Crowborough

Crowborough is a town and civil parish in East Sussex, England, in the Weald at the edge of Ashdown Forest in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, 7 miles (11 km) south-west of Royal Tunbridge Wells and 33 miles (53 km) south of London. It had a population 20,607 at the 2011 Census. Various derivations for the town's name have been put forward. Early local documents give the names Crohbergh, Crowbergh, Croweborowghe, Crowbarrow and Crowboro. Croh in Old English meant saffron or golden-yellow colour, and berg meant hill. Gorse grows in profusion in the Crowborough Beacon area, and its yellow flowers might well have contributed to the meaning. In 1734, Sir Henry Fermor, a local benefactor, bequeathed money for a church and charity school for the benefit of the "very ignorant and heathenish people" that lived in the part of Rotherfield "in or near a place called Crowborough and Ashdown Forest". The church, dedicated to All Saints, and primary school still survive today. The railway arrived in 1868, leading to significant growth of the town. By 1880, the town had grown so much that the ecclesiastical parish of All Saints was separated from that of St Denys, Rotherfield. In the late 19th century, Crowborough was promoted as a health resort based on its high elevation, the rolling hills and surrounding forest. Estate Agents even called it "Scotland in Sussex". The town's golf course opened in 1895, followed by a fire station and hospital in 1900. From 1942 to 1982, a site near Crowborough hosted notable radio transmitters, including the Aspidistra transmitter during World War II and, after the war, the BBC External Service broadcasts to Europe transmitters. Crowborough became an ecclesiastical parish in 1880: previously it had been part of Rotherfield. A civil parish was established on 6 April 1905; the parish council was renamed as a Town Council on 24 May 1988. Until 2012, Crowborough shared the headquarters of Wealden District Council with Hailsham, 14 miles (22 km) to the south.