South Heighton 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 authority ...

in the

Lewes District Lewes is a local government district in East Sussex in southern England covering an area of , with of coastline. It is named after its administrative centre, Lewes. Other towns in the district include Newhaven, Peacehaven, Seaford and Telsco ...

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 ...

, England. The village is seven miles (12 km) south of

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 ...

. In the 1890s the village's population grew from less than 100 to over 500 after a

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mix ...

manufacturing plant opened nearby. The village is now associated with the urbanised area of Newhaven. There is no place called ''North Heighton'' although part 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. ...

above the village is called ''Heighton Hill'', from which one can get to Norton, which lies north-east of South Heighton, and north of Bishopstone. It is a regular thoroughfare and point of rest for ramblers, and features a series of ponds, known locally as 'The Three Lakes', which were until the early 1990s open to the public. It remains a popular destination for local visitors, with its

public house 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 ...

, ''The Hampden Arms'', and until recently, its corner-shop and

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

, which has now closed and been converted into a residential dwelling. South Heighton is one of many villages in the area which maintains a bonfire society, celebration and parade. South Heighton is famous for its secret tunnels, built and used for defence during the

Second World War 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 opposin ...

, which lie underneath most of the village, with the main entrance at Denton House. In 1998, when work finished on the conversion of Denton House into flats and of the surrounding area into houses, the road was called Forward Close, after the ship associated with Newhaven and the secret tunnels, . Notable residents, past and present, include

Ralph Reader William Henry Ralph Reader (25 May 1903 – 18 May 1982), known as Ralph Reader, was a British actor, theatrical producer and songwriter, known for staging the original Gang Show, a variety entertainment presented by members of the Scouti ...

, originator of the

Scouting Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

Gang Show A Gang Show is a theatrical performance by members of Scouts and Guides A guide is a person who leads travelers, sportspeople, or tourists through unknown or unfamiliar locations. The term can also be applied to a person who leads others t ...

and

Ursula Mommens Ursula Frances Elinor Mommens (née Darwin, formerly Trevelyan; 20 August 1908 – 30 January 2010) was an English potter. Mommens studied at the Royal College of Art, under William Staite Murray, and later worked with Michael Cardew at Winch ...

, the great-granddaughter of

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...

and the great-great-granddaughter of the potter Josiah Wedgwood.

Governance

On a local level, South Heighton is governed by the South Heighton Parish Council. Council meetings are held every six weeks in the South Heighton village hall. Their responsibilities include footpaths, street lighting, playgrounds and minor planning applications. The parish council has seven seats available although only four were filled in the uncontested May 2007 election. The next level of government is the district council. The parish of South Heighton lies within the Ouse Valley and Ringmer ward of Lewes District Council which returns three seats to the council. The election on 4 May 2007 elected two Liberal Democrats and one local Conservative. East Sussex County Council is the next tier of government, for which South Heighton is within the Ouse Valley East division, with responsibility for Education, Libraries, Social Services, Civil Registration, Trading Standards and Transport. Elections for the County Council are held every four years. The Liberal Democrat Pat Ost was elected in the 2005 election and again in a 2009. In 2013, UKIP candidate Peter Charlton was elected, who was displaced by local Liberal Democrat candidate, Darren Grover, in 2017. The UK Parliament constituency for South Heighton is

. The Liberal Democrat Norman Baker was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lewes in East Sussex from his election in 1997 to his defeat in 2015. He was replaced with

Maria Caulfield Maria Colette Caulfield (born 6 August 1973) is a British politician and nurse serving as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Mental Health and Women’s Health Strategy and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Women since October ...

, a Conservative Party politician. Prior to

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...

in 2020, the village was part of the South East England constituency in the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

References

External links

{{authority control Civil parishes in East Sussex Villages in East Sussex Emergency management in the United Kingdom Tunnels in England