Beckley, East Sussex

History

Beckley was part of the Wealden iron industry. An iron furnace was built in 1578, at the small settlement still called Beckley Furnace. A watermill powered the bellows. Production ceased in 1770.

The 1830s saw a mass emigration of Beckley residents to New South Wales. At the time, the developing colony of New South Wales was in need of skilled agricultural labourers, whilst the English labourers were suffering hard times. Various schemes were introduced to provide finance for workers to emigrate. 165 Beckley residents took up the offer and emigrated. Amongst those residents were Thomas and Maria Ann Smith (née Sherwood), the cultivator of the Granny Smith apple. Another of those residents who emigrated at this time was Henry Charles Packham, whose son Charles, in Molong, New South Wales, was the cultivator of the Packham pear. A young emigrant who did well was George Fielder (1827–1913) the illegitimate son of Hannah Bowlin and George Parsons of Yew Tree Farm, Northiam. He emigrated in 1838 on the "James Pattison" with his mother and stepfather, became a miller in Tamworth and founded the flour milling company George Fielder & Co. now controlled by the international conglomerate Wilmar

The parish church is the All Saints church, which is located at the far west end of the town. The Revd William Glaister was the rector here in 1839 when his daughter Elizabeth Glaister was born. She would be an author and embroiderer.

A notable person from Beckley was George Elliott, a bricklayer who founded the town of Sussex, Wisconsin in 1843.

Governance

The lowest level of government is the Beckley parish council which meets once a month. The parish council is responsible for local amenities such as the provision of litter bins, bus shelters and allotments. They also provide a voice into the district council meetings. The parish council comprises seven councillors with elections being held every four years. The May 2007 election was uncontested.

Current details about the Parish can be found on the official Parish Council website.

Rother District council provides the next level of government with services such as refuse collection, planning consent, leisure amenities and council tax collection. Beckley lies within the Rother Levels ward, which provides two councillors. The May 2007 election returned two Conservatives councillors.

East Sussex county council is the third tier of government, providing education, libraries and highway maintenance. Beckley falls within the Northern Rother ward. Peter Jones, Conservative, was elected in the May 2005 election with 49.7% of the vote.

The UK Parliament constituency for Beckley is Bexhill and Battle.

Prior to Brexit in 2020, Beckley was part of the South East England constituency in the European Parliament.

References

References

1. "East Sussex in Figures". East Sussex County Council.
2. "Civil Parish population 2011".
3. (2007). "Wealden Iron Series 2". Wealden Iron Research Group.
4. "Beckley Sussex". Villagenet.co.uk.
5. "Local History". Beckley History Society.
6. Finn, Rosslyn. "Packham, Charles Henry (1842–1909)". National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
7. "A village claims its slice of history: the birthplace of the Packham Pear".
8. East Sussex Record Office, PAR 369/34/3/10
9. "NRS5316/4_4784/James Pattison_11 Dec 1838/".
10. Hulse, Lynn. (2024-07-11). "Glaister, Elizabeth (1839–1892), author and embroiderer". Oxford University Press.
11. Stevens, Derek. (4 April 2007). "Election of seven councillors". Rother District Council}} {{Dead link.
12. "Beckley Parish Council". Beckley Parish Council.