Brede is a picturesque village situated in the south-east corner of Sussex. This part of the county is crammed full of historical interest, being within easy reach of the ancient towns of Hastings, Rye, Winchelsea and Battle. The parish lies between the boundaries of two rivers, the Tillingham on the north, and the Brede on the south. Running through the centre of the parish from east to west along the Broad Oak ridge is the main road between Rye and Battle, commanding magnificent views in every direction. This is crossed at Broad Oak by another road (north to south) between Northiam and Hastings.
The parish boundaries were adjusted by the County Council in 1934, showing a population of 1,034. It has varied but little during the last 100 years: in 1831 the population was 1,064. There are 4,872 acres, of which about one-quarter is woodland. The woods have added greatly to the beauty of the scenery, besides providing work for farm labourers during the winter months. Charcoal-burners also formerly plied their ancient craft in the woods; remains of their numerous hearths can still be seen, reminiscent of the days when much fuel was needed for iron smelting.
For centuries oak and other timber of exceptional quality have been produced in great abundance, but alas! a terrible slightening took place during the Great War. It is remarkable how history repeats itself! In the year 1384, when Rye was threatened by a French invasion, the Constable of Dover, and other Commissioners were appointed to see how the town could be best and quickest fortified. They directed that as many trees as were necessary for its enclosure and fortification should be cut in the woods of Brede and other woods of the Abbot of Fécamp in the county, and taken to the town.
The woods have also (from beneath the surface) provided Brede with quantities of stone during the past century. Quarries have been worked in the Broadlands, Round and Reed’s woods, as well as on Shearfold, Reysons and Smoles farms. The stone, locally called Blue Stone (because of its colour) is hard and durable, and was at one time extensively used in repairing the roads of the district. Owing to the depth of the seams the quarries could not be worked at a profit and have now been closed.
Sandstone was also dug, and used for building purposes. The quarries, too, have proved rich in fossil remains; many specimens of the iguanodon, and other lizard types, as well as the lepidotus, have been found.
The clayey nature of the sub-soil of the parish provided suitable material for the making of bricks, tiles, and drain pipes, which were formerly turned out in large quantities, and were of excellent quality. The principal brick yards were on Reysons farm, at Brede Bridge and Brooklodge farm. The one at Reysons was successfully carried on for many years by Mr. Seymour Apps. Those at Brede Bridge and Brooklodge were owned and worked by Mr. Henry Smith.
Some of the Brooklodge bricks, with the word DRAIN stamped in the centre, have been built in irregular fashion into walls near the farm house. This has puzzled many. The explanation is that from the year 1784 until 1850 bricks were taxed, but in 1839 an Act of Parliament was passed exempting bricks used for the sole purpose of draining wet or marshy land, on condition that they were plainly moulded and stamped with the word DRAIN near the centre of the surface, so that the same may be easily and clearly legible to any officer of excise examining the same. If bricks so stamped should be used for any other purpose than for draining, the maker or seller of the bricks shall forfeit £50. This Act was repealed when the brick tax was removed eleven years later. Probably Mr. Smith, having a quantity of DRAIN stamped bricks on hand, used them indiscriminately in building his walls.
The brick yards mentioned, together with a more recent one in the Round Wood, have all been closed.
Owing to the heavy tillage of much of the arable land, the farmers of a past generation were accustomed to use large quantities of lime for the better working and purifying of the soil. Their wagons were sent to Lewes and other places on the Downs for chalk which was burned in kilns, of which nearly every farm possessed one. This fact explains the names of some of the fields, such as Kiln Field.
At the same time, marl was dug on several farms in the parish. It was spread on light and sandy land which needed stiffening and was found to be helpful in counteracting the scorching effect of hot, dry summers on the crops and also to increase generally the fertility of the soil. It was one of the recognised methods of husbandry in former times. Deep hollows still remain where the excavations for marl took place, and the fields in which they are found are commonly known as The Marlpits.
Hops have been successfully grown for many years in the low-lying and sheltered parts of the parish, particularly in the Tillingham Valley, the soil being of a rich loamy nature.
In this connection Brede holds a proud record. It has produced and gathered a crop of ripe and sound hops on the earliest date ever known in this country. They were the Early Hobbs variety and grown on four acres in the Shrubbery field on Hare farm by the late Mr. Frank Reeve, and picking commenced on August 8, 1889. The garden was visited by many curious hop growers from all over the district.1 It is interesting to note that the hop plant was brought into England from Flanders about the year 1525, but it was not until the reign of Elizabeth that it began to be cultivated. In 1710, by an Act of Queen Anne, a duty of 3d. per lb. was placed on imported hops, and this led to a largely increased acreage in Kent and Sussex. The earliest record I have of hops grown in Brede is from the
1 We exclude, of course, the yearly dates of the production of the first (official) pockets of hops which, owing to the keen competition of growers for this honour in the past, were gathered in a most immature condition and were of little or no value for brewing. The earliest pocket of which we have any record was produced by E. A. White, of Yalding, on July 20, 1889, and realised £12 per cwt. The highest price given for a fast pocket was £50 per cwt. on August 4, 1882. It was produced by T. Manwaring, of Brenchly.
account book of Zebulon Noakes of Billingham farm for the year 1720 He cultivated three varieties: Grape, Apple Pudding and Flemish.2
The area devoted to hops in Brede in 1833 was 256 acres, increasing until the highest point was reached in 1867, when there were 454 acres.
There are only about 74 acres now in cultivation and they are not likely to increase as control of the hop industry has been placed by the Government in the hands of a Hops Marketing Board, which regulates the acreage, the weight to be picked, and the price.
During recent years Brede has provided a plentiful supply of drinking water for the borough of Hastings. In 1897 the Corporation acquired Church House farm and. proceeded to sink two wells, 275 feet deep, on a portion of the land in the valley on the North side of the Brede river; another well, about 200 feet deep, was dug on the South side of the river, and connected by a tunnel with the other wells. This was followed by the erection of an up-to-date pumping station, with a tall factory-like chimney, somewhat out of harmony with the surrounding country.
To meet the necessary demand for an increased supply of water the Corporation, in 1928, purchased the Great Sanders estate, and built a dam 1,120 feet in length to impound the water of the Brede Powder Mill stream. The reservoir thus formed holds 188 million gallons, is 39 feet deep, and covers 54 acres, including the site of the ancient iron works.
Unfortunately the Corporation found it necessary to demolish several houses (including the 17th century Brede High farm house) within their catchment area, and did not replace them elsewhere.
The parish, however, welcome their action in planting many acres with larch and fir, which in a few years will doubtless prove an added attraction to the countryside.
Extract from Brede: The Story of a Sussex Parish by Edmund Austen (1946) - reproduced by kind permission of Adams of Rye
