Brighter Uckfield

05/01/2026

In early Spring, Brighter Uckfield is intending to remove the planters that currently can be found at most of the town's access roads, close to the town road signs. The main reasons for the action are:
* the wooden structure of the planters is beginning to rot, and is costly to replace
* the long, dry Summers are making it essential for the plants to be watered regularly. The Group does not have the resources to carry out this work.
* it is costly to replenish the planters with drought-resistant plants

08/11/2025

The first update on the Ridgewood Bow Bells milepost restoration. 2 very solid and fully seasoned Sussex oak posts have been sourced and cut to shape by Willows Sawmill. These need to be 8cm thick, both to support the incredible weight of the iron Bow Bells posts themselves, but also to hopefully last many years once set deep into the ground on the roadside.

These posts cost £200 each, and are the most expensive component of the restoration - the rest being paint stripping materials, paint, concrete, and most importantly the hours of volunteer time spent actually restoring the iron posts themselves.

As the restoration is funded by the volunteers themselves, any donations to support the significant cost would be gratefully received - when finished, the post will be planted back at the end of New Road, where it has sat for the last 230 years, and will be a very visible marker visible as you drive into Uckfield from the Eastbourne Road.

See a link to the history of these posts in the comments, and please share the post to groups who may be interested.

https://gofund.me/e1d3f0eed

02/11/2025

One of our volunteers is continuining work to restore and maintain our Bell Bows mileposts in and around Uckfield - any help would be gratefully received. Donations are purely to support the cost of materials (mostly the cost of the sturdy and professionally cut oak posts at c£200 each), but each also post takes many volunteer hours of painstaking preparation and painting before they are ready to be put back in the ground.

Please share around town, particularly around Ridgewood, as when completed this post will be a highly visible and very attractive roadside marker to welcome those driving up the Eastbourne Road into town - it will be placed next to the bus stop at the eastern end of New Road, to match its twin which was restored 7 years ago and is still in great condition at the other end of the road.

Hi, my name is Neil - for the past 8 years I have been part of a small gr… Neil Kerridge needs your support for Restore our Bow Bells mileposts in East Sussex

28/08/2025

Residents in Ridgewood may have noticed that the “Bow Bells” milepost is currently absent from its home at the side of the Eastbourne Road near New Road. It has stood on this spot for over 200 years, marking 44 miles from Bow Bells church in London along the old turnpike road to the coast. It is one of 4 we have in Uckfield, among numerous more along the A22 and A26, which combined make up the longest continuous run of ancient mileposts in the country. Each were locally cast of Sussex iron, and symbolically include 4 bells strung on ribbon with a bow at the top… no doubt a better way to display the Bow Bells destination when fewer local people could read or write.

“Buckle 44” is so called because like all the mileposts between Uckfield and Eastbourne it includes a “Pelham buckle” at the very top, the symbol of the local family of the same name. This toll road branch from Eastbourne joined the other branch from Lewes at what is still to this day called “Union Point”, marked by the roundabout in front of the Highlands Inn. What changes this post has witnessed in its lifetime.

Unfortunately, a number of these posts have gone missing from the roadside in recent years, presumed stolen, but this is not the case for Buckle 44. It was attached to a new wooden backing post only 10 years ago, but this was already becoming rotten and was leaning towards the road at a precarious and growing angle. As a result, it was decided to remove the post before it fell - it is now in the safe keeping of a Brighter Uckfield volunteer, and will be restored and returned to the roadside over the next few months, complete with a more sturdy oak backing post matching that of its twin at the other end of New Road.

Please share to local community and historical Facebook groups to spread the word.