On this Page
Other Pages
Local Links
   
|
|
|
Hellingly
|
(Only remaining Ciric in Sussex)
|
|
General Details
Hellingly is a small village just off the A267, consisting only of the
church and a few cottages.
The church started in 1190 has been built on the only remaining undamaged
ciric in Sussex. A ciric is a circular Celtic burial ground, raised above ground level,
to keep the dead dry. The circular form is believed to be the celtic
symbol of immortality. The mound at Hellingly is not now circular, but
oval as some more land was given to the church in the 12th century. The original wall surrounding the ciric was built during the 13th century,
as the Bishops at the time required a churchyard to be surrounded by a wall,
ditch or hedge. The wall has been replaced and the current wall was built
fairly recently.
In 1541 an illegal deerhunt on the land of Sir Nicholas Pelham ended with
a fight in which Lord Pelham's gamekeeper John Busbrig was killed. The
hunting party was found guilty of murder, and Lord Thomas Fiennes of
Herstmonceux , and three others were hung. It was the first time in
English history that a man of noble birth was executed for the death
of a commoner. The reason that Lord Thomas who was 23 at the time
was killed is more than likely to have been due to greedy peers,
who were after the lands owned by the Fiennes.
During the reign of Queen Mary in June 1557 Reverend John Mills
was burned at the stake in Lewes for his Protestant beliefs,
see also Warbleton .
1792 brought a proposal for a canal to run from Beddingham near Lewes
on the River Ouse to Horsebridge Mill, but this was abandoned. The mill
continued milling, suffering a major fire in 1908, and was closed in 1969.
The churchyard contains a number of Terracotta enhanced grave stones,
created by Jonathan Harmer of Heathfield in the early 1800's.
In 1897 400 acres of land were sold by the Earl of Chichester to
Sussex Council, to be turned into Hellingly Asylum the East Sussex
County Mental Hospital.
|
Services
 The village has very few services, except at the church on a Sunday.
The nearest shopping town is in Hailsham a few miles south. Major
shopping centres can be found in Eastbourne further south.
The nearest trains are at Polegate about 6 miles south, providing
services to Hastings , Eastbourne Lewes and Brighton .
|
Views
|
|
