About

HORAM is a village situated in the Weald of Sussex, once part of a vast forest of 1700 square miles situated between the North Downs and the South Downs of south-east England. The Weald is now a land of green fields, arable farmland and small woods, as nothing is left of the ancient forest except for a few sites which are now of scientific interest.

The Wealden administrative District (population 142,000) covers 323 square miles of the larger geographical area which is the Weald. Horam (population 2500) lies 3 miles south of Heathfield, one of the five main towns in the District.

Horam is a village and a civil parish. This is a small administrative area for the purposes of local government, as well as a place which has its own church belonging to the Church of England and also has Horam Village Hall & Recreation Ground

There is another village within the Parish, the small community of Vines Cross. Most of the people of Horam parish live close to the centres of Horam and Vines Cross, but many others live in houses dotted along the roads and lanes.

The southern slopes of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty touch Horam on its northern fringe. Old established rights of way allow you to walk in the fields and woods on routes defined by small yellow waymarks nailed to gates and stiles, or by signposts and unusual concrete marker stones.

It is possible to find peace and solitude in Horam’s countryside even though you are never far from habitation. The landscape is cut by streams which have carved valleys, by trees and hedgerows, and by narrow winding lanes. One of these valleys is on the line of a fracture or “fault” in the rocks beneath, but nobody has any worries about an earthquake occurring here (perhaps we should be concerned!). The main stream is the Waldron Ghyll (or Gill) which is a headwater of the River Cuckmere.

The land in Horam rises from about 41 metres above sea level (on the stream at Horeham Bridge) to about 97 metres in two places, one on a public path near Vines Cross, the other to the north-west of Horam village on the main road. From the high land there are good views southwards to the distant South Downs (the hills some 11 miles towards the English Channel).

The geology of the Horam area is fairly complex insofar as there are several different surface soils within the locality, but not least because of the occurrence of large nodules of clay ironstone which used to be dug for smelting.

The large deposits of Wadhurst Clay, formed when the lower lying land of the Weald was a shallow lake or lakes, about 130 million years ago, are predominant; they still influence the kind of farming which can be carried on locally today and have been exploited for brick manufacture at Marle Green, Horam – a local industry which we expect to see revived in a few years time. Very close by are deposits of the Ashdown Sand, Tunbridge Wells Sand (overlying the clay) and other superficial material deposited by long-gone rivers. Depending where you are in Horam, you could have the sticky yellowish-brown Wadhurst Clay or a light, dusty kind or soil in your garden – or sometimes a layer of each.

The village of Vines Cross is believed to have been named after John Vyne “The Vintner” of Hellingly in 1595.

However, there is evidence that can be seen today in the form of vines and, hence, grapes in the area. Indeed, there is a winery nearby. One suggestion is that the village name could have come from the cross at the vines.

This dormitory village once had a thriving school, bakers, post office, church and grocers, but now only has a public house (The Brewers Arms) and a garage at the centre and cross roads of the village. The garage was once a forge and blacksmiths and sits alongside “Forge Cottage”. Housing is a mixture of original dwellings and more modern designs. There is still evidence of the iron industry to be seen including the names of roads, houses and adjacent areas. Vines Cross supports and enjoys many communities including artisans, writers and artists, professionals, the retired, young people and workers in commercial and light industrial sectors. The young enjoy primary education at Maynard’s Green School and St Mary’s School and beyond. The secondary and tertiary sectors are catered for at Heathfied, Lewes and Eastbourne. Brighton and Sussex Universities are an easy drive away with campuses at Falmer, Eastbourne, Hastings and Brighton.

The Vines Cross Community Association (VCCA) and “History Group” still meet and plan activities. The VCCA has recently organised events for young children, carols at Christmas and fetes. The VCCA was originally created with the express task of finding land and building a village hall for functions and events. However, with modern lifestyles and technology the need for this facility has lessoned.

Vines Cross also had a very active “bonfire society” that organised fireworks and festivities. Due to access issues on local land unfortunately fireworks have been less prominent in the village calendar.

There are many public footpaths that cross the area and the “Cuckoo Trail” is a short walk away.

Public transport in the immediate area is limited.

Vines Cross has one of the smallest libraries in the country and is situated in the village and housed in a refurbished “Telephone Kiosk”- with a leave a book/take a book scheme.