Whatlington 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

Rother Rother may refer to: General *Rother (surname) (also sometimes spelled Röther) *Rother District, a local government district in East Sussex, England *Rother FM, an independent local radio station for Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England *Rother Kup ...

district 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 ...

, England. The village is located seven miles (11 km) north of

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

, just off the

A21 road This is a list of road designation, roads designated A21. Roads are sorted in the countries' alphabetical order. * A21 road (Australia), a road in South Australia * A21 (Toowoomba, QLD) * A21 motorway (Austria), a road connecting Altlengbach and t ...

. The village is in two parts, one in the valley on the road from

Battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

, where the church and the parish hall lie on either side of the stream, and one a mile or so further on the main A21 to

, with a triangular village green in front of the ''

Royal Oak The Royal Oak is the English oak tree within which the future King Charles II of England hid to escape the Roundheads following the Battle of Worcester in 1651. The tree was in Boscobel Wood, which was part of the park of Boscobel House. C ...

pub 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 ...

. Like most country pubs, the ''Royal Oak'' is now part restaurant. For many years, it underwent a one-night transformation when the entire

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...

would stop for a pint in evening dress on the way back from playing at

. The

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

parish church is dedicated to St Mary Magdalene; the yew tree which stood there until 1987 was traditionally thought to be one thousand years old, and to have been used by

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

to hang members of King Harold's personal guard.

Malcolm Muggeridge Thomas Malcolm Muggeridge (24 March 1903 – 14 November 1990) was an English journalist and satirist. His father, H. T. Muggeridge, was a socialist politician and one of the early Labour Party (UK), Labour Party Members of Parliament (for Romfo ...

lived with his family in Whatlington; both he and his wife are buried in the churchyard. A large, now disused, chapel is a prominent feature on the main road: it now serves as a commercial business. The early feminist Barbara Bodichon was born here in 1827.

Governance

The lowest level of government is the Whatlington parish council. 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 parish council comprises five councillors with elections being held every four years. Rother District council provides the next level of government with services such as refuse collection, planning consent, leisure amenities and council tax collection. Whatlington lies within the Darwell ward, which provides two councillors. East Sussex county council is the third tier of government, providing education, libraries and highway maintenance. Whatlington falls within the Battle and Crowhurst ward. The UK Parliament constituency for Whatlington is Bexhill and Battle.

Huw Merriman Huw William Merriman (born 13 July 1973) is a British politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bexhill and Battle in East Sussex since the 2015 general election. A member of the Conservative Party, he has served as Minister o ...

was re-elected in the 2019 election.

Gallery

File:St Mary Magdalene's Church, Whatlington (June 2006).jpg, The church from the north-east File:RoyalOakWhatlington.JPG, The ''Royal Oak'' pub, on the green

References

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