Photo - "War memorial at Eridge - geograph.org.uk - 807375" by Jonathan Billinger. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons -
Branch Chairman Cllr William Rutherford Tel; 01892 752254 email
The Eridge Branch, the first Conservative Association Branch in the UK, was founded in 1872 by the then Lord Abergavenny who was also known as the ‘Tory Bloodhound’. The fifth Earl of Abergavenny became the 1st Marquess in 1876 and Disraeli said of the 1st Marquess ‘I often wish I had such a man by my right side in public life’.In 1888 there was a very well supported Unionist celebration in Eridge Park, attended by over 30,000 people and recorded as a ‘fantastic success and the most memorable political gathering ever held in the South of England’.
The Branch continues to flourish and, although small in number, meets regularly and is actively involved in a range of fund raising events and administrative duties supporting the Wealden Association as one of its Association branches.
