The Forbidden Lands of Sussex and the part it played in the English Civil War

Archivist Christine Maynard gives details in her book The Angel on a Bicycle and other Tales from the Archive, published by the Fernhurst Society in 2023.

She has drawn attention to her account of The Battle of North Ambersham, having enjoyed the feature on The Civil War comes to the South Downs in the Observer on May 29.

Christine said: "I thought readers would be interested. It is taken from an eyewitness account of the event, which took place in the east of Fernhurst parish."

The book was written by Christine and formatted and prepared it for print by Elaine Ireland. Other tales include the Professor's telescope and the Ghosts of Fridays Hill.

In the account of The Battle of North Ambersham, Christine writes: "During the English Civil War in the 1640s, there was a powerful family named Yaldwyn, aka Yalden, who owned Blackdown House and much land.

"They were aggressively neutral and fought savagely and impartially against any who dared to violate their lands, be they Royalist or Parliamentarian.

"So feared were they that the area was known as The Forbidden Lands of the Yaldwyns and their commander, William Yaldwyn, was nicknamed The Hard-Faced Man of the Yaldwyns. Oliver Cromwell is known to have stayed there for several nights.

"In 1644-5, there was a cavalry charge near the Forbidden Lands by the 4th Troop of the Roundhead army on a body of about 100 Royalists, in the teeth of a fierce hail and thunderstorms.

"All but one of the Cavaliers were killed. That sole survivor eventually crawled out from among the dead and was passed over the hedge into the Forbidden Lands. An eye witness said: 'He was pop-eyed with fright and his rescuers though him part mad'.

"The Yaldwyns gained power and fortune from their position as ironmasters in the Wealden iron industry that ran from the mid 1500s to late 1700s.

"The Weald produced large amounts of iron from cannonballs and a few years ago a local resident dug this 6kg cannonball up in his garden and kindly donated it to The Fernhurst Archive.

"The remains of the Fernhurst Furnace are some of the best preserved in the Sussex Weald thanks to the passion of the owners and The Fernhurst Furnace Preservation Group. Visit www.fernhurstfurnace.co.uk for more information."