Berwick (pronounced or, more recently, ) is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

in the Wealden district of East Sussex in England. The village lies immediately to the south of the A27 road between Lewes and

Polegate Polegate is a town and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England, United Kingdom.OS Explorer map Eastbourne and Beachy Head Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It ...

, about three miles (4.8 km) west of the latter. The parish is located in the

River Cuckmere The River Cuckmere rises near Heathfield in East Sussex, England on the southern slopes of the Weald. The name of the river probably comes from an Old English word meaning "fast-flowing", since it descends over 100 m (328 ft) in its ...

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

, north of the

South Downs The South Downs are 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, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the eas ...

.'' The place-name 'Berwick' is here first attested in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

of 1086, where it appears as ''Berewice''. The name means 'corn farm'. There are two

public houses A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

in the parish: the ''Berwick Inn'' near the railway station, and ''The Cricketers'', in the village itself. The village also has an example of a "K6"

red telephone box The red telephone box, a telephone kiosk for a public telephone designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, is a familiar sight on the streets of the United Kingdom, Malta, Bermuda and Gibraltar. Despite a reduction in their numbers in recent years, ...

Berwick Church

Part of the United Benefice of Arlington, Berwick,

Selmeston Selmeston is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. It is located eight miles (13 km) east of Lewes, to the north of the A27 road between there and Polegate. The church existed at the time of its men ...

-with-

Alciston Alciston is a village and civil parish in the Wealden district of East Sussex, England. It is inland, just off the A27 road, about north-west of Eastbourne and east of Lewes. The ecclesiastical parish is linked with that of Selmeston and ...

and Wilmington, the church dedicated to St Michael and All Angels, is a Grade 1

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. Built on what may be a pre-Christian sacred site, the church dates back at least to the 12th century, although the Saxon frontage appears to be earlier. Additions were made in the 14th century, and a tower built in 1603, originally with a spire. The building suffered in the 18th century, losing its spire to lightning on 8 August 1773. Several Victorian leaded windows were damaged by

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

bombs on 17 October 1944. They were replaced by clear glass, unusual in churches, for fear of further damage. However, some of the church's stained-glass windows survived. The clear-glass windows help to illuminate the church's unique murals. Partly inspired by the pre-

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

practice of decorating churches with murals, these were painted in 1941 by

Duncan Grant Duncan James Corrowr Grant (21 January 1885 – 8 May 1978) was a British painter and designer of textiles, pottery, theatre sets and costumes. He was a member of the Bloomsbury Group. His father was Bartle Grant, a "poverty-stricken" major i ...

Vanessa Bell Vanessa Bell (née Stephen; 30 May 1879 – 7 April 1961) was an English painter and interior designer, a member of the Bloomsbury Group and the sister of Virginia Woolf (née Stephen). Early life and education Vanessa Stephen was the eld ...

, and

Quentin Bell Quentin Claudian Stephen Bell (19 August 1910 – 16 December 1996) was an English art historian and author. Early life Bell was born in London, the son of Clive Bell and Vanessa Bell (née Stephen), and the nephew of Virginia Woolf (née Ste ...

, of the Bloomsbury Group. The murals depict local people, sometimes in period clothes, but set in biblical scenes.

Berwick Station

Berwick Station is a small settlement that has grown up around Berwick railway station. Located about two miles (3.2 km) north of the main village of Berwick, Berwick Station includes a garage and a pub called the Berwick Inn (previously The Fullers' Arms). The

Vanguard Way The Vanguard Way is a long-distance walk of from East Croydon station in outer London ( OS grid reference ), travelling from the north, to Newhaven, on the south coast of England. It passes through the counties of Surrey, Kent and East Susse ...

, which links

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

and Newhaven, runs through the village. Berwick railway station lies on the East Coastway Line between

Glynde Glynde is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, United Kingdom. It is located two miles (5 km) east of Lewes.OS Explorer map Eastbourne and Beachy Head Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton ...

and Polegate railway stations.

Berwick industry

The Ludlay Brick and Tile Company comprised a clay pit and a brick-works. The works was established by 1880 and was close to Berwick Church. The two were linked by a 2' gauge tramway. Until about 1950 bricks were only made during the summer because it was not possible to dry them in winter. Some work was done during winter, digging clay and piling it up to 'weather'. The works closed in 1965, remaining derelict for 54 years and a dense forest grew around it, until Firle Estate blocked of the path through the derelict building and cut down all the trees.

Long distance walks and countryside

The

, a long-distance walk, goes through the village, and the

South Downs Way The South Downs Way is a long distance footpath and bridleway running along the South Downs in southern England. It is one of 16 National Trails in England and Wales. The trail runs for from Winchester in Hampshire to Eastbourne in East Susse ...

passes along the Downs just above it. Walkers often stop and travel down into the village. A common walk in this area is to start at the village car park, walk down the road known as The Village, past Church Farm and the tyre heap, and on to the dilapidated New Barn, just a few years ago an important store for hay from the surrounding fields, but now falling apart. This building is made of attractive red-rusting iron and next to it is an old stone farmhouse - currently unused and overgrown with plants, but in good condition, it is home to

wood warbler The wood warbler (''Phylloscopus sibilatrix'') is a common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe, and just into the extreme west of Asian Russia in the southern Ural Mountains. This warbler is stro ...

s in the summer and

grey wagtail The grey wagtail (''Motacilla cinerea'') is a member of the wagtail family, Motacillidae, measuring around 18–19 cm overall length. The species looks somewhat similar to the yellow wagtail but has the yellow on its underside restricted to ...

s often feed by it. The hedgerows in this area are excellent for bird life and a lot of rabbits can be seen hopping around. Walks can continue from the New Barn up along a shaded avenue to a large hedgerow full of

blackberries The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family (biology), family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus' ...

in autumn. From here there is a winding path up onto the Downs and this is where the walker meets the South Downs Way. One can then continue into

Alfriston Alfriston is a village and civil parish in the East Sussex district of Wealden, England. The village lies in the valley of the River Cuckmere, about four miles (6 km) north-east of Seaford and south of the main A27 trunk road and part ...

. The area at the end of this walk is home to red foxes.

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in East Sussex Civil parishes in East Sussex Wealden District