Clayton is a small village and former

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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

, now in the parish of Hassocks, in the Mid Sussex district, in the county of

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It lies at the foot of the

South Downs The South Downs are a range of chalk hills in the south-eastern coastal counties of England 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 ...

, south of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, north of

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

, and east northeast of the county town of

Chichester Chichester ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...

. Other nearby towns include

Burgess Hill Burgess Hill () is a town and civil parish in West Sussex, England, close to the border with East Sussex, on the edge of the South Downs National Park, south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town, Chichester. ...

to the north and

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. The town is the administrative centre of the wider Lewes (district), district of the same name. It lies on the River Ouse, Sussex, River Ouse at the point where the river cuts through the Sou ...

, the county town of

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

east southeast. The Clayton Windmills, known as "Jack and Jill", sit on the hill above the village. In 1961 the parish had a population of 1548. On 1 April 2000 the parish was abolished and merged with Hassocks, Burgess Hill and Pyecombe. The village gives its name to the nearby Clayton railway tunnel on the Brighton Main Line, although the tunnel itself is actually situated in the neighbouring parish of Pyecombe.

Parish church

The little parish church of St. John the Baptist is an Anglo-Saxon church that has a squat bell turret of shingles with a wrought iron weather vane dated 1781. The church has some magnificent wall

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

s, for example the

Last Judgement The Last Judgment is a concept found across the Abrahamic religions and the '' Frashokereti'' of Zoroastrianism. Christianity considers the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to entail the final judgment by God of all people who have ever lived, res ...

, from the mid-12th century (1150–1200). These murals, unique in England for their date and extent, were first brought to light during repair work in 1893 and were probably painted by artists from St Pancras Priory in

. Sir Norman Hartnell, who designed

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

's wedding gown and coronation dress and served as couturier to Elizabeth II (and previously to The Queen Mother) is buried in the churchyard.

Clayton Down

On the south side of the village, begins the Downs and the start of the

Clayton to Offham Escarpment Clayton to Offham Escarpment is a linear biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) which runs from Clayton, West Sussex, Clayton in West Sussex to Lewes in East Sussex. Its ownership and management is divided between over fifteen lan ...

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

(SSSI), which stretches east almost as far as Lewes. The scarp slope below Clayton's windmills () and as far east as Clayton Holt, has been described by

David Bangs David Bangs is a field naturalist, social historian, public artist, author and conservationist. He has written extensively on the countryside management, both historically and present day in the English county of Sussex. Biography Bangs wo ...

, a Sussex field naturalist, as "one of nature's self-grown orchards". Few sites on this part of the Downs can match its richness. There are

blackberries BlackBerry is a discontinued brand of handheld devices and related mobile services, originally developed and maintained by the Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM, later known as BlackBerry Limited) until 2016. The first BlackBerry device ...

crab apple ''Malus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 32–57 species of small deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rosaceae, including the domesticated orchard apple, crab apples (sometimes known in North America as crabapples) and wild apples. The genus i ...

, four species of Rose, including the apple-scented sweet briar. There are is also sloe berries, pink and orange spindle berries and

buckthorn ''Rhamnus'' is a genus of about 140 accepted species of shrubs or small trees, commonly known as buckthorns, in the family Rhamnaceae. Its species range from tall (rarely to ) and are native mainly in east Asia and North America, but found thr ...

. There may be as many at least twenty-five scrub species, eighteen of which have fleshy and colourful fruits and eleven of which of are members of the rose family. Robin's pincushion can be seen on the roses and

dogwood ''Cornus'' is a genus of about 30–60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods or cornels, which can generally be distinguished by their blossoms, berries, and distinctive bark. Most are deciduous ...

Clayton Holt

On the scarp is Clayton Holt (), a downland wood with at least thirteen ancient woodland indicator species, including two big hybrid large-leaved/ small-leaved limes growing at the base of slope. Up until 1838 there was a large-leaved lime there, a true relic of past forests. The wood is also one of the best places on the Downs to see veteran beeches. The lesser butterfly orchid, which is much rarer than its ‘ greater’ cousin, has also been found there. Fungi are mostly found along the base of slope or on the rotting trunks of fallen beech. Under the beech there are several earthstar fungi. Clayton Holt and its surrounding woodland is the setting of the rural fantasy book - Jamie and the Tree Troll: a new legend(sic) of the South Downs in Sussex, by Zsolt Kerekes

Recreation

For the size of village there is a large recreation ground located at the west end of the village with a village hall, children's play area and two

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

pitches. Dame Vera Lynn and her husband bought the twenty two room house, Clayton Holt in 1944 with its 198 acres of land after her return from entertaining troops in Burma.

Notable people

Elizabeth Hitchener was born in 1783 and brought up here where her father ran the Friar's Oak inn. Hitchener was a schoolteacher who was a soul mate of

Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 1792 – 8 July 1822) was an English writer who is considered one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame durin ...

. Katie Johnson, an actress best known for her acclaimed performance as the elderly Mrs Wilberforce in the 1955 film '' The Ladykillers'', was born here in 1878. Sir

Edward Michelborne Sir Edward Michelborne (c. 1562 − 1609), sometimes written Michelbourn, was an English soldier, adventurer and explorer. After a military career in the 1590s he tried to be appointed 'principal commander' for the first voyage of the East India ...

, a soldier and adventurer, who also held a seat in Parliament lived at Hammonds Place.

London to Brighton Way Roman road

The London to Brighton Way is thought to have passed close to Clayton as it climbed the South Downs escarpment.

New Road

New Road between Ditchling and Clayton (part of the B2112) was a branch of the turnpike road from Newchapel (in Surrey) to Brighton, via Ditchling. It was authorised by an act of Parliament passed in 1830: :An Act for more effectually repairing and maintaining the Road from ''New Chappel'' in the County of ''Surrey'' to ''Ditcheling Bost Hills'' in the County of ''Sussex'', and from thence to the Town of ''Brighthelmston'' in the same County; and also for making and maintaining a Branch of Road from the town of ''Ditcheling'' to ''Clayton'' in the County of ''Sussex'' ( 11 Geo. 4 & 1 Will. 4. c. xviii)The Statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland: 11 Geo. IV. & 1 Will. IV. 1830.
London, Printed by His Majesty's Printers, 1830. Page 470

References

Gallery

File:Clayton_village.JPG, Clayton village File:Clayton village hall.JPG, Village hall. File:12th-century paintings of Last Judgement (Clayton Church, Sussex).jpg, Church interior File:nh1.jpg, Norman Hartnell's grave {{authority control Villages in West Sussex Former civil parishes in West Sussex Mid Sussex District