Danehill is a village and civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. The village is located five miles (8 km) north-east of Haywards Heath

Haywards Heath

-Climate:Haywards Heath experiences an oceanic climate similar to almost all of the United Kingdom.-Rail:Haywards Heath railway station is a major station on the Brighton Main Line...

 and on the edge of the Ashdown Forest

Ashdown Forest

Ashdown Forest is an ancient area of tranquil open heathland occupying the highest sandy ridge-top of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is situated some south of London in the county of East Sussex, England...

. Other places within the parish include the village of Chelwood Gate and the hamlets of Furner's Green

Furner's Green

Furner's Green is a hamlet in the civil parish of Danehill in East Sussex, England.-Geography:Furner's Green lies on the Greenwich Meridian about north-west of Uckfield and approximately to the east of Haywards Heath on the southern edge of Ashdown Forest.-Geology:Lime kilns at Annwood Farm are...

 and Twyford.

The Prime Meridian

Prime Meridian

The Prime Meridian is the meridian at which the longitude is defined to be 0°.The Prime Meridian and its opposite the 180th meridian , which the International Date Line generally follows, form a great circle that divides the Earth into the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.An international...

 passes through the middle of Danehill.

There are no major industries within the parish. One tourist attraction is the Ashdown Forest Llama Park

Ashdown Forest Llama Park

The Ashdown Forest Llama Park is a large park situated in the Ashdown Forest, East Sussex, at Wych Cross, Forest Row. It is home to more than 100 llamas and alpacas...

 which is located within the parish. The Cats Protection

Cats Protection

Cats Protection, formerly The Cats Protection League, is a UK charity dedicated to rescuing and rehoming stray, unwanted or homeless cats and educating people about cats and cat welfare. The organisation was founded as The Cats Protection League on May 16, 1927 at a meeting in Caxton Hall, London...

 has its head office, The National Cat Centre, in the parish.

The 2007 estimated population for the parish is 1,927.

Religious sites

There are two churches in the parish: that at Danehill (dedicated to All Saints) and at Chelwood Gate.

Culture and community

The public houses are Coach and Horses (Danehill) and the Red Lion at Chelwood Gate. The Crocodile public house

Public house

A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...

 (now closed) once stood in the centre of the village and was frequented by the Bee Gees

Bee Gees

The Bee Gees are a musical group that originally comprised three brothers: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was successful for most of their 40-plus years of recording music, but they had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a pop act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as a...

 for a number of years. 'Bee Gee' Maurice Gibb

Maurice Gibb

Maurice Ernest Gibb, CBE was a musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He was born on the Isle of Man, the twin brother of Robin Gibb, and younger brother to Barry. He is best known as a member of the singing/songwriting trio the Bee Gees, formed with his brothers...

 lived in the village for some time.

The Ashdown Weekend is a village event, begun in 1973 and serving to make money for different organisations in the village. It includes five-a-side football, a fete, vintage car show, barbecue, art exhibition, children's party, senior citizens' party, and an "auction of promises".

Danehill football club have enjoyed some fine moments over the years and are currently doing well again but the glory days will always be remembered from the early 16th century when, In 1973, they clinched a 2nd division title and cup double. Recent success has followed during the 2007 / 2008 season with the first team winning promotion and runners up in one of the cups.

The actor

Actor

An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

  Peter Butterworth

Peter Butterworth

Peter William Shorrocks Butterworth was an English comedy actor and comedian, best known for his appearances in the Carry On series of films. He was also a regular on children's television and radio and appeared in seven early episodes of Doctor Who in 1965 as the 'The Meddling Monk'...

, best known for his many appearances in the Carry On Films

Carry On films

The Carry On films are a series of low-budget British comedy films, directed by Gerald Thomas and produced by Peter Rogers. They are an energetic mix of parody, farce, slapstick and double entendres....

, is buried in Danehill cemetery

Cemetery

A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...

, which is in Church Lane, Haywards Heath

Haywards Heath

-Climate:Haywards Heath experiences an oceanic climate similar to almost all of the United Kingdom.-Rail:Haywards Heath railway station is a major station on the Brighton Main Line...

.

History

The first written evidence of the village comes from 1265 and the first permanent houses from 1400. By 1660 the Red Round Inn became a stopping point for travellers between London and Lewes. After travelers continued to use Danehill's roads, the village decided to improve the roads which led to wealthy families moving into the area, such as John Baker Holroyd who moved into Sheffield Park in 1769 and was later to become the First Lord Sheffield.

Governance

The lowest tier of government for Danehill is the Parish Council. The council has nine seats, for which eleven candidates stood in May 2007 with an elector turnout of 39.92%. A November 2007 single seat by-election was uncontested.

Wealden District Council is the next tier of government, for which Danehill is part of the Danehill/Fletching/Nutley ward. The ward returns two councillors. The ward was uncontested in the May 2007 election and two Conservative councillors were returned.

Danehill is represented at the East Sussex

East Sussex

East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...

 County Council

County council

A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.-United Kingdom:...

 as part of the Buxted Maresfield Ward. The May 2005 election returned the Conservative Councillor Anthony Reid.

The parliamentary constituency for Danehill is Wealden

Wealden (UK Parliament constituency)

Wealden is a county constituency covering the Wealden district in East Sussex. It is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.-Boundaries:...

. The Conservative MP Charles Hendry

Charles Hendry

Charles Hendry is a British Conservative Party politician and the Member of Parliament for Wealden. In May 2010 he was appointed Minister of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change.-Early life:...

 was elected at the general election in May 2005.

At European level, Danehill is represented by the South-East region, which holds ten seats in the European Parliament

European Parliament

The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...

. The June 2004 election returned 4 Conservatives, 2 Liberal Democrats, 2 UK Independence, 1 Labour and 1 Green, none of whom live in East Sussex.