Medieval farming and flooding in the Brede Valley

The history and development of the marsh is closely bound up with a series of rivers flowing into the western side of Walland Marsh. The second largest of these is the River Brede, which flows westwards from near Battle to join the broad expanse of marshland between Winchlesea and Rye.

In the medieval period the meadows and brooklands of the river valleys were valued more highly than the poor soils of the surrounding Wealden upland. From an early date lands in the river valleys were drained. The marshes between Winchelsea and Rye were inned during the late 12th and early 13th century and this activity seems to have run in parallel with the work at Broomhill to the east. In the 13th century the shingle bank, which ran between Fairlight and Broomhill and protected the marshes behind, was breached and the River Rother found a new course to the sea south of Rye. In the storms of the late 13th century sea water was driven through this breach, threatening the marshlands in the Brede valley. A sea wall, called in medieval sources the Damme, was constructed across the Brede valley to protect the marshes behind.

A series of accounts for the manors of Udimore, Brede and Icklesham Rectory for 14th century show that this was a difficult period with some areas of marshland in the valley flooded. As the price of corn rose in the 1360s the area of arable in the valley increased. agriculture cultivation. In this 'Indian summer' of desmesne agriculture, considerable sums were spent on increasing the area under cultivation. At Udimore a new marshland plough was constructed and a new barn built on the upland above Cadborough Marsh. This period came to an end in 1376 when the sea breached the Damme and overwhelmed the land behind.