Bibliography - Robertsbridge, Rother District, East Sussex
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Notices of the Abbey of Robertsbridge, by Rev. George Miles Cooper, published 1856 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 8, article, pp.141-176) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2093] & The Keep [LIB/500227] & S.A.S. library   View Online

Unappropriated Arms at Robertsbridge Abbey, by W. S. Ellis, published 1857 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 9, notes & queries, pp.368-369) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2094] & The Keep [LIB/500228] & S.A.S. library   View Online

Robertsbridge, by Mark Antony Lower, M.A., published 1870 in A Compendious History of Sussex, Topographical, Archaeological & Anecdotal (vol. II, pp.120-122, Lewes: George P. Bacon) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8946][Lib 3315] & The Keep [LIB/500158]   View Online

Calendar of Charters and Documents Relating to the Abbey of Robertsbridge, published 1873 accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 12285]

Remarks on some Charters and other Documents relating to the Abbey of Robertsbridge, in the County of Sussex, in the possession of the Rev. J. H. Blunt, M.A., F.S.A., by Charles Spencer Perceval, published 1880 in Archaeologia; or Miscellaneous Tracts relating to Antiquity (vol. 45, issue 2, article, pp.427-461)   View Online

The charters and other documents which Mr. Blunt has kindly exhibited this evening formed a part of the archives of the Cistercian Abbey of Robertsbridge, founded in 1176, at a spot within the parish of Salehurst, in Eastern Sussex, where the high road from Hastings to Tunbridge crosses the River Rother, which here changes its course from south-east to east, and after passing Bodiham Castle forms for a few miles the boundary between Kent and Sussex, until turning sharply to the south it enters the sea at Rye Harbour.

Abbey of Robertsbridge, by F. R. Fairbank, M.D., F.S.A., published 1899 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 42, notes & queries, p.241) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2127] & The Keep [LIB/500260] & S.A.S. library   View Online

Robertsbridge, by E. V. Lucas with illustrations by Frederick L. Griggs, published 1904 in Highways and Byways in Sussex (Chapter XXXIX, London: Macmillan & Co.) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 41][Lib 12792][Lib 15825] & The Keep [LIB/500142]   View Online

Houses of Cistercian monks: Abbey of Robertsbridge, by William Page, F.S.A., published 1907 in The Victoria History of the County of Sussex (vol. 2: Ecclesiastical, Maritime, Social and Economic History, Population 1801-1901, Industries, Agriculture, Forestry, Architecture, Schools and Sport, pp.71-74, London: Victoria County History, ISBN-10: 0712905863 & ISBN-13: 9780712905862) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2399][Lib 9097] & The Keep [LIB/500090][LIB/504899] & R.I.B.A. Library & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries   View Online

The Four Men, a farrago; their journeying through central Sussex, by Hilaire Belloc, published 1912 (London: Thomas Nelson & Sons)   View Online

This novel, by Anglo-French writer Hilaire Belloc and originally published in 1911, tells the story of four men who make a 90 mile pilgrimage across the English county of Sussex. Each man represents an aspect of Belloc's personality, and the narrative follows the characters as they travel through the countryside on a journey allegorical to life. The story takes place over five consecutive days in which they pass through many real locations with which the author was very familiar: for instance, The George Inn at Robertsbridge, where Belloc was a regular customer.

Report on the Manuscripts of Lord de L'Isle & Dudley Preserved at Penshurst Place, by Historical Manuscripts Commission, published 1925 (vol. I, H. M. Stationery Office)

The geology of Etchingham and Robertsbridge, Sussex. Weald Research Committee Report, No. 11, by A. A. Fitch, A.R.C.S., B.Sc., published 1930 in The Proceedings of the Geologists' Association London (no. 41 issue 1, article, pp.53-62)   View Online

The area described is 24 square miles in extent; it forms part of the Central Weald of Sussex and Kent, and constitutes Sheet XXX, Sussex, and part of Sheet LXXVIII, Kent, of the Ordnance Survey Six-Inch Series: the geological map is Sheet 5 of the Old Series (one-inch). It includes four towns or large villages - Burwash, Etchingham, Robertsbridge and Salehurst.

John Wesley and his Sussex Friends. II - Northiam, Robertsbridge and Ewhurst, by Edmund Austen, published 1930 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. IV no. 8, article, pp.655-661) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2308][Lib 2309] & The Keep [LIB/500173]

A Sussex Cricket Bat Factory, by H. G. Beddington, published 1932 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. VI no. 6, article, pp.390-392) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9325] & The Keep [LIB/500175]

Excavations at Robertsbridge Abbey, by L. F. Salzman, F.S.A., published August 1935 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. V no. 7, article, pp.206-208) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2204][Lib 8223][Lib 8862] & The Keep [LIB/500207] & S.A.S. library

Sir John Dalyngrigge and Robertsbridge Abbey, by L. F. Salzman and Hugh Whistler, published 1937 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 78, article, pp.266-275) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2163] & The Keep [LIB/500351] & S.A.S. library

Survey of Robertsbridge Manor, by Raymond H. D'Elboux, published 1946 (vol. 47, Sussex Record Society) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2263] & The Keep [LIB/500423]

Robertsbridge Abbey, by R. H. D'Elboux, published August 1946 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. XI no. 3, note, pp.65-66) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8229][Lib 2210] & The Keep [LIB/500213] & S.A.S. library

The Restoration of St. Mary's Church, Salehurst and a note on Robertsbridge Abbey, by J. L. Ward, published May 1959 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. XV no. 3, article, pp.77-82) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8233] & The Keep [LIB/500217] & S.A.S. library

Cloistral remains, Robertsbridge Abbey, by J. Martin, published 1966 in Recologea Papers (vol. 1, no. 5, article, Robertsbridge & District Archeolocial Society)

Robertsbridge Abbey precincts, by J. Martin, published 1967 in Recologea Papers (vol. 2, no. 2, article, pp.13-14, Robertsbridge & District Archeolocial Society)

A Sixteenth-Century Wealden Blast Furnace: A Report on Excavations at Panningridge, Sussex, 1964-1970, by David Crossley, published 1972 in The Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology (vol. 6, article, pp.42-68) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/502347]   View Online

The excavation recovered evidence for two periods of iron smelting; there were substantial surviving structures from a blast furnace thought from documentary sources to have produced pig-iron from 1542 until at least 1563 and, superimposed, indications of a later furnace built with major changes in layout at some time after 1563 but abandoned well before 1611. It was possible to compare, in particular, the application of water-power in the two periods and to sample ore and cast iron. The features of the first furnace could be related to references in surviving account books, and thus a yardstick may be offered for future fieldwork on undocumented furnaces of the period.

Robertsbridge Village, by David Martin, published 1973 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 111, shorter notice, p.114) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2196] & The Keep [LIB/500318] & S.A.S. library

Buildings: Robertsbridge, by D. Martin, published May 1973 in Sussex Archæological Society Newsletter (no. 10, article, p.40) accessible at: S.A.S. library   Download PDF

Survey of thirty pre-1700 buildings

Sidney Ironworks Accounts 1541-1573, by David Crossley, published 1975 (259 pp., Royal Historical Society, ISBN-10: 0901050253 & ISBN-13: 9780901050250) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/507455] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

The Robertsbridge and Panningridge ironworks in Sussex were built by Sir William Sidney who had purchased Robertsbridge Abbey at the Dissolution; they passed to his son in 1553, and it was under him that the steelworks and ironworks in Glamorgan were built. This volume reproduces 22 documents with accounts for various years, and a useful interpretative introduction.

All students of the wealden iron industry owe a debt to David Crossley for his excavations at Panningridge, Chingley, and Pippingford (all published) and the light they throw on the layouts and technical processes of this industry in the pre-Industrial Revolution period. The author, rightly not content with fieldwork alone, has also devoted much time to documentary research, where material was available.
The publication of the Sidney Ironworks Accounts relates to Sir Henry Sidney's interests in establishing, running, and maintaining a furnace and forge at Robertsbridge, a furnace eight miles away at Panningridge (excavated by the author, see Post-Medieval Archaeology Vol.6 (1972) pp.42-68), and a furnace in Glamorgan, S. Wales. This latter he rented to secure a supply of cast iron plates for his steel works at Robertsbridge Abbey and Boxhurst, nearby. The local Welsh haematite ores were found to produce iron more suitable for this purpose than those in the Weald. In a scholarly introduction, with many footnotes, the author has squeezed every bit of information from the detailed accounts to piece together the methods and materials used to build and maintain this industrial complex. For example the labour employed, which included skilled furnace and forge men, miners, charcoal burners, timber cutters, carpenters, stone masons, and carters, etc., and their wages, is all analysed, compared and date tested to see if their employment was seasonal or permanent. Much information from other sources, consulted by the author, is used for a final analysis, which makes a fascinating story.

An Architectural History of Robertsbridge, by David Martin and Barbara Martin, published 1975 (Hastings Area Archaeological Papers, no. 5, 88 pp., Robertsbridge, ISBN-10: 0904124045 & ISBN-13: 9780904124040) accessible at: R.I.B.A. Library & East Sussex Libraries

East Sussex Census 1851 Index: Salehurst (including Robertsbridge & Hurst Green), Bodiam & Wadhurst, by June C. Barnes, published May 1988 (vol. 12, booklet, 80 pp., C. J. Barnes & printed at Battle Instant Print Ltd., ISBN-13: 9781870264075) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 11241] & The Keep [LIB/503433] & East Sussex Libraries

Three Moated Sites in North-East Sussex, Part I. Glottenham, by David Martin, published 1989 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 127, article, pp.89-122) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 10604] & The Keep [LIB/500302] & S.A.S. library

Battle and Robertsbridge in Old Photographs, by Alan Gillet, published 30 November 1989 (160 pp., Stroud: Sutton Publishing Ltd., ISBN-10: 0862996465 & ISBN-13: 9780862996468) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Notes on Early 18th-century Memoranda on the making of iron, by J. S. Hodgkinson, published 1995 in Wealden Iron Research Group (Second Series No. 15, article, pp.9-17, ISSN: 0266-4402) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16400] & The Keep [LIB/506562]   Download PDF

The expenditure accounts for Beech and Robertsbridge Furnaces and Robertsbridge Forge, between 1726 and 1735, have received little attention. They are worthy of interest, however, for a series of memoranda preceding the accounts, which add to our knowledge of the detail of charcoal ironmaking in the Weald and elsewhere. There are several published descriptions of aspects of the practice of iron making, the most familiar examples from the Weald being those of John Ray and John Fuller; the latter a most comprehensive description. The memoranda transcribed below (in italics) do not provide a full description of either the smelting or forging process. Rather they supplement the better known accounts. The memoranda appear to constitute a series of notes, perhaps made by the clerk of the ironworks for his successor, for the guidance of someone either new to the iron business, or to the Weald, or both.

Fieldwork and excavation on the Robertsbridge bypass, 1985, by Mark Gardiner, published 1997 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 135, shorter article, pp.301-308) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 13642] & The Keep [LIB/500290] & S.A.S. library

Robertsbridge - 18c. Schools, edited by John Caffyn, published 1998 in Sussex Schools in the 18th Century (Sussex Record Society, vol. 81, pp.220-223, ISBN-10: 0854450424 & ISBN-13: 9780854450428) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 13825][Lib 13828] & The Keep [LIB/500458][Lib/507864] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

The confraternity seals of Burton Lazars Hospital and a newly-discovered matrix from Robertsbridge, Sussex, by David Marcombe and K. Manchester, published 2002 in Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society (article, pp.47-58)   Download PDF

Robertsbridge flood alleviation scheme: the challenges of a fast-track approach, by Nigel Baker, B.Eng., C.Eng., M.I.C.E., John Palmer, B.Sc.(Eng.), M.Sc., C.Eng., F.I.C.E.(Fellow} and Garry Elswood, published September 2005 in Water and Environment Journal (vol. 19, issue 3, article, pp.167-173)   View Online

Flooding occurred in many locations in the united kingdom in the autumn/winter of 2000. One of the worst affected areas was Robertsbridge, in East Sussex, where over that winter, some properties were flooded up to eight times following those events, the environment agency targeted defences for this high-risk township as one of its high priority projects to 'fast-track' to implementation.
Studies started in January 2001, which recommended a stand-alone scheme that would project the township against the 1% probability flood. Project development progressed on a'fast-track'basis to allow construction to start in September 2002 with completion planned in the summary of 2003.
Project development and implementation is always an obstacle course but the 'fast-track' approach magnifies the obstacle and introduces new ones. This paper describes experience from the Robertsbridge flood allevation scheme, with particular reference to some of the problems encountered, both technical and procedural.

Cripps Corner, East Sussex [Robertsbridge], by William Foot, published 2006 in The battlefields that nearly were: defended England 1940 (pp.71-81, Stroud: Tempus, ISBN-10: 0752438492 & ISBN-13: 9780752438498) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Robertsbridge, Historic Character Assessment Report, compiled by Roland B. Harris, published July 2009 (Sussex Extensive Urban Survey (EUS), 37 pp. + appendices, E.S.C.C., W.S.C.C. & Brighton and Hove City, funded by English Heritage)   Download PDF

1841 Census vol.15 - Wadhurst, Salehurst and Bodiam, published (no date) by PBN Publications (Ref: BPCQ, CD-ROM)