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Description
Warbleton lies about 2 1/2 miles south east of Heathfield and south of Punnetts Town. It is a small hamlet in a very quiet and unspoilt part of East Sussex.
From the 1540's to the late 1700's the area near to Warbleton was in the heart of the Sussex Iron industry, with Cralle Furnace creating cannons and other implements. The finished goods were sent by river to the sea at Pevensey for export.
During the reign of Queen Mary (1553 - 1558) the Ironmaster Richard Woodman, who was also a churchwarden, publicly objected to the local Parish Priest changing from Protestant to Roman Catholic, as the queen had instructed. He was captured, and taken to London to stand trial. At his trial he showed remarkable knowledge of the Bible, and was able to quote from it verbatim. He was condemned by the Bishop of Winchester, and it is believed that he was locked in Warbleton Church Tower. On June 22nd 1557, he was burned to death with nine other martyrs in front of the Star Inn at Lewes.
A local legend claims that the village public house called the Warbill-in-tun was named because a thirsty soldier opened a tun (barrel) of beer with his War Bill(a Halberd).
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