Warbleton is a 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 Wealden

Wealden

For the stone, see Wealden GroupWealden is a local government district in East Sussex, England: its name comes from the Weald, the area of high land which occupies the centre of its area.-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...

. Within its bounds are four settlements, one of which gives its name to the parish. It is located south-east of Heathfield

Heathfield, East Sussex

Heathfield is a small market town, and the principal settlement in the civil parish of Heathfield and Waldron in the Wealden District of East Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, England.-Location:...

 on the slopes of 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...

.

History

The manor of Warbleton was held by the Levett

Levett

Levett is an Anglo-Norman territorial surname deriving from the village of Livet-en-Ouche, now Jonquerets-de-Livet, in Eure, Normandy. Ancestors of the earliest Levett family in England, the de Livets were lords of the village of Livet, and undertenants of the de Ferrers, among the most powerful of...

 family of Sussex for several centuries. The same family held Salehurst

Salehurst

Salehurst is a village in the Rother District of East Sussex, England, within the civil parish of Salehurst and Robertsbridge. It lies immediately to the north-east of the larger village of Robertsbridge, on a minor road; it is approximately thirteen miles north of Hastings, just east of the A21...

, and had earlier held Firle

Firle

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...

, Catsfield

Catsfield

Catsfield is a village and civil parish in the Rother District of East Sussex, England. It is located six miles north of Bexhill, and three miles southwest of Battle. The village once consisted of two manors: Catsfield and Catsfield Levett...

, Hollington

Hollington, East Sussex

Hollington is a suburb and local government ward in the northwest of Hastings, East Sussex. The area lies next to Baldslow, Ashdown, North and Conquest, and less than five miles southeast of Battle, East Sussex, the home of Battle Abbey, which commemorates the victory of William the Conqueror at...

 and other manors across Sussex. The family is of Anglo-Norman

Anglo-Norman

The Anglo-Normans were mainly the descendants of the Normans who ruled England following the Norman conquest by William the Conqueror in 1066. A small number of Normans were already settled in England prior to the conquest...

 descent, and members of the family were vicars, ironmasters, and landowners. The Levetts of Salehurst

Salehurst

Salehurst is a village in the Rother District of East Sussex, England, within the civil parish of Salehurst and Robertsbridge. It lies immediately to the north-east of the larger village of Robertsbridge, on a minor road; it is approximately thirteen miles north of Hastings, just east of the A21...

, Warbleton and Fittleworth

Fittleworth

Fittleworth is a village and civil parish in the District of Chichester in West Sussex, England located seven kilometres west from Pulborough on the A283 road and three miles south east from Petworth. The village has an Anglican church, a primary school and one pub, the Swan...

 owned Bodiam Castle

Bodiam Castle

Bodiam Castle is a 14th-century moated castle near Robertsbridge in East Sussex, England. It was built in 1385 by Sir Edward Dalyngrigge, a former knight of Edward III, with the permission of Richard II, ostensibly to defend the area against French invasion during the Hundred Years' War...

 and sold it to Nicholas Tufton, 1st Earl of Thanet. Some of the Levett family's lands were forfeited due to the bankruptcy of an early heir. Other family lands were carried by marriage into the families of Eversfield, Gildredge, Chaloner, Ashburnham, Pope and other prominent Sussex and Kent families.

Governance

The parish council consists of eleven members.

Geography

The parish consists of two villages, Rushlake Green and Bodle Street Green; and two hamlets, Warbleton and Three Cups. They lie in an area of the Weald between the A267 road between Hailsham and Heathfield

Heathfield, East Sussex

Heathfield is a small market town, and the principal settlement in the civil parish of Heathfield and Waldron in the Wealden District of East Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, England.-Location:...

 to the west and the B2096 Hailsham to 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...

road to the north.

Principal buildings

There are two churches in the civil parish, St Mary the Virgin at Warbleton; and St John the Evangelist at Bodle Street Green. The two form a united benefice under one vicar. Chapel services are held at Three Cups. Warbleton has a village hall; and a second, Dunn Village Hall, is at Rushlake Green.