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Two hundred years ago Crowborough was a little more than a
scatter of cottages, an inn or two, and a little church and school on the
slopes of the Beacon, at nearly 800 feet the second highest point in East
Sussex.
A century later the rapidly expanding village was being promoted as a health
resort because of its bracing air and magnificent views over three counties.
Crowborough was described, without too much regard to geographical accuracy,
as Scotland in Sussex, thanks to the proximity of Ashdown
forest with its heather and pines, and also as the Harrogate
of the South. Houses proliferated, and a number of hotels were built. The
largest of all was the 100 bedroomed Beacon, dominating the summit of the
hill. The golf course was another major attraction.
Since then Crowborough has developed even further, but not as a health
resort, although its situation is magnificently unchanged. With a population
of 20,000 it is now the largest inland town in East
Sussex. Nearly all the hotels have gone, but the little chapel
and school, a legacy of the village's great benefactor, Sir Henry Fermor,
remains, enlarged beyond their founder's wildest dreams. The secondary modern
school which was built near the Fermor
School in the 1950's became the
first and largest comprehensive school in the county, and now spreads over
two sites as Beacon
Community College. The
golf club in more popular than at any time in
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its century-old history, other sports clubs are thriving, and a big
leisure and camping and caravan site with its superb view northwards into
Kent adds to the attraction of the town. caravan site with its superb view
northwards into Kent
adds to the attraction of the town.
For 25 years Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock
Holmes, lived at Windlesham, a large house on the southern slopes of the
Beacon. Some of the stories featuring the great detective were written there,
and the nearby golf course is mentioned in Sir Arthur's novel The Poison
Belt. When the 1914-1918 war broke out he organised a local defence force, a
forerunner of Dad's Army. Another author, but of a very different kind, who
lived at Crowborough for a time was the naturalist Richard Jefferies,
commemorated by a plaque on a house in London Road.
Since 1966 Crowborough has been twinned with the French town of Montargis, a link which
resulted from a wartime friendship between Resistance leader, Jean Laurent,
and the late Colonel Maurice Buckmaster, who lived near Crowborough. Frequent
exchange visits are made between the two towns, and the relationship is
fostered by the Friends of Montargis in Crowborough and by Les Amis de
Crowborough on the other side of the Channel. Crowborough's other twinning
partner is the town of Horwich in Lancashire, and their Carnival Queen,
together with Montargis's, take part every year in Crowborough Bonfire
Society's annual carnival which regularly raises large sums for charity.
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The town has had a long association with the British Army.
Warren Camp, established in the 1914-1918 war, was in use throughout the
second world war, and is still a training base. Another camp was set up on St John's Common during
the 1939-45 war, and was used for many years afterwards. The site is now
occupied by the Horder Centre for Arthritis, often visited by the patron,
Princess Margaret. During the second world war a Canadian Army camp on the
edge of the golf course was hit by a flying bomb. A memorial to the soldiers
who were killed stands on the site, and a service of remembrance is held
annually, organised by Crowborough branch of the Royal British Legion and the
Canadian Veterans Association of the United Kingdom. In 1989 the
Freedom of Crowborough was bestowed on the Queen's Regiment, and three years
later, when the Queens' amalgamated with the
Royal Hampshires to form the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, the honour
was transferred to the new regiment.
Since 1905 Crowborough, once part of the ancient parish of Rotherfield, has
been a separate civil parish. The former parish council is now a Town
Council, with a Town Mayor and a Town Hall, the former branch of the East Sussex
County library. Among
the council's other responsibilities, it maintains six local recreation
grounds and playing fields, and organises a summer fair and a firework
display on November 5.
Frank Sellens 15/11/2008
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