Uckfield
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Uckfield is a town in the county of East Sussex, in the south of England. It is in the hundred of Loxfield, rape of Pevensey, rural deanery of Uckfield, archdeaconry of Lewes and Diocese of Chichester. Uckfield is 16 miles north-east of Brighton and 43 miles south of London.
Nearby towns include Brighton, Lewes, and Eastbourne to the south, Burgess Hill and Haywards Heath (both in West Sussex) to the west, Heathfield to the east, Hailsham to the south, and Crowborough in East Sussex, Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge (both in Kent) to the north. Uckfield is twinned with the German town of Quickborn. It has 4 near by villages. Including Ridgewood
The population of Uckfield in 1811 was 916; in 1841 was 1,534; in 1861 was 1,740; in 1871 was 2,041; in 1881 was 2,146; in 1891 was 2,497; in 1901 was 2,895; in 1911 was 3,344; in 1921 was 3,385; and in 1931 was 3,555. It is currently around 15,000.
Emma Lee French was born here in 1836.
Uckfield was the last place Lord Lucan was seen, at Grants Hill House, the home of his friends Ian and Susan Maxwell-Scott.
Nicholas van Hoogstraten, the property developer, owns property in the area. He is engaged in a long-running dispute with the Ramblers' Association about a local footpath running through his land. Van Hoogstraten is currently building a mansion, Hamilton Palace, on the outskirts of Uckfield.
The cinema in Uckfield was built in 1916, is called The Picture House and is supposedly the only cinema for 20 miles.
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[edit] History
It has existed since the twelfth century, but evidence has been found of stone age tribes that were in place around 9000 BC.
[edit] Origins of Uckfield's name
The town was originally called Uccafield. Uccafield derives from the Celtic word for 'High' or 'Height' - Uchafedd.(This in turn coming from the Indo European `Uchch'ya'). When the Anglo Saxons heard this word they changed the 'fedd' part to something they understood - 'Feld' from which 'field' derives. The original river Uck name was most likely related to the ancient Celtic word for 'water' or 'stream' - Uisge, derivations uske,usci, that give river names still existing such as the Usk. When the P celts came along the sound of the river name was so close to the sound of Ucha that the name became Uch or Ucca over time and eventually Uck. So Uckfield really means something like 'high place' - Uchafedd - and the river derived its modern name from this Celtic word.
There are, however, other theories as to how the name came about. One theory suggests that it came from "Oak in Field", something which is reflected in several town crests. Another theory is that it used to be the free land of a Saxon man called Ucca.
[edit] Railway
Uckfield is connected to London by Southern rail services via East Croydon. Uckfield is the terminating station, although the line ran to Lewes from 1858 to 1969.
Trains previously ran from Uckfield to Tunbridge Wells, but this line was closed in 1985.
Uckfield's new station, which is sited on the other side of the road so that trains don't have to cross a road to just terminate is the terminus for the Oxted Line Uckfield Branch.
There is a campaign, by the Wealden Line to attempt to re-open the railway between Uckfield and Lewes as well as the branch between Eridge and Tunbridge Wells as a part of the National Rail network.
[edit] Mysteries of Uckfield
There are three key mysteries and myths surrounding Uckfield. The first is the fact, as mentioned above, that it was the last place Lord Lucan was seen. Secondly, there is the tale of Nan Tuck's Ghost, an old witch who lived in the nearby forest. There is an area of the forest where nothing grows, and the ghost apparently chases people who wander down Nan Tuck's Lane at night. Thirdly, there is the hoax of the Piltdown Man, which occurred in the nearby village of Piltdown.
[edit] Flooding
Due to its location, Uckfield has been subject to extensive flooding a number of times. The last three floods were in 1989, 1994 and 2000.
[edit] Uckfield in literature
Uckfield has featured several times in notable literary works.
- Uckfield was the setting for the book Maximum Diner by Christopher Nye. It is an autobiographical work which tells of Nye's successful attempt to establish an American-style restaurant in a small town. The Maximum Diner, under new management, is still in operation.
- Uckfield was featured in Julian Fellowes' novel Snobs which included the fictional characters, the Marquess and Marchioness of Uckfield.
- Uckfield was also mentioned in the last chapter of John le Carré's The Honourable Schoolboy.
- The manic playwright Roland Maule, in the play Present Laughter by Noel Coward, is from Uckfield.
- The river Uck was mentioned in the 1990 novel Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.
