Ticehurst

Ticehurst is both a village and a large civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England. The parish lies in the upper reaches of both the River Teise before it enters Bewl Water and in the upper reaches of the River Rother flowing to the south-east. The parish includes the Parish wards of Ticehurst, Flimwell and Stonegate. It lies to the south-east of Tunbridge Wells, and is about ten miles (16 km) distant.

Ticehurst is not mentioned in the Domesday Book, although the manor came into being in the 14th century; Pashley Manor is also mentioned at the same time, and is within the parish.

Village Name
The village name derives from Old English; there are two possible derivations. The most plausible one is that it means wood on the Teise from the river; the second roughly translates as 'The wooded hill where young goats graze', ticce(n) + hyrst. (1248, Tycheherst)

Ticehurst
There is a very active Village Club, which runs regular social events, and a monthly newsletter "News & Views" is produced by a team of volunteers. The village school serves both Ticehurst and Flimwell. There is also a comprehensive website covering most of the activities in the community.

Ticehurst House Hospital (now part of the Priory Group) specialises in the treatment of psychiatric disorders and is located in the village. Samuel Newington opened the original Ticehurst House in 1792 as a place dedicated to the care and treatment of psychiatric illness.



In the centre of Ticehurst there is a general village shop incorporating a post office, a butcher, a dry cleaner, a hairdresser, an antiquarian bookseller, a greengrocer, a chemist, an Indian takeaway, a car salesroom, a car repairer and MOT centre, an estate agency, a bank (National Westminster), two antique furniture dealers and two pubs, The Bell (currently closed) and the Chequers Inn. Further out, there are a smokery and two more pubs (The Bull at Three Leg Cross, and The Cherry Tree in Dale Hill) and a hotel/golf course at Dale Hill.

The village is the headquarters of the Antiquarian Horological Society.

The village is also home to the first Pick-Your-Own fruit farm to open in Britain, Maynards Fruit Farm, The farm made The Times "Top 50 places to eat outside in Britain" list.

One claim to fame is that the Scottish singer/guitarist Bert Jansch lived in Ticehurst in the late 1960s and recorded tracks for the classic 1971 "Rosemary Lane" album at his house in the village.

Parish Churches
The three village churches are at Ticehurst: a 14th-century parish church dedicated to St Mary the Virgin. ; Stonegate: St Peter; and Flimwell: St Augustine.

There is a railway station nearby, at Stonegate (it was originally called Ticehurst Road; and before that Witherenden); and there is a bus link to Wadhurst station.

Surname
Ticehurst village has also lent its name to some of its past inhabitants, whose descendants now bear the surname Ticehurst. In 1881 the surname was found almost entirely on the south coast, with the highest concentration of Ticehursts being located in Sussex. By 1998 the surname had spread further afield in the UK and also abroad. . There is a Ticehurst Surname DNA Project.