Hellingly (pronounced 'Helling-lye') is a village, and can also refer to a

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 ...

, and to a district ward, in the

Wealden District Wealden is a local government district in East Sussex, England. Its council is based in Hailsham. The district's name comes from the Weald, the remnant forest which was once unbroken and occupies much of the centre and north of the area. Histo ...

of East Sussex, England.

Geography

Hellingly contains the confluence of 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 ...

and one of its tributaries, the Bull River, close to the centre of the historic Hellingly village. The parish stands on the lower southern slopes of the gentle uplands forming the

Weald The Weald () is an area of South East England between the parallel chalk escarpments of the North and the South Downs. It crosses the counties of Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex and Kent. It has three separate parts: the sandstone "High Weald" in the ...

. The geographic centre of the parish is southeast of Old North Street and northwest of Church Lane, 2 miles (3.2 km) north of the town centre of

Hailsham Hailsham is a town, a civil parish and the administrative centre of the Wealden district of East Sussex, England.OS Explorer map Eastbourne and Beachy Head Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Da ...

. The village of Hellingly, the village of Lower Dicker, the village of Lower Horsebridge, the hamlet of '
Grove Hill
'', the suburbs of Roebuck Park and Carters Corner, are all entirely within the boundaries of the parish of Hellingly. Liminal areas to the north of the village of Upper Dicker, to the east of the hamlet of Gun Hill, and to the south of the hamlet o
North Corner
also fall within the boundaries of the parish of Hellingly.

History

The villages and settlements in the parish, like many others on the Weald, were involved in the

Wealden iron industry The Wealden iron industry was located in the Weald of south-eastern England. It was formerly an important industry, producing a large proportion of the bar iron made in England in the 16th century and most British cannon until about 1770. Iron ...

. The watermill in the village of Hellingly connected with the industry is no longer in operation. The mill building is a Grade II*

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 ...

and the associated miller's house is Grade II.

Horselunges Manor Horselunges Manor is a 15th-century manor house in Hellingly, East Sussex, that was restored in the 20th century. The house was previously owned by Peter Grant, the manager of Led Zeppelin, and featured in the film '' The Song Remains the Sam ...

is a moated Tudor manor house, originally built for the Devenish family and restored by

Walter Godfrey Walter Hindes Godfrey, CBE, FSA, FRIBA (1881–1961), was an English architect, antiquary, and architectural and topographical historian. He was also a landscape architect and designer, and an accomplished draftsman and illustrator. He was ...

in the 1930s, and is Grade I listed.

Hospitals

There are two

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

mental health sites within the parish of Hellingly, one is th
Amberstone Hospital
a specialist rehabilitation unit to help people recover from long-term mental health issues, and the other site is th
Hellingly Centre
a medium secure unit for people between the ages of 18-65 who have mental health problems and who have become involved with the criminal justice system. Both sites are managed by Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

Hellingly Hospital Hellingly Hospital, formerly the East Sussex County Asylum, was a large psychiatric hospital close to the village of Hellingly, east of Hailsham, in the English county of East Sussex. History The County Authority of East Sussex decided to bui ...

once dominated the area east of the village and was the principal mental hospital for East Sussex. Opened in 1903 it remained in use until 1994. The buildings maintenance were under-invested before being sold by the NHS and demolished to be replaced by a housing estate, named by the developer as Roebuck Park.

Sport

The main sports clubs in the village are Hellingly Rugby Club and Hellingly cricket club, which are both at Horsebridge recreation ground.

Governance

Hellingly civil parish is administered at the lowest level of local government by Hellingly Parish Council. Hellingly civil parish forms part of the larger Hellingly district ward, which also includes the village of

Magham Down Magham Down is a village between Herstmonceux and Hailsham in the Wealden district of East Sussex. It lies on the A271 road. It has a Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has bee ...

and the settlement of Ginger’s Green, in the

, with Wealden District Council being the middle level of local government for Hellingly. Hellingly district ward forms part of the even larger Arlington, East Hoathly & Hellingly county electoral division for East Sussex, with

East Sussex County Council East Sussex County Council is the local authority for the non-metropolitan county of East Sussex. East Sussex is divided into five local government districts. Three are larger, rural, districts (from west to east: Lewes; Wealden; and Rother). ...

being the highest level of local government for Hellingly. The population of this ward at the 2011 census was 5,940. Hellingly is in the Wealden parliamentary constituency, the MP since 2015 has been Nus Ghani,

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

Religion

The 13th-14th century parish church is dedicated to St Peter and St Paul. It is the only remaining example of a church built on a Saxon ''ciric'', a circular mound, in the county. The chancel dates from about 1200, and the shafts with annulets round the windows and the band of palmettes under them are substantially original. There is stained glass in the east lancet windows by Morris & Co. The church is Grade I listed.

Zoar Strict Baptist Chapel Zoar Strict Baptist Chapel is a Strict Baptists, Strict Baptist place of worship in the Hamlet (place), hamlet of Lower Dicker (village), Lower Dicker in the English county of East Sussex. Founded in 1837 and originally known as The Dicker Chape ...

was founded in 1837 at Lower Dicker.

Transport

The

Cuckoo Trail The Cuckoo Trail is a footpath and cycleway which runs from Hampden Park to Heathfield in East Sussex. It passes through the towns of Polegate and Hailsham, as well as the villages of Hellingly and Horam. History The Trail largely foll ...

is a 14-mile (23 km) footpath and cycleway that passes through the parish. This parish had a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

on the Cuckoo Line, Polegate to Eridge line which closed in 1968. The parish is served by buses run by Stagecoach Group, Stagecoach and by Seaford & District BusesSeaford & District bus services
/ref>

Notable people

*Margaret Fairchild (1911-1989) aka Miss Shepherd, the subject of the 2015 film ''The Lady in the Van'', was born here *Peter Grant (music manager), Peter Grant (1935–1995), actor and music executive, lived in Hellingly, at Horselunges Manor, which was featured in the opening scene of the Led Zeppelin film, ''The Song Remains the Same (film), The Song Remains the Same'', and is buried in the civil cemetery.

References

External links

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