Mark Beech: The Unknown Village

Mark Beech is a small village at the western end of the High Weald of Kent. The author’s research throws light on pre-Roman Kent, the iron industry and Lewes road, the Jutish settlement and the development of dens and parishes, followed by the medieval manor and the involvement of Michelham Priory, the Boleyn family, Henry VIII and, after the Civil War, the Talbots. Though a village history, which covers the church, agriculture, local politics, the Poor Law, the cricket club, the World Wars and the hurricane of 1987, this is more than a village history.