Denton is a small village in the

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 ...

of Newhaven, in the

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 ...

district, in the county 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. It adjoins the villages of

South Heighton South Heighton is a village and civil parish in the Lewes (district), Lewes District of East Sussex, England. The village is seven miles (12 km) south of Lewes. In the 1890s the village's population grew from less than 100 to over 500 af ...

and Mount Pleasant and backs onto 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. ...

History

The Manor of Denton was held in Saxon times by

Earl Godwin Godwin of Wessex ( ang, Godwine; – 15 April 1053) was an English nobleman who became one of the most powerful earls in Kingdom of England, England under the Denmark, Danish king Cnut the Great (King of England from 1016 to 1035) and his succ ...

, Father of King Harold II Godwinson. It seems likely that Denton was destroyed during the Saxon rebellion of 1068. It does not appear 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 manusc ...

of 1086. The name Denton comes from

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

and means ''farmstead or village in a valley''. In 1894 the parish of Denton Urban was split from Denton. In 1931 the parish had a population of 568. On 1 April 1934 the parish was abolished and merged with Newhaven and

Amenities

Denton's church, St. Leonard's, was first built around 1288, later extended and carefully restored during the Decorated Period. The walls are of flint and stone and the Vestry was added during the 20th Century. The remains of what is thought to have been a priest's house in the west end of the churchyard, dating from about 1280, have recently been partly restored. The village has a junior school and one pub, the "Flying Fish" (originally named the "Kicking Donkey") which dates back to the 18th Century.

Denton Island

There is also a man-made island called Denton Island, in the middle of Newhaven Harbour, which featured a Toll Bridge which the residents of Denton village were exempt from paying.

Residents

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 ...

who created the

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 ...

for the

Scout movement 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 ...

was from the village and the local Scout group is known as "The 2nd Denton & South Heighton (Ralph Reader's Own)".

References

External links

Villages in East Sussex Former civil parishes in East Sussex Newhaven, East Sussex {{EastSussex-geo-stub