Wivelsfield

Updated on Jan 06, 2024

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OS grid reference TQ341204 District Lewes Country England Area 10.8 km² Population 1,980 (2011)		Civil parish Wivelsfield Region South East Sovereign state United Kingdom Local time Tuesday 11:24 PM Shire county East Sussex

Weather 12°C, Wind N at 11 km/h, 84% Humidity

Wivelsfield village and the larger adjacent village of Wivelsfield Green are the core of the civil parish of Wivelsfield in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. Wivelsfield railway station (called Keymer Junction until 1896) is located on the Brighton Main Line, in the north of Burgess Hill, just over the parish border. The villages are 9.3 miles (15.0 km) north of the city of Brighton and Hove.

Map of Wivelsfield, UK

Geography

The village lies in the Low Weald of the Weald and immediately north of the South Downs National Park which extends to include Ditchling. The soil is clay and mixed sand on top of underlying clay and sandstone. It is one of the larger parishes in the county. The growth of Burgess Hill to the west reduced the ecclesiastical parish. The parish church is dedicated to St Peter and St John the Baptist. The north of the parish includes several woods and small farms south of Haywards Heath separated from the nucleus of the village to the south by the Pellingford Brook which is a tributary of the River Ouse that flows to Newhaven. Despite the influence of this brook, almost half of the parish drains west to the River Adur that flows to Shoreham by Sea reflecting the gently undulating terrain.

Amenities

The new school has been opened since September 2007. The logo, which stands at the front of the school, was designed by the school's pupils. The old school is now used for residential purposes; a nursery rents the Old Church Hall.

The village pub, which for years had been called the Cock Inn, was for a time The Pear Tree. In December 2008 it was announced that the pub would be taken over by the owners of The Fountain in nearby Plumpton Green, who would attempt to revive the pub (now renamed The Cock Inn) and the once lively, centre of the village.

The village has its own theatre, named The Wivelsfield Little Theatre, holding productions in the Village Hall and the Church.

History

There is an 8th-century reference to the town as Wifelesfeld.

In the Domesday Book 1½ hides at Berth here were held by William de Warenne perhaps part of the manor of Hurstpierpoint, West Sussex.

Ote Hall Congregational Chapel was erected in 1778 by the Countess of Huntingdon, who lived at Ote Hall, where a room was fitted up as a chapel.; this was the only manor in the area, with much southern land being in the manors of Plumpton and Ditchling.

In the 18th and early 19th centuries Wivelsfield was the focus of a small group of local dissenters (Particular Baptists) who in 1763 broke from the larger Ditchling General Baptist community and formed a new meeting with a surviving 1780 chapel under Henry Booker. The surviving records and memorandum books, as well as Henry Booker's memoirs, provide insight into a small rural religious community of the period.

Historic buildings

There are more than 20 listed buildings in the parish. most highly listed are

The Church of St Peter and St John the Baptist (see above, Grade II*).

In the south west, Great Ote Hall, a grade I listed building. The east wing of the building was built in approximately 1550. The west part of the building dates from 1600 though its history can be traced back to the 13th century.

In the far west, in the part that merges with the north of Burgess Hill by Wivelsfield station, is Theobalds, a Grade II* listed building with a back wing which is 17th century or older and main door studded with the date 1627 – the Attree family lived there Attree family from before 1600 to 1823; in 1537 Thomas Attree parted with Ote Hall – that family first coming by the historic house in 1437 with John Attree holding court at that manor.

Governance

Wivelsfield is governed at the local level by Wivelsfield Parish Council which consists of nine councillors meeting twice monthly. The parish council is responsible for local amenities such as the provision of litter bins, bus shelters and allotments. They also provide a voice into the district council meetings. The May 2007 election was uncontested.

The next level of government is Lewes District Council. District councils supply services such as refuse collection, planning, leisure amenities and council tax collection. The 2011 elections returned:

Wivelsfield also elects a councillor every four years to East Sussex County Council, to the Chailey ward. The ward includes the parishes of Chailey, Ditchling, East Chiltington, Newick, Plumpton, St John Without, Streat and Westmeston. The County Council provides services such as roads and transport, social services, libraries and trading standards.