweeps of graceful curves, the summits of which are clothed with plantations of Scotch pine, whose solid masses of dark foliage are relieved by the brighter green of the larch and spruce, while here and there the silver birch waves its elegant leafage on the undulating slopes. Several plateaux of fairly level ground are turned into meadows and corn fields, but the dense masses of acreages of the pine are the special feature of the landscape.

Ravines run down to the valley, forming romantic dells of varied beauty, while small streams course along their beds, whispering music to the trees, and helping the mystery and attractiveness of Nature's charms. The long stems of the pine shoot upwards to a dizzy height, in many instances straight as a dart, while the beautiful blue-grey tint on the bark gives a cool mistiness which intensifies the warmer tone of the foliage above. The silver fir, the Weymouth pine, the American oak, the birch and the beech, mingle their varied foliage with the spruce, the chestnut, the alder, and the larch.

In the valley is concentrated the beauty and poetry of the scenery. Fed by springs from the Forest Waste, a stream leaping, rippling, laughing, dances in glee over its stony bed till it reaches one of the large ponds; of which there are five, and here loses itself in the solemn stillness of the mass of water, but, escaping again at the other end, pursues its merry way, glittering and sparkling over the sandstone course from one pond to another, and travels on and on till it falls into the river Medway, to fulfill its destiny in paying tribute to the mighty ocean.

How gracefully the birch and the beech bend their slender branches over the silver-surfaced waters - the little lakes which adorn the valley. The steep bank on one side is topped with the stately pine, which shoots its noble stem like an arrow towards heaven. The timid water-hen swims a little way out from the bank, and, startled, rises and wings its way for a more rapid escape to the opposite side.