The name is more or less self explanatory and was once a part of a primeval forest that is said to have been here over 10,000 years ago. And through time this has gradually been cleared and small dwellings and farms have appeared, To the north of what is now Woodlands Road there are still signs in the fields of an earlier settlement with irregular boundaries that have caused a lot of controversy.

This is not a village but a hamlet that is a group of thatched and tiled cottages mainly built along the road. Busketts Lawn Hotel was built in the 1869s and was originally built as a private house for a rich landowner and perhaps a village squire. During the 1920s Woodlands Road was a  gravel track  that led to Ashurst and was a favourite place with the children as a playground.