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

in the Wealden 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, which includes the villages of Wilmington, Milton Street and Folkington. The parish is named after the

Long Man of Wilmington The Long Man of Wilmington or Wilmington Giant is a hill figure on the steep slopes of Windover Hill near Wilmington, East Sussex, Wilmington, East Sussex, England. It is northwest of Eastbourne and south of Wilmington. Locally, the figure w ...

, a chalk figure in the parish. The parish extends far from the

left bank In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water. Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography. In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terrain alongsid ...

of the modest

River Cuckmere The Cuckmere River 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 in its initial . It flows into ...

where it starts to cut through 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 ...

; the Cuckmere Valley lies immediately south. The A27 trunk road crosses the parish from west to east. The Wealdway

long distance footpath A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, equestrianism or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents exce ...

also passes through the parish. The parish was formed on 1 April 1999 from "Folkington" and "Wilmington" parishes.

Settlements

Wilmington

Wilmington is about 6 miles north-west of

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. It is also a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, bor ...

. In the village there is the 12th-century Parish Church of St Mary and St Peter; adjoining it are the ruins of the 12th-century Wilmington Priory. The local

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

is ''The Giant's Rest''. The Wishing Well Tea Gardens are some of the oldest in Sussex, established 1900. The hotel ''Crossways'' is an archetypal Georgian brick and stone house, once home to the parents of international culinary guru,

Elizabeth David Elizabeth David ( Gwynne, 26 December 1913 – 22 May 1992) was a British cookery writer. In the mid-20th century she strongly influenced the revitalisation of home cookery in her native country and beyond with articles and books about Europea ...

. The place-name 'Wilmington' is first attested 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, where it appears as ''Wineltone'' and ''Wilminte''. It appears as ''Wilmetun'' in 1212 in the ''

Book of Fees The ''Book of Fees'' is the colloquial title of a modern edition, transcript, rearrangement and enhancement of the medieval (Latin: 'Book of Fiefs') which is a listing of feudal landholdings or fief (Middle English ), compiled in about 1302, bu ...

''. The name means 'the town or settlement of Wighelm's or Wilhelm's people'.

Folkington

Folkington village lies beyond a green buffer, east of Wilmington. The church is dedicated to St Peter ad Vincula and was formerly under the patronage of Earl De La Warr. Folkington Manor was the seat of the Thomas family: the current manor house dates from the 1830s. Current and former residents include broadcaster

David Dimbleby David Dimbleby (born 28 October 1938) is an English journalist and former presenter of current affairs and political programmes, best known for having presented the BBC topical debate programme '' Question Time''. He is the son of broadcaster ...

Bridget Monckton, 11th Lady Ruthven of Freeland Bridget is an Irish language, Irish female name derived from the Goidelic languages, Gaelic noun , meaning "power, strength, vigor, virtue". An alternative meaning of the name is "exalted one". Its popularity, especially in Ireland, is largely re ...

and Harry Brünjes.

Milton Street

This hamlet is home to the Sussex Ox pub. Milton Street was the setting of an episode of ''

The Goon Show ''The Goon Show'' is a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme. The first series, broadcast from 28 May to 20 September ...

'' in which determined efforts are made to extinguish the sun.

Landmarks

Milton Gate Marsh, 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 ...

, lies within the parish. It is a wetland area of biological importance for invertebrates and breeding birds. Amongst the fauna found here is the nationally rare hoverfly ''Cheilosia chrysocoma''. Another SSSI is Wilmington Downs, which is of biological interest as an area of rare chalk grassland. The area is also of archaeological interest as it contains the Long Man chalk figure.

Governance

The lowest level of government is the Long Man parish council which meets once a month; is responsible for local amenities such as the provision of litter bins, bus shelters and allotments. They also provide a voice into the district council meetings. For elections, the parish is divided into three wards, Wilmington (four seats), Milton Street (two seats) and Folkington (one seat). Wealden District Council is the second tier of local government with services such as refuse collection, planning consent, leisure amenities and council tax collection. Long Man is in the East Dean ward, along with the Friston and Cuckmere Valley parishes. The single seat was won in the May 2007 election by the

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

candidate. East Sussex County Council is the top tier of local government, providing education, libraries, social services and highways. Long Man falls within the Polegate, Willingdon and East Dean division which elects two councillors. At Westminster (General Elections) the relevant seat 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 ...

References

{{authority control Civil parishes in East Sussex Wealden District