Glynde
Encyclopedia
Glynde is a village in the Lewes District
of East Sussex
, United Kingdom
. It is located two miles (5 km) east of Lewes
.
The Glynde manor was not named in the Domesday Book
, but it is probably the unnamed peculier
of the Archbishop of Canterbury
held by one Godfrey of Malling, who also held the manor of South Malling. By the late 12th century, Richard Waleys held four knight fees of the Archbishop, including Glynde.
The Waleys added further estates near Mayfield (Hawkesden and Bainden), which in the 16th century became the centre of the Wealden ironmaking industry
and a major source of wealth. William Morley (1531–97) added the manors of Combe and Beddingham
, on the other side of Glynde Reach. Harbert Morley (1616–67) added the manor of Preston Beckhelwyn. These remain part of the Glynde Estate.
. It was square, with an inner courtyard.
Richard Trevor (1707–71), Bishop of Durham, considerably altered the house. He turned the house back to front, so that the house looked east; he built an imposing coach house and stable block to the south; on his walls of knapped flint he erected two wyvern
s, the heraldic dragons of the Trevors. He created a new front hall, embellished the gallery panelling, added a marble fireplace, and added a set of bronzes.
and Beddingham
shortly after the Second World War, so it now belongs to Glynde and Beddingham.
The rectory of Glynde was held by the Abbots of Bec in Normandy from the Norman Conquest to Agincourt
(1415). Henry V's brother, the Duke of Bedford, confiscated it and transferred it to the Dean and Chapter of Windsor (1421). They remain patrons to the living to this day.
The present parish church of St Mary the Virgin was built in the 18th century. The old parish church appears to have been similar to many churches in the district, having nave, north aisle, and chancel, with south porch.
Richard Trevor had the old church building pulled down and replaced in the Palladian style. The architect was Sir Thomas Robinson. The building was faced in Sussex flints and lightened with windows of coloured lozenges of Flemish glass; these were taken out in the 19th century, but some of the glass remains in windows in Glynde Place. It was dedicated in 1765.
The war memorial, with the names of seventeen men of Glynde who fell in the two world wars, is of Portland stone
and stands at the bottom of the churchyard, close to the road.
between Lewes
and Eastbourne
. The turnpike road was constituted by the Glynde Bridge Turnpike Act. It is now Ranscombe Lane. It was not a financial success. In 1817, with its act due to expire in 1821 and the works incomplete, a new turnpike was sponsored to cut across the marshes of Beddingham
. This cut 7 miles (11.3 km) from the journey from Lewes to Eastbourne. The new turnpike road is — broadly — the modern A27
. Glynde lies to the north of that road.
is located on the East Coastway Line
east of Lewes
and west of Berwick
.
The railway arrived in 1846. The station was built on the then parish boundary between Glynde and Beddingham
. The railway was electrified in 1935.
There were three industrial lines connected to Glynde station:
The Glynde telpherage line was built by the Telpherage Company and was opened on Saturday 17 October 1885. Reports of the new system were published as far afield as the New York Times. It was said to cost £1,200, including the equipment to generate electricity, the trains, and the locomotives. The electricity was generated by a dynamo which was powered by a steam engine. The water for the engine was apparently raised by a windmill
at the station end of the line. The line extended for almost a mile. It was a double line of steel rods 66 feet (20.1 m) long and with a 0.75 inches (19.1 mm) diameter. The rods were elevated 18 feet (5.5 m) above the ground on posts. The locomotive and skips were suspended from pulleys that ran on the rods. A train of ten skips could carry a ton of clay."
breed of sheep were first bred here by John Ellman
.
Then in 1846 the railway came and Henry Otway Trevor immediately leased all the chalk pits in Glynde and Beddingham to a Lewes limeburning partnership. Three pits were named: Glyndebourne, Brigden, and Balcombe (also known as Poor or Newington). The procedure was to excavate the chalk, turn it into lime in large kilns, and transport it away by rail to be used as cement. The kilns were coal-fired; much of the coal was shipped by barge up Glynde Reach to the wharves at Glynde Bridge. The work in the chalk pits was labour-intensive, with over a hundred men employed in the pits at their peak.
to the new Sussex Portland Cement works at South Heighton
. Both were on land leased from the Glynde Estate for 99 years. In the event, the clay pit was only worked for around 30 years. Initially the clay was transported via a telpherage line to Glynde station, latterly (by the late 1890s) via a tramway.
When Elphick's windmill was dismantled in 1867, the local farmers transferred their custom to the new steam mill built between Glynde station and Glynde Reach.
, there is a staircase manufacturer in the old steam mill.
Glynde has several tourist attractions. Many tourists are people walking on the South Downs
; Glynde sits on the flank of Mount Caburn
. The Elizabethan manor house, Glynde Place, is open to the public. Other facilities for visitors include a teashop, a forge
, and a paragliding
and hang-gliding
centre. North of the village is Glyndebourne
, where opera is performed.
Lewes (district)
Lewes is a local government district in East Sussex in southern England covering an area of , with of coastline. It is named after its administrative centre, Lewes. Other towns in the district include Newhaven, Peacehaven, and Seaford. Plumpton racecourse is within the 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:...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It is located two miles (5 km) east of Lewes
Lewes
Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town...
.
Estate
The estate at Glynde has belonged to four interlinked families: the Waleys ('from Wales'), Morleys, Trevors, and Brands. The Trevors were originally from north Wales, and descended from Tudor Trevor, a chieftain who in 915 married the daughter of Hywel the Good of Gwynedd and all Wales.The Glynde manor was not named in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
, but it is probably the unnamed peculier
Peculier
Peculier may refer to:* A Royal Peculiar , an area including one or more places of worship under the jurisdiction of the British monarchy* Old Peculier, a beer brewed by Theakston Brewery, named in honour of the Peculier of Masham...
of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
held by one Godfrey of Malling, who also held the manor of South Malling. By the late 12th century, Richard Waleys held four knight fees of the Archbishop, including Glynde.
The Waleys added further estates near Mayfield (Hawkesden and Bainden), which in the 16th century became the centre of the Wealden ironmaking 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...
and a major source of wealth. William Morley (1531–97) added the manors of Combe and Beddingham
Beddingham
Glynde and Beddingham is a civil parish in the Lewes district of East Sussex.-Governance:On a local level, Glynde and Beddingham is governed by Glynde and Beddingham Parish Council. Council meetings are held every two months in the Beddingham Reading Room. Their responsibilities include footpaths,...
, on the other side of Glynde Reach. Harbert Morley (1616–67) added the manor of Preston Beckhelwyn. These remain part of the Glynde Estate.
Glynde Place
Glynde Place (1569) was built by William Morley (1531–97). The house was built of Sussex flint and stone from CaenCaen
Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....
. It was square, with an inner courtyard.
Richard Trevor (1707–71), Bishop of Durham, considerably altered the house. He turned the house back to front, so that the house looked east; he built an imposing coach house and stable block to the south; on his walls of knapped flint he erected two wyvern
Wyvern
A wyvern or wivern is a legendary winged reptilian creature with a dragon's head, two legs , and a barbed tail. The wyvern is found in heraldry. There exists a purely sea-dwelling variant, termed the Sea-Wyvern which has a fish tail in place of a barbed dragon's tail...
s, the heraldic dragons of the Trevors. He created a new front hall, embellished the gallery panelling, added a marble fireplace, and added a set of bronzes.
Parish
Originally Glynde lay within Glynde parish, which covered 1530 acres (6.2 km²). The parish was unified with that of West FirleFirle
For the suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, see Firle, South Australia.Firle is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. Firle refers to an old-English/Anglo-Saxon word fierol meaning overgrown with oak...
and Beddingham
Beddingham
Glynde and Beddingham is a civil parish in the Lewes district of East Sussex.-Governance:On a local level, Glynde and Beddingham is governed by Glynde and Beddingham Parish Council. Council meetings are held every two months in the Beddingham Reading Room. Their responsibilities include footpaths,...
shortly after the Second World War, so it now belongs to Glynde and Beddingham.
The rectory of Glynde was held by the Abbots of Bec in Normandy from the Norman Conquest to Agincourt
Battle of Agincourt
The Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory against a numerically superior French army in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 , near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France...
(1415). Henry V's brother, the Duke of Bedford, confiscated it and transferred it to the Dean and Chapter of Windsor (1421). They remain patrons to the living to this day.
The present parish church of St Mary the Virgin was built in the 18th century. The old parish church appears to have been similar to many churches in the district, having nave, north aisle, and chancel, with south porch.
Richard Trevor had the old church building pulled down and replaced in the Palladian style. The architect was Sir Thomas Robinson. The building was faced in Sussex flints and lightened with windows of coloured lozenges of Flemish glass; these were taken out in the 19th century, but some of the glass remains in windows in Glynde Place. It was dedicated in 1765.
The war memorial, with the names of seventeen men of Glynde who fell in the two world wars, is of Portland stone
Portland stone
Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries consist of beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building stone throughout the British Isles, notably in major...
and stands at the bottom of the churchyard, close to the road.
Roads
Glynde was once on the turnpikeToll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
between Lewes
Lewes
Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town...
and Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
. The turnpike road was constituted by the Glynde Bridge Turnpike Act. It is now Ranscombe Lane. It was not a financial success. In 1817, with its act due to expire in 1821 and the works incomplete, a new turnpike was sponsored to cut across the marshes of Beddingham
Beddingham
Glynde and Beddingham is a civil parish in the Lewes district of East Sussex.-Governance:On a local level, Glynde and Beddingham is governed by Glynde and Beddingham Parish Council. Council meetings are held every two months in the Beddingham Reading Room. Their responsibilities include footpaths,...
. This cut 7 miles (11.3 km) from the journey from Lewes to Eastbourne. The new turnpike road is — broadly — the modern A27
A27 road
The A27 is a major road in England. It runs from its junction with the A36 at Whiteparish in the county of Wiltshire. It closely parallels the south coast, where it passes through West Sussex and terminates at Pevensey in East Sussex.Between Portsmouth and Lewes, it is one of the busiest trunk...
. Glynde lies to the north of that road.
Railways
Glynde railway stationGlynde railway station
Glynde railway station serves Glynde in East Sussex. It is on the East Coastway Line and train services are provided by Southern. An unstaffed station, PERTIS passenger-operated self-service ticket machines, installed in connection with a Penalty Fares Scheme in 2008, are located on both...
is located on the East Coastway Line
East Coastway Line
East Coastway is the name used by the train operating company, Southern , for the routes it operates along the south coast of Sussex and Kent to the east of Brighton, England. Those to the West of Brighton are named the West Coastway Line...
east of Lewes
Lewes railway station
Lewes railway station serves the town of Lewes in East Sussex, England. It has five platforms and is on the East Coastway Line. Train services are provided by Southern.The station has a café and a newsagent, and there is a taxi office on the main forecourt...
and west of Berwick
Berwick (Sussex) railway station
Berwick railway station is located in Berwick Station, East Sussex and also serves Berwick, the village located nearby to the south of the A27 road. The station is on the East Coastway Line, and train services are provided by Southern...
.
The railway arrived in 1846. The station was built on the then parish boundary between Glynde and Beddingham
Beddingham
Glynde and Beddingham is a civil parish in the Lewes district of East Sussex.-Governance:On a local level, Glynde and Beddingham is governed by Glynde and Beddingham Parish Council. Council meetings are held every two months in the Beddingham Reading Room. Their responsibilities include footpaths,...
. The railway was electrified in 1935.
There were three industrial lines connected to Glynde station:
- Balcombe Pit was connected to the railway at the eastern end of Glynde station.
- A tramway to Brigden Pit was connected to the western end of Glynde station.
- A clay pit was connected to the eastern end of the station, first by a telpherage line, then by a tramway.
The Glynde telpherage line was built by the Telpherage Company and was opened on Saturday 17 October 1885. Reports of the new system were published as far afield as the New York Times. It was said to cost £1,200, including the equipment to generate electricity, the trains, and the locomotives. The electricity was generated by a dynamo which was powered by a steam engine. The water for the engine was apparently raised by a windmill
High Salvington windmill
Durrington or High Salvington Windmill is a Grade II listed post mill in High Salvington, Sussex that has been restored and is in full working order. The mill stands above sea level and is able to take advantage of incoming sea winds.-History:...
at the station end of the line. The line extended for almost a mile. It was a double line of steel rods 66 feet (20.1 m) long and with a 0.75 inches (19.1 mm) diameter. The rods were elevated 18 feet (5.5 m) above the ground on posts. The locomotive and skips were suspended from pulleys that ran on the rods. A train of ten skips could carry a ton of clay."
Agriculture
The SouthdownSouthdown (sheep)
The Southdown is a small, dual purpose British sheep but is raised primarily for meat. The Southdown breed was originally bred by John Ellman of Glynde, near Lewes, East Sussex about 200 years ago. His work was continued by Jonas Webb of Babraham in Cambridgeshire who developed the larger animal...
breed of sheep were first bred here by John Ellman
John Ellman
John Ellman was an English farmer and stock breeder who developed the Southdown breed of sheep.Ellman was born in Hartfield, Sussex, but moved with his family to Place Farm in Glynde in 1761...
.
Lime
Chalk pits are long standing features in the area, used for liming the fields, mending the roads, and occasionally making mortar for building. Transportation by road was prohibitively expensive, so the pits had minimal commercial value.Then in 1846 the railway came and Henry Otway Trevor immediately leased all the chalk pits in Glynde and Beddingham to a Lewes limeburning partnership. Three pits were named: Glyndebourne, Brigden, and Balcombe (also known as Poor or Newington). The procedure was to excavate the chalk, turn it into lime in large kilns, and transport it away by rail to be used as cement. The kilns were coal-fired; much of the coal was shipped by barge up Glynde Reach to the wharves at Glynde Bridge. The work in the chalk pits was labour-intensive, with over a hundred men employed in the pits at their peak.
Clay
A clay pit was opened in 1885 north of Glynde Reach, to the east of Decoy Wood. The pit was to supply Gault clayGault Clay
Gault is a clay formation of stiff blue clay deposited in a calm, fairly deep water marine environment during the Lower Cretaceous Period...
to the new Sussex Portland Cement works at South Heighton
South Heighton
South Heighton is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. The village is located seven miles south of Lewes. In the 1890s the population of the village grew from less than 100 to over 500 as a result of the opening of a nearby cement manufacturing plant...
. Both were on land leased from the Glynde Estate for 99 years. In the event, the clay pit was only worked for around 30 years. Initially the clay was transported via a telpherage line to Glynde station, latterly (by the late 1890s) via a tramway.
Power
The lack of fast-moving water has prevented the production of power by water mills. Instead, a number of windmills have been built.- It seems that in medieval times there was a windmill at Wyck .
- In the 16th and 17th centuries there was a windmill on an old burial mound just above and to the west of Speaker's Holt on the crest of the Downs. This was no longer in operation by 1717. Apparently even the mound has now been bulldozed.
- A Glyndebourne estate windmill lay within Ringmer parish, on Mill Plain, just above GlyndebourneGlyndebourneGlyndebourne is a country house, thought to be about six hundred years old, located near Lewes in East Sussex, England. It is also the site of an opera house which, with the exception of its closing during the Second World War, for a few immediate post-war years, and in 1993 during the...
. - Edward Elphick erected a windmill that stood from 1806 to 1867, located on the Balcombe lands that were eventually swallowed up by the chalk pit. When the mill stood in the way of the pit's expansion, it was dismantled and moved to BlackboysFramfieldFramfield is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. The village is located two miles east of Uckfield; the settlements of Blackboys, Palehouse and Halland form part of the parish area of 6,700 acres .-History:It is likely that Framfield came into existence...
. Its operation there ceased in 1937 and it was demolished in 1945.
When Elphick's windmill was dismantled in 1867, the local farmers transferred their custom to the new steam mill built between Glynde station and Glynde Reach.
Economy and tourism
Glynde has an unusually large number of businesses for a small English village. In addition to the usual village shop and pubPublic house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
, there is a staircase manufacturer in the old steam mill.
Glynde has several tourist attractions. Many tourists are people walking on the South Downs
South Downs
The South Downs is a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen Valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, near Eastbourne, East Sussex, in the east. It is bounded on its northern side by a steep escarpment, from whose...
; Glynde sits on the flank of Mount Caburn
Mount Caburn
Mount Caburn is a 480-foot isolated peak, one of the highest landmarks in East Sussex, England, about one mile east of Lewes overlooking the village of Glynde. It is an isolated part of the South Downs, separated by Glynde Reach, a tributary of the River Ouse.-Enclosure:On the summit of Caburn...
. The Elizabethan manor house, Glynde Place, is open to the public. Other facilities for visitors include a teashop, a forge
Forge
A forge is a hearth used for forging. The term "forge" can also refer to the workplace of a smith or a blacksmith, although the term smithy is then more commonly used.The basic smithy contains a forge, also known as a hearth, for heating metals...
, and a paragliding
Paragliding
Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure...
and hang-gliding
Hang gliding
Hang gliding is an air sport in which a pilot flies a light and unmotorized foot-launchable aircraft called a hang glider ....
centre. North of the village is Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne is a country house, thought to be about six hundred years old, located near Lewes in East Sussex, England. It is also the site of an opera house which, with the exception of its closing during the Second World War, for a few immediate post-war years, and in 1993 during the...
, where opera is performed.