Ardingly ( ) is an English village and
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...
in the
Mid Sussex district of
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...
, England. The village is in the
High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
The High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is in south-east England. Covering an area of , it takes up parts of Kent,
Surrey, East Sussex, and West Sussex. It is the fourth largest Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in England ...
about south of
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and east-north-east of the county town of
Chichester
Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only c ...
. The parish covers an area of . The
2011 Census recorded a population of 1,936
an increase from 1,833 in 2001.
Heritage
There is mention of a place ''Ertlyngeleghe'', in 1396, which may refer to Ardingly.
St Peter's parish church, towards the western end of the village, dates from the 14th century.
Kew's wild botanic garden,
Wakehurst (previously known as Wakehurst Place) is about north of the village.
Ardingly Reservoir
Ardingly Reservoir is west of Ardingly in West Sussex. The southern end is a Local Nature Reserve owned and managed by South East Water.
The reservoir feeds the River Ouse located in West Sussex, England north of Haywards Heath. The villages ...
is about west of the village. The Big-Upon-Little rock formation is close to a footpath between Ardingly and
West Hoathly
West Hoathly is a village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England, located south west of East Grinstead. In the 2001 census 2,121 people, of whom 1,150 were economically active, lived in 813 households. At the 201 ...
.
Events
In June the
South of England Show early in the month and the
London to Brighton cycle event (usually held on
Father's Day
Father's Day is a holiday of honoring fatherhood and paternal bonds, as well as the influence of fathers in society. In Catholic countries of Europe, it has been celebrated on 19 March as Saint Joseph's Day since the Middle Ages. In the Unite ...
) attract visitors from a wide area. The South of England Showground hosts regular antiques fairs, some of which have featured on the
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 1 ...
game show ''
Bargain Hunt''.
Every four years an international
Scout
Scout may refer to:
Youth movement
* Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement
**Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom
**Scouts BSA, secti ...
camp is held on the showground, attended by about 3,000 Scouts and
Girl Guides
Girl Guides (known as Girl Scouts in the United States and some other countries) is a worldwide movement, originally and largely still designed for girls and women only. The movement began in 1909 when girls requested to join the then-grassroot ...
from West Sussex and other areas at home and abroad. The most recent event, WS 2017, was held on 5–12 August 2017. The nex
WS event 2021 is being planned for 7–14 August 2021.
Schools
At the southern edge of the village is
Ardingly College
Ardingly College () is an independent boarding and day school in the English public school tradition located near Ardingly, West Sussex, England. The school is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and of the Woodard Co ...
, an
independent school
An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...
. The village also has a
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church record ...
primary school, St. Peters CE Primary, with about 120 pupils. Most of the children of secondary-school age attend
Oathall Community College in Haywards Heath.
Public transport
Ardingly has a low-frequency bus service to the nearby towns of Haywards Heath and Crawley.
Ardingly railway station was opened 1 October 1864 by the
London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR; known also as the Brighton line, the Brighton Railway or the Brighton) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its ...
.
[Ardingly railway station](_blank)
on Disused-Stations.org.uk - Nick Catford - Accessed 9 September 2007 The
Southern Railway electrified
Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source.
The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic history ...
the line in the 1930s but
British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four (British ra ...
ways closed the line and station to passenger trains in 1963.
The goods yard and connection to the
main line remain open as an
ARC Aggregates terminal.
The nearby
Bluebell Railway
The Bluebell Railway is an heritage line almost entirely in West Sussex in England, except for Sheffield Park which is in East Sussex. It is managed by the Bluebell Railway Preservation Society. It uses steam trains which operate between a ...
owns the former trackbed between Ardingly and and has a long-term aspiration to re-open the line.
Notable people
*
Frances Garnet Wolseley, 2nd Viscountess Wolseley
Frances Garnet Wolseley, 2nd Viscountess Wolseley (15 September 1872 – 24 December 1936) was an English gardening author and instructor. Her Glynde College for Lady Gardeners in East Sussex had the patronage of famous gardening names such as ...
, a celebrated horticulturist and gardening author, moved to Culpepers, Ardingly, in 1920 and died there in 1936.
[Jane Brown, "Wolseley, Frances Garnet, Viscountess Wolseley (1872–1936)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford, UK: OUP, 2004)]
Retrieved 27 December 2016. Pay-walled.
/ref>
* Jon Snow, journalist and television presenter, was born in Ardingly in 1947.
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
Ardingly Village Website
{{authority control
Villages in West Sussex
Civil parishes in West Sussex