Ridgewood, East Sussex
Ridgewood is a suburb of Uckfield in South East England.
Ridgewood is a village on the south of the Town of Uckfield in the South East of England. Nestled equidistantly between the seaside towns of Eastbourne and Brighton (15 miles) and approximately 6 miles from the Ashdown Forest. A friendly and community orientated village which boasts the Millennium Green, with an area of beautiful countryside and tree lined walkways along a chalk path 100 acres (0.40 km2). The area used to be home to Wares Potteries, owned by Benjamin Wares which operated until 1963 producing tiles and other ceramic products. The name of the factory is commemorated in the nearby Wares Road and The Potteries. Walking around the Millennium Green a deep quarry can still be seen where clay was dug in the 19th and 20th centuries and brought by tram up to the workhouse in the top corner of what is now Wares Road. Here the clay was processed and fired into pottery. A fenced off picnic area makes it an ideal spot for families and children to nature watch birds and rabbits at play.
In 2016, the population was 3680 making up approximately 24% of the Uckfield population of 15157.
Ridgewood is not a parish as it has no church but is a voting ward. It has one nursing home, (Copper Beech house (Bupa), It has two care centres for the disabled - The New Inn and Ridgewood House. It has a Post Office (with adjoining shop) and two bus routes passing through it to Eastbourne via Hailsham and Brighton via Lewes to the south, and Uckfield, Crowborough and Tunbridge Wells to the North. There is one pub in the Ridgewood village - The Brickmakers Arms, as well as the Ridgewood Village Hall (https://ridgewoodvillagehall.wixsite.com/uckfield) which is widely used for a diverse number of community groups and events as well as polling. Adjacent to the hall is the Ridgewood recreation ground which is a beautiful green space adjoined by the Millennium Green, a children's play area and local allotments. The recreation ground and Village hall plays host to Christmas and Summer fayres, a November firework display, Easter Bunny Hunts, Quiz nights, and Bingo afternoons.