Bridge Cottage in Uckfield where archives of Uckfield’s history are kept.
It is 800 years this month since the first known use of the name ‘Uckfield’ in an official document.
The special occasion was the granting of a charter for a market to be held in the town.
Uckfield was then in the manor of South Malling, and the Lord of the Manor was Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury.
King Henry III
He had to pay King Henry III the sum of £3 7s 8d for permission to establish the market, which was to be held on a Wednesday. The Sheriff of Sussex was notified of this grant in a document dated August 6, 1220, and it was here that the name Uckfield appeared.
For more information about the market charter, and the nature of Uckfield in the early thirteenth century, please visit the website of Uckfield & District Preservation Society, at www.bridgecottageuckfield.co.uk, where you will find an article by Brian Phillips, and some additional notes.
The grant is recorded in the Fine Rolls and Pipe Rolls, financial records, dating from the reign of Henry III, held at the National Archives, Kew. Uckfield’s entry is contained in the fine roll via the following link: https://finerollshenry3.org.uk/content/fimages/C60_12/m03.html