Plumpton is a village and
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 ...
in the
Lewes District 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 ...
, England. The village is located north-west of
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 parish measures in length on its north–south axis and at its widest on the B2116 Underhill Road. The southern half of the parish lies within the South Downs National Park and at the highest point, , the South Downs Way traverses the crest of Plumpton Plain. The parish includes the small village of Plumpton adjacent to the Downs and to the north the larger village of Plumpton Green where most of the community and services are based. Plumpton is known for its race course, and also Plumpton College, which farms over of land and has become one of the leading centres for land-based education in the UK.
Plumpton is mentioned 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
of 1086 as having a church and two mills, and is shown as ''Pluntune'', meaning 'town or settlement where plum-trees grew'.
Plumpton Green is rumoured to have been the inspiration for the popular 1960s British children's television series
Trumpton by
Gordon Murray, with nearby
Chailey being
Chigley and
Wivelsfield Green being
Camberwick Green.
Landmarks
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 ...
is a
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 ...
along the ridge and slopes of the South Downs. Stretching some 10 km from Hassocks in the west to Lewes in the east, it passes through several parishes including Plumpton. The site is of biological importance due to its rare chalk grassland habitat along with its woodland and scrub.
The most visible boundary of the
South Downs National Park
The South Downs National Park is England's newest national parks of England and Wales, national park, designated on 31 March 2010. The park, covering an area of in southern England, stretches for from Winchester in the west to Eastbourne in t ...
aligns with the southernmost access road to
Plumpton Racecourse
Plumpton Racecourse is a National Hunt racecourse in the village of Plumpton, East Sussex near Lewes and Brighton. Racing first took place at Plumpton in 1884.
Its most notable race is the Sussex National Handicap Chase.
History
Plumpton Rac ...
, which itself runs alongside the
Sussex Greensand Way, the Roman Road that crossed the parish in an east–west direction.
Notable buildings and areas
The parish of Plumpton comprises the top 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 ...
down 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 ...
to the
Sussex Weald stretching north to the
Wivelsfield and
Chailey parish. To the east is
East Chiltington, to its south
Falmer and to its west is the
Streat parish. Like all the parishes in this area that run north from the scarp slope 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 ...
it is long and thin.
Village layout
Plumpton Green is essentially a
ribbon development immediately to the north of the railway station and is home to the school, the village shop, a church and two pubs. The main thoroughfare, Station Road, runs the length of the village, with several cul-de-sacs branching from it. The majority of the road is paved on one side only.
Chapel Road is a cul-de-sac with 24 houses. These are mostly
semi-detached
A semi-detached house (often abbreviated to semi) is a single-family Duplex (building), duplex dwelling that shares one common party wall, wall with its neighbour. The name distinguishes this style of construction from detached houses, with no sh ...
, with a small terrace of cottages built in 1900. Woodgate Meadow is a fairly recent development of large, detached houses on the site of a former brickyard. Westgate was built on farmland some years later (1995) incorporating mainly detached houses and also the new village hall and green.
Plumpton Lane, connecting Plumpton and Plumpton Green has, in recent years, received several small housing developments. The houses are of an attractive design, incorporating traditional red Sussex tile-hung walls.
Plumpton railway station is on the
East Coastway Line and the railway crossing had the last manually operated gates in Sussex, until finally replaced by automatic gates in 2016. As of December 2010 it has had an hourly service in each direction, between Eastbourne, Hastings and Ore and London Victoria.
Plumpton Racecourse
Plumpton Racecourse is a National Hunt racecourse in the village of Plumpton, East Sussex near Lewes and Brighton. Racing first took place at Plumpton in 1884.
Its most notable race is the Sussex National Handicap Chase.
History
Plumpton Rac ...
is located between the two villages, immediately to the south of the railway. Meetings draw large crowds and on race days the population of Plumpton doubles and the rail service is supplemented with extra trains. Races are sometimes televised, bringing Plumpton to a much wider audience.
Notable Buildings
There are a number of historic and notable buildings in the area.
Churches
The naves of Plumpton church () and Westmeston church () were built by the Normans, with later chancel and south aisle at Westmeston, and later tower and chancel at Plumpton. Stone buildings were exceptionally rare in those times hence their small size. Both of them had frescoes painted by the Lewes Group which were uncovered only in 1862, although those at Westmeston were not preserved. Parts of the paintings at Plumpton, on the north wall of the nave, do survive and have recently been restored. Extraordinarily, it is thought that the wooden bell hanging frame may date back to 1040. The stone tower may have been built around the original wooden tower and its bell hanging. Plumpton church is surrounded by
Plumpton College. Newly planted trees look to further obscure our view of it. The churchyard is currently badly maintained for meadow species.
In Plumpton Green stands All Saints Church (). Archaic vegetation survives in the front churchyard and has lots of
common spotted orchid
''Dactylorhiza maculata'' subsp. ''fuchsii'', the common spotted orchid, is a subspecies of flowering plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae.
''Dactylorhiza maculata'' subsp. ''fuchsii'' is one of Europe's most common wild orchids. It is widespr ...
amongst
oxeye daisy,
sorrel
Sorrel (''Rumex acetosa''), also called common sorrel or garden sorrel, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Polygonaceae. Other names for sorrel include spinach dock and narrow-leaved dock ("dock" being a common name for the genus ''Ru ...
,
bugle,
meadow foxtail,
ladies smock and
thale cress
''Arabidopsis thaliana'', the thale cress, mouse-ear cress or arabidopsis, is a small plant from the mustard family (Brassicaceae), native to Eurasia and Africa. Commonly found along the shoulders of roads and in disturbed land, it is generally ...
. The larger yard at the back is often unkempt, and may have lost some value.
The Plough Inn
The pub was originally sited by Bower Farm but was relocated to the crossroads when the
airfield
An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...
was built in the second world war. There is a monument to the airmen by the pub.
Behind the Plough Inn is an archaic meadow, used as a campsite by the pub. It has old flowery sward,
oxeye daisy,
knapweed
''Centaurea'' () is a genus of over 700 species of herbaceous thistle-like flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Members of the genus are found only north of the equator, mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere; the Middle East and surrounding ...
,
fleabane, and even bits of
saw wort, which the pub is commendably trying to manage (2015). In the autumn there are old meadow fungi such as
cedarwood waxcap and
fairy club. Unlike Worcestershire, where many pubs that have old meadows attached to them, the Plough is special for maintaining its meadow, as this is not a strong Sussex tradition.
Plumpton College
Plumpton College is a Further and Higher education college with a variety of land-based courses, including Viticulture and Oenology, Agriculture, Horticulture, Floristry, Equine Studies, Animal Care and Veterinary Nursing, Countryside Management and so on.
Plumpton Place
Plumpton Place stands next to
Plumpton College. It is a six-bedroom manor house with a moat and water mill () which run into Plumton Mill stream. It had a big 17th century threshing barn, which is used by Plumpton College.
In the early 1970s,
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...
guitarist
Jimmy Page
James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician and producer who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the Rock music, rock band Led Zeppelin.
Page began his career as a studio session musician in Lo ...
purchased
Plumpton Place, an Elizabethan manor, with 20th-century alterations by
Sir Edwin Lutyens
Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memorials ...
, surrounded by a moat and extensive gardens. With its relative proximity to
Plumpton Racecourse
Plumpton Racecourse is a National Hunt racecourse in the village of Plumpton, East Sussex near Lewes and Brighton. Racing first took place at Plumpton in 1884.
Its most notable race is the Sussex National Handicap Chase.
History
Plumpton Rac ...
, the grounds also include stables for horses. Page outfitted the manor with a recording studio and the credits for the Led Zeppelin album ''
In Through the Out Door'' indicates that album
mixing was carried out there. The manor can be seen briefly near the beginning of the Led Zeppelin concert film, ''
The Song Remains the Same'' where the camera walks up to Page, playing a
hurdy-gurdy
The hurdy-gurdy is a string instrument that produces sound by a hand-turned crank, rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin (or nyckelharpa) bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar ...
, to inform him of the North American tour dates. Page sold the property in 1985.
Ashurst Farm
Ashurst Farm, by
Plumpton Racecourse
Plumpton Racecourse is a National Hunt racecourse in the village of Plumpton, East Sussex near Lewes and Brighton. Racing first took place at Plumpton in 1884.
Its most notable race is the Sussex National Handicap Chase.
History
Plumpton Rac ...
, has had an organic farm since 1994. Until then, the dairy cows had been hand-milked, and the land had received no artificial fertilisers since 1945, thus facilitating immediate organic status.
The farm has a vegetable box scheme and employs much local labour.
Woodland
There are a number of beautiful and ancient woodland in this area.
Plumpton Wood (south)
The southern Plumpton Wood () stands on wet
Gault Clay
The Gault Formation is a geological formation of stiff blue clay deposited in a calm, fairly deep-water marine environment during the Lower Cretaceous Period (Upper and Middle Albian). It is well exposed in the coastal cliffs at Copt Point in Fo ...
and is a
hazel
Hazels are plants of the genus ''Corylus'' 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 ...
coppice wood, with no
hornbeam
Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the family Betulaceae. Its species occur across much of the temperateness, temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
Common names
The common English name ''hornbeam'' derives ...
present. It is owned by
Plumpton College and stands to its north. It has at least twenty-two archaic woodland indicator species. It has remarkably varied vegetation, which includes a thick bluebell carpet in springtime, oak and ash standards, a
gean swarm,
wild service and
pignut. It has large damp areas with
ramsons
''Allium ursinum'', known as wild garlic, ramsons, cowleekes, cows's leek, cowleek, buckrams, broad-leaved garlic, wood garlic, bear leek, Eurasian wild garlic or bear's garlic, is a bulbous perennial flowering plant in the amaryllis family, Ama ...
,
redcurrant
The redcurrant or red currant (''Ribes rubrum'') is a member of the genus ''Ribes'' in the gooseberry family. It is native to western Europe. The species is widely cultivated and has escaped into the wild in many regions.
Description
''Ribes ...
, and even
alder buckthorn. The last
pearl-bordered fritillary butterfly was seen in Plumpton Wood in 1982, but perhaps one day they will be reintroduced with the
small pearl-bordered fritillary, both of which were a common sight in all Sussex woodlands before the 1980s.
Plumpton Wood (north)
The northern Plumpton Wood stands on
Weald Clay
Weald Clay or the Weald Clay Formation is a Lower Cretaceous sedimentary rock unit underlying areas of South East England, between the North and South Downs, in an area called the Weald Basin. It is the uppermost unit of the Wealden Group of ...
() and is equally remarkable, although about 40% has been cleared in modern times and has chunks bitten out of it by houses and gardens. It is
hornbeam
Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the family Betulaceae. Its species occur across much of the temperateness, temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
Common names
The common English name ''hornbeam'' derives ...
coppice with far less
hazel
Hazels are plants of the genus ''Corylus'' 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 ...
than the southern Plumpton Wood. There is
wych elm
''Ulmus glabra'', the wych elm or Scots elm, has the widest range of the European elm species, from Ireland eastwards to the Ural Mountains, and from the Arctic Circle south to the mountains of the Peloponnese and Sicily, where the species reac ...
and
wild service,
spurge laurel and midland thorn, and in 2011
green hellebore,
birdsnest and
greater butterfly orchids were recorded.
Streams

The Plumpton Mill Stream flows north through the parish, to join the Bevern Stream just north of the railway. In turn, the Bevern Stream flows into the
River Ouse at Barcombe Mills. The streams and their banks are delightful green ribbons through the parish's farmed landscape.
Plumpton Mill Stream
The Plumpton Mill Stream arises at Plumpton Place. The Stream once had three water mills. The pond of the Upper Mill is now a wilderness of
alder
Alders are trees of the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus includes about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few species ex ...
carr and marsh marigolds, anachronistically called 'Reed Pond'. The bed of the Stream is made up of flint shingle brought there by
Ice age
An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...
torrents. The chalk stream has frequent
bullhead fishlings,
freshwater shrimp Freshwater shrimp are any shrimp which live in fresh water.
This includes:
*Any Caridea (shrimp) which live in fresh water, especially the family Atyidae
*Species in the genus '' Macrobrachium''
:*'' Macrobrachium ohione'', the Ohio River shrimp
:* ...
s, orb shell cockles,
pond snails,
caddis, and
mayfly
Mayflies (also known as shadflies or fishflies in Canada and the upper Midwestern United States, as Canadian soldiers in the American Great Lakes region, and as up-winged flies in the United Kingdom) are aquatic insects belonging to the orde ...
Half a mile south west of the race course, hidden away on the steep bank of one of the stream's tributaries, is a maiden English Oak (). It has a girth of 3.66 spans and great limbs straddling the stream. The stream's banks at that point are covered in
ramsons
''Allium ursinum'', known as wild garlic, ramsons, cowleekes, cows's leek, cowleek, buckrams, broad-leaved garlic, wood garlic, bear leek, Eurasian wild garlic or bear's garlic, is a bulbous perennial flowering plant in the amaryllis family, Ama ...
, bluebells and
moschatel.
In late 2016 the lower Plumpton Mill Stream and the whole of the Bevern Stream below her were polluted by a huge volume of slurry from Plumpton College Dairy Unit. All the fish in the affected streams were killed. The streams and their wildlife are still recovering.
Bevern stream
The Bevern is fed by the clear chalky waters of Plumpton Mill Stream arising at moated Plumpton Place. There are crossings and short accessible bank lengths all the way west past Plumpton Green.
Scarp and downland
The south of the parish rises to the top of the Downs and the slope forms part of
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 ...
, which is a
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 ...
. There are a number of interesting and historic sites within this area of the parish.
Tumuli
On the scarp, there are three clusters of round barrows on each of the three main spurs that jut forward. They are likely to have been built by Bronze Age farmers. Most of the barrows are not obvious, but there is one that is a yard tall on an arable field just south of the
South Downs Way
The South Downs Way is a long distance footpath and bridleway running along the South Downs in southern England. It is one of 16 National Trails in England and Wales. The trail runs for from Winchester in Hampshire to Eastbourne in East Susse ...
and just west of Novington Plantation (). Most of them have 'pillage dimples' in their tops where erstwhile treasure hunters or predatory antiquarians dug them out.
The Plumpton bostal () rises from the Half Moon Inn. It was an army road in the Second World War taking vehicles to the training grounds on the plateau, so it has been concreted. It looks down over a stretch of scarp with a good assemblage of Down pasture flowers. It is still owned by Brighton Council, though leased to Plumpton College. At the base of the scarp the woodland is relatively rich in species, with bluebells and ramsons.
Plumpton Plain

The
earthworks on Plumpton Plain is a
Scheduled Monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...
designated in 1933. Most of this landscape has been since been ploughed, but at the top of a gentle valley (), about four hundred metres south of the South Downs escarpment, there is evidence of
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
settlements from about 3600 to 2900 years ago. These were the first people in Britain to organise a settled agriculture, based on the use of the ox plough, with sharp land divisions and long-lived nucleated settlements. What is remarkable about Plumpton Plain place is that there are bumps and hollows which mark the famers' house sites, house ponds, farm paths and even the earliest
ridge and furrow
Ridge and furrow is an Archaeology, archaeological pattern of ridges (Medieval Latin: ''sliones'') and troughs created by a system of ploughing used in Europe during the Middle Ages, typical of the open field system, open-field system. It is a ...
cultivation traces to be found in southern England.
[McOmish, D., Tuck, C, (2004). Plumpton Plain, East Sussex. Archaeological Investigation Report Series A1/08/2004. (English Heritage) ISSN 1478-7008]
One enclosure, still covered in scrub, lies to the west of the bridlepath running southwards from the South Downs Way. Four more, to the east of the bridlepath, are under pasture but can still be seen with the use of a site plan, as are the field paths and banks. On the wooded valley sides to the south east there are other house sites and field
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 ...
s.
There is a lot of evidence of the tools that the Bronze Age people used and it is relatively easy to find an axe head. The archeologist, David McOmish, when uncovering these settlements found a complete Neolithic flint axe, twenty-six centimetres long.
Plumpton Cross
To the south of Plumpton Plain is a 100-foot cross carved into the chalk, probably made by the monks of
St Pancras Priory in
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 ...
, following the battle there in 1264 (below). The cross is no longer white, but to the knowledgeable eye it is still visible due to its lighter-coloured grass. It can be seen from a distance of several miles when the sun is low and the depression is in shadow.
Faulkner's Bottom
Faulkner's Bottom () has evidence of the field systems of the Bronze Age settlements found in Plumpton Plain. Most of the visible signs of those people have been ploughed out, but on the west side of Faulkner's Bottom two Bronze Age enclosures survive, as well as an undated 'valley entrenchment' crossed by a terrace way at the head of the valley (). This rectangular enclosure is atmospheric, with old thorn bushes, bracken and rosebay glades, and with some scrub oaks. There is a long strip along the steep eastern valleys where archaic Down pastures still survive. There are orchids,
dropwort,
lousewort,
centaury and
hogweed testifying to little management and occasional cattle grazing. At its southern end laurel,
spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...
, pine and
cypress
Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs from the ''Cupressus'' genus of the '' Cupressaceae'' family, typically found in temperate climates and subtropical regions of Asia, Europe, and North America.
The word ''cypress'' ...
has been planted () presumably to keep the pheasants reared there happy.
Governance
Plumpton lies within the Chailey ward for the
East Sussex County Council
East Sussex County Council is the upper tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of East Sussex in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county; the latter additionally includes Brighton and Hove.
East ...
tier of government. The ward also includes
Chailey itself,
Ditchling,
East Chiltington,
Newick,
St John Without,
Streat,
Westmeston and
Wivelsfield.
Plumpton is served by
Lewes District Council
Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. The town is the administrative centre of the wider district of the same name. It lies on the River Ouse at the point where the river cuts through the South Downs.
A traditional market town ...
and is covered by the Plumpton,
Streat,
East Chiltington and
St John Without ward which returns a single seat. At the 2011 census the population for this area was ''only'' 2,276.
The UK Parliament constituency for Plumpton is
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 ...
.
Education
Plumpton Primary School is located in Plumpton Green and was built in 1974 for children living in Plumpton and surrounding villages, especially
Wivelsfield,
Hamsey, and
Chailey. The school has an assembly hall, a student library, a playing field and a (now defunct) swimming pool.
History
Simon de Montfort fought and defeated King Henry III at the
Battle of Lewes
The Battle of Lewes was one of two main battles of the conflict known as the Second Barons' War. It took place at Lewes in Sussex, on 14 May 1264. It marked the high point of the career of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, and made ...
in 1264. He gained a strategic advantage, and achieved complete surprise, by using a night march to position his numerically inferior army on
Downland
Downland, chalkland, chalk downs or just downs are areas of open chalk hills, such as the North Downs. This term is used to describe the characteristic landscape in southern England where chalk is exposed at the surface. The name "downs" is deriv ...
high above the town by early morning. To avoid detection they ascended the Downs four miles to the north-west of Lewes up Warningore Bostal, a deeply-worn track that exists to this day. Before marching on the town de Montfort is reputed to have rallied his forces, wearing large white crosses on their tunics for identification, on Plumpton Plain. Although now no longer in place, within living memory a sandstone block at the centre of the cross bore the inscription 'Battle of Lewes 1264'.
As in the medieval Sussex Weald generally, Plumpton parish and Plumpton's manorial outliers to the north (known as 'Plumpton Boscage') had huge amounts of common land. By 1596, of Plumpton Common had been enclosed and divided, though Plumpton Green remained common land until 1842. There is little evidence now of the commons. Place names like 'Riddens' Farm and Wood and 'Inholmes' Farm indicate very ancient enclosures from the wild. The place name 'Lentridge' Farm perhaps denotes the more widespread ancient presence of
small-leaved lime, which is rare now in 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, West Sussex, East Sussex, and Kent. It has three parts, the sandstone "High W ...
. ('Lent' = 'lind', as in 'linden', lime). The scarce
Wild Service Tree is occasionally present in the hedgerows.
Schooling began in 1837, where two teachers taught in a small building (measuring 22×16' – 6.7×4.9m) in the south of the parish in Plumpton village. This was the main centre of the parish population, which was then around 275, with some 20 children attending school.
The railway station was opened 1863, two miles to the north, and the centre of the parish gradually moved towards it. By the 1870s there were three drinking establishments, the village shop and a few other small businesses to the north of the station, spaced along Station Road. There were also a number of brickmaking sites in the open fields to either side of the road. Apart from brick-making and farming there were other rural activities such as bird-scaring,
hare-coursing, acorn-picking,
horse-driving,
steeplechasing; even collecting flowers for the
May Day
May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the Northern Hemisphere's March equinox, spring equinox and midsummer June solstice, solstice. Festivities ma ...
celebrations.The 1870 Education Act introduced compulsory education and during 1875 the newly formed Plumpton School Board approached a total of six local landowners to sell a half-acre plot for the building of the school. All refused. The threat of compulsory purchase finally procured, for £250, a corner of a meadow bordered by a stream 200m north of the railway and in 1877 building commenced on a large single schoolroom, surmounted by a prominent bell-tower, with adjoining three-bedroomed house for the schoolmaster. The parish population was about 400 at this time; the school was designed for 64 pupils, and opened in 1878. During the first few years absenteeism was very high as it was common for children to work from an early age.
The school functioned for almost a century, and was extended at least twice to accommodate the ever-increasing population. It was eventually superseded by the present school, which was built in 1974 at the end of Southdowns cul-de-sac, and provides education facilities for 150 pupils, ranging from the ages of 4 to 11 in seven educational years. The redundant old school building had a number of community uses and then became a private residence until, in the late 1980s, with the addition of three new cottages it was converted into a total of seven dwellings. The school bell, still intact in the tower, was presented to the new school, where it is prominently displayed in the courtyard. The adjoining schoolhouse was unaffected by this development, and remained unchanged.
Village groups
There are many groups and societies in comparison to the size of the village; one of the most notable being Plumpton Players, a drama group. The society performs up to two plays a year.
There are also sporting groups, which attract visitors from across Sussex, including cricket, tennis, rugby and football clubs. The rugby club plays in Sussex Division 1. The cricket club is one of the most successful village teams in the area consistently winning both the Mid Sussex League and the Wisdom Cup. The club was the first in the area to wear "Coloured Clothing" in their cup matches. The kit consisted of maroon and yellow trousers with matching shirts.
Notable people
*
Edward James Boys (1916-2002), historian of the
Crimean War
The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...
was born here
*
Sally Thomsett
Sally Thomsett (born 3 April 1950) is an English actress who starred as Phyllis in the film '' The Railway Children'' (1970) and played Jo in the TV sitcom '' Man About the House'' (1973–1976). She also appeared as Janice in the film '' Straw ...
(1950-), actress in ''
The Railway Children
''The Railway Children'' is a children's book by E. Nesbit, Edith Nesbit, originally serialised in ''The London Magazine'' during 1905 and published in book form in the same year. It has been adapted for the screen several times, of which the ...
'' and ''
Man About the House
''Man About the House'' is a British sitcom created by Brian Cooke and Johnnie Mortimer. It starred Richard O'Sullivan, Paula Wilcox, Sally Thomsett, Yootha Joyce and Brian Murphy (actor), Brian Murphy. Six series were broadcast on ITV (TV netw ...
'' was born here.
*
Queen Camilla
Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III.
Camilla was raised in East ...
, second wife of
King Charles III
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms.
Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...
, and eldest daughter of Major
Bruce Shand, grew up in the former rectory known as ''
The Laines''.
*
Jimmy Page
James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician and producer who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the Rock music, rock band Led Zeppelin.
Page began his career as a studio session musician in Lo ...
(1944-)
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...
guitarist lived in Plumpton Place between 1972 and 1985
References
External links
Plumpton Green website
{{authority control
Villages in East Sussex
Civil parishes in East Sussex
Lewes District