Icklesham 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 Rother

Rother

Rother is a local government district in East Sussex, England. The district is named after the River Rother which flows within its boundaries.-History:...

 District of 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:...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. The village is located about six miles (10 km) east of Hastings

Hastings

Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....

, on the main A259 Hastings to Rye

Rye, East Sussex

Rye is a small town in East Sussex, England, which stands approximately two miles from the open sea and is at the confluence of three rivers: the Rother, the Tillingham and the Brede...

 road.

The civil parish is large, and includes Icklesham itself, Winchelsea

Winchelsea

Winchelsea is a small village in East Sussex, England, located between the High Weald and the Romney Marsh, approximately two miles south west of Rye and seven miles north east of Hastings...

, Winchelsea Beach

Winchelsea Beach

Winchelsea Beach is a seaside village in the parish of Icklesham in the Rother district of East Sussex, England. The village is located about ten miles east of Hastings, and about 1.5 miles south east of Winchelsea....

 and Rye Harbour

Rye Harbour

Rye Harbour is a village located on the East Sussex coast in southeast England, near the estuary of the River Rother: it is part of the civil parish of Icklesham. Rye Harbour is located some two miles downstream of the town of Rye....

.

Icklesham's historic roots can be traced back to 772, when it appeared as Icoleshamme in a land charter signed by Offa

Offa of Mercia

Offa was the King of Mercia from 757 until his death in July 796. The son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa, Offa came to the throne after a period of civil war following the assassination of Æthelbald after defeating the other claimant Beornred. In the early years of Offa's reign it is likely...

, King of Mercia

Mercia

Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...

. Strategically located on the River Brede

River Brede

The Brede is an English river in East Sussex. It flows into the Rock Channel and then onto the River Rother at Rye, Sussex. It gives its name to the village of Brede, which lies between Hastings and Tenterden...

, it was a prime target in the Norman

Normans

The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...

 invasion of 1066 (some 700 years later, evacuation plans were prepared in case of an invasion by Napoleon

Napoleon I of France

Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...

). The 12th-century parish church is dedicated to St Nicholas.

On Hogs Hill stands an old windmill

Hogg Hill Mill, Icklesham

Hogg Hill Mill is a post mill at Icklesham, Sussex, England which has been restored.-History:Hogg Hill Mill was built in Pett in 1781 and moved to Icklesham in 1790. It was working by wind until 1920, when it was stopped owing to a weak weatherbeam...

, used as a recording studio by Sir Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney

Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...

. All Saints church was restored

Victorian restoration

Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...

 by architect

Architect

An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...

 Samuel Sanders Teulon

Samuel Sanders Teulon

Samuel Sanders Teulon was a notable 19th century English Gothic Revival architect.-Family:Teulon was born in Greenwich in south-east London, the son of a cabinet-maker from a French Huguenot family. His younger brother William Milford Teulon also became an architect...

 in the late 1840s.

Landmarks

The parish contains three Sites of Special Scientific Interest—Winchelsea Cutting

Winchelsea Cutting

Winchelsea Cutting is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in East Sussex, England. The site is an exposed area of a road cutting that is of geological interest....

, "Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay

Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay

Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest that stretches across two counties:Kent and East Sussex. It is of both geological and biological interest....

" and Rye Harbour

Rye Harbour SSSI

Rye Harbour Site of Special Scientific Interest is a nature reserve located on the western side of the mouth of the River Rother at Rye Harbour, about 1 mile downstream from Rye East Sussex...

. Winchelsea Cutting is a 0.3 acre (0.1214058 ha) roadside cutting with 33 feet (10.1 m) of exposed geological strata. Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye is a large site of 1801 acres (728.8 ha), lying along the coast, and extending into the neighbouring county of Kent

Kent

Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

. Its interest is biological and geological, with various habitats of shingle, saltmarsh, sand dunes and saline lagoons. Rye Harbour is another 1881 acres (761.2 ha) site of biological importance, with a varied habitat of shingle, intertidal mudflats and saltmarsh.