Beckley is a village and civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 in the Rother

Rother

Rother is a local government district in East Sussex, England. The district is named after the River Rother which flows within its boundaries.-History:...

 district of East Sussex

East Sussex

East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It is located on the B2088 minor road above the Rother Levels

River Rother (Eastern)

The River Rother , at 35 miles , is a river flowing through both East Sussex and Kent, England. Its source is near Rotherfield , and its mouth is on Rye Bay, part of the English Channel....

 five miles (8 km) northwest of Rye

Rye, East Sussex

Rye is a small town in East Sussex, England, which stands approximately two miles from the open sea and is at the confluence of three rivers: the Rother, the Tillingham and the Brede...

 and ten miles (16 km) from Hastings

Hastings

Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....

. The northern border follows the river Rother

River Rother (Eastern)

The River Rother , at 35 miles , is a river flowing through both East Sussex and Kent, England. Its source is near Rotherfield , and its mouth is on Rye Bay, part of the English Channel....

.

History

Beckley was part of the Wealden iron industry

Wealden iron industry

The Wealden iron industry was located in the Weald of south-eastern England. It was formerly an important industry, producing a large proportion of the bar iron made in England in the 16th century and most British cannon until about 1770. Ironmaking in the Weald used ironstone from various clay...

. An iron furnace was built in 1578, at the small settlement still called Beckley Furnace. A watermill powered the bellows. Production ceased in 1770.

The 1830s saw a mass emigration of Beckley residents to New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

. At the time, the developing colony of New South Wales was in need of skilled agricultural labourers, whilst the English labourers were suffering hard times. Various schemes were introduced to provide finance for workers to emigrate. 165 Beckley residents took up the offer and emigrated. Amongst those residents were Thomas and Maria Ann Smith (née Sherwood), otherwise known as Granny Smith

Granny Smith

The Granny Ramsey Smith green apple is a tip-bearing apple cultivar, which originated in Australia in 1868. It is named after Maria Ann Smith, who propagated the cultivar from a chance seedling. The tree is thought to be a hybrid of Malus sylvestris, the European Wild Apple, with the domestic...

.

The parish church is the All Saints church, which is located at the far west end of the town. Its isolated position indicating that the main village has relocated during its history.

Governance

The lowest level of government is the Beckley parish council which meets once a month. The parish council 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. The parish council comprises seven councillors with elections being held every four years. The May 2007 election was uncontested.

Rother District council provides the next level of government with services such as refuse collection, planning consent, leisure amenities and council tax collection. Beckley lies within the Rother Levels ward, which provides two councillors. The May 2007 election returned two Conservatives councillors.

East Sussex county council is the third tier of government, providing education, libraries and highway maintenance. Beckley falls within the Northern Rother ward. Peter Jones, Conservative, was elected in the May 2005 election with 49.7% of the vote.

The UK Parliament constituency for Beckley is Bexhill and Battle. Gregory Barker

Gregory Barker

Gregory Leonard George "Greg" Barker is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he currently serves as the Member of Parliament for Bexhill and Battle...

 was re-elected in the May 2005 election.

At European level, Beckley is represented by the South-East region, which holds ten seats in the European Parliament

European Parliament

The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...

. The June 2004 election returned 4 Conservatives, 2 Liberal Democrats, 2 UK Independence, 1 Labour and 1 Green, none of whom live in East Sussex.