William Topley's Geology of the Weald notes the common is sited on a bed of sand and Calcareous Grit.[1] Williamson, Hudson, Musson and Nairn, in their 2019 Sussex: West volume of Pevsner’sBuildings of England, describe the setting as "only a few yards from the Surrey border in thick Wealden country".[2] The hamlet was historically part of the Tisman's Estate, centred on Tismans House, a Grade II listed building dating from the early 19th century.[3] In the Victorian period the area was largely divided into a small number of major estates, including Tismans, Hermongers and Pallinghurst, which provided most of the local employment in agricultural activities.[4] The estates were created in the mid-19th century by the (unusually late) enclosures of the commons of Tismans and Exfoldwood.[5] There is a small mission house, St John's,[6] built in the early 20th century as a place of worship for agricultural workers for whom the main church at Rudgwick was too distant,[7] and a pub, The Mucky Duck, originally The Cricketers.[8] Other listed buildings in the hamlet, all designated Grade II, include Barnsfold, originally a pair of labourers’ cottages dating from the 16th century,[a][10] Swains Cottage[11] and Little Swains,[12] the former an original hall house dating from the 14th century, and Bucks Cottage.[13]
Footnotes
^ In his study of timber buildings of the Weald, Reginald Mason describes Barnsfold as “a perfect example” of a Wealden house with an off-set chimney stack.[9]
