Stanmer is a small village on the eastern outskirts 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 ...

, in

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.

History

The etymological root of the name is "Stony Mere",

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 ...

for "stone pond", referring to the

sarsen Sarsen stones are silicified sandstone blocks found in quantity in Southern England on Salisbury Plain and the Marlborough Downs in Wiltshire; in Kent; and in smaller quantities in Berkshire, Essex, Oxfordshire, Dorset, and Hampshire. Geology ...

stones around Stanmer village pond. The stones are not in their original situation, but have been gathered from the Downs and landscaped into the park's appearance. There have been rather inconclusive archaeological excavations at Pudding Bag Wood and Rocky Clump in the north of the park, and in Stanmer Great Wood, producing evidence of occupation from Neolithic times onwards. The village is first recorded in about 765 A.D. when (if the document is authentic) land there was granted by king Ealdwulf of Sussex to Hunlaf in order that he might found a college of

secular canon A canon (from the Latin , itself derived from the Greek , , "relating to a rule", "regular") is a member of certain bodies in subject to an ecclesiastical rule. Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, ...

s at

South Malling South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...

near

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 Middle Ages it had the curious distinction of forming a detached part of the Rape of Pevensey, which is otherwise east of the

Ouse Ouse may refer to: Places Rivers in England * River Ouse, Yorkshire * River Ouse, Sussex * River Great Ouse, Northamptonshire and East Anglia ** River Little Ouse, a tributary of the River Great Ouse Other places * Ouse, Tasmania, a town in Au ...

Landmarks

It was for long a closed village ruled by the resident lords of Stanmer, with a population static at just over 100. From the eighteenth century onwards the lords were the Pelham family who received the title Earl of Chichester in 1801 in addition to the Baron Pelham of Stanmer they had had since from 1762. They lived in the mansion called Stanmer House, built in its present Palladian form in 1722, a Grade I listed building. It stands at the centre of

Stanmer Park Stanmer Park is a large public park immediately to the west of the University of Sussex, and to the north-east of the city of Brighton in the county of East Sussex, England, United Kingdom, UK. It is a Local Nature Reserve and English Heritage, un ...

, landscaped by Humphry Repton, which was awarded Grade II "park of special historic interest" status by English Heritage in 1983. In the eastern portion of the park was built, from 1960 onwards, the University of Sussex.

Stanmer Church Stanmer Church is a former Anglican church in Stanmer village, on the northeastern edge of the English city of Brighton and Hove. The ancient village stands within Stanmer Park, the former private estate of the Earl of Chichester, which the Brig ...

, with a narrow spire unusual in Sussex downland, is adjacent to the pond and to Stanmer House. Its historic dedication is unknown. It was built in 1838 on the site of a 14th-century predecessor destroyed by fire. Stanmer has a working farm at its centre. Near the church is an unusual survival, a donkey wheel, i.e. a treadmill formerly operated by a donkey. There are 18th-century lodge-houses at the upper and lower ends of the park. The village also possesses former

almshouses An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) was charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the medieval era. They were often targeted at the poor of a locality, at those from certain ...

in the Chichester name, built around 1900. Th
Stanmer Preservation Society
has been responsible, over the years, for the maintenance and upkeep of many of the agricultural artifacts which were discovered and excavated in the Stanmer Park locality. Included in with some of these include those from Rocky Clump, first discovered by Walter Gorton and Charlie Yeates in the 1950s. It also now maintains the church, Rural Museum and Donkey Wheel.

Stanmer and Brighton

The village was incorporated into Brighton in 1928, and the park passed into the hands of the county borough council in 1947. The park is now a major public space for the residents of the city of Brighton and Hove, and regularly hosts such events as kite-flying and combined driving (horse-driving trials). Stanmer House was used as offices by the university in the 1960s and 70s, but was recently derelict and in need of restoration. It is now partl
open to the public
again and is licensed as a wedding venue.

Sources

* *Brighton Archaeological Society (2000) Field Unit Archive 2000, http://www.brightonarch.org.uk/13_1.htm (scroll down). *Carder, Tim (1990) ''Encyclopaedia of Brighton.'' Lewes: East Sussex County Libraries. *Funnell, John (2000) Excavations at Rocky Clump, Stanmer. ''Flint'' 43. * Gorton, W.C.L. & Yeates, C.W. (1988) ''Rocky Clump, Stanmer: a forgotten shrine?'' Stanmer Preservation Society. * *Yeates, C.W. and others (?1980s) ''Stanmer'', 2nd edn. itchling Stanmer Preservation Society. *Yeates, C.W. (1986) ''Hovel in the wood.'' Privately published. artly reminiscence, partly archaeology. An important documentary source, the estate accounts from 1769 to 1950, is housed in

East Sussex Record Office The Keep is a purpose-built archive and historical resource centre which stores, conserves and gives the public access to the records of its three managing partners: The East Sussex Record Office, The University of Sussex Special Collections, a ...

External links

Anglo-Saxon charter relating to Stanmer, Sawyer no. 50Stanmer Preservation Society
{{authority control Villages in East Sussex Areas of Brighton and Hove Grade I listed houses Parks and open spaces in East Sussex Conservation areas in England

History

Landmarks

Stanmer and Brighton

Sources

See also

External links