
The Weald is a region and former woodland in South East England in the counties of Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex, and Kent. Its name means "forest" in the West Saxon dialect of Anglo-Saxon (wold is the Anglian version). The region was originally heavily forested, and it was sparsely inhabited and inhospitable. In 477 AD, when the Saxon ruler Aelle came to England, he defeated the native Britons at Cymenshore and forced the survivors to flee into the Weald. Until the late Middle Ages, the Weald served as a hiding place for bandits, highwaymen, and outlaws. In 1216, during the Barons' Wars, William of Cassingham led a unit of Weald archers to ambush the French army of Prince Louis at Lewes and drive him back to his fleet at Winchelsea, earning William the title of Warden of the Weald. The Weald later underwent deforestation for the shipbuilding, charcoal, forest glass, and brickmaking industries.