Blackboys

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Blackboys is a small village which lies in the South Downs and near to the Ashdown Forest in East Sussex, England. It lies on the Heathfield to Lewes A-Road.

There are two explanations to where the name came from:

• It came from the colour of the Charcoal burners when they emerged from the woods in the past.
• The name means Black Wood, from the soot deposited in the woods by the charcoal. This is the more likely explanation.

The Blackboys Inn was founded in the 1300s and was acknowledged as a coaching establishment. It is also possible that the Inn was founded as an overnight staying place for the drivers transporting the charcoal from the local woods to Lewes and other towns.

The main charcoal business of the village stopped in the early 19th Century when the iron industry moved north to the Midlands with their large deposits of coal.

Of Note Vivien Leigh's creamated ashes were spread upon the nearby lake of this town.

The youth hostel, situated about half a mile outside the village, is housed in buildings that were put up to house refugee children during the Spanish Civil War.