Westdene
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Westdene is an area of the city of Brighton and Hove,
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 ...
. It is an affluent northern suburb of the city, west of Patcham, the A23 (London Road) and the London to Brighton railway line, north of
Withdean Withdean is a former village, now part of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex. Overview The area was originally named in the 12th century, when it was called Wictedene. The area was historically farm land but has been developed, mainly in the 1920s ...
and northeast of
West Blatchington West Blatchington is an area in Hove, East Sussex, England. The area grew rapidly in the inter-war period, but unlike nearby Hangleton it had more infrastructure, with St Peter's Church, a working farm, a windmill and an industrial area group ...
. It is on the Brighton side of the historic parish boundary between
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 ...
and
Hove Hove is a seaside resort and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, along with Brighton in East Sussex, England. Originally a "small but ancient fishing village" surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th cen ...
and is served by
Preston Park railway station Preston Park railway station is on the Brighton Main Line in England, serving Preston Village and the northern suburban areas of the city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex. It is down the line from via and is situated between and . The sta ...
. It is known for its greenery and woodland and is very close to 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. ...
, from which it is separated by the Brighton Bypass, and was built on the slopes of two hills.


History

The first part of the suburb to be developed was part of Valley Drive, on which around 30 houses were built in the "Tudorbethan" style between 1932 and 1934. In 1938, local building firm Braybon Ltd signed a contract with Brighton Corporation to develop of land nearby as an extension of the Withdean estate, with low-density housing of various types. Braybon had bought the land a year earlier. 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 ...
intervened, and most of the building work took place in the 1950s. Small greens and open spaces were provided, as were some shopping facilities. The central green was the site of a short-lived bowling green, and an 18th-century barn that was part of a farm survived on the site until the mid-1960s. Westdene F.C. were established in 1983. Later called Withdean F.C. and then Withdean 2000 F.C., they had success in the Sussex County Football League and the
Combined Counties Football League The Combined Counties Football League is a regional men's football league in south-eastern England with members in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Jersey, Kent, Middlesex, Oxfordshire, Surrey, and the western half and sou ...
, winning the latter in the 2002–03 season, before going out of existence in 2004.


Notable buildings and areas

The area has a church, a public library and a primary school. The Church of the Ascension is part of the parish of All Saints Church, Patcham, and was opened in February 1958; John Wells-Thorpe built the brick and glass structure. The school dates from 1961 and the library was opened in March 1964.


Waterhall Mill

Waterhall Mill, also known as Westdene Mill or Patcham Windmill, is a disused tower mill. It is on the slopes of Coney Hill just north of Westdene. It was built in 1885 by James Holloway of Shoreham, and is believed to be the last brick windmill built in Sussex. Two of the staircases are said to have originated in
St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...
. In World War II it was used by the Home Guard as a lookout post. Waterhill Mill was awarded Grade II listed status by
English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...
on 13 October 1952. It was converted into a domestic house in 1964.


Waterhall

Waterhall (), an area of football and rugby pitches. It is sandwiched between Saddlescombe Road and the A23 which runs north to London. The
Brighton rugby club Brighton Rugby Club is one of the oldest rugby clubs in the country founded in 1868. As they were founded before the RFU they are one of the few clubs who are designated F.C. rather than R.F.C. The club was formed mainly from players from Bri ...
is situated at the west end.


The old Waterhall Golf Course

To the north of the club is the old Waterhall Golf Course, which was given over to rewilding in 2021. Since the Golf Course has been closed and rewilding has started summer downland flowers are already returning and
harebell ''Campanula rotundifolia'', the harebell, Scottish bluebell, or bluebell of Scotland, is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae. This herbaceous perennial is found throughout the temperate regions of the northern hemi ...
,
scabious ''Scabiosa'' is a genus in the honeysuckle family (Caprifoliaceae) of flowering plants. Many of the species in this genus have common names that include the word scabious, but some plants commonly known as scabious are currently classified in r ...
, cowslip, rockrose,
betony Betony is a common name for a plant which may refer to: *''Stachys'', a genus of plants containing several species commonly known as betony in Europe **'' Stachys officinalis'', a historically important medicinal plant *''Pedicularis ''Pedicular ...
, Sussex rampion and horseshoe vetch have all been seen in the area. There are large old anthills and chalkhill,
small Small may refer to: Science and technology * SMALL, an ALGOL-like programming language * Small (anatomy), the lumbar region of the back * ''Small'' (journal), a nano-science publication * <small>, an HTML element that defines smaller text ...
and
adonis blue The Adonis blue (''Lysandra bellargus'', also known as ''Polyommatus bellargus'') is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It inhabits the Palearctic realm (Western Europe, Central Europe, Southern Europe, Southern Russia, Iraq, Iran, Caucasus, T ...
and
brown argus ''Aricia agestis'', the brown argus, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found throughout the Palearctic realm, north to northern Jutland (Denmark) and east to Siberia and the Tian Shan. Subspecies *''A. a. agestis'' southern and ce ...
butterflies. There is still a reasonable population of adders. By the bridlepath just downhill of the old clubhouse there are the damaged remains of a
Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
round barrow () which has long acted as a marker on the old parish boundaries and at the corner of the Saddlescombe Road and the turn-off to the golf clubhouse there is a
sarsen stone 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 ...
() marking this point in the medieval boundary between Patcham and
West Blatchington West Blatchington is an area in Hove, East Sussex, England. The area grew rapidly in the inter-war period, but unlike nearby Hangleton it had more infrastructure, with St Peter's Church, a working farm, a windmill and an industrial area group ...
parishes.


Varncombe Hill

At the north end of the old Golf Course is Varncombe Hill which borders the
Newtimber Newtimber is a small village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. It is located north-west of Brighton. The parish also includes the hamlet of Saddlescombe. The parish lies almost wholly with the South Downs Nati ...
parish. The south-west facing slope() is a bosky place with lovely old pasture glades. Rockrose is one of the commonest flowers here, with some of its associated fungi. The west facing slopes of Varncombe Hill () were sold by Brighton Council with the rest of Saddlescombe Farm to the
National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
, but the Trust did not dedicate them as
Access Land The freedom to roam, or "everyman's right", is the general public's right to access certain public or privately owned land, lakes, and rivers for recreation and exercise. The right is sometimes called the right of public access to the wilderness ...
, though some have argued that they should have done.


Sweet Hill

The tracks rising to the east of Waterhall take you to Sweet Hill. The Hill has a flowery bank on its western slope (), a bushy
lynchet A lynchet or linchet is an Terrace (earthworks), earth terrace found on the side of a hill. Lynchets are a feature of ancient field systems of the British Isles. They are commonly found in vertical rows and more commonly referred to as "strip lyn ...
and an old dewpond site on its brow. The track joins a branch of the Mid Sussex
Sussex Border Path The Sussex Border Path is a long-distance footpath around the borders of Sussex, a historic county and former medieval kingdom in southern England. The main path is long and stays close to Sussex's borders with Hampshire, Surrey and Kent, co ...
and continues northwest to the
Newtimber Newtimber is a small village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. It is located north-west of Brighton. The parish also includes the hamlet of Saddlescombe. The parish lies almost wholly with the South Downs Nati ...
parish leaving Pangdean Bottom and the Pyecombe parish to the north east.


Pangdean Bottom

Pangdean Bottom is the west of the A23 and is rented by a tenant farmer from
Brighton and Hove City Council Brighton and Hove City Council is the local authority of the city of Brighton and Hove. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It provides a full range of local government services ...
, who have owned it since 1924. It includes ancient chalk grassland slopes where there are still chalkland flowers and butterflies and many believe it should have been designated
Access land The freedom to roam, or "everyman's right", is the general public's right to access certain public or privately owned land, lakes, and rivers for recreation and exercise. The right is sometimes called the right of public access to the wilderness ...
status. In late summer, the valley's north side has one of the largest populations of autumn ladies-tresses orchid has been recorded, together with a large population of the white variety of the self heal violet. The scrub at the head of the valley is old and diverse, with
wayfaring tree ''Viburnum lantana'', the wayfarer or wayfaring tree, is a species of ''Viburnum'', native to central, southern and western Europe (north to Yorkshire in England), northwest Africa, and southwestern Asia.Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). ''Flo ...
,
old man's beard Old man's beard may refer to the following: * ''Chionanthus virginicus'', a tree, which is used like a medicinal plant and ornamental plant. * ''Clematis aristata'', an Australian climbing plant. * ''Clematis vitalba'', a climbing plant. * ''Tillan ...
,
honeysuckle Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or twining vines in the genus ''Lonicera'' () of the family Caprifoliaceae, native to northern latitudes in North America and Eurasia. Approximately 180 species of honeysuckle have been identified in both contin ...
,
hazel The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999). ...
, and
gorse ''Ulex'' (commonly known as gorse, furze, or whin) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are n ...
. In July 2021 the Sussex-based 'Landscapes of Freedom' group, together with
Nick Hayes Nick Hayes is a British writer, illustrator, and campaigner for land access. He has written a number of graphic novels and a non-fiction book, ''The Book of Trespass''. Life and work Hayes grew up in Upper Basildon, Berkshire. He works as an il ...
and
Guy Shrubsole Guy Shrubsole is a British researcher, writer and campaigner. He wrote ''Who Owns England?: How We Lost Our Green and Pleasant Land, and How to Take It Back''. Life Shrubsole was born in Newbury, Berkshire and attended St Bartholomew's School. ...
of the 'Right to Roam' network, organised a mass trespass in protest against the lack of public access to this valley and its management for game bird shooting, which has badly affected its chalk grassland wildlife.Bangs, David (2018). ''Land of the Brighton line : a field guide to the Middle Sussex and South East Surrey Weald''.
righton Righton is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alan Righton (1905–1982), Australian rugby league footballer * Caroline Righton (born 1958), English television presenter and author * Edward Righton (actor) (1838–1899), English ...
. .
Over three hundred people walked from Waterhall, Brighton, to Pangdean Bottom in protest. The public are actively discouraged from walking in the area and scrub has been allowed to grow on the pristine downland, whilst other parts have been ploughed out.


References


Bibliography

* {{Brighton and Hove Areas of Brighton and Hove