Crowhurst, East Sussex
Crowhurst is an isolated village situated five miles (8 km) north-west of Hastings in East Sussex. It has a parish council and is located within the Rother District Council. The village The parish church is dedicated to St George. The ruins of the manor house lie to the south of it. Although small, the village does have a railway station on the London to Hastings line. It was built in 1902 as a junction station for a branch line to Bexhill. The line crossed nearby marshes on a 17-arch viaduct; the line was closed under the so-called "Beeching cuts" in 1964, and the viaduct was demolished in 1969. The village has a primary school. The village post office closed in March 2008: until then it served as a convenience store also. There is a pub, The Plough; until 1998 there was a second pub, The Inn at Crowhurst. History The earliest mention of the settlement is in 771, when King Offa of Mercia gave the Bishop of Selsey a piece of land here; a church was then built by the Bishop. Crowhurst (then called Croghyrst) itself remained the king's land until 1412, although various landowners were given possession of it over that time: Robert Count of Eu, after the Norman Conquest of England the Fitz-Lambert family, until the 12th century Walter de Scotney, given by Richard I after the Third Crusade, although Walter forfeited it in 1259, having been found guilty of a crime Sir John Pelham, given to him by Henry IV in 1412; Pelham built the present parish church Religion St George's Church The Norman church is dedicated to St George. A 4000 year old yew tree in the church yard testifies to the location as likely being a sacred place in pagan times. The church is of simple design, and all ornamentation was removed during the Puritan times of the 17th century. It is an architecturally Grade II listed building . It was mostly built from the 12th to the 15th centuries. The body of the church appears to have been 11th or 12th century in origin, but was largely rebuilt in 1794 and again completely in 1856. The oldest remaining part is the 15th century tower of sandstone ashlar. A nearby flying bomb explosion destroyed much of the original stained glass in 1944. Crowhurst Christian Healing Centre The Crowhurst Christian Healing Centre (CCHC) is an Anglican healing retreat, located at The Old Rectory on Forewood Lane. It was founded in 1928 as the Divine Healing Mission by the Australian faith healer James Moore Hickson. Landmarks The ruins of the ancient manor house originally built by Walter de Scotney in 1250 stand in a private garden just south of the churchyard. It was rebuilt and enlarged by John, Earl of Richmond between 1357 and 1360. The village is home to the Fore Wood RSPB reserve, part of which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The interest is due to its ghyll habitat; steep ravines cut