Telscombe
Encyclopedia
Telscombe is a civil parish
with the status of a town in the Lewes District
of East Sussex
, England
. It consists of three distinct settlements, separated from each other by an open area of downland called Telscombe Tye.
Telscombe village is a small village on the South Downs
, six miles (10 km) south of Lewes
. It includes the parish church, with origins dating back to the 10th century. The village has a population of fewer than 50 people.
The parish retains its ancient boundaries, which reach from the village to the coast, and the major part of the population is in the two coastal settlements. At the eastern end of the parish, about 4500 people live at Telscombe Cliffs, developed in the 20th century effectively as an extension of the town of Peacehaven
over the town boundary. At the western end, the remaining 2500 population forms part of the community of Saltdean
, the remainder of Saltdean being within the city of Brighton and Hove.
In 1929, thanks to the growth in population, Telscombe gained a parish council: in 1974 it became a town, with a mayor
. The new civic centre
in Telscombe Cliffs came into use in 2000.
The Prime Meridian
crosses the north east corner of Telscombe parish.
The town has a school, Telscombe Cliffs Primary.
The parish includes part of the Brighton to Newhaven Cliffs
Site of Special Scientific Interest
. The cliffs are mainly of geological interest, containing many Santonian
and Campanian
fossils. The SSSI listing includes flora and fauna biological interest too.
, and remained in those hands until the dissolution
in 1538.
The manor and village passed through many hands in the following centuries; in 1900 James Andrew Harman became Lord of the Manor, and in 1924 it was acquired by Charles Willam Neville (born Charles William Neville Ussher in 1881), the developer who had founded Peacehaven
in 1916.
road leaving the Lewes—Newhaven road at Southease
.
Telscombe is a small cluster of buildings around a church dedicated to St Laurence. It is a 10th-century foundation with a 13th-century font, largely rebuilt and decorated in the 20th century.
The manor house was for many years used as Judge's Lodgings, occupied when High Court judge
s were sitting at Lewes Crown Court
. This practice was controversial because of the costs of providing and maintaining this accommodation, including the employment of butlers and other staff, and was phased out by the Labour government from 2001. The cost of the Telscombe lodgings was put at £147,893.
, extending from Telscombe village to the coast. The Tye forms a natural break between the settlements of Saltdean and Telscombe Cliffs/Peacehaven, and marks the eastern end of a continuously built up area (Greater Brighton) from Shoreham
in West Sussex.
The Tye is contained within the South Downs National Park
, and is one of the few places where the park boundary reaches the seafront.
As designated common, the land was unenclosed and on a map dated 1811 is shown as "Sheep Down" on which local stockholders had grazing rights. One such landowner in the early 20th century was Ambrose Gorham. He managed a stud farm
and trained racehorses, including the 1902 winner of the Grand National
. On his death in 1933 he bequeathed his property in the village in trust to be administered by the Brighton Corporation, stating in the trust deed:
At this time Neville, the developer of Peacehaven owned the Tye itself, while the trustees of Gorham's Gift owned the rights of common: a situation which led to frequent disputes. In January 1979 the land was registered as common under the Commons Registration Act, and in 1989 after Neville's death, the Tye was put up for auction by his family and purchased by Telscombe Town Council.
The town is represented by three councillors on Lewes District Council
, and Telscombe and Peacehaven jointly form the Peacehaven & Telscombe Towns electoral division which elects two councillors to the East Sussex County Council
.
Telscombe is in the Brighton Kemptown constituency for the UK parliament.
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...
with the status of a town in the Lewes District
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:...
, 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 consists of three distinct settlements, separated from each other by an open area of downland called Telscombe Tye.
Telscombe village is a small village 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...
, six miles (10 km) south 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...
. It includes the parish church, with origins dating back to the 10th century. The village has a population of fewer than 50 people.
The parish retains its ancient boundaries, which reach from the village to the coast, and the major part of the population is in the two coastal settlements. At the eastern end of the parish, about 4500 people live at Telscombe Cliffs, developed in the 20th century effectively as an extension of the town of Peacehaven
Peacehaven
Peacehaven is a town and civil parish in the Lewes district of East Sussex, England. It is located above the chalk cliffs of the South Downs approximately six miles east of Brighton city centre, on the A259 road...
over the town boundary. At the western end, the remaining 2500 population forms part of the community of Saltdean
Saltdean
Saltdean is a residential district located on the chalk cliffs of the south coast of England in East Sussex, United Kingdom. It is situated on the eastern edge of the city of Brighton and Hove, with part outside the city boundary in Lewes district...
, the remainder of Saltdean being within the city of Brighton and Hove.
In 1929, thanks to the growth in population, Telscombe gained a parish council: in 1974 it became a town, with a mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
. The new civic centre
Civic center
A civic center or civic centre is a prominent land area within a community that is constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building...
in Telscombe Cliffs came into use in 2000.
The Prime Meridian
Prime Meridian
The Prime Meridian is the meridian at which the longitude is defined to be 0°.The Prime Meridian and its opposite the 180th meridian , which the International Date Line generally follows, form a great circle that divides the Earth into the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.An international...
crosses the north east corner of Telscombe parish.
The town has a school, Telscombe Cliffs Primary.
The parish includes part of the Brighton to Newhaven Cliffs
Brighton to Newhaven Cliffs
Brighton to Newhaven Cliffs is a biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in East Sussex, England. The site was notified in 1986 under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981...
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...
. The cliffs are mainly of geological interest, containing many Santonian
Santonian
The Santonian is an age in the geologic timescale or a chronostratigraphic stage. It is a subdivision of the Late Cretaceous epoch or Upper Cretaceous series. It spans the time between 85.8 ± 0.7 mya and 83.5 ± 0.7 mya...
and Campanian
Campanian
The Campanian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the fifth of six ages of the Late Cretaceous epoch . The Campanian spans the time from 83.5 ± 0.7 Ma to 70.6 ± 0.6 Ma ...
fossils. The SSSI listing includes flora and fauna biological interest too.
History
The manor of Telscombe is recorded as early as the 10th century, when it was given by King Edgar to the minster of HydeHyde Abbey
Hyde Abbey was a medieval Benedictine monastery just outside the walls of Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was dissolved and demolished in 1538....
, and remained in those hands until the dissolution
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
in 1538.
The manor and village passed through many hands in the following centuries; in 1900 James Andrew Harman became Lord of the Manor, and in 1924 it was acquired by Charles Willam Neville (born Charles William Neville Ussher in 1881), the developer who had founded Peacehaven
Peacehaven
Peacehaven is a town and civil parish in the Lewes district of East Sussex, England. It is located above the chalk cliffs of the South Downs approximately six miles east of Brighton city centre, on the A259 road...
in 1916.
Telscombe Village
Although the ancient village of Telscombe is located less than two miles (3 km) from the coast, there is no public road linking the village with the coastal part of the parish. The village is found at the end of a winding dead endCul-de-sac
A cul-de-sac is a word of French origin referring to a dead end, close, no through road or court meaning dead-end street with only one inlet/outlet...
road leaving the Lewes—Newhaven road at Southease
Southease
Southease is a small village and civil parish in East Sussex, in South East England between the A26 road and the road from Lewes to Newhaven. The village is to the west of the River Ouse, Sussex and has a church dedicated to Saint Peter...
.
Telscombe is a small cluster of buildings around a church dedicated to St Laurence. It is a 10th-century foundation with a 13th-century font, largely rebuilt and decorated in the 20th century.
The manor house was for many years used as Judge's Lodgings, occupied when High Court judge
High Court judge
A High Court judge is a judge of the High Court of Justice, and represents the third highest level of judge in the courts of England and Wales. High Court judges are referred to as puisne judges...
s were sitting at Lewes Crown Court
Lewes Crown Court
Lewes Crown Court is a Crown Court in Lewes, East Sussex, England. It is housed in the Lewes Combined Court Centre which it shares with Lewes County Court in the Lewes High Street...
. This practice was controversial because of the costs of providing and maintaining this accommodation, including the employment of butlers and other staff, and was phased out by the Labour government from 2001. The cost of the Telscombe lodgings was put at £147,893.
Telscombe Tye
Telscombe Tye is an area of open land with the status of commonCommon land
Common land is land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel...
, extending from Telscombe village to the coast. The Tye forms a natural break between the settlements of Saltdean and Telscombe Cliffs/Peacehaven, and marks the eastern end of a continuously built up area (Greater Brighton) from Shoreham
Shoreham-by-Sea
Shoreham-by-Sea is a small town, port and seaside resort in West Sussex, England. Shoreham-by-Sea railway station is located less than a mile from the town centre and London Gatwick Airport is away...
in West Sussex.
The Tye is contained within the South Downs National Park
South Downs National Park
The South Downs National Park is England's newest National Park, having become fully operational on 1 April 2011. The park, covering an area of in southern England, stretches for from Winchester in the west to Eastbourne in the east through the counties of Hampshire, West Sussex and East Sussex...
, and is one of the few places where the park boundary reaches the seafront.
As designated common, the land was unenclosed and on a map dated 1811 is shown as "Sheep Down" on which local stockholders had grazing rights. One such landowner in the early 20th century was Ambrose Gorham. He managed a stud farm
Stud farm
A stud farm or stud in animal husbandry, is an establishment for selective breeding of livestock. The word "stud" comes from the Old English stod meaning "herd of horses, place where horses are kept for breeding" Historically, documentation of the breedings that occur on a stud farm leads to the...
and trained racehorses, including the 1902 winner of the Grand National
Grand National
The Grand National is a world-famous National Hunt horse race which is held annually at Aintree Racecourse, near Liverpool, England. It is a handicap chase run over a distance of four miles and 856 yards , with horses jumping thirty fences over two circuits of Aintree's National Course...
. On his death in 1933 he bequeathed his property in the village in trust to be administered by the Brighton Corporation, stating in the trust deed:
At this time Neville, the developer of Peacehaven owned the Tye itself, while the trustees of Gorham's Gift owned the rights of common: a situation which led to frequent disputes. In January 1979 the land was registered as common under the Commons Registration Act, and in 1989 after Neville's death, the Tye was put up for auction by his family and purchased by Telscombe Town Council.
Governance
Telscombe Town Council consists of 13 elected councillors, five representing East Saltdean and eight from Telscombe Cliffs. Elections are held every four years and, as in neighbouring Peacehaven town council, are contested by candidates of the main political parties.The town is represented by three councillors on Lewes District Council
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...
, and Telscombe and Peacehaven jointly form the Peacehaven & Telscombe Towns electoral division which elects two councillors to the East Sussex County Council
County council
A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.-United Kingdom:...
.
Telscombe is in the Brighton Kemptown constituency for the UK parliament.