Willingdon and Jevington
Encyclopedia
Willingdon and Jevington is one of the civil parish
es in the Wealden
District of East Sussex
, England
. The two villages lie one mile (1.6 km) south of Polegate
. The two parishes, two decades ago, were separate; the merger of the two has produced a parish of over 6,000 people. Willingdon is part of the built-up area which is Eastbourne
, and lies on the main A22 road
, whilst Jevington is on a minor road leading to Friston.
at Langney Point. It included Hampden Park
, now also part of the Eastbourne area. See map here: Willingdon was the base for the local village of the same name in George Orwell
's Animal Farm
. The Red Lion Inn is also a real place in the village.
Willingdon is in fact two villages Upper Willingdon and Lower Willingdon.
and Friston
. The Jevington parish church
is dedicated to St Andrew and contains Saxon
elements (including a tower) as well as many other medieval architectural
features, including a 14th century font. A rare elm cultivar 'Serpentina' grows in the grounds. The parish takes in the hamlet
of Filching and also Wannock.
The village pub
is called The Eight Bells, and the Hungry Monk restaurant claims fame as the birthplace of banoffee pie
.
between the villages of Polegate
and Jevington. It has a village hall, but no church, pub or shops. It has 300 suburban homes, mainly bungalows housing elderly residence. There were once two tea gardens in Wannock which were popular with coach parties visiting from nearby Eastbourne
. A dance hall stood on stilts over the local beauty spot of Wannock Glen. Wannock is a Saxon place name. Wannock contains the element "Wan" from "Woden" Wannock is mentioned in the Domesday Book
and in an Napoleonic assessment/inventory of the British south coast defences. There is a manor Wannock Place, 2 medieval cottages and a cottage which was a watermill. One medieval cottage is called "Stream Cottage". The other medieval cottage is owned by Nigel Waterson
, but he does not live in it. Some house gardens still contain walnut tees. The area was once known for its walnut groves.
Filching Manor motor Museum near Polegate in East Sussex is the home of the last remaining intact Bluebird boat - K3 Rolls Royce engined speedboat driven by Sir Malcolm Campbell to take the world water speed record. This is the only world record boat surviving intact and well worth a visit. A long term restoration project is still ongoing.
The Museum also has Bluebird Electric 2 vehicle on display. It is advisable to telephone well in advance of any planned visit. The Museum is not open on a daily basis, although the owners of the Museum may take visits by appointment.
Filching Manor is also the site of the annual Jevington Fete, and it houses a public karting track (the Campbell Circuit) in the grounds for arrive and drive sessions, and other race events.
, a Site of Special Scientific Interest
(SSSI), although the village of Folkington lies in the neighbouring Long Man
parish. Folkington reservoir is a covered reservoir built within the chalk of the south downs. Its surrounding area contains a diverse chalk flora including the protected hairy mallow Althaea hirsuta.
Station was in the parish between July 1915 and April 1919.
The Labour cabinet minister George Brown
lived in the area and when elevated to the peerage became Lord George-Brown of Jevington.
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...
es in the Wealden
Wealden
For the stone, see Wealden GroupWealden is a local government district in East Sussex, England: its name comes from the Weald, the area of high land which occupies the centre of its area.-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 two villages lie one mile (1.6 km) south of Polegate
Polegate
Polegate is a town and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England, United Kingdom. It is located five miles north of the seaside resort of Eastbourne, and is part of the greater area of that town. Although once a railway settlement, its importance as such has now waned with...
. The two parishes, two decades ago, were separate; the merger of the two has produced a parish of over 6,000 people. Willingdon is part of the built-up area which is Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
, and lies on the main A22 road
A22 road
The A22 is one of the two-digit major roads in the south east of England. It carries traffic from London to Eastbourne on the East Sussex coast...
, whilst Jevington is on a minor road leading to Friston.
Willingdon
Willingdon ancient ecclesiastical parish stretched across the entire north of the town of Eastbourne, reaching the English ChannelEnglish Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
at Langney Point. It included Hampden Park
Hampden Park, East Sussex
Hampden Park is a suburb of Eastbourne. It is notable for its unique railway station, where local trains on the East Coastway Line stop twice, and is thought to be the busiest level crossing in the country. This station, now known as Hampden Park station, was once named 'Willingdon...
, now also part of the Eastbourne area. See map here: Willingdon was the base for the local village of the same name in George Orwell
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
's Animal Farm
Animal Farm
Animal Farm is an allegorical novella by George Orwell published in England on 17 August 1945. According to Orwell, the book reflects events leading up to and during the Stalin era before World War II...
. The Red Lion Inn is also a real place in the village.
Willingdon is in fact two villages Upper Willingdon and Lower Willingdon.
Jevington
Jevington lies on a minor road between PolegatePolegate
Polegate is a town and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England, United Kingdom. It is located five miles north of the seaside resort of Eastbourne, and is part of the greater area of that town. Although once a railway settlement, its importance as such has now waned with...
and Friston
Friston
Friston is a village in Suffolk, England. It is southeast of Saxmundham, its post town, and northwest of Aldeburgh. The River Alde bounds the village on the south. The surrounding land is chiefly arable. The soil becomes partly marshy in the lower grounds...
. The Jevington parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
is dedicated to St Andrew and contains Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
elements (including a tower) as well as many other medieval architectural
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
features, including a 14th century font. A rare elm cultivar 'Serpentina' grows in the grounds. The parish takes in the hamlet
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
of Filching and also Wannock.
The village pub
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...
is called The Eight Bells, and the Hungry Monk restaurant claims fame as the birthplace of banoffee pie
Banoffee pie
Banoffee pie is an English pastry-based dessert made from bananas, cream, toffee from boiled condensed milk , either on a pastry base or one made from crumbled biscuits and butter...
.
Wannock
Wannock below the South DownsSouth Downs
The South Downs is a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen Valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, near Eastbourne, East Sussex, in the east. It is bounded on its northern side by a steep escarpment, from whose...
between the villages of Polegate
Polegate
Polegate is a town and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England, United Kingdom. It is located five miles north of the seaside resort of Eastbourne, and is part of the greater area of that town. Although once a railway settlement, its importance as such has now waned with...
and Jevington. It has a village hall, but no church, pub or shops. It has 300 suburban homes, mainly bungalows housing elderly residence. There were once two tea gardens in Wannock which were popular with coach parties visiting from nearby Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
. A dance hall stood on stilts over the local beauty spot of Wannock Glen. Wannock is a Saxon place name. Wannock contains the element "Wan" from "Woden" Wannock is mentioned in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
and in an Napoleonic assessment/inventory of the British south coast defences. There is a manor Wannock Place, 2 medieval cottages and a cottage which was a watermill. One medieval cottage is called "Stream Cottage". The other medieval cottage is owned by Nigel Waterson
Nigel Waterson
Nigel Christopher Waterson is a politician in the United Kingdom. He was Conservative Party member of Parliament for Eastbourne until the 2010 election. He was first elected in 1992...
, but he does not live in it. Some house gardens still contain walnut tees. The area was once known for its walnut groves.
Filching
Filching lies at the other end of the Wannock Glen from Wannock along the Polegate to Friston road. It consists of a few houses, Gibby's Tea Gardens, a chalk quarry and a Medieval Manor House. Filching Manor was built around 1450.Filching Manor motor Museum near Polegate in East Sussex is the home of the last remaining intact Bluebird boat - K3 Rolls Royce engined speedboat driven by Sir Malcolm Campbell to take the world water speed record. This is the only world record boat surviving intact and well worth a visit. A long term restoration project is still ongoing.
The Museum also has Bluebird Electric 2 vehicle on display. It is advisable to telephone well in advance of any planned visit. The Museum is not open on a daily basis, although the owners of the Museum may take visits by appointment.
Filching Manor is also the site of the annual Jevington Fete, and it houses a public karting track (the Campbell Circuit) in the grounds for arrive and drive sessions, and other race events.
Landmarks
The parish contains Folkington ReservoirFolkington Reservoir
Folkington Reservoir is a 5.7 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest, located in East Sussex, England. The site was notified in 1987 under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The banks of the reservoir support a chalkland area, and species such as Polygala calcarea and...
, a Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
(SSSI), although the village of Folkington lies in the neighbouring Long Man
Long Man
Long Man is a civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England which includes the villages of Wilmington, Milton Street and Folkington. The parish is named after the Long Man of Wilmington, a chalk figure, which is located within the parish....
parish. Folkington reservoir is a covered reservoir built within the chalk of the south downs. Its surrounding area contains a diverse chalk flora including the protected hairy mallow Althaea hirsuta.
Other notes
The Polegate AirshipAirship
An airship or dirigible is a type of aerostat or "lighter-than-air aircraft" that can be steered and propelled through the air using rudders and propellers or other thrust mechanisms...
Station was in the parish between July 1915 and April 1919.
The Labour cabinet minister George Brown
George Brown, Baron George-Brown
George Alfred Brown, Baron George-Brown, PC was a British Labour politician, who served as the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 1960 to 1970, and served in a number of positions in the Cabinet, most notably as Foreign Secretary, in the Labour Government of the 1960s...
lived in the area and when elevated to the peerage became Lord George-Brown of Jevington.
Air crash
On the 13 November 1984 a Flight Line Rockwell Commander 690B registration EI-BGL was on a flight from Dublin to paris with nine passengers and crew on bored. The flight was over the village when the aircraft disintegrated in mid air at 25.000 feet. The accident killed all nine on bored. The AAIB found that control of the aircraft was lost and broke up in mid air during it's turn to the left.