Information AboutWeald |
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| wealden | |
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THE WEALD As a geographical term, the Weald is a region in the South of England situated between the Chalk Hill s of the North Downs and South Downs , that extends across the Counties of Kent , East Sussex , West Sussex and Surrey . It has also been known as the Forest Of Andred or Andredswald because in the early Middle Ages it was known to stretch from Andred or Anderitum ( Pevensey Castle ) in East Sussex to Dorset , seventy miles long and thirty miles wide. In early Anglo-Saxon times, it is known to have been 120 miles long, stretching from Kent to Hampshire. The ''High Weald'' of higher hills, ridges and Valley s is the central part of the Wealden Anticline , layered Lower Cretaceous Rock that later rose up and folded upward into an arched incline, as well as steep slopes falling away in certain parts of the area. It covers an area of 500 square miles (1,300 km&2) and has been designated an Area Of Outstanding Natural Beauty . The Weald-Artois Anticline is the chalk ridge that linked Britain to continental Europe until approximately 225,000 years ago. Lower parts of the Weald form a gentler rolling countryside which is especially popular with Rambler s. The Weald has maintained its wooded character, with forest still covering 23% of the area, one of the highest levels in England. Despite the population pressure in the South of England, it has not resulted in any major urban environment. Towns such as Tunbridge Wells , Tonbridge , Crawley , Sevenoaks , etc., are local centres which have attracted a certain number of commuters into London without having lost their traditional character. near Detling ]] The area was the centre of the Wealden Iron Industry from Roman times until the last forge was closed in 1820. The use of its timber for the furnaces, but also for the Medieval Cloth Industry and by the shipbuilders on the Thames and Medway , might well have denuded its landscape, but now that all three industries use other raw materials, the Weald remains one of the most heavily wooded areas of England. It is also one of the most important regions whence many English Yeomen came to settle the lands across the sea which have since become the United States . The Geological Anticline which caused the Weald extends 62.5 km = 37.5 miles further south-south-east under the Straits Of Dover and includes the Boulonnais in France . See Straits Of Dover . Cricket is thought to have originated prior to the 13th century from the Weald. OTHER ENGLISH WEALDS Wooded areas other than those which are situated between the Downs and which have the name ''Weald'' are North Weald Basset t in Essex , and Harrow Weald in northwest London . WOLD Compare wold, which is from the same root as ''weald'', and which originally meant "forest" or "wildlands." It now most often means open countryside or moorlands and especially the rolling uplands in the North of England, the Yorkshire Wolds and Lincolnshire Wolds . EXTERNAL LINKS |
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