Felbridge & District History Group

This document is the third in a series that will cover some of the more interesting items from the on-going Felbridge Finds Database (FFD) that have been found ‘underfoot’ in the Felbridge area, although most of the items have actually been found on the ground surface.  The extent of the area covered includes the Felbridge estate (Wiremill, Hedgecourt, Furnace Wood, Snow Hill and Cuttinglye Wood areas); Felbridge ecclesiastical parish (Newchapel, Gullege, Imberhorne and North End areas) and Felbridge Civil parish (from Chartham to Effingham and from Horne to the Surrey side of Felbridge county boundary with Sussex).  Some of the items have been found through Field Walking sessions organised or monitored by the Felbridge History Group, but many of the items have been brought to our attention by the general public who have either given or loaned us the item for identification, verification, recording and entry onto the FFD.  The on-going FFD of all finds is extensive and therefore only available on request. 

The Felbridge Finds Database (FFD) was established to record the items found ‘underfoot’ in Felbridge to try and understand how the land in the area has been used through the finds left as a result of human activity, thus establishing a social history of the Felbridge area and its community.  It is now known, through the items that have been found in the Felbridge area, that people have potentially been living and working here since about 8,000BC and have been losing or throwing away their personal, work related and domestic belongings for over 10,000 years.  There are a multitude of finds on the FFD that cover all aspects of human activity including personal items, coins and tokens, military and warfare artefacts, worked flint and tools, implements from working life and domestic use and house debris. 

The first document covered some of the more interesting pieces of Smoking Paraphernalia that have been found in Felbridge and the local area up until September 2019 and included: clay tobacco pipes, a tobacco jar and snuff containers.   

The second document covered some of the more interesting pieces of Militaria & Weaponry that have so far been found in Felbridge and the local area up until the beginning of 2020 and included: personal items such as Military Regimental buttons, badges, spurs and sword belt hooks; Ordnance such as cannon balls, iron ball shot, lead musket ball/pistol shot, bullets, shell cases, shrapnel and bombs; Weaponry such as a Dane axe, dagger and sword pommels, sheaths and hilts; and remnants of Manufacture including tap slag and cinder from the 16^th to late 18^th century blasting process, shards of the clay lining of cannon moulds and a small bore round lead shot scissor mould.

This document, the third in the series will cover some of the more interesting pieces of Pre-Conquest material that have so far been found in Felbridge and the local area up until 2022 and includes items from the Mesolithic and Neolithic eras, the Bronze Age, the Roman period and the Anglo-Saxon period such as: worked flint and flint tools, a bronze axe head, road systems, iron working sites, a moated site, building debris, pottery shards, coins and jewellery. 

Introduction to the Pre-Historic
The Pre-Historic period dates roughly from 2.5 million years ago to 1,200BC and is generally divided into three archaeological periods: Palaeolithic or Old Stone Age (about 2.5million years ago until 10,000 years ago or 8,000BC, which in turn is sub-divided as Lower, Middle and Upper Palaeolithic), Mesolithic or Middle Stone Age (8,000-4,000BC) and Neolithic or New Stone Age (4,000-3,000BC).  There is evidence of ancient ‘human’ activity in Britain from Neanderthal individuals, during the Palaeolithic period, including footprints in Norfolk, hand axes and fire hearths in Suffolk, animal butchery in Sussex and cave dwelling and teeth in Wales.  However, the first evidence for ‘modern’ humans, Homo sapiens, in Britain is not until 40,000 years ago during the Upper Palaeolithic period.

Throughout much of the Palaeolithic period, Britain was joined to Europe by a land bridge known as Doggerland (the remnants of which are Dogger Banks) that allowed for easy movement of the human species, and ideas, between the two areas.  However, with the end of the last Ice Age (about 12,000 years ago) sea levels steadily rose resulting in the loss of Doggerland, now submerged under the North Sea, and the creation of Britain as an island by about 10,000 years ago or 8,000BC.

There is currently no evidence of ‘human’ activity in the Felbridge area during any of the Palaeolithic period.  To understand why the Felbridge area is devoid of human activity during the Palaeolithic period it is important to look at the geology and landscape of what is now known as the Weald, of which Felbridge is part. 

It is believed that for the first 20 million years of the Cretaceous period (145 to 66 million years ago, which includes the Lower Palaeolithic and the majority of the Middle Palaeolithic), the Weald was a vast fresh water to brackish swamp or estuary.  Rivers drained into the area bringing with them deposits of mud, silt, sand, iron and other minerals leached out of the soil on route.  These became compressed to form layers of clay, siltstone and sandstone, with nodules of iron in seams of up to 9ins/22.9cms thick.  In the area of Felbridge, sandy deposits built up and gave rise to the Tunbridge Wells Sand followed by an accumulation of Weald Clay.  The sea then broke into the swamp or estuary and the clay beds were buried beneath marine sands and the clays of the Lower Greensand, Gault and Upper Greensand.  This was later overlain with chalk that slowly accumulated over 35 million years.  Thus there were few resources here to entice any human life during this period in time, although with the laying down of rich seams of iron, later humans would benefit from these resources (see Roman below). 

By the end of the Upper Palaeolithic the environment of the Felbridge area had changed enough to support the growth of woodland for which the Weald is known and there is evidence of human activity in the Felbridge area during the Mesolithic era (10,000 years ago or 8,000-4,000BC).  The following describes a little about the eras and materials exploited by ancient humans, together with some of the better finds listed on the FFD found in Felbridge.

Mesolithic (8,000-4,000BC) and Neolithic (4,000-3,000BC)

Mesolithic
With the formation of the Wealden landscape, of which the Felbridge area is part, resources gradually became available and sort-after by humans of the Mesolithic period, who were a nomadic people of hunter/gatherers.  They lived in family units or tribes in small camps, often near rivers and other bodies of water, travelling in pursuit of food.  They used small stone tools, generally made of flint, to produce scrapers and blades or crafted points to be attached to antlers, bone or wood to serve as spears and arrows and some of these tools and manufacturing debris has been found in the Felbridge area. 

Flint is not a stone normally found in the Felbridge area unless it has been brought here by humans, either for tool making in the Mesolithic, Neolithic and Early Bronze Age periods or from the 18^th century as a result of the agricultural practise of using burnt lime as fertiliser for the land (for further information see Handout, Lime kilns & Lime burning in Felbridge, SJC 11/00).  However, there is generally a visible distinction between the flint that has arrived as part of the lime burning process and that which has been hit by later ploughing and that of the tools, worked flint and manufacturing debris, dropped or left behind by the Mesolithic, Neolithic and Early Bronze Age peoples.   

Neolithic
During the Neolithic period, humans turned from nomadic hunter/gathers to settled agriculture and food production.  They no longer had the need to travel to gather food as they had domesticated animals and were able to cultivate cereal grains, resulting in more permanent settlements.  However, they still relied on, and used, flint tools.  Although no evidence has yet been found for Neolithic settlement in the Felbridge area, their flint tools and manufacturing debris has been found.

With Mesolithic, Neolithic and Early Bronze Age peoples relying on flint for the production of tools it is often difficult to determine from which era a flint tool belongs.  However, generally a Mesolithic flint tool is not quite as refined as a Neolithic or Early Bronze Age tool and Mesolithic cores (see below) are often further worked as flint was considered a precious commodity.  By the Neolithic period and later, cores do not appear to be further worked so perhaps flint was considered to be a more disposable commodity by then.

Flints and Flint Working
As established above, flint is not natural to the Felbridge area so any flint found here has been brought into the area at some date, be it in the Mesolithic, Neolithic, Early Bronze Age or from the 18^th century with the agricultural practise of lime burning.  Evidence of flint working and flint tools has been found in the Felbridge area from the Mesolithic period and can be placed into two categories, manufacture and finished product and examples have been found for all the afore mentioned eras in all categories.  The majority of the finds on the FFD come from Imberhorne Farm, found during field walking, particularly of Long Field and Heathy Field.  This is not to say that flint working did not take place elsewhere in Felbridge only that evidence has not yet been found or reported from many other areas of Felbridge.  Long Field was walked in 2003 and is extensively covered in the Field Walk Report 01: Imberhorne Farm Archaeological Field Walk Report of 10^th May 2003 (available to read at http://www.felbridge.org.uk/web_images/field_walk_report01.pdf) and in 2004, Heathy Field was walked and the summary of items found is covered in Handout, Archaeology of Imberhorne Farm, JIC 09/08.

Since 2004, several other flint items have been found at Imberhorne Farm as well as at Furnace Wood and Hedgecourt Farm and there are reports of flint items being found in New Domewood, FelbridgePark and Rowplatt Lane.

Manufacture
This category includes the raw materials needed to make a flint product:

Flint nodules: brought to the area.  It is not possible to determine the exact location of the original source for the flint found in the Felbridge area although the colouration can suggest a probable origin, ie: white/light grey and light blue flints are indicative of originating from Chalk Downland; flints showing orange, buff, brown or yellow-green staining originate from river terrace gravels; black/grey staining come from clay-with-flints (top of the Downs) and Head deposits (fragmentary flint that has been exposed through weathering and subsequently moved down slope); dark/mottled blue come from clay-with-flint deposits; and olive/dark grey/black come from rivers and peaty areas.  In general, the flints found in Felbridge as either part of the manufacturing process or the finished item, would appear to come from either Chalk Downland, ie: North or South Downs or clay-with-flint and Head deposits, again from the North or South Downs.

Hammer Stones: both hard and soft, to work the flint.  Hard hammer stones (cobbles) are ovoid in shape, to best fit the human hand, and are made of materials such as sandstone, limestone or quartzite.  They are used for flint knapping to produce flakes and hand axes.  For finer, more detailed work and the finishing of edges, soft hammer stones are used made from a variety of materials including antler and wood.  Hammer stones would have been portable and individuals probably had their own, which they carried with them.  Examples of either have not yet been found in the Felbridge area.

Cores: the scarred nuclei resulting from the detachment of one or more flint flakes from a larger nodule of flint, usually by using a hammer stone.  Early toolmakers were masters of the craft of flint knapping and knew that to strike off the right kind of flakes and blades, the flint needed to be carefully prepared and kept in good condition.   First they had to create a striking platform that had to be flat or nearly flat.  When a flake was stuck away it would leave a slight curving lip below the edge of the platform and if the lip became too big it made it hard to see how far back they needed to hit to get the next flake off successfully.  Thus the edge of the core would be prepared after every few blows by trimming it back. 

In the Mesolithic it was common practise to rotate a good quality flint core and work from many different angles in order to make the most of the material.  Sometimes, when the core became unworkable, the knapper would strike off a flake to create a new platform.  The resulting rejuvenation flakes were sometimes discarded and sometimes retouched for use as a scraper (see below).

Examples of both Mesolithic and Neolithic cores have been found at Imberhorne Farm in both Long Field and Heathy Field, with high concentrations found towards the northwest of Long Field, heading towards Felbridge Water whereas in Heathy Field the highest concentration was found on the highest land, near Gullege.

Flakes: the shards of flint struck from a core.  Many are merely waste flakes and are sometimes referred to by the French term debitage, but a small number are suitable for further work and are re-touched to become tools such as microliths, blades and scrapers (see below).  Flakes that are at least twice as long as it they are wide are referred to as a blades (see below), some of which are suitable for use as knives, whilst others could be used as side scrapers or end scrapers.

Flakes have been found extensively at Imberhorne Farm in both Long Field and Heathy Field, dating to the Mesolithic and Neolithic eras, and flakes have also been found in Furnace Wood.

Waste: the unwanted or unusable material resulting from knapping flint tools or partially worked flint that, for some reason or another, was deemed unsuitable to continue knapping or creating a tool.  The discovery of flint waste and flakes points to the exact spot that an ancient human once sat to produce a flint tool.

Again, like the flakes, waste flint has been found extensively at Imberhorne Farm in both Long Field and Heathy Field, dating to the Mesolithic and Neolithic era, as well as on the East/West Pre-Historic Track-way in Greenfield Shaw, with waste flint found in Furnace Wood.

Tools and Hunting/Weaponry
Microliths: verysmall flint tools (also know as thumb scrapers), appear in the Mesolithic era.  They are often trapezoid in shape and are used to make arrow heads, spears and other weapons and tools.  The small flint blades were generally secured by tree resin or possibly twine to wooden or bone hafts, angled away from the main point to create barbs so as to make extraction difficult. 

Examples of microliths or thumb scrapers from the Mesolithic and Neolithic eras have been found at Imberhorne Farm in Long Field, Heathy Field and Gullege Field.

Blades: flint tools created by striking a long narrow flake from a flint core.  Blades are defined as being flakes that are at least twice as long as they are wide and that have parallel or sub-parallel sides and at least two ridges on the dorsal (outer) side.  The long sharp edges of blades made them useful for a variety of purposes, particularly useful for cutting, but they could also be incorporated as parts of larger tools, such as spears.

Blades have been found from the Mesolithic and Neolithic eras at Imberhorne Farm in Long Field and Heathy Field, as well as in Furnace Wood.

Scrapers: are probably the most common type of tool of the Mesolithic and Neolithic eras.  Scrapers were generally used for working soft material such as the processing of animal hides but may also have been used for woodworking.  They come in a variety of shapes and sizes and, when found, often show signs of re-touching to keep them sufficiently sharp for the removal of the unwanted, excess surface being worked.  The cutting edges can be either concave or convex.

Examples of scrapers, mostly from the Neolithic era, have been found at Imberhorne Farm in both Long Field and Heathy Field, as well as at Smythford (see under Roman below), to the west of Imberhorne Farm.

Piercing tool/Boring points: are made of flakes or blades with one end retouched or reshaped into a point.  They would appear to have been used in the hand and not attached to a haft.  They were probably used in a twisting motion, backwards and forwards, to create a hole in the surface being worked.

Several examples of piercing tools/boring points, probably from the Neolithic era, have been found at Imberhorne Farm in both Long Field and Heathy Field.

Hand Axe: is a Pre-Historic flint tool with two faces, which is considered to be the longest-used tool in human history.  Early axe heads were held in the hand whilst later ones were secured to a haft.  They were probably used to butcher animals, dig for tubers or water, chop wood or remove tree bark.

A hand axe dating to the Mesolithic (authenticated by the Department of Pre-Historic & Romano-British Antiquities of the BritishMuseum) was found in what was once part of FelbridgePark, at TQ 3674 4018.  The almost complete flint axe measures just over 20cm/8ins in length.   

Leaf-shaped arrowheads: were manufactured by using a small antler tine to push tiny pieces off a bigger stone, a technique known as pressure-flaking and, as their name suggests, the arrowheads were shaped like a leaf.  They were used as projectile points mounted on the tip of a wooden shaft.  Throughout the Neolithic period archery was used for both hunting and combat.  These leaf-shaped arrowheads dominated the Early Neolithic era (4,000-3,200BC), becoming less common in the Mid Neolithic and scarce in Late Neolithic.

Five leaf-shaped arrowheads have been found in the Felbridge area including: Long Field and Gullege Field at Imberhorne Farm, Herons Lea in New Domewood and two in Rowplatt Lane.

Leaf-shaped lance/spear point or partial axe head: a flint object resembling the point of a spearhead or perhaps the point of an axe head was found beside footpath FP283, on Hedgecourt Farm at TQ 3590 4080.  The surviving piece of worked flint measures 7.5cms in length and resembles a Neolithic flaked axe found at Clayton in Sussex.

Beaker arrowheads (see under Bronze Age).

Pre-Historic Track-Ways
Ivan Margary, whilst working on his book Roman Ways of the Weald, determined that there was an ancient Pre-Historic road system running through the Felbridge area that pre-dated the Roman period, with ancient tracks running both East/West and North/South.  These Track-Ways were located along the ridges for relative dryness and observation purposes. 

East/West Ridge from Tunbridge Wells to Crawley Down is on the main ridge on the southern side of the Felbridge area lying along the northern flank of the upper Medway valley, providing a good East/West passage between Tunbridge Wells and Crawley Down.  It is clearly visible, even today, running along Chapman’s Lane (once known as Imberhorne Lane) in East Grinstead and then along the ridge between Imberhorne Farm and Gullege (although it used to run south of Gullege before being re-routed to the north of the house), on towards Crawley’s Down (although it passed through Greenfield Shaw before the current footpath was re-routed south of the alignment) and finally joins a section of a lane once known as Kiln Lane that heads towards Hophurst Farm.

North/South Track-Way from the North Downs to the South Downs started near Oxted in Surrey, ran through Blindley Heath passing Shawlands at Newchapel and then to the east of what is now WireMillLake.  It entered Sussex in a field to the east of St John’s church near the Felbridge Hotel and continued southwards via Imberhorne Lane to Tilkhurst and on to Kingscote, Selsfield Common, Ardingly, Haywards Heath and finally the South Downs.  This North/South Track-Way, linking the North and South Downs, may well have been the route taken for the supply of flint during the Mesolithic, Neolithic and Early Bronze Age for the area’s early flint knappers.

Bronze Age (3,000-1,300BC)
The Bronze Age is so called because of advances in metalworking, first in copper and then the discovery that when combined with tin, a harder metal could be produced, which came to be known as bronze.  In this era, bronze was used to make tools and weapons, initially for ceremonial and religious purposes, alongside the continued use of flint for tools and weapons, but eventually the harder metal replaced its flint predecessors. 

The Felbridge area has neither copper nor tin for the making of bronze and, to date, no evidence has been found to support the production of bronze in the area, therefore any items made of bronze that have been found here have been made elsewhere and brought into the area.  However, there is evidence for the continued manufacture of flint in Bronze Age Felbridge, through the waste products and finished flint hunting/weaponry items that have been found.  There is also, currently, no evidence of Bronze Age settlement in the Felbridge area, although there is evidence of Bronze Age activity with the discovery of two Bronze Age items in Felbridge.

The nearest place to Felbridge that has Bronze Age monumental archaeology is at Pease Pottage near Crawley in Sussex, less than 10 miles southwest of Felbridge, where three Bronze Age burial mounds have been found, close to the ancient Ashdown Forest to Horsham East/West Track-Way (as identified by Ivan Margary), between Pease Pottage and Colgate.

Hunting/Weaponry
Two Barbed and Tanged Arrowheads have been found in the grounds of Ferndene, Lake View Road, Furnace Wood, at TQ 3510 3980.  The arrowheads are made of flint and are typical of the early Bronze Age or Beaker period (2500-1,500BC), being frequently found in graves containing Beaker vessels, although in this case they were not found in the context of a grave.  One of the arrowheads is almost complete (save a small piece missing off the point) and the other has part of one of the tangs missing.  Both arrowheads appear to fall under the category of Conygar Hill type as they have similar features to those discovered at Conygar Hill in Dorset, having a squared barb and squared tangs and are finely finished.

The Beaker people, so named because of their distinctive pottery, were continental migrants that entered Britain via the south/southeast coast, whilst the Neolithic culture was still flourishing.  It is known that Beaker people had reached Ditchling in Sussex (some 15 miles south of Felbridge, just over a day’s walk) by 2,265BC as the remains of a young man, who had been buried with a Beaker vessel by his feet and a quantity of snail shells near his mouth (perhaps sustenance for his journey into the afterlife), was excavated in a road widening scheme in 1921.   

Tools
Bronze Flat Axe Head, dating to the early Bronze Age 2,350-1,501BC (authenticated by the Department of Pre-Historic & Romano-British Antiquities of the British Museum), was found in the back garden of 25, North End, Felbridge (opposite what is now ATS), TQ 3775 3925, at about a depth of a metre.  This area was historically part of an area between northern edge of what is now the town of East Grinstead and the Sussex/Surrey boundary that by the 12^th century was known as the Feld (open, cleared and unenclosed land), which later became East Grinstead Common.  The axe head is similar in shape to one found at Chertsey in Surrey, with a stop bevel and a widening flange, a design that first appears in central, southern England, that went on to replace previous designs originating from Ireland and northwest Europe.  The axe head has a high copper content, consistent with the early Bronze Age and measures just over 11cms/4¼ins in length.

Iron Age (1,300BC-43AD)
The Iron Age was a period when iron became the primary metal for weapons and tools, replacing bronze.  It began about 1,300BC and is generally regarded as having ended with the Roman invasion of 43AD.  During the Iron Age the British populous lived in tribes and are often considered to be part of a Celtic culture.  To date no items have been found in the Felbridge area that can be attributed to the Iron Age, although there are at least four known sites, within a day’s walk of Felbridge, where Iron Age activity has been found:

1)      Iron Age Hill Fort in Surrey in the Lingfield area known as Dry Hill (TQ 4320 4175), dating to the Middle Iron Age (400-100BC) about 7 miles from Felbridge.

2)      Iron Age camp in Sussex in the West Hoathly area called Philpots Promontory Camp (TQ 350 323), about 7 miles from Felbridge

3)      Evidence of Iron Age settlement and iron working debris in the Crawley, West Sussex, in the area of  Southgate and Goffs Park (TQ2632 3552) dating to the late Iron Age (372-42BC), just under 9 miles from Felbridge.

4)      Evidence of iron working in the Crawley area off Rathlin Road, Broadfield (TQ 2605 3520), dating to the late Iron Age (372-42BC), just over 9 miles from Felbridge.

Apart from these fairly local sites, the Pre-Historic Track Ways still ran through Felbridge during the Iron Age and the Felbridge area had all the raw materials for iron making that were readily available, ie: iron ore, woodland for charcoal making and clay to provide a suitable structure in which to heat to iron ore.  Added to this, when the Romans arrived they exploited all these resources in the Felbridge area (see below), so it would seem highly likely that iron working could have been carried out in the Felbridge area before the arrival of the Romans but no evidence has yet been found to prove it.

Roman (43-476AD)
The inhabitants of Britain at the time of the first Roman invasion belonged to a mixture of races, some native to Britain and some that originated from Central Europe, all of whom were collectively known as Celts.  They lived in tribes or large groups, which often fought each other for the lands they settled, and because of this, they had the reputation of being a nation of fierce fighting, ignorant barbarians.  However, evidence suggests that this was far from the truth as they had skills in a large range of technologies.  They were accomplished workers in bronze and iron and knew how to mine metallic ores, smelt them, and then make weapons, everyday items and fine jewellery.  They lived in large roundhouses that required great carpentry skills to build and their hill forts were impressive constructions with ramparts and ditches that required massive feats of earth moving.  They traded with Europe, supplying grain and metals, in particular tin, and imported products such as wine from Spain.  They were skilled horsemen and charioteers, farmers and craftsmen, and they lived in well-organised local kingdoms and even had their own coinage.  They shared a common language and religion but were otherwise divided in their economy, customs and political allegiance.

The first attempted Roman invasion of Britain was in 55BC under the command of Julius Caesar.  He had recently expanded the Roman Empire by conquering Gaul and had set his sights on Britain for several reasons:

1)      Britain was a potential source of wealth for the Romans with regards to grain, cattle, metals and slaves.

2)      Britain had helped fight with Gaul against the Roman army and was sheltering many rebel Gauls including Commius, a Gaulish leader, who had established himself as the ruler of the Atrebates tribe in central Southern England. 

3)      Caesar wanted to end any alliance between the Britons and the Gauls by expanding the Roman Empire to include Britain. 

This expedition ended in failure, but Caesar made a second attempt in 54BC and this time succeeded in taking British hostages and tribute (a yearly tax), before retreating back to Gaul.

In 8-9AD, most of the kingdom of Atrebates passed to Verica who was a pro-Roman king and in 41AD, a new Emperor came to the throne, Claudius.  Claudius had little support in Rome, except with the army, and therefore needed a major victory to give himself prestige, backing and revenue.  A chance to prove his worth occurred in 42AD, when Verica fled to Rome and asked Emperor Claudius for support against the expansion of the Catuvellauni tribe back in Britain. 

In 43AD, a third expedition, this time of over 40,000 troops, set sail to conquer Britain.  It is believed that they landed at Richborough, Kent, where a section of the invasion force headed northwest towards London, and another section headed along the south coast to Chichester, or may have even landed there.  Within a few weeks it was clear that the organisation and discipline of the Roman army was far superior to the small bands of British warriors and the eleven British Kings soon surrendered and Southern Britain submitted to Roman rule that would last until 406.

Recent re-evaluations of archaeological evidence by eminent authorities on the Roman period suggest that the population of Roman Britain was between four and six million, with communities, even in sparsely populated areas like Felbridge, no more than two miles apart.  During the invasion there is evidence to suggest the Roman army did not enter the Weald and that, unlike many other areas of Britain, no force was needed to Romanise the area.  The Weald, a clearly defined area lying between the North and South Downs was covered with forest that the Romans named Andredsweald, (Andred’s Wild or Forest), later being shortened to the ‘Weald’.  The Weald was divided between the kingdoms of the Cantiaci that encompassed the area of Kent and part of Sussex, the Atrebates that covered part of Surrey and Sussex, and Regni that covered the rest of Sussex.  Then as now, the Felbridge area appears to have been located across at least two of these kingdoms, that of the Cantiaci and Regni.  The area of the Atrebates and Regni was constituted as a client-kingdom whereby it was given formal independence subject to Roman authority, with their seat of power probably located at Fishbourne near Chichester, West Sussex.  The Cantiaci also formed part of a client kingdom that may have been the same one as the Atrebates and Regni.

There are several reasons why there was little resistance to the Roman invasion in Southern Britain:

1)      A pro-Roman British king governed the area.

2)      The South had long established trade links with Europe and was probably well aware of the benefits of the Roman way of life and would also have been well aware of the consequences that would occur if they did not accept Romanisation. 

3)      Romanisation included relative peace and stability, particularly in the South, which had experienced endemic warfare during the Iron Age. 

4)      Romanisation also opened up wider markets and boosted trade, in particular, through the increase of a coin-based economy that was rooted in the countryside where the majority of the population lived.

Unlike today, towns offered little employment, though they were the focus of local administration and imperial administered power.  The rural areas supplied towns, the army and the export trade with basic foodstuffs, like grain, meat and salt, raw materials like, iron, gold, timber, stone and slate, and supported numerous essential industries like tile making and pottery production.  For the Romans the underlying aim of any conquest was strong and simple, to use the wealth of the country in land, labour and resources to enrich the Roman state and support its legions.

Iron Working
As established, one of the primary reasons for a Roman invasion was that the conquered lands had resources that the Romans wanted and went on to exploit.  In the Felbridge area it was iron.  Whether there was iron working in the Felbridge area during the Iron Age or not, the iron working of the Crawley area would have attracted the Romans and in turn they would have expanded their exploration of the locality to maximise their investment in the area, thus they would have followed the seams of iron ore that ultimately led to the Felbridge area (for further information see Handout, Roman Legacy of Felbridge, SJC 11/01).

The iron ore in the Felbridge area was laid down whilst the area was a fresh water or brackish swamp during the Cretaceous period (see above).  At the end of the Cretaceous period, 65 million years ago (nearing the end of the Middle Palaeolithic), there was an uplift of the central Weald, of which the Felbridge is part, that resulted in the area emerging above sea level some 20 million years ago during the Tertiary period (66 million – 2.6 million years ago).  Subsequently water eroded the surface of the Weald and its rivers and streams transported the debris of weathering out to sea.  A consequence of this action is that deeper and deeper layers of the Weald structure have been revealed.  The remaining outcrops of harder rock, notably sandstone formations and chalk, stand out and form ranges of hills, while the softer Weald Clay formation, formed vales or valleys.  Weald Clay includes thin layers of sandstone, clay ironstone and shelly limestone, the latter being formed from the fresh to brackish-water snail shells left behind in the swamps and estuary of the Cretaceous period.  The streams of the Weald have incised into the soft, narrow steep-sided valleys and these deeply cut streambeds exposed iron ore that made prospecting easier and it is for this reason that all known Roman iron workings in the Felbridge area are located near to Felbridge Water.

Thus as established above, the Felbridge area had all the requirements for making iron:

1)      ore from iron-rich sandstone laid down millions of years ago when the area was a vast fresh water to brackish swamp or estuary.

2)      wood, from the Wealden woodland that had established itself by the Upper Palaeolithic, used for roasting the ore-rich sandstone (thus rendering it easier to extract the iron) and for the fuel to heat the crushed ore-rich sandstone to extract the iron.

3)      clay to build the structure (known as a bloomery) in which to heat the ore to a sufficient temperature to extract a bloom of iron.

4)      water, essential for having exposed the seams of iron ore in the first place and for quenching the iron bloom after the heating process.

5)      there was an established road system that ran through Felbridge, both East/West and North/South (see above) that could have been used to transport iron from the area, either in the form of raw iron or as artefacts.

The iron industry in the locality during the Iron Age would have been small scale and disorganised with no central control.  Under Roman management the iron industry expanded greatly but there is limited evidence of any major Roman occupation in the Felbridge area (except possibly in a field (centred on TQ 36079 38909, south of Ascotts off Crawley Down Road, see below).  With the current lack of evidence for continued or major occupation, it has been suggested that the work in the Felbridge area may have been seasonal, with the workforce returning to the same area each year to smelt iron and therefore not requiring major settlements.  With the Roman expansion and increased trade in iron between London and the coastal ports, a purpose built road system was required and a Roman road running through Felbridge, between London and Brighton, was constructed (see below) to supplement the Pre-Historic Track-Ways that already ran East/West and North/South through Felbridge (see above).

There are several identified Roman iron working sites in Felbridge, located along the line of Felbridge Water.  All the sites are situated close to the moated site near Ascotts (for further information see Handouts, Ascotts, JIC/SJC 11/13 and Tithing of Warley, JIC 05/17), and close to the Roman London to Brighton Way (see below):

Smythford, Monument No. 896412, lies west of the moated site, close to the junction of Felbridge Road, Felbridge, with Hophurst Hill, Crawley Down, Sussex.  Three sites have been identified here, excavated and dated:

Site A, Slag Heap at TQ 3586 3898: lies about 2m (2¼yds) south of Felbridge Water and is made up furnace cinder and slag with a few pieces of furnace lining.  Also, lying in the adjacent stream, several large lumps of slag and cinder were found.

Site B, Hearth 1 & 2 at TQ 3584 3899:

Hearth 1 lies about 10m (11yds) south of Felbridge Water and when excavated exposed an oval ring of sandstone and burnt clay.  Within the ring was a mixture of soil, charcoal, slag and small pieces of un-burnt and burnt sandstone and clay.  Adjacent to and slightly north the hearth, a small plug of slag was found that was thought to be a slag blockage from the throat of a tuyère (tube, nozzle or pipe through which air is blown into a furnace or hearth).  Evidence would suggest that this was a re-heating or forging hearth where the iron bloom would have been consolidated and forged into wrought iron.  There was also an anomaly in the vicinity that may have been a possible roasting hearth, although unconfirmed.   

Hearth 2 lies to the east of Hearth 1 and when excavated resembled an oval pit 600mm/24ins deep.  The base was reddened clay covered with a mixture of red and grey burnt clay, dripped slag and furnace lining with small pieces of burnt clay and slag adhering to some of the remaining walls.  Evidence would suggest that this was a smelting hearth.  Nineteen samples of fired clay were analysed from Hearth 2 giving an archeomagnetic date of 70AD, plus/minus 20 years, making the probable date for the whole site, 1^st century.  However, evidence would suggest that Smythford was a relatively small site from the amount of cinder found, although it is possible that cinder had been used to metal the Roman road that passes through Felbridge. 

Site C, Slag Heap at TQ 3602 3905:  this now lies within the grounds of the recently constructed house called Ruubensland House, to the west of Ascotts and the moated site.  Historically, the local residents of Felbridge believed the black slag heap to be the remains of a meteor strike but in 1980 it was identified and authenticated by a member of WIRG (Wealden Iron Research Group) as a large, Roman slag heap.

Felbridge Water Bloomery lies east of Site C of Smythford, east of the moated site near Ascotts and just south of Felbridge Water at the northern end of Long Field, Imberhorne Farm, at TQ3666 3926.  Long Field and the field to its west, Heathy Field, both have evidence of human activity dating from the Mesolithic period up to and including the 19^th century.  Unfortunately, the Felbridge Water Bloomery site has been virtually ploughed out and the only sign of iron working activity is a quantity of iron rich debris scattered over an area of about 70m/76 yards, together with darkening of the soil colour in a circular area.  The area also shows a scatter of charcoal, although like the slag and cinder, it has been dispersed due to years of ploughing.  However, the slag is consistent with late Roman tap slag dating to the 3^rd century.

The site of the Felbridge Water Bloomery and surrounding area were walked as part of a field walking exercise in 2003 (for further information see Field Walk Report 01: Imberhorne Farm Archaeological Field Walk Report of 10^th May 2003 and Archaeology of Imberhorne Farm, JIC 09/08).  The concentration profile for the bloomery tap slag was unexpected as there was very little found in the northeast corner of Long Field, closest to the known bloomery site.  There was a higher concentration further south, which may have been used as a hard standing associated with a building at some later date or an area where bloomery slag was dumped prior to distribution for some other purpose.

Both the Smythford and Felbridge Water Bloomery sites are in close proximity to a potential site of Roman settlement in the field south of the moated site near Ascotts (see below) and a fairly large piece of  a bloomery/hearth base has also been found near the moated site.

Roman bloomery cinder/slag, dating to between the 1^st and 3^rd centuries, has also been found in the stream within the grounds of Felbridge Court off Copthorne Road, Felbridge, at TQ 371 395.

Roads
London to Brighton Way
The Roman road that passes through Felbridge was identified and partially excavated by Ivan Margary, a major authority on Roman roads, particularly in the Weald, publishing his findings in 1948.  He established the route of many Roman roads and pre-Roman Track-Ways and is best known in this area for his excavation of the Roman road at Holtye, part of the London to Lewes Way, and the road that ran through Felbridge, part of the London to Brighton Way.  The London to Brighton Way is sometimes called the London to Portslade Way, as it branches at Pyecombe and one section heads to Brighton and the other to Portslade and it has not yet been established which was the major port during the Roman period.

The construction of Roman roads was a totally military affair.  Army surveyors plotted them and army engineers oversaw the construction of them, generally using local labour and building materials that were available in the vicinity.  They were engineered with a cambered surface of rammed stone, gravel or cinder (a waste product from the iron industry) and had drainage ditches either side.  Widths of roads varied, early roads were 6-7m/20-23ft wide, later roads could be as wide as 13m/43ft.  The road that passes through Felbridge varied from between 3.7m/12ft wide at its narrowest point and 8m/27ft at it’s widest.  With the discovery of the iron working sites at Smythford and Imberhorne Farm, as well Fen Place, Kingscote and Mill Place, all south of Felbridge, it has been proposed that the London to Brighton Way was an early road routed to serve these sites.

Roman roads are known for their straightness, a consequence of Roman surveying techniques (for further information see Handout, Roman Legacy of Felbridge, SJC 11/01).  However, the London to Brighton Way has two angled changes of direction within the Felbridge area alone and there are many minor deviations along relatively straight sections, particularly noticeable locally at Fen Place near Turners Hill and also Tilburstow Hill near Godstone in Surrey.  In the opinion of Margary there were four main alignments or diversions along the London to Brighton Way:

1) Clayton Hill near Pyecombe, Sussex, to Selsfield Common near Turners Hill, extended to Hophurst Farm, Crawley Down, Sussex. 

2) Hophurst Farm to Rowlands Farm in Lingfield, Surrey, passing through Felbridge. 

3) Blindley Heath, Surrey, to Godstone Hill, Surrey.

4) Croydon to Streatham. 

Alignment (2) was adopted because if the line of the road from Selsfield Common had continued northward to Blindley Heath, it would have involved crossing the marshy valley that lay where Hedgecourt and Wire Mill lakes are now situated.  To overcome this problem a short alignment of 4.4km/2¾ miles was implemented and the road was laid 11° more to the east on high ground.  With this new alignment a correcting alignment was made at Eden Brook near Lingfield, so that the road could continue back on course to Blindley Heath.  The outcome of this diversion was that a major change in direction occurred unusually in low ground.

Roman roads in Britain were built up of a foundation of large stone, the statumen.  Firstly a trench about three feet deep was excavated, this was then filled with the large stones that were packed as compactly as possible to avoid movement and so lessen the risk of the road sinking.  Over this a layer of smaller stones, the rudus was laid, bound by a cement-like material that just covered the stones.  The final layer, the nucleus consisted of gravel, small pieces of flint, crushed stone or iron cinder compressed as tightly as possible.  In the Felbridge area the stone used was sandstone for this purpose with iron cinder generally used as metalling or strengthening for the surface.  The middle of the road was cambered so that the centre was about 30cm/1ft above the sides.  This allowed for the drainage of rainwater to wash away the build-up of deposits that formed on the surface over time.  The road was built upon an agger, which was a 9-1.2m/30-40ft wide flat-topped ridge.  At the edge of the agger was the drainage ditch that collected the excess water and moved it further along the length of the road.  Further outwards was the zone limit ditch that defined where the road ended.  This also served as a limit for the construction teams to fell trees and uproot bushes within this zone. 

By the late 2^nd century milestones and staging posts or mansiones had been set up along the roads at interval, of between 16-24km/10-15 miles, about the distance that oxen could effectively pull a heavy load.  These provided stopping points for vehicled traffic, enabled the traveller to rest and the messenger to change horses.  It has been suggested that one of the staging post sites may have been located close to the moated site near Ascotts in Felbridge (see above) as its location is ideally situated as a second staging post, with regards to travelling distance if heading north to London from Brighton and currently, the site of the second staging post has not yet been identified.  The possible Felbridge mansione site (centred on TQ 36079 38909) has many unexplained undulations and the London to Brighton Way runs through it.  The field names in the area may also allude to the existence of the site of a mansione here, names such as Bottle Mead/Botley’s Mead (believed by some to be a corruption of Botolph/Botulph), Bottle House and Backoth/Back’oth (a possible misheard or misspelt Botolph/Botulph), all names of sites with Roman origins that have subsequently been perpetuated in the Saxon and Medieval periods, being given the name Botolph/Botulph associated with their 7^th century patron saint of boundaries, and by extension, of trade and travellers, who is often associated with briggs (Saxon for bridges) and gates.  To add to this, there must have been a crossing, either by ford or bridge, at the northern end of the potential Felbridge mansione site to cross Felbridge Water. 

Aerial photographs have indicated a rectilinear feature that straddles the Roman road just south of the moated site near Ascotts, and it has been suggested by David Stavely, an archaeological geophysicist, that its size and position could be consistent with a mansione, one of the official stopping off point along the Roman Road.  The location here would put it half way between the mansione sites that have been identified north and south from Felbridge, and they were often located close to a crossing of a watercourse.  However, to date no excavations and only limited fieldwork has been carried out in this area, so it is definitely a site that needs further investigation to prove or disprove the theory that the area was once a Roman mansione that was later used by the Saxons after the Roman retreat of the area. 

The local civitate, authority or tribefor the area, would have erected the milestones, of which none have been found in this area, and they would also have borne the cost of maintaining the road.  They also had to bear the cost of constructing and maintaining fords and bridges.  Bridges were constructed over a narrow point in the river and would have been made of simple wooden beams supported on stone or gravel abutments, and fords were placed at a shallow point and were often paved for ease of crossing.  As yet there is no evidence as to which options were adopted in the Felbridge area when crossing Felbridge Water, to the south or the Eden Brook to the north.

The London to Brighton Way, along with all southward roads to Lewes, Seaford and Chichester, were aligned on the bridge at Londinium, (London) located at Southwark and were therefore probably not built until after the erection of the bridge.  The route of the London to Brighton Way, as established by Ivan Margary, branched from Stane Street (the London to Chichester Way) at KenningtonPark and passed through Streatham, Croydon, and the Caterham gap in the North Downs to Godstone.  It then travelled over the flat lands of the Eden Valley to Felbridge, across the Weald through Ardingly, Haywards Heath, Burgess Hill and Hassocks to Clayton and then down to Pyecombe.  Here the road divided and headed towards Portslade (a Roman settlement) in one direction and Brighton, possibly a sheltered harbour, in the other.  Based on the findings of Ivan Margary and current names of locations for reference, the London to Brighton Way entered the Felbridge area at the boundary of Lingfield and Tandridge, to the east of Newchapel, having headed south from Godstone over Tilburstow Hill, through Blindley Heath following the line of the A22 until just south of Stanton’s Hall where it travelled to the east of Gate House Farm, Newchapel Green and then Shawlands on the Newchapel Road. 

Having entered the Felbridge area, the road travelled along the line of the Lingfield/Tandridge boundary until it crossed the Eden Brook where it entered Felcourt Wood.  Margary believed that it then took an angled turn to the southwest, running through Green Wood and crossing the old trackway that linked Shaws Farm at Newchapel with Hodgehorn Farm in Felbridge.  Margary did not excavate this section but did ascertain where the road crossed the Eden Brook, suggesting the deviation was to avoid the marshland found in the area.  The road then continued along the new alignment through High Wood, then Wire Mill Wood, which produced stone and cinder finds and the clearly visible agger and then Cooper’s Moors, although the line of the road was not excavated but projected.  Then it crossed the A22 at the bottom of Woodcock Hill and entered Park Farm, where excavations revealed parts of the road buried but still intact.  There was also evidence that part of theaggerhad later been used as a pond bay.  The road then left Park Farm and ran through the rear gardens of some of the houses in Mill Lane before clipping the corner on the westerly boundary of 2, Park Cottages, where it crossed Copthorne Road (A264).   The road then ran almost parallel to Rowplatt Lane, entering about 40m/130ft to the east of the junction with Copthorne Road and then converging with Rowplatt Lane at the other end, where it crossed Crawley Down Road on the junction with Rowplatt Lane.  This section was excavated and the agger was found to be visible, along with stone and cinder.

Having crossed the Crawley Down Road, the Roman road clipped the front garden of the right hand Victorian Villa in Crawley Down Road, cut across the corner of the field behind Rose Cottages in the form of a hollow showing signs that the surface had been robbed out.  It then ran through the corner of the grounds of Walnut Marches and Ascotts, before crossing Felbridge Water near the moated site.  From here the Roman road headed uphill through Bottle House/Bottle Field before it entered Greenfield Shaw.  The section in Bottle House/Bottle Field was not excavated but the section entering and leaving Greenfield Shaw was, and signs of sandstone and iron cinder were found.  On exiting the wood the road crossed the Pre-Historic East/West Track-Way and at this point there were visible signs of the agger.  Having crossed the Pre-Historic Track Way, and leaving the Felbridge area, the road changed direction and headed southeast through Hophurst Farm where distinct stone layers were found, still intact.  The road then continued through Rushetts Wood and Burleigh Farm, along Lean Shaw towards Fen Place, where three Roman coins have been discovered, and on to Selsfield Common.

After the fall of Rome and the withdrawal of the Roman army based in Britain, many major roads became little used for a variety of reasons.  The invading Saxons built their settlements clustered around a supply of water and as Roman roads were generally built on high ground they became unused by local traffic.  Sections of the roads were robbed out and their materials used elsewhere, as at the field behind Rose Cottages where the Roman road appears as a hollow, the cinder was probably used to strengthen the tracks on Hedgecourt Common at sometime.  Sections of the Roman road became submerged due to the damp and soft nature of Wealden soil as can also be seen at Park Farm where the road is buried intact under the top soil.  Here too, a section of the road has been used as a pond bay by blocking up the culvert at the bottom allowing the stream to build up to form a pond.  Other sections became obstructed, as it was quite common to use the surface as a strong floor for a barn/farm building or cottage.  Evidence for this can be found in Bottle House/Bottle Field where Matthew’s Barn (no longer standing) was depicted on the Gardner and Gream map of 1778 and a cottage called Bottle House (no longer standing) was depicted on the East Grinstead Tithe Map in 1841/2, both built on top of the alignment of the Roman road.  A new access road from Felbridge Water to the East/West Track Way later followed the field boundary to the west of Matthew’s Barn, running parallel to the alignment of the Roman road but not on top of it.  Other sections were later used to define county or parish boundaries as can be seen between the Eden Brook and Newchapel Road where the London to Brighton Way is aligned with the parish boundary between Lingfield and Tandridge.

However, not all Roman roads have been abandoned and if heading north out of the Felbridge area you will be travelling along a section of the London to Brighton Way.  The road takes the alignment of the A22 just south of Stanton’s Hall in Blindley Heath to the Garden Centre to the north of Blindley Heath.  Take the left fork at this junction and head up over Tilburstow Hill, formerly known as Stanstreet, through Godstone village on the B2235, finally leaving the alignment at the roundabout for the M25.  So after nearly 1,600 years the legacy of the Roman London to Brighton Way is still with us today.

A study carried out in 2001 of the accessible route of the Roman road through Felbridge shows that much has been lost since it was established by Margary.  The parish boundary between Lingfield and Tandridge is still evident, as is the layer of road located in the banks of the Eden Brook where it crossed the river, where the road currently lays about ¾m/2ft above the level of the water and about 1.5m/5ft down from the surface of the topsoil.  The section that runs through Green Wood and High Wood shows no visible signs at all.  The depression of the road that runs through Park Farm has been filled and levelled so is no longer visible.  The hollow described in the field behind Rose Cottages is barely visible and there is no sign of it crossing Felbridge Water near the moated site at Ascotts in any of the banks of the stream.  There is a distinct hollow running up Bottle House/Bottle Field, although no excavations were carried out to ascertain the cause.  There is also a hollow still visible running through Greenfield Shaw and at Hophurst Farm and relatively recent ploughing brought to the surface some of the metalling and sandstone.

Building and Domestic
As established above, very little evidence has been found for major or substantial Roman settlement in the Felbridge area mainly due to a lack of archaeological fieldwork carried out to find the appropriate evidence, on either the Sussex or Surrey side of the county boundary.  However, this is not to say that there is no evidence of Roman domestic settlement, as field walking has produced a possible fragment of roof tile and a number of shards of pottery whilst metal detecting has produced Roman coins and jewellery.

Roof Tile (18-1)
One piece of potential Roman roof tile has been found in Long Field, at Imberhorne Farm.  It has a red terracotta coloured surface with grey core and is 25mm thick and has a slight concave underside.   

Pottery
4 shards of Roman pottery have been found at Imberhorne Farm, all in Heathy Field.  Unfortunately only one piece has a TQ reference and was found at TQ 3656 3849 but the other three shards were all found in the top third of Heathy Field in the vicinity of the afore-mentioned TQ reference:

Shard 1): a rim shard, that was found has a drawing made by the finder and, in his opinion, was Roman grey ware dating from the 1^st to 3^rd century.

Shard 2 (36-10): Black-burnished ware or grey ware pottery shard; dark grey to black body with dark reddish tinge on inner surface and along inner edge of break; highly burnished to the point of being shiny on the outside wall with a slight dark reddish tinge; wheel thrown; very smooth to the touch with no visible inclusions; approximately 4.5mm thick; could possibly be the shoulder of a large storage vessel with a ridge running 10mm from current top edge; top edge damaged; the fragment is 40mm at its widest point and 37mm top to bottom; convex in shape.

Shard 3 (36-11): Black-burnished or grey ware pottery shard; dark grey body that is the same colour throughout; matt finish; wheel thrown; rougher to the touch than piece ‘36-10’ but no visible inclusions; ridged pattern on the outside surface; 5.7mm at thickest point, 4mm at thinnest point; the sides that come to the point are both 33mm long, top to bottom measures 49mm; convex in shape.

Shard 4 (41-2): Black-burnished or grey ware pottery rim shard; mid grey body with dark reddish tinge on inner surface; wheel thrown; matt finish; finer to the touch then piece ‘36-11’, but coarser to the touch than piece ‘36-10’; substantial and intricate rim profile about 18mm from top to bottom edge of design; flat top edge with a slight lip; thickness of rim at top edge 12.5mm; body of vessel 5mm thick; fragment 33mm from top to bottom edge; found at TQ 3656 3849.

Roman grey ware is generally the most common type of pottery found on Roman sites in Britain.  The term grey ware is used to describe various types of locally produced pottery that was made in many different areas of Britain.  The pottery is grey because of the type of clay that was used and during the Roman period grey ware pots were used in most kitchens for cooking and serving food.  In comparison to Roman grey ware it would appear that most of the shards found at Imberhorne Farm, although in various shades of grey, are actually black-burnished ware.

Black-burnished black ware falls under two categories, BB1 and BB2, with the latter being greyer in colour and finer texture than that of the BB1 category.  Based on the differentiation, it would appear the Imberhorne Farm finds are in the BB2 category.  The BB2 category is made of a ‘hard, sandy fabric, varying in colour from dark-grey or black with a brown or reddish brown core and a reddish-brown, blue-grey, black or lighter ('pearly grey') surface’.  The clay body for BB2 can contain black iron ore, mica and quartz, all in a matrix of sediment and the wares are thrown on a fast potter’s wheel.  BB2 wares were manufactured on both the Essex and Kent sides of the Thames Estuary and were distributed between the middle of the 2^nd century through to the mid 3^rd century in southeast England and the northern part of Britain.

Coins
Roman coins had been in circulation in Britain from the Iron Age, from before the Roman invasion in 43AD, probably due to trade with the Continent.  The coins were made of gold, silver, orichalcum (Roman translation as gold copper), bronze (a copper alloy consisting mainly of copper with additional metals) or copper.  Following the invasion, imported Roman coins were used in Britain for some 250 years before Britain had its own mints, one in Londinium (London) and one in Camulodum (Colchester); location of minting was denoted by an ‘L’ or  ‘C’ on the coin.  Roman coins feature the head of the reigning Emperor, in profile facing either left or right, on one side and an assortment of images on the reverse.  As a point of interest, following a visit by the emperor Hadrian in 122AD, coins commemorating the visit were struck that featured a seated Britannia, the same image was adopted Charles II in 1674 and has been a regular feature on British coins ever since.

Below is a table of what coin experts think were the approximate relative value of the various denominations of Roman coinage along with the metals they were struck from:

Today, the identification of Roman coins is generally made by their size and, in the world of coins, are given the letters AU or AV for gold, AR for silver and AE for copper alloy, followed by a number.  The table below gives the AE numbers and respective size for late Roman coins, the most commonly found coins in Britain:

Fourteen Roman coins have been found in the Felbridge area but are generally very corroded and difficult to identify, eight of which were found at Imberhorne Farm from the fields either side of the East/West Track Way, from Cow Field at the east end of Imberhorne Farm to Horse Pasture, Heathy Field and Gullege Field at the west end of the farm, suggesting that the Romans continued to use East/West Track Way on a regular basis.  All eight coins were made of bronze or copper alloy and were too corroded to identify, although one had the letters ‘CARIOVUT’ on it, one measures 26.8mm across and may potentially be a Dupondius dating to 1^st/2^nd century and one measures 19.5mm across.

The remaining six Roman coins were found at:

Brook Nook in Furnace Wood (centred on TQ 351 399),

The quarry pits at Snowhill, now the site of Snowhill Business Centre (centred on TQ 344 398)

Green Gables, Copthorne Road (centred on TQ 365 398)  

Imberhorne Lane area (centred on TQ 376 391, near the alignment of the Pre-Historic North/South Track Way, see above)

Field northeast of The Limes (TQ 37556 40085 and TQ 37444 40048, on the alignment of the Pre-Historic North/South Track Way, see above)  

Most of these coins are too badly corroded to be identified, but three of them have discernable details:

1)      Copper alloy coin found in the Imberhorne Lane area does have a discernable image on both sides, although working from just a photograph it is still hard to identify.  The coin is badly worn and made of copper alloy.  One side has a right-facing head of an emperor (clean shaven and possibly wearing a laurel wreath), whilst the reverse side has a right-facing figure holding a bow and pulling out an arrow from a quiver over their shoulder (Diana/Artemis, the Roman/Greek goddess of hunting) with a dog or hound at her feet/heels.  There is lettering round the edges on both sides but without the physical coin it is impossible to decipher.  From the style of the emperor’s laureate, draped and cuirassed bust there are three possible candidates: Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ‘Caracalla’ – Roman emperor between 198 and 217, Macrinus – Roman emperor between 217 and 218 or Severus Alexander – Roman emperor between 222 and 235.  Unfortunately one cannot be more specific than to say that, based on the design on both sides of the coin; it dates to the late 2^nd century or early 3^rd century, consistent with the iron working site found at Imberhorne Farm known as Felbridge Water Bloomery (see above).  As a point of interest, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ‘Caracalla’ is known to have visited Britain, between 207 and 211.

2)      Copper alloy coin found in a field northeast of The Limes (TQ 37556 40085).  The coin is in fair condition and depicts a radiate and cuirassed bust facing right on one side with a galley with mast and oars travelling left on the other.  It also has the letters ‘QC’ that indicates that it was minted in Camulodunum [Colchester] and weighing about 2 grams would suggest that it is a Quniarius.  All images suggest that this coin dates to Emperor Allectus (293-296), who was the successor to Carausius, in the breakaway province of Britain.  He came to power by murdering his predecessor but lacked the ability to keep his small province separate from the empire proper.  He was defeated by Constantius I in 296 A.D. 

3)      Copper alloy coin found in a field northeast of The Limes (TQ 37444 40048).  The coin, although fairly badly worn, depicts a diademed, cuirassed bust facing right on one side and a figure on the other, which could either be Victory advancing left, holding a wreath and palm or Roma [Goddess of Rome] seated, frontward facing on a throne with her head facing left, holding a globe and a reversed spear.  All images suggest that this coin dates to Emperor Flavius Victor (387-388) who was the son of usurper Magnus Maximus.  Although Victor appears as an adult on his coins, he was likely to have only been four or five years old when his coins were struck.  After negotiations, Theodosius I recognized Magnus Maximus and Flavius Victor as emperors in Britannia and Gaul.  However, in 387, Maximus' reckless ambition led him to invade Italy, leaving Victor behind in Trier [Trèves] on the banks of Moselle in Germany.  Maximus was defeated, surrendered and was executed by Theodosius I in 388, who later that same year, had Flavius Victor strangled.   

Jewellery
Roman jewellery reflected the fact that the Roman Empire, either through occupation or trade, had access to an abundance of natural resources that could be utilised in jewellery making, using metals, semi-precious and precious stones and glass.  Various types of jewellery were worn by different genders and social classes in Rome, and were used both for aesthetic purposes and to communicate social messages of status and wealth.  While much emphasis was placed on fine gold and silver pieces of jewellery, many pieces worn by lower social classes in Rome would have been made out of bronze or other less expensive metals and were mass-produced pieces created using moulds and casting techniques.  This allowed more people to afford such accessories.

Brooches are a fairly common find in Britain as they were used to fasten both male and female clothing.  They were made out of a single piece of metal, like a safety-pin, and had been developed in pre-Roman Britain and were worn during the Iron Age.  However, the Romans introduced several new types of brooch from the continent and thereafter, these were copied, modified and new forms invented locally.  The native styles persisted most strongly during the 1^st and 2^nd centuries but throughout 3^rd and 4^th centuries the British industry appears to have declined and continental types predominated. 

There are many different parts to a brooch.  There is the body, which is often referred to as the bow or the plate depending on its type (a bow is usually long, narrow and often arched, where as a plate is flat and wide).  At one end there is a spring or a hinge.  This part is known as the 'head' and the 'foot' is where the pin closes.  The pin is either part of the main body or a separate piece attached and closes by connecting it to a catch plate, or pin rest, at the foot of the brooch.  The brooches were fastened to the clothing in much the same way we would use a safety-pin today.

Most brooches that are found are made of bronze (copper-alloy) or iron or a mixture of both.  The majority, however, are copper alloy as iron doesn't survive as well.  Occasionally the copper-alloy would be tinned, which gives the brooch a silver appearance.  Many are decorated with enamel, glass and semi-precious stones.  Some have even been found made from gold and silver, although these are much rarer as only the very rich would be able to afford such luxury brooches.

It has been reported that two Roman brooches have been found in the Felbridge area, both at Imberhorne Farm, one in Gullege Field and the other at the northern end of Heathy Field.  Both were found by anonymous metal detectorists and sadly they have only been reported as found, with no further information.

Saxon (406 to 1066)
Between 364 and 367 there were large scale raids by the Angles, Frisians, Franks, Jutes and Saxons.  To add to this Rome was put under threat and in 401 Roman troops were withdrawn to defend Italy.  The result of this was a complete breakdown of government in Britain, which effectively led to Britain no longer being part of the Roman Empire by 410.  This was confirmed when an appeal to Rome for help against the increasing Saxon raids went unanswered and over the next fifty years land in the south of Britain was gradually lost to the Saxons.   In 457 the Saxon king €lle and his three sons, Cymen, Wlencing and Cissa, arrived in Sussex and by 500 the Romano-British only held land in the west whilst the Saxons had complete control in the South and East, which included the Felbridge area. 

The Saxons that settled in Southern England formed the kingdoms of Sussex (South Saxons), Wessex (West Saxons), Essex (East Saxons) and Middlesex (Middle Saxons) establishing a population of Anglo-Saxons.  There is no evidence to suggest that the advancing Saxons interrupted every-day life in the Felbridge area even though it was on the London to Brighton Way, the Roman road from the South coast to London, and the advancing Saxons may well have passed through.

During the intervening years, the once flourishing iron industry of the Weald declined, with some sites, particularly those located at the east end of the area, totally abandoned.  The Roman system of roads, although useful for advancing Saxons, soon became disused (see above). 

For any inhabitants of the Felbridge area, life would have continued with only minor interruptions.  The iron industry would have been scaled down to supply the demands of the area as opposed to the wealth of the Roman Empire and eventually abandoned until the 16^th century when it started up on a much larger scale in the area (for further information see Handouts Warren Furnace, SJC 01/00, Gun Founding in Felbridge, JIC11/06 and Furnace Wood, JIC/SJC 07/11).  The road that passed through Felbridge was abandoned and stretches of it were robbed out for alternative use (see above). 

Until recently there was no firm evidence of Saxon activity in the area.  This may be because Saxon influence took time to filter into the area, or, as is more consistent with the Wealden area in general, there has been little archaeological fieldwork carried out to find the appropriate evidence.  Whichever is correct, gradually over the years the Roman iron working sites and the London to Brighton Way became covered with the debris of time and hidden from sight.  However, recently some evidence of Saxon activity has emerged but who knows what else there is in the area waiting to be discovered and recorded.

Roads
Beddington to Felbridge Water Droveway
The Beddington to Felbridge Water Droveway, down through the parish of Tandridge, is the evolution of the North/South Pre-Historic Track-Way (see above).

In 963/5, a Charter was made between King Edgar II (959-75) and Winchester Cathedral, whereby Edgar II confirmed 70 hides (mansae) at Beddington, Surrey, with woodland at Cysledun (believed to be Chessington, Surrey), Tandridge and Lace [Lake] (just north of Thunderfield in Horley), Surrey.  Beddington lies about two miles to the west of Croydon and the parish is bounded on the east by Croydon, on the north by Mitcham, on the south by Coulsdon and Woodmanstern and on the west by Carshalton.  The name Beddington is derived from the Saxon word bedding, which means ‘a bed or lodging’, possibly because the area was the first Roman staging post out of London on one of the main roads to Stane Street and Sussex. 

The Charter granted the estate centre of Beddington the right to the woodland in Tandridge.  Access to the area was gained along part of what had formerly been the Pre-Historic North/South Track-Way from the North to the South Downs (see above), through Tandridge and potentially on to the county boundary on the northern side of Felbridge Water.  The woodland was granted to accommodate specific livestock from the estate centre.  The act of moving livestock to a distant pasture/woodland is known as transhumance – the seasonal movement of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures/woodland.  In the Wealden area in the 10^th century, livestock generally meant swine (pigs) in the pannage season [August to December in the Anglo-Saxon period] to make the most of the beech mast and acorns.  For Beddington this meant the transhumance of swine to Tandridge as detached woodland granted to Beddington in 963/5.  The Wealden pastures/woodlands could be several miles from the parent estate and in the case of Beddington to Tandridge is about 9 miles, probably about a day’s drove (to Felbridge Water it is about 18 miles, probably a 2-day drove).  As a point of interest, between 900/908, Denewulf of Winchester writes that Beddington had 114 full-grown pigs, plus an unspecified number of pigs and sheep and in the Doomsday Book of 1086, it is recorded that Beddington had woodland for 5 pigs (the grazing and woodland is being recorded by the number of pigs the tenant had to provide in payment for it, rather than the number of pigs that were being kept or could be kept in the woodland).    

The drift or drove of swine would travel with only the number of drovers or swineherd necessary to tend them, while the main community stayed at the base estate centre.  The drovers or swineherds would set up temporary accommodation for the up-coming season, before droving the swine back to the base estate centre of Beddington.  Dennis Turner and Rob Briggs in their paper Anglo-Saxon Swine Pasture and Seasonal Grazing in the Surrey Weald, SAC, no.99, propose that the long, narrow shape of historic Tandridge parish may have been ‘deliberately designed to facilitate the north–south movement of swine between different pastures within the landholding’.  However, as the route had already been established as a Pre-Historic North-South Track-way (see above) it would make sense to continue to use it.

Turner and Briggs also proposed ‘that pig husbandry involving the grazing of herds in the Weald did not demand the removal of all pigs from the wood pastures outside the pannage period.  Rather, it formed part of a more complex system in which most beasts were driven back in late autumn or early winter while the remainder stayed in the forest.  There was no point in males that had reached sexual maturity joining the returning herd at the end of the pannage season if they were not intended for slaughter or sale and the ‘denns’ in which they were kept could sustain continuous grazing, perhaps through recourse to alternative food sources such as holly.  However, more likely is their relocation to nearby wood pastures reserved for post-pannage use’.  Also, they believe a ‘very strong case can be made for the pannage season having a second important purpose: mating… Given the age profiles of the best understood Anglo-Saxon-period faunal assemblages, it must be assumed most boars would have only a single breeding season before leaving the Weald for slaughter (others may have survived for longer before being eaten by the swineherds who looked after them).  Pregnant sows would have returned to the estate centre to farrow (a period of slaughter in the late spring/early summer might be postulated for females deemed to have served their purpose)… Overwintering pigs close to settlements would have presented problems: it would, for example, have been labour intensive and have occupied space that could be used for other agricultural activities.  In the absence of alternative means of feeding large herds outside the pannage season, it must be accepted that most pigs returned from the Weald, either pregnant or destined for slaughter, so means of keeping these beasts (be it for days, weeks, or months) without ill-effect on the wider agricultural economy were essential’. 

Turner and Briggs conclude that ‘Evidence for Surrey estates with detached Wealden woods or pastures goes back as far as the earliest credible land charters of the mid-10^th century [as in the case of Beddington and Tandridge]… In view of the indications that pigs were kept in large numbers in late 9^th century Surrey, it seems justifiable to conclude that the links between denns and the geographically-distant estate centres were not innovations of the 900’s, and instead went back further in time…’  Turner and Briggs propose that ‘Wealden transhumance was active in the Iron Age’ although evidence is scant.  However, considering transhumance was practiced in other areas of Southern Britain at this date it would seem unlikely that Surrey didn’t follow the practise.

As stated above, evidence for transhumance in the Felbridge area is scant, save the charter of 963/5 and there does not appear to be any indication of potential ‘denns’ (OE swine pastures), which are often reflected in a place name, ie: Hackenden in East Grinstead, although it has been argued that the place name Tanric [Tandridge] in 963-75 and Tenrige [Tandridge] in 1086 may derive from ‘æt Dennhryege’ [‘at the denn-ridge’, Pre-Conquest], whereby the D was later superseded by T.  As with much of the Felbridge area, on both sides of the Surrey and Sussex boundary, more archaeological fieldwork needs to be carried out. 

Tools and Hunting/Weaponry
Dane Axe Head (authenticated by the Portable Antiquities Scheme) dating to the 10^th /11^th  century was found in the wood at Furnace Lodge, Furnace Road, Furnace Wood, TQ 351 391.  The axe head is made of iron but is extremely corroded to a deep orange and brown colour.  The socket of the axe is incomplete and the wooden haft (handle) is missing.  It has a triangular or wedge shaped blade with a slight curve to the cutting edge.  The blade of the axe projects downwards more than upwards from the centre.  It is a Petersen Type M broad blade axe typically known as a Dane Axe, though they were a common weapon type used by English forces between 900 – 1100.  The axe is a utilitarian weapon and also served as a multifunction tool equally useful for chopping wood as well as for battle. 

Building and Domestic
It is now known that the moated site near Ascots, off Crawley Down Road, Felbridge, at the foot of Bottle House/Bottle Field (see above) is the manor of Warley in Domesday Book of 1086.  The manor pre-dates the Norman Conquest and as such is of Anglo-Saxon origin (or potentially earlier), although the manorial name fades into obscurity by the mid 14^th century. 

The entry in the Doomsday Book for the moated known as Warley, reads:

William also holds ‘Warley’ from the Count.  2 hides.  They never pay tax.   It is outside the Rape.  Wulfeva held it from King Edward as one manor.  Land for 5 ploughs.

3 villagers with 3 ploughs.

From grazing 5 pigs; woodland, 2 pigs.

[Value] then 20s; now 15s.

The Domesday entry for Warley is thus translated and expanded to read:

In the Hundred of East Grinstead, William [de Cahaines (Keynes)] holds Warley [Warlege in the original Latin manuscript] from the Count of Mortain [Robert, 2^nd Earl of Cornwall, a Norman nobleman and the half-brother (on his mother's side) of William I].  It contains 2 hides.  They never paid tax.  It is outside the Rape of Pevensey.  In 1066, Wulfeva [also known as Wulfgifu, Vleueua/Ulvera] held it from King Edward [the Confessor, who reigned between 1042 and 1066] as one manor.  It has land for 5 ploughs.  There are 3 villagers with 3 ploughs.  From grazing 5 pigs, woodland 2 pigs.  Its value in 1066 was 20s but by 1086 it was only worth 15s.

Thus prior to 1066, Wulfeva held Warley manor and also (from the Doomsday Book) the manors of Burleigh (Burley, east of Turners Hill) in Hundered of East Grinstead and Horsted (Keynes) in the Hundred of Rushmonden.  She also held Hamsey manor just north of Lewes which was her main manor, the other three aforementioned manors being its outliers, which were close to the border with Surrey providing valuable woodland and grazing to the downland main manor much further south.  The Domesday entries state that Warley, Burleigh and Horsted ‘paid no tax’, this means that their taxes were being accounted for at the parent manor of Hamsey, which was in the Rape of Lewes, hence Warley being ‘outside the Rape’.  By 1086 the Rape of Pevensey was held by Robert, Count of Mortain, and it is William de Cahaines (Keynes) who held Warley manor from the Count along with Horsted, which is named Horsted Keynes after him.

Interpreting Domesday land statistics is fraught with difficulty and Warley is no exception, the main reason being that most of the values given relate to taxable value rather than actual values.  The 2 hides of land would equate to about 240 acres, but there is ‘land for 5 ploughs’ and this would equate to about 600 acres of cleared land to which the woodland and wastes could be added, clearly this far exceeds the stated size of the manor.  As established above, the grazing and woodland is being recorded by the number of pigs the tenant has to provide in payment for it, rather than the number of pigs that are being kept or could be kept in the woodland.   Finally, the number of villagers recorded in 1086 is most likely to represent 3 family homesteads within the manor, each farming a portion of the land. 

As a point of interest, Wulfeva, the pre-Conquest female owner of the manor of  Warley, Burleigh and Horsted (Keynes), the three outliers to the parent manor of Hamsey, belonged to the category of dispossessed English landlords for whom no further evidence has yet been found, although she must have been of some standing (or married to somebody of standing) to have been in possession of what is considered to be the high ranking manor of Hamsey with its wide geographic spread of the outliers.  In the Domsday Book, Hamsey was held by Wulfeva of King Edward and it is recorded as having 25 hides, with land for 13 ploughs, 16 villagers and 14 smallholders with 10 ploughs, a church, 200 acres of meadow and woodland at 10 pigs.  Prior to 1066 the manor had been worth £20.  There is also one other reference to Wulfeva in the Doomsday Book, which may or may not be the same Wulfeva of Hamsey, holding the manor of (East) Preston in the Rape of Arundel, which records Wulfeva as a ‘free woman’ prior to 1066.  This manor had 7 hides, with land for 4 ploughs, 14 villagers and 1 cottager with 1 plough and 3 salt-houses.  It was valued at £4.

Whilst the Domesday survey recorded Warley as a manor, there are no later documents that record it as a manor in its own right and the early history of Warley is difficult to trace as there are very few surviving records and the use of Warley as a significant place-name had ceased by the mid 14^th century, ultimately superseded by Gullege and Tilkhurst (for further information see Handout, Tithing of Warley, JIC 05/17).

The moated site at Warley is constructed upon or close by the Roman road known as the London to Brighton Way (see above).  The moated site comprises of two contiguous, roughly square enclosures contained by a bank along the north side, above the stream.  Due to the down cutting of the stream, the moat, formerly fed at the northeast corner (now dry), now relies upon surface drainage to retain water.     

The moated site was scheduled as a monument in 1971, stating that some medieval/post medieval tiles were found on the smaller of the two islands.  No buildings survive above ground level, although fox holes on the larger island have exposed pieces of dressed building stone and several types of glazed floor tiles which represent a high status property.  A plain green glazed floor tile from the site was dated by Sussex Archaeological Society (see below).  Decorated glazed floor tiles and fragments of floor tile have also been found, one of which has a heraldic design featuring six fleur-de-lis on a shield, but these probably date to the 14^th century or later.  The art of making decorated tiles seems to have died out shortly after the Saxon period and was reintroduced from France in the 13^th century, but with more complex designs.

LiDar interpretation of the moated site clearly shows the two moated islands and it is the larger west one that has the glazed floor tiles and pottery scatter (post Saxon), although the listing of the site records medieval/post medieval tile found on the smaller island.  Evidence appears to show a series of principle dwellings in the area starting at the moated site by the 10^th century, which by the 13^th century had moved southeast up the hill and then to the current site of Gullege house by the 15^th century (for further information see Handout, Tithing of Warley, JIC 05/17).

Glazed Floor tile (17-2)
Floor tiles are known from the late Anglo-Saxon period, but they were not in frequent use before the 13^th century and were generally used in ecclesiastical or royal buildings so the floor tile found on the moated site, dating to the 11^th to 13^th century, is an early tile from potentially a high status building.

The floor tile found on the moated site is made of fired clay, red with a grey core.  Although not complete it is possible to determine the original size as 140mm x 140mm (5½ins x 5½ins) square and is 25mm (1in) thick (the grey core being 15mm (½in) thick).  It is glazed with a yellowy green glaze, with dark browny/black flecks, although much of the surface glaze has been worn away.  The tile was authenticated by the Sussex Archaeological Society as dating to the 11^th to 13^th century.

Pottery
Strap Handle (41-1016)
A field walking exercise undertaken in Heathy Field at Imberhorne Farm in 2005 produced a strap handle dating to the between 9^th and 11^th centuries, implying that human activity didn’t stop in the Felbridge area after the Romans had left but continued, the remaining peoples embracing the incoming Saxon culture and ideas. 

The handle fragment is 34mm wide, 52mm long and 14mm thick.  The body of the clay is rough to the touch with quartz inclusions and the pitted surface is dark pinky/brown in colour with a dark grey/black core.

Observations of the Pre-Conquest finds on the FFD

It is evident, at the time of writing, that the whole Felbridge area is not well represented by the collection of Pre-Conquest finds as most of the finds come from the southern end of the area on the Sussex side of the county boundary, the vast majority of pieces found at Imberhorne Farm and Gullege and on Felbridge Water near Ascotts off Crawley Down Road and Smythford off the junction of Felbridge Road and Hophurst Hill,  with a few pieces found in Furnace Wood and off Imberhorne Lane, formerly part of East Grinstead Common.  The database shows very little reported as found on the Surrey side of the county boundary except at Snowhill, in Rowplatt Lane and at Hedgecourt Farm.  This is not to say that there are fewer Pre-Conquest artefacts on the Surrey side of the county boundary just that they have not yet been found or reported.  However, Pre-Conquest roads can be found on both sides of the county boundary, in Sussex and Surrey, with three crossing the boundary.

Bibliography