Hedgecourt

{{maplink |frame=yes |frame-width=300 |frame-height=300 |frame-lat= 51.1518 |frame-long=-0.0560 |type=shape |id= Q14995442 |stroke-width= 4 |stroke-opacity= 0.6 |type2=point |coord2= {{coord|51.1595|-0.04403}} |marker-size2=medium |marker2= 1 |type3=point |marker-size3=medium |coord3= {{coord|51.147|-0.05870}} |marker3= 2 |zoom=13 |text= Map of Hedgecourt SSSI showing the sites of Wire Mill (1) and Hedgecourt Mill (2) }}

Hedgecourt SSSI is a wetland site in southeast Surrey in the Eden Brook valley. It sits on a layer of alluvial deposits, which overlies the Tunbridge Wells Sands beneath. The largest part of the site is Hedgecourt Lake, a former mill pond. Its primary inflow and outflow are the Eden Brook and it has a catchment area of {{cvt|9.73|km2}}, of which around 60% is agricultural land and 23% is urban. The surface area is {{cvt|17.2|ha}}, the maximum depth is {{cvt|1.25|m}} and the mean hydraulic residence time is 83 days.{{cite thesis |last= Wilson |first= Helen M |year= 1995 |title= An evaluation of alternative management strategies for shallow eutrophicated lakes and reservoirs |publisher= University of Plymouth |pages=166-168, 217-220 |url= https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/10026.1/1870/HELEN%20M.%20WILSON.PDF?sequence=1 |access-date= 20 December 2023 |doi= 10.24382/3714|type= Thesis }}

The lake, in the Metropolitan Green Belt, is owned by a local yacht club, which uses it for sailing.{{cite news |title= Lake dam declared safe by engineer |date= 9 February 1977 |work= East Grinstead Observer |page= 3 }} A local angling club stocks the waters with fish and Surrey Wildlife Trust rents {{cvt|5|ha}} at the west end as a nature reserve.{{cite web |title= Hedgecourt Lake and Feeder Stream |publisher= East Grinstead Angling Society |url= http://www.eastgrinsteadangling.co.uk/hedgecourt-lake.asp |access-date= 20 December 2023 }} A 1995 survey noted that the lake was shallow and subject to silting. A 2017 report described the lake as being in poor condition with high levels of phosphate. Aquatic plants characteristic of hyper-eutrophic conditions, such as Stuckenia pectinata, Potamogeton pusillus and Zannichellia palustris, were found to be abundant.{{cite web |last1= Goldsmith |first1= Ben |last2= Goodrich |first2= Stefania |date= November 2017 |title= Hedgecourt Lake : SSSI condition summary |publisher= Environmental Change Research Centre |location= London |url= https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10115383/1/ecrc_report_188_Goldsmith%20%26%20Goodrich_2017_Hedgecourt.pdf |access-date= 5 January 2024 }}

Surrounding the lake and still in the SSSI are areas of woodland, dominated by oak and birch, with hazel and alder. On the marshier ground close to the lake, alder, birch and grey sallow are common. Where the ground is waterlogged, species such as marsh horsetail, yellow loosestrife, reed canary-grass, gipsywort, meadowsweet and meadow thistle are found. Aquatic flora include Elodea nuttallii, broad-leaved pondweed and white water-lily. Fish species include bream, roach, tench, pike, perch and eels.

The earliest surviving record of Hedgecourt is from 1302, when it appears as Hegecurt. In later documents from the 14th century, it is written as Le Heggecurt and Heggecourt. In the late 15th and early 16th centuries it is recorded as Hegecote. The name is of French origin and dates from after the Norman Conquest. {{cite book |last1=Gover |first1=J.E.B |last2=Mawer |first2=A. |author-link2=Allen Mawer |last3=Stenton |first3=F.M. |author-link3=Frank Stenton |year=1934 |title=The place-names of Surrey |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page= 322}}

Until the start of the 14th century, Hedgecourt was part of the Manor of Horne. In 1302, it was granted to John de Berewyk, but was briefly returned to the Crown in 1323-4, before being regranted to Roger de Husee, de Berewyk's heir. During the 15th century, the land came into the possession of John Gage, whose descendants held the manor until the death of William Gage in 1744. It then passed through a succession of private owners, who progressively broke up the estate.{{cite news |title= Manors of Hedgecourt and Covelingley |date= 15 November 1963 |work= Surrey Mirror and County Post |issue= 4547 |page= 23 }}{{cite book |editor-last= Malden |editor-first= H.E. |year= 1912 |title= A history of the county of Surrey |volume= 4 |publisher= Victoria County History |location= London |pages= 291–296 |url= https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/surrey/vol4/pp291-296 |access-date= 20 December 2023 }}

The first watermill is thought to have been a hammer mill on the current Wire Mill site, beyond the northeastern end of the SSSI. The date of construction is unknown, but there was an active iron industry in the area in the 14th century{{cite news |title= Horne history |date= 3 October 1996 |work= Surrey Mirror |page= 14 }} and there was a forge operating at Hedgecourt in the 16th century.{{cite news |title= Settlement created by iron will of workers |date= 8 July 1999 |work= Surrey Mirror |page= 16 }} A major reconstruction took place {{circa|1573}} and timber from a former man-of-war ship was used in the rebuilding.{{cite news |last= Worley |first= Richard |date= 17 March 1988 |title= Fire guts mill |work= East Grinstead Observer |pages= 1–2 }} On maps published between 1729 and 1823, the mill is recorded as "Woodcock Hammer".{{cite book |last= Stiddler |first= Derek |year= 1990 |title= The watermills of Surrey |publisher= Baracuda |location= Buckingham |isbn= 978-0-86-023480-7 |pages= 31, 38 }}

By 1888, the hammer mill had become a wire mill.{{cite web |title= Hedgecourt SSSI |publisher= Felbridge & District History Group |url= https://www.felbridge.org.uk/index.php/publications/hedgecourt-sssi/ |access-date= 20 December 2023 }} Local legend holds that the mill supplied nails for St Paul's Cathedral in the late 18th century. The mill, still referred to as the "Wire Mill", was converted to a flour mill in 1816 and closed completely in 1912. Following the First World War, the building was used by a fishing club, but became an inn in 1934. It was bought by McGuran and Quest Inns Ltd in the summer of 1987, but during refurbishment works the following March, a fire caused extensive damage. The pub reopened on 2 September 1988.{{cite news |title= Charm of waterside inn |date= 1 September 1988 |work= Sevenoaks Focus |page= 17 }} In October 2022, it was sold to the brewer, Hall & Woodhouse.{{cite news |last= Thatcher |first= Nikkie |date= 5 October 2022 |title= Yummy rebrands and sells 'iconic' site |work= Morning Advertiser |url= https://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/Article/2022/10/05/Yummy-Pubs-sells-the-Wiremill-to-Hall-Woodhouse |access-date= 5 January 2023 }}

The first mill on the Hedgecourt Mill site, is thought to have been built at the start of the 16th century. It is believed to have been positioned directly on the Eden Brook and to have been powered by an undershot water wheel. Hedgecourt Lake was created {{circa|1562|1567}} by damming the brook, primarily to provide an additional store of water for the hammer mill on the Wire Mill site. At the same time, Hedgecourt Mill was converted to become an overshot mill.{{cite web |title= Hedgecourt Watermill and Cottages |publisher= Felbridge & District Local History |url= https://www.felbridge.org.uk/index.php/publications/hedgecourt-watermill-and-cottages/ |access-date= 20 December 2023 }}

During the reign of Elizabeth I, Hedgecourt Mill was described as a corn mill and it is marked on a map of 1679, published by the hydrographer, John Seller. In the late 17th century, Hedgecourt Mill is thought to have had two pairs of millstones and a water wheel that was {{cvt|12|ft|6|in|m}} in diameter and {{cvt|6|ft|m}} wide. The mill had closed by 1926{{cite news |last= Paddon |first= J.B. |date= 8 October 1926 |title= Hedgecourt Mill |work= Surrey Mirror and County Post |issue= 2540 |page= 12 }} and the building quickly became ruinous. In the early 1990s, it was possible to see the framework of the iron water wheel attached to the rotting wooden axel shaft. The original mill house, parts of which date from the 17th century, was Grade II-listed in 1984.{{NHLE |num= 1280919 |desc= The Mill House and Mill Cottage |grade= II }}

Hedgecourt was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1975. The main lake was purchased by Crawley Mariners Yacht Club in 1977; the cost was part-funded by a £10,000 grant from the National Sports Council. The author, Frederick Forsyth, owned Lake House in the mid-1980s; the property has a private jetty and slipway onto the lake.{{cite news |title= Charming life beside a lake |date= 9 December 1992 |work= East Grinstead Observer |page= 22 }}{{cite news |title= Thriller writer's house for sale |date= 14 March 2007 |work= BBC News |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/6451535.stm |access-date= 20 December 2023 }} In 1986, Surrey Wildlife Trust began to lease the western part of the lake as a nature reserve.{{cite news |title= Conservationists go back to nature |date= 23 April 1987 |work= East Grinstead Observer |page= 5 }} A scrub cutter machine was presented to the trust by National Grid in 1996.{{cite news |title= A life-saving donation |date= 7 March 1996 |work= Surrey Mirror |page= 13 }} An algal bloom, in 1999, reduced oxygen levels in the water and there were reports of dead and distressed fish.{{cite news |last= Smith |first= Laura |date= 8 September 1999 |title= Algae forces agency to close two lakes |work= East Grinstead Observer |page= 3 }}

• Medway watermills (upper tributaries)

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{{commons category-inline|Hedgecourt}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110516235056/http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/sccwebsite/sccwspublications.nsf/f8bf722ea9b58b0e80256c67004190b9/c5287dd590bb7bc48025727300525895/$FILE/Final%20Report%2024%20Jan%2007%20Fig%206.pdf Surrey County Council map of SSSIs]

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{{SSSIs Surrey}}

{{Surrey Wildlife Trust}}

{{Hydrology of Surrey}}

Category:Surrey Wildlife Trust

Category:Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Surrey

Category:Lakes of Surrey