Ridgewood, East Sussex

Ridgewood is a suburb and voting ward 1 mile south of Uckfield in East Sussex, England. It is inland between the seaside towns of Eastbourne (20 mi) and Brighton (17 mi) and approximately 6 miles from Ashdown Forest. In 2021 the ward had a population of 3,152.

Uckfield Millenium Green
In the 1920s, the brickworks of Benjamin Ware & Sons "thrived", with many clay pits established on and around the site. On 9 March 1922, a leaase for the land of Shipreed Farm was granted to Benjamin Ware & Sons, with clay pits being dug soon after. This was followed by the installation of clay-working machinery and a narrow gauge track was laid so clay could be transported to the brickworks. On 21 September 1937 William Ware bought the site for £2000 and until the 1960s the available clay was exploited, with two deep pits and many shallower ones dug there. The works closed in 1970 as there was no longer any need for their products after the invention of things like plastic flowerpots. The site was eventually acquired by East Sussex County Council who wanted to establish a recycling site in the disused pits, however since the brickworks' closure nature had taken over, leading to the two pits being declared a Site of Nature Conservation Interest in 1996. In 1997, local residents, with help of Uckfield Town Council and East Sussex County Council a successful application was made to the Countryside Agency for a grant to establish a Millennium Green on the site, and on 30 March 1998 a trust was established. The 22 acre site is the largest of all 245 Millenium Green sites in the country.