3. Upper Ouse Valley
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Upper Ouse Valley 3 Chelwood Common Danehill Sheffield Forest Bluebell Railway A26 Maresfield A275 Park Maresfield Sheffield Park Fletching Buxted Buxted River Ouse Park Piltdown Chailey North Common A272 A26 Newick Shortbridge Uckfield Stream Framfield River Uck © Crown copyright all rights reserved East Sussex County Council 100019601 2016 33 Upper Ouse Valley Landscape Character Area HighHigh WealdWeald AONB 0 0.75 1.51.5 3 4.5 6 Upper Ouse Valley Landscape Character Area Kilometers © ESCC 2016 The East Sussex County Landscape Assessment The Weald High Upper Ouse Valley Chailey and Piltdown Commons provide 3 small, fragmented patches of heathland undulating gently sloping villages on higher terrain with broad river basin ground often valleys, but more dominated pronounced relief by churches ragged skyline near N. edge incised roadways parkland and heathland numerous large ponds parks and gardens small, winding alder-lined abundant some significant rivers and streams tree cover designed landscapes © ESCC 2016 The East Sussex County Landscape Assessment The Weald High Upper Ouse Valley 3 • The extensive area of woodland including Sheffield Forest, Contents Pollardsland and Maskett woods. A. Landscape Description • Many of the woods are ancient semi-natural woodland with B. Landscape Evaluation extensive areas replanted with chestnut coppice mixed with C. Vision and Strategy conifers. D. Guidelines for Managing Change • Characteristic tree species are of coppiced chestnut on the sandy soils with oak in the south east on the Wadhurst clays. A Landscape Description • Birch predominates in younger woodland and on the heaths, Key Landscape characteristics with some pine. • Countryside of low ridges and wider valleys covered by an • Other characteristic species are beech, wild cherry and yew with intricate pattern of streams and woods. alder and willow in the river and stream valleys. • The catchment of the upper reaches of the River Ouse which • Many scattered farm ponds and large hammer ponds as relics of includes Shortbridge Stream and the River Uck. the iron industry which thrived in this area. • Winding, alder-lined rivers and streams. • A sense of tranquillity and relative remoteness away from the main settlements and roads. • Gently undulating terrain with broad valleys, but more pronounced relief near the northern edge where the low weald • A close network of winding, sunken lanes with scattered landscape rises to that of the high weald. settlements and individual dwellings often strung out along them. • A heavily wooded landscape which provides areas of relative remoteness especially in the valleys and larger woods. • Traditional building materials for the area are red brick, often laid as Flemish bond with blued brick ends, red tiled roofs and • Significant designed landscaped parkland at Sheffield and tile hung upper stories are typical. Buxted Parks. • Oak timber framed and sandstone houses reflect the abundance • Small village settlements with distinctive churches. of locally sourced timber and quarried stone. • Rock outcrops and incised roadways. • Flint was used in building in the south of the area which is closer • Historic farmhouses and large farmsteads. to the downs where it was sourced. • Chailey North and Piltdown Common provide small, fragmented • Several main roads cross the area, the A275 across the west of but significant patches of heathland. the area, the A272 across the middle and the A26 across the east • Abundant tree cover, with 17.5% woodland and a strong structure as the Uckfield bypass. of woods, trees, hedges and shaws. © ESCC 2016 The East Sussex County Landscape Assessment The Weald High Upper Ouse Valley 3 • The Uckfield to London railway runs across the eastern corner. The village of Piltdown was the centre of one of the most renowned • The historic Bluebell Railway has its very popular visitor centre paleoanthropological hoaxes of all time. A skull was discovered at Sheffield Park Station and runs west to continue to East in 1912 in a local gravel pit which appeared to be the missing link between humans and apes but turned out to be a fake. Although Grinstead. never proven this was probably instigated by Charles Dawson who Cultural Interests was later exposed as a serial archaeological hoaxer. In the 16th century there were many iron furnaces in the area The prime meridian crosses the western part of the area through and William Levett of Buxted was a prime mover in the Wealden Danehill. iron industry as well as being a vicar. The Levett family supplied armaments to Henry VIII. Notable residents of the area include Vivien Leigh who lived near Framfield at Tickerage Mill, the actor Jimmy Edwards lived in Sheffield Park Gardens was a 16 century deer park where the Fletching and Bee Gee Maurice Gibb also lived in Fletching. 3rd Duke of Norfolk entertained Henry VIII. When the house was remodelled to a Gothic style by James Wyatt in the late 1700s the grounds were remodelled by Capability Brown and later by Repton. Later owners developed the garden’s horticultural collection of trees and shrubs and it is especially notable for rhododendron and camellia collections and autumn colour. In 1884 the cricket pitch hosted the first ever England versus Australia cricket match. During WW2 the estate was the headquarters for a Canadian armoured division. Maresfield Park and house were owned by Alexander Munster of Hanover until 1914 when the estate was confiscated and sold off in 1924. The park was used as a military camp and soldiers’ married quarters were developed at Queens Drive and south of Parklands. Buxted Park was purchased in the early 1830s by the then Prime Minister, The Earl of Liverpool. He increased the size of the parkland by relocating the entire village apart from the church. Most of Buxted village has been built on its current site since this time. © ESCC 2016 The East Sussex County Landscape Assessment The Weald High Upper Ouse Valley 3 Table 1 Key positive Landscape Attributes • Countryside of low ridges and wider valleys covered by an • A sense of tranquillity and relative remoteness away from intricate pattern of streams and woods. the main settlements and roads. • The River Ouse catchment of winding, alder-lined rivers and • Traditional building materials for the area are red brick, streams. often laid as Flemish bond, red tiled roofs and tile hung upper stories are typical. • Gently undulating terrain with broad valleys. • Oak timber framed and sandstone houses reflect the • A heavily wooded landscape which provides areas of abundance of locally sourced timber and quarried stone. relative remoteness. • The historic Bluebell Railway has its very popular visitor • Significant designed landscaped parkland at Sheffield and centre at Sheffield Park Station and runs west to continue Buxted Parks. to East Grinstead. • Small village settlements with distinctive churches. • Rock outcrops and incised roadways. • Historic farmhouses and large farmsteads. • Chailey North and Piltdown Common are significant patches of heathland. • Coppiced chestnut woods with oak. • Other characteristic species are beech, wild cherry and yew with alder and willow in the river and stream valleys. • Many scattered farm ponds and large hammer ponds as relics of the iron industry which thrived in this area. © ESCC 2016 The East Sussex County Landscape Assessment The Weald High Upper Ouse Valley 3 B Landscape Evaluation Forces for Change impacting on positive attributes Table 2 Current Condition Past / Current forces for change • A 400Kv power line traverses the area, passing close to This is a largely unspoilt and tranquil rural landscape with Chailey Common. few intrusive features. The landscape is in generally good condition and well managed as farmland with a strong historic • Several areas of large scale intensive arable farming with structure. Agricultural change and diversification has led to loss of hedge structure, especially between Newick and some gentrification of the rural landscape and farm steads. Fletching. Creeping suburbansation and urban fringe pressures are • Coniferisation of larger woods. evident around the towns and larger villages detracting from local distinctiveness. As with most of the Wealden landscape • Loss of riverside trees due to river flood management. the historic field patterns of small fields and significant • The Trees on the River Uck (TrUck) project a new and hedgerows remain intact. Many woodlands have been affected by lack of management, rhododendron invasion and innovative project that hopes to decrease the impacts of coniferisation. flooding in Uckfield town, by restoring natural river features such as floodplain woodlands. • Numerous large modern farm groups, including battery units. • Urban fringe pressures around Newick and Uckfield. • Some open built-up edges to the countryside around Uckfield. • Creeping suburbanisation and cumulative changes in the rural landscape, roads and villages which are not in sympathy with local distinctiveness or vernacular architecture. • Urban fringe pressures, particularly around Uckfield. • Development pressures in the villages. © ESCC 2016 The East Sussex County Landscape Assessment The Weald High Upper Ouse Valley 3 • Agricultural diversification to hobby farms and horsiculture. Future Forces for Change • Changes in the types and frequency of grazing animals • The need to provide local housing in the villages, especially in the countryside impacts on character as they are the larger service centres. a characteristic feature. Lack