Clayton is a small

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

at the foot 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 east. ...

in the parish of

Hassocks Hassocks is a large village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. Its name is believed to derive from the tufts of grass found in the surrounding fields. Located approximately north of Brighton, with a populatio ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It lies south of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, north of

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, and east northeast of the county town of

Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ci ...

. Other nearby towns include

Burgess Hill Burgess Hill is a town and civil parish in West Sussex, England, close to the border with East Sussex, on the edge of the South Downs National Park, south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town, Chichester. It ...

to the north and

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...

, the county town of

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...

east southeast. The

Clayton Windmills The Clayton Windmills, known locally as Jack and Jill, stand on the South Downs above the village of Clayton, West Sussex, England. They comprise a post mill and a tower mill, and the roundhouse of a former post mill. All three are Grade II* list ...

, known as "Jack and Jill", sit on the hill above the village. The village gives its name to the nearby Clayton railway tunnel on the

Brighton Main Line The Brighton Main Line (also known as the South Central Main Line) is a major railway line in the United Kingdom that links Brighton, on the south coast of England, with central London. In London the line has two branches, out of and station ...

, although the tunnel itself is actually situated in the neighbouring parish of

Pyecombe Pyecombe is a village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. The name 'Pyecombe' may derive from the Saxons, Saxon "pic" meaning point or pike, in which case it may mean "valley marked by a projecting hill". Pyeco ...

Parish church

The little parish church of

St. John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

is an

Anglo-Saxon church In the seventh century the pagan Anglo-Saxons were converted to Christianity ( ang, Crīstendōm) mainly by missionaries sent from Rome. Irish missionaries from Iona, who were proponents of Celtic Christianity, were influential in the conversion ...

that has a squat bell turret of shingles with a wrought iron weather vane dated 1781. The church has some magnificent wall

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

s, for example the

Last Judgement The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...

, from the mid-12th century (1150–1200). These murals, unique in England for their date and extent, were first brought to light during repair work in 1893 and were probably painted by artists from

St Pancras Priory Lewes Priory is a part-demolished medieval Cluniac priory in Lewes, East Sussex in the United Kingdom. The ruins have been designated a Grade I listed building. History The Priory of St Pancras was the first Cluniac house in England and had o ...

. Sir

Norman Hartnell Sir Norman Bishop Hartnell, KCVO (12 June 1901 – 8 June 1979) was a leading British fashion designer, best known for his work for the ladies of the royal family. Hartnell gained the Royal Warrant as Dressmaker to Queen Elizabeth in 1940, an ...

, who designed

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

's wedding gown and coronation dress and served as couturier to Elizabeth II (and previously to

The Queen Mother ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

) is buried in the churchyard.

Clayton Down

On the south side of the village, begins the Downs and the start of the

Clayton to Offham Escarpment Clayton to Offham Escarpment is a linear biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) which runs from Clayton in West Sussex to Lewes in East Sussex. Its ownership and management is divided between over fifteen landowners and farmer ...

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

(SSSI), which stretches east almost as far as Lewes. The scarp slope below Clayton's windmills () and as far east as Clayton Holt, has been described by

David Bangs David Bangs is a field naturalist, social historian, public artist, author and conservationist. He has written extensively on the countryside management, both historically and present day in the English county of Sussex. Biography Bangs wor ...

, a Sussex field naturalist, as "one of nature's self-grown orchards". Few sites on this part of the Downs can match its richness. There are

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

crab apple ''Malus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 30–55 species of small deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rosaceae, including the domesticated orchard apple, crab apples, wild apples, and rainberries. The genus is native to the temperate zone of th ...

, four species of Rose, including the apple-scented sweet briar. There are is also sloe berries, pink and orange

spindle Spindle may refer to: Textiles and manufacturing * Spindle (textiles), a straight spike to spin fibers into yarn * Spindle (tool), a rotating axis of a machine tool Biology * Common spindle and other species of shrubs and trees in genus ''Euony ...

berries and

buckthorn ''Rhamnus'' is a genus of about 110 accepted species of shrubs or small trees, commonly known as buckthorns, in the family Rhamnaceae. Its species range from tall (rarely to ) and are native mainly in east Asia and North America, but found thr ...

. There may be as many at least twenty-five scrub species, eighteen of which have fleshy and colourful fruits and eleven of which of are members of the rose family. Robin's pincushion can be seen on the roses and

dogwood ''Cornus'' is a genus of about 30–60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods, which can generally be distinguished by their blossoms, berries, and distinctive bark. Most are deciduous trees or shrub ...

Clayton Holt

On the scarp is Clayton Holt (), a downland wood with at least thirteen ancient woodland indicator species, including two big hybrid large-leaved/ small-leaved limes growing at the base of slope. Up until 1838 there was a

large-leaved lime ''Tilia platyphyllos'', the large-leaved lime or large-leaved linden, is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae (Tiliaceae). It is a deciduous tree, native to much of Europe, including locally in southwestern Great Britain, growing ...

there, a true relic of past forests. The wood is also one of the best places on the Downs to see veteran

beeches Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...

. The lesser butterfly orchid, which is much rarer than its ‘ greater’ cousin, has also been found there. Fungi are mostly found along the base of slope or on the rotting trunks of fallen beech. Under the beech there are several earthstar fungi.

Recreation

For the size of village there is a large

recreation ground A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. N ...

located at the west end of the village with a village hall, children's play area and two

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

pitches. Dame Vera Lynn and her husband bought the twenty two room house, Clayton Holt in 1944 with its 198 acres of land after her return from entertaining troops in Burma.

Notable people

Katie Johnson, an actress best known for her acclaimed performance as the elderly Mrs Wilberforce in the 1955 film '' The Ladykillers'', was born here in 1878. Sir

Edward Michelborne Sir Edward Michelborne (c. 1562 − 1609), sometimes written Michelbourn, was an English soldier, adventurer and explorer. After a military career in the 1590s he tried to be appointed 'principal commander' for the first voyage of the East India ...

, a soldier and adventurer, who also held a seat in Parliament lived at Hammonds Place.

London to Brighton Way Roman road

The

London to Brighton Way The London to Brighton Way, also called the London to Portslade Way, is a Roman road between Stane Street at Kennington Park and Brighton (or more specifically Portslade) in Sussex. The road passes through Streatham and Croydon, then through th ...

is thought to have passed close to Clayton as it climbed the South Downs escarpment.

New Road

New Road between Ditchling and Clayton (part of the B2112) was a branch of the

turnpike road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or ''toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented ...

from Newchapel (in Surrey) to Brighton, via Ditchling. It was authorised by an act of parliament passed in 1830: :An Act for more effectually repairing and maintaining the Road from ''New Chappel'' in the County of ''Surrey'' to ''Ditcheling Bost Hills'' in the County of ''Sussex'', and from thence to the Town of ''Brighthelmston'' in the same County; and also for making and maintaining a Branch of Road from the town of ''Ditcheling'' to ''Clayton'' in the County of ''Sussex'' (11 Geo. IV. c. xviii)The Statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland: 11 Geo. IV. & 1 Will. IV. 1830.
London, Printed by His Majesty's Printers, 1830. Page 470

References

Gallery

File:Clayton_village.JPG, Clayton village File:Clayton village hall.JPG, Village hall. File:12th-century paintings of Last Judgement (Clayton Church, Sussex).jpg, Church interior File:nh1.jpg, Norman Hartnell's grave {{authority control Villages in West Sussex Mid Sussex District