| Rotherfield |
 The View from the hill above Rectory House in 1785 |
| Our ancestors must have been an agricultural people living at peace in the midst of the clearing in the dense forest that surrounded it. There is evedence to be found in our lanes and hedgerows. The cow-wheat grew in all. It abounded throughout Hornhurst Wood, in the lane from Highgate to the Warren Farm, at Cottage Hill, Gravel Hill, Sheriffs Lane, Boarshead, Hamsell, Crowborough and it is said, cow-wheat grows only on the site of ancient forests. Wherever, therefore, its pale yellow, snap-dragon-like sprays were seen, they told of the isolation of the first inhabitants here amidst the forest … extract from Rotherfield: The Story of some Wealden Manors by Catherine Pullein |
| Rotherfield is a village and large parish in the East Grinstead division of Sussex, in the hundred of Rotherfield, rape of Pevensey, rural deanery of East Grinstead, archdeaconry of Lewes and diocese of Chichester. Rotherfield is 7 miles from Tunbridge Wells and 47 miles south of London. The parish of Rotherfield included Crowborough and Jarvis Brook up until Crowborough was formed into an ecclesiatical parish on 19th September 1880 and into a civil parish on 1st April 1905 The population of Rotherfield in 1811 was 2,122; in 1841 was 3,054; in 1861 was 3,413; in 1871 was 4,149; in 1881 was 4,344 (of whom 1,700 were in Crowborough); in 1891 was 5,099 (of whom 2,068 were in Crowborough); in 1901 was 2,322 (ex Crowborough); in 1911 was 2,870 (ex Crowborough); in 1921 was 2,821 (ex Crowborough); and in 1931 was 2,821 (ex Crowborough). |
| Rotherfield historical notes has been derived from the same sources to highlight Rotherfield's key events in chronological order |
| Parish & other records | Before 1500 |
1500 to 1550 |
1550 to 1600 |
1600 to 1650 |
1650 to 1700 |
1700 to 1725 |
1725 to 1750 |
1750 to 1775 |
1775 to 1800 |
1800 to 1825 |
1825 to 1850 |
1850 to 1875 |
1875 to 1900 |
1900 to 1925 |
1925 to 1950 |
1950 to 1975 |
1975 to 2000 |
After 2000 |
N/K | |
| 17798 | Births | 1 | 118 | 443 | 836 | 896 | 468 | 488 | 665 | 1169 | 2269 | 3336 | 4078 | 2522 | 476 | 24 | 9 | 2 | 2 | |
| 11016 | Christenings | 101 | 419 | 798 | 889 | 461 | 485 | 635 | 905 | 1582 | 2088 | 1909 | 724 | 19 | 1 | |||||
| 2102 | Marriages | 16 | 112 | 167 | 125 | 39 | 61 | 146 | 221 | 250 | 380 | 437 | 102 | 31 | 9 | 6 | ||||
| 2426 | Deaths | 17 | 44 | 122 | 105 | 68 | 84 | 108 | 143 | 243 | 506 | 555 | 301 | 74 | 37 | 19 | 1 | |||
| 2330 | Burials | 14 | 37 | 96 | 99 | 64 | 84 | 110 | 145 | 241 | 500 | 546 | 309 | 55 | 25 | 5 | ||||
| Books and other documents | |
| Published | Title, author and references |
| 1444 to 1458 | Court Rolls of the Manor of Rotherfield - Vol. I ⇒ p. i |
| 1557 to 1560 | Court Rolls of the Manor of Rotherfield - Vol. II ⇒ p. 1 and 2 |
| 1583 to 1711 | Dewlands Manor Rolls ⇒ p. 1 |
| 1587 to 1593 | Court Rolls of the Manor of Rotherfield - Vol III ⇒ p. 1 |
| 1593 to 1607 | Court Rolls of the Manor of Rotherfield - Vol IV ⇒ p. 1 |
| 1616 to 1631 | Court Rolls of the Manor of Rotherfield - Vol V ⇒ p. 1 |
| 1631 to 1674 | Court Rolls of the Manor of Rotherfield - Vol VI ⇒ p. 1 |
| 1766 | The History of Tunbridge Wells by Thomas Benge Burr ⇒ p. 258 |
| 1830 | Guide of Tunbridge Wells ⇒ p. 90 |
| 1835 | The History, Antiquities and Topography of the County of Sussex by Thomas Walker Horsfield, F.S.A. ⇒ p. 397 |
| 1840 | New Guide for Tunbridge Wells by John Colbran and edited by James Phippen ⇒ p. 167 |
| 1849 | Historical and Architectural Notices of the Iron Works of the County of Sussex by Mark Antony Lower ⇒ p. 215 |
| 1851 | The Post Office Directory of Sussex by E. R. Kelly, M.A., F.S.S. ⇒ entry |
| 1867 | The Post Office Directory of Sussex by E. R. Kelly, M.A., F.S.S. ⇒ entry |
| 1870 | A Compendious History of Sussex - Volume II. by Mark Antony Lower, M.A. ⇒ p. 125 |
| 1874 | The Post Office Directory of Sussex by E. R. Kelly, M.A., F.S.S. ⇒ entry |
| 1882 | Kelly's Directory of Sussex by E. R. Kelly, M.A., F.S.S. ⇒ entry |
| 1883 | Pelton's Illustrated Guide to Tunbridge Wells by J. Radford Thomson, M.A. ⇒ p. 182 |
| 1886 | Local Blue Book and Directory of East Sussex ⇒ p. 248 |
| 1904 | Highways and Byways in Sussex by E.V. Lucas ⇒ p. 302 |
| 1913 to 1941 | Rotherfield Parish Magazine ⇒ page |
| 1927 | The Sussex Highlands ⇒ p. 41 |
| 1928 | Rotherfield - The Story of some Wealden Manors by Catharine Pullein ⇒ Book p. i |
| Pictures | more pictures | ||||||
 From the hill above the Rectory House - 1785 |  The Manor of Hall - 1785 |  Rotherfield Church from the Turnpike Gate at Mark Cross - 1785 |  Rotherfield Church - 1809 |  View of St Denys Church - 1850 |  Tudor House - c 1850 |  The Manor House - 1882 | |
 St Denys Church - 1890 |  Rotherfield Hall - c 1900 |  The Rother - 1904 |  The Rectory - 1904 |  The Village - 1905 |  Rotherfield Village - 1905 |  Rotherfield from Cottage Hill - 1905 | |
| Rotherfield Maps | |||||||
 1597 |  c 1724 |  c 1795 |  c 1825 |  c 1875 |  c 1899 | ||
| Sussex Maps | |||||||
 1610 |  1645 |  1695 |  1750 |  1756 |  1763 |  1st Sept 1787 | |
 1808 |  1837 |  1840 |  1864 |  1928 | |||
| Places and properties in Rotherfield - a directory of homes, farms, churches, schools, inns, and other places of interest that existed prior to 1900 has been compiled from Post Office directories, Kelly's directories, Trade directories, Census data, Ordnance survey maps and books of the period |
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The Weald is at Database version 14.05 which has ongoing updates to the 395,000 people; 9,000 places; 613 maps; 3,308 pictures, engravings and photographs; and 248 books loaded in the previous version
