Blacklands, Hastings

[jond]

I know that the Blacklands area was formerly the 'Blacklands Farm Estate'

My question is how was the name 'Blacklands' derived? I thought it might be linked to the name 'Ore' in Hastings, perhaps mining or industry of some sort before Blacklands Farm Estate. Blacklands does not sound very agricultural does it. Any ideas?

Thanks John D

[Geoff]

A very good question John. I would love to know the answer too, since I live in Blacklands and researched the piece about the area on this site. I never did find out where the name of the original Blacklands Farm came from.

Other areas with a similar name seem to have been called this for agricultural reasons. For example the Black-land Prairies in Arkansas have dark, rich soil which is good for farming. Makes sense, and also fits in with the name Ore as you say.

[Richard]

It is hard to believe that the name 'Blacklands' goes back to Roman times and the iron-ore trade which was mainly mined at Beauport Park, in any case.
Thought it is true that there were 'Chalybeate' springs in the Alexandra Park area and a 'Spa' Hotel but these were only developed in the 1870's.
Iron-bearing minerals may be dark in colour or light reddish brown depending on their stae of oxidation/reduction, but would this be a likely reason for calling the area 'Black land'? I doubt it.
Could somebody called "Black" have owned land in the area?
The ground generally stands on stiff and sticky river clays which are anything but black ( more like a rich yellow-orange colour).
Then there is the name 'White Rock' which can't be purely based on the cliffs nearby either - these were neither chalky nor white in colour.

I am afraid it is still speculation and conjecture at this stage - but very interesting, nonetheless!!

[jond]

From the site hammerpond.org.uk . history, 'Wealden Iron a brief history'. I found the following:-
The Wealds iron deposits lie relatively close to the ground surface and so were easily extracted by open cast mining. Most extraction took place in the high weald, a section stretching roughly east of horsham across to south tunbridge wells and down to Hastings. High yealds were obtained in this geological triangle beneath the wadhurst clay in the Hastings Beds. Earliest form of iron smelting used a small conical furnace, close to streams etc.

I think that Blacklands would have been an apt name for this early smelting using charcoal, Ore valley, more of the same. Bit like the Black country name in the midlands perhaps, plenty of smoke maybe. Above site says rapid fortunes could be made from this. (Later the Blacklands Estate Land owner finds another rapid fortune from selling plots of land for housing. Became known in Hastings at the time as 'the paradise'!)

John

[Terry Again Again]

I seem to recall being told the Blacklands area was used for charcoal production at one time.

[Richard]

The earliest recorded and most primitive means of extracting iron from the ore found near stream-exposed deposits was via conical clay 'furnaces' or small 'ovens' called "Bloomeries" and these were operated on a small scale in many locations in the 'High Weald' from Roman times onwards and not just in Hastings by any means.
It seems that these small-scale affairs were set up in the same way that "Bodgers" would go into the forest and set up local 'in-situ' means of producing furniture.
It was highly variable and not particularly organised.

Then we get into the need for iron production for canon and armaments on a much larger and highly organised scale.
In the 17th century, Battle was the centre for the gunpowder industry, located in the surrounding villages.
iron workers, farmers, tanners, gunpowder manufacturers ( "Battle" was the premier site of charcoal production with 'Powdermills lane' named after the process.) made Battle their home.
Between the 1600 and the 1800's the Fuller family from Brightling , ran an iron furnace at Heathfield which produced cannons for the Royal Navy. The Iron Ore was mined locally, and the charcoal used to fire the ore was also produced locally, some from "Blackboys" (Another local village, named after the colour of the charcoal burners).
"Mad Jack or John Fuller" was the son of a wealden ironmaster who owned the Crall Furnace at Heathfield. He also owned the mansion adjoining the Church and the Brightling Estate . The Family became famous and the forge at Burwash Weald produced a wide range of implements for agriculture and family use.

Sorry - a bit of a ramble but I can't see the significance of the name 'Blacklands' in Hastings relating to charcoal production - although there might some truth that it was manufactured here in Hastings, at times, but probably not from wood grown in the 'Blacklands' location.

[Richard]

In certain legal documents dated between the 1400's and 1700's 'Blacklands' was called by that name and also the name 'Small Lands'.
Despite my earlier reservations, It is looking ever more likely that the 'Blacklands' name was originally 'coined' because of an association with iron smelting in 'bloomeries' operated around the 'Romano-British' time period.
I am told there was a stream flowing from a hill (Pond Mill Hill ?? not sure of name) located somewhere along Mountpleasant road which may have served as a source of power, and charcoal would, of course, have been used to power the furnaces.

It is estimated that 30,000 tonnes of ironworking waste were deposited at Beauport Park alone.
The demand for iron by the Romans was naturally a major influence on the economy of parts of E. Sussex and Kent at the time.
Infact it was part of a very early 'Heyday' for Hastings which cannot be ignored as cannot the period between 1600 and the 1800's when the 'Fuller' "Iron-Masters" family mined iron and created wealth on a large scale, albeit not in Hastings, its influence would still have been felt.

[Gerry Glyde]

So much reasearch to do and such little time.........
Fascinating things to read: keep it up Richard