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Places to stay in Burwash
It is from his home in this very English village that Rudyard Kipling penned the wise and wonderful words of his poem 'If'. Kipling first saw the house when, as he later wrote, he ' wandered down an enlarged rabbit warren of a lane' Batemans, a stone mansion with towering chimney's was to be his home from 1902 until his death in 1936. The house dates 17th-century and was originally built for a local ironmaster during the period when Burwash was an important iron centre. During his period of occupation Kipling wrote many of his finest works, including Puck of Pooks Hill. The house is now owned by the National Trust and the rooms remain very much as they were when Kipling was alive. This picturesque village is spread along a ridge between the rivers of Rother and Dudwell, it began to prosper three centuries ago, when the Weald was England's main source of iron ore. This prosperity shows in the attractive old houses, cottages and shops strewn along the High Street. The village Church of St.Bartholomew's has a 14th-century iron tomb slab, it is claimed to be one of the oldest in the country. The church has a Norman west tower with twin bell openings. There is much to do and see in this pleasant Weald countryside. Wonderful examples of gleaming white weatherboarded Watermills are still to be seem, so too, are quaint old Oasthouses. Burwash is about equal distance from the grand town of Tunbridge Wells and the glorious coastline of the Sussex Heritage coast. On a visit here your every possible need is catered for.
