Brightling 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 Weald

Weald

The Weald is the name given to an area in South East England situated between the parallel chalk escarpments of the North and the South Downs. It should be regarded as three separate parts: the sandstone "High Weald" in the centre; the clay "Low Weald" periphery; and the Greensand Ridge which...

 eight miles (13 km) north-west of Battle

Battle, East Sussex

Battle is a small town and civil parish in the local government district of Rother in East Sussex, England. It lies south southeast of London, east of Brighton and east of the county town of Lewes...

 and four miles (6 km) west of Robertsbridge

Robertsbridge

Robertsbridge is a village in East Sussex, England within the civil parish of Salehurst and Robertsbridge. It is approximately 10 miles north of Hastings and 13 miles south-east of Tunbridge Wells...

.

The village lies in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an area of countryside considered to have significant landscape value in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, that has been specially designated by the Countryside Agency on behalf of the United Kingdom government; the Countryside Council for Wales on...

 (AONB) and due to its vantage point commands views in all directions.

The village pub used to be The Green Man on the corner opposite the church, dedicated to St. Thomas Becket

Thomas Becket

Thomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion...

, but it is said that as part of the arrangements to build 'The Pyramid' Jack Fuller caused the pub to be relocated about three miles (5 km) towards Robertsbridge at Oxley's Green.

The parish includes outlying hamlets Cackle Street, Hollingrove, Oxley's Green and Twelve Oaks. Brightling, Hollingrove and Cackle Street all had their own shop with a post office in Brightling itself. These have all closed with the passing of time.

Also in the parish is Brightling Down (197 m), the local vantage point topped by 'The Needle' and used as a beacon point hence Brightling Beacon.

The most obvious 'industry' in the area is agriculture yet well hidden is the Gypsum

Gypsum

Gypsum is a very soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O. It is found in alabaster, a decorative stone used in Ancient Egypt. It is the second softest mineral on the Mohs Hardness Scale...

 mine with conveyor to the Mountfield

Mountfield, East Sussex

Mountfield is a village and civil parish in the Rother District of East Sussex three miles north-west of Battle. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book....

 plaster board processing plant.

There is an annual horse trials run at Brightling Park (formerly Rose Hill).

Governance

The lowest level of government is the Brightling parish council. 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. Brightling lies within the Darwell ward, which provides two councillors. The May 2007 election returned one Conservative and one independent councillor.

East Sussex county council is the third tier of government, providing education, libraries and highway maintenance. Brightling falls within the Rother North West ward. Anthony (John) Barnes, Conservative, was elected in the May 2005 election with 56.3% of the vote.

The UK Parliament constituency for Brightling 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, Brightling 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 four Conservatives, two Liberal Democrats, two UK Independence, one Labour and one Green, none of whom live in East Sussex.

Landmarks

Willingford Meadows

Willingford Meadows

Willingford Meadows is a 11.4 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in East Sussex, England. The site was notified in 1990 under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981....

 is a Site of Special Scientific Interest

Site of Special Scientific Interest

A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...

 within the parish. These meadows are of biological importance due to the limestone outcrops providing calcareous

Calcareous

Calcareous is an adjective meaning mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate, in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines.-In zoology:...

 soil conditions supporting a range of lime-loving flora.

Notable people

• Barbara Bodichon
  Barbara Bodichon
  Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon was an English educationalist, artist, and a leading early nineteenth century feminist and activist for women's rights.-Early life:...
  
   is buried there
• John 'Mad Jack' Fuller
  John 'Mad Jack' Fuller
  John Fuller , better known as "Mad Jack" Fuller , was Squire of the hamlet of Brightling, in Sussex , and is well known as a builder of follies, and as a philanthropist, patron of the arts and sciences, and a supporter of slavery...
  
  , (1757–1834) MP for Sussex and eccentric was an inhabitant of the parish. He was a prolific folly builder; his mausoleum, 'The Pyramid', stands in the churchyard next door to his house of Rose Hill. The local church contains a monument and a bust of Fuller.
• The grounds of Rose Hill were laid out by Capability Brown
  Capability Brown
  Lancelot Brown , more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English landscape architect. He is remembered as "the last of the great English eighteenth-century artists to be accorded his due", and "England's greatest gardener". He designed over 170 parks, many of which still endure...
  
  (1716–83). In the area are also 'The Observatory', 'The Needle', 'The Sugarloaf, 'The Temple' and 'The Tower'. There is also 'The Wall' which was built around Brightling Park, Jack's estate. It has been said that this was built as a means of employing soldiers returning from the Napoleonic wars.

External links

• Brightling, Sussex – GENUKI
• Brightling Park homepage
• Pictures and notes about St Thomas-à-Becket church - from the Roughwood Church Album