OS grid reference TQ428234 District Wealden Country England Area 25.7 km² Local time Monday 6:23 AM | Civil parish Fletching Region South East Sovereign state United Kingdom Shire county East Sussex Population 1,064 (2011) | |
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Weather 6°C, Wind NW at 10 km/h, 90% Humidity | ||
Fletching is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. It is located three miles (4.8 km) to the north-west of Uckfield, near one of the entrances to Sheffield Park. The A272 road crosses the parish. The settlement of Piltdown is part of the parish. The Piltdown Man discovery in 1912 was thought to be the 'missing-link' between humans and apes. The significance of the specimen remained controversial until, amidst great publicity, and much embarrassment in scientific circles, it was exposed as a forgery in 1953.
Map of Fletching, Uckfield, UK
The hamlet of Sharpsbridge lies in the south of the parish.
It has an historic church of St. Andrew and St. Mary the Virgin dating from the twelfth century. Simon de Montfort prayed there before the Battle of Lewes. Historian Edward Gibbon (1737–1794) is interred in the Sheffield Mausoleum attached to the north transept of the church, having died in Fletching while staying with his great friend, John Baker-Holroyd, 1st Earl of Sheffield.
In medieval times Fletching was a major producer of bows and arrows, many of which were used at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415.
The school is Fletching CE Primary school. There are two public houses in Fletching: The Griffin Inn (which calls itself a gastropub) and The Rose and Crown. Nearby is The Piltdown Man at Piltdown (now called The Lamb).
The village was once the home of Jimmy Edwards (1920–1988).