Stanmer is a small village on the eastern outskirts of

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, in

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East ...

, England.

History

The etymological root of the name is "Stony Mere",

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th ...

for "stone pond", referring to the

sarsen Sarsen stones are silicified sandstone blocks found in quantity in Southern England on Salisbury Plain and the Marlborough Downs in Wiltshire; in Kent; and in smaller quantities in Berkshire, Essex, Oxfordshire, Dorset, and Hampshire. Geo ...

stones around Stanmer village pond. The stones are not in their original situation, but have been gathered from the Downs and landscaped into the park's appearance. There have been rather inconclusive archaeological excavations at Pudding Bag Wood and Rocky Clump in the north of the park, and in Stanmer Great Wood, producing evidence of occupation from

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...

times onwards. The village is first recorded in about 765 A.D. when (if the document is authentic) land there was granted by king

Ealdwulf Ealdwulf is a male given name used by: * Ealdwulf of East Anglia (), King of the East Angles * Ealdwulf of Sussex King of Sussex in the early 8th century * Aldwulf of Rochester Bishop of Rochester from 727 to 736 * Ealdwulf of Lindsey Bishop of Lin ...

of Sussex to Hunlaf in order that he might found a college of

secular canon A canon (from the Latin , itself derived from the Greek , , "relating to a rule", "regular") is a member of certain bodies in subject to an ecclesiastical rule. Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, i ...

s at

South Malling South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sun� ...

near

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of t ...

. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

it had the curious distinction of forming a detached part of the

Rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...

Pevensey Pevensey ( ) is a village and civil parish in the Wealden district of East Sussex, England. The main village is located north-east of Eastbourne, one mile (1.6 km) inland from Pevensey Bay. The settlement of Pevensey Bay forms part ...

, which is otherwise east of the

Ouse Ouse may refer to: Places Rivers in England * River Ouse, Yorkshire * River Ouse, Sussex * River Great Ouse, Northamptonshire and East Anglia ** River Little Ouse, a tributary of the River Great Ouse Other places * Ouse, Tasmania, a town in Aus ...

Landmarks

It was for long a closed village ruled by the resident lords of Stanmer, with a population static at just over 100. From the eighteenth century onwards the lords were the

Pelham family Pelham may refer to: People * Pelham (name), including a list of people with the name Places In Australia * Pelham, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region In Canada * Pelham, Ontario * Pelham Range, on Vancouver Island, Britis ...

who received the title

Earl of Chichester Earl of Chichester is a title that has been created three times, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The current title was created in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1801 for Thomas Pelham, 2nd ...

in 1801 in addition to the Baron Pelham of Stanmer they had had since from 1762. They lived in the mansion called

Stanmer House Stanmer House is a Grade I listed mansion set in Stanmer Park west of the village of Falmer and north-east of the city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The house stands close to Stanmer village and Church, within Stanmer Park. Cons ...

, built in its present

Palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

form in 1722, a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

. It stands at the centre of

Stanmer Park Stanmer Park is a large public park immediately to the west of the University of Sussex, and to the north-east of the city of Brighton in the county of East Sussex, England, UK. It is a Local Nature Reserve and English Heritage, under the Na ...

, landscaped by

Humphry Repton Humphry Repton (21 April 1752 – 24 March 1818) was the last great English landscape designer of the eighteenth century, often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown; he also sowed the seeds of the more intricate and eclectic styles of ...

, which was awarded Grade II "park of special historic interest" status by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

in 1983. In the eastern portion of the park was built, from 1960 onwards, the

University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

Stanmer Church Stanmer Church is a former Anglican church in Stanmer village, on the northeastern edge of the English city of Brighton and Hove. The ancient village stands within Stanmer Park, the former private estate of the Earl of Chichester, which the B ...

, with a narrow spire unusual in Sussex downland, is adjacent to the pond and to Stanmer House. Its historic dedication is unknown. It was built in 1838 on the site of a 14th-century predecessor destroyed by fire. Stanmer has a working farm at its centre. Near the church is an unusual survival, a donkey wheel, i.e. a treadmill formerly operated by a donkey. There are 18th-century lodge-houses at the upper and lower ends of the park. The village also possesses former

almshouses An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) was charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the medieval era. They were often targeted at the poor of a locality, at those from certai ...

in the Chichester name, built around 1900. Th
Stanmer Preservation Society
has been responsible, over the years, for the maintenance and upkeep of many of the agricultural artifacts which were discovered and excavated in the Stanmer Park locality. Included in with some of these include those from Rocky Clump, first discovered by Walter Gorton and Charlie Yeates in the 1950s. It also now maintains the church, Rural Museum and Donkey Wheel.

Stanmer and Brighton

The village was incorporated into Brighton in 1928, and the park passed into the hands of the

county borough County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent te ...

council in 1947. The park is now a major public space for the residents of the city of

Brighton and Hove Brighton and Hove () is a city and unitary authority in East Sussex, England. It consists primarily of the settlements of Brighton and Hove, alongside neighbouring villages. Often referred to synonymously as Brighton, the City of Brighton and H ...

, and regularly hosts such events as

kite A kite is a tethered heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create lift and drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. Kites often have a bridle and tail to guide the fac ...

-flying and

combined driving Combined may refer to: * Alpine combined (skiing), the combination of slalom and downhill skiing as a single event ** Super combined (skiing) * Nordic combined (skiing), the combination of cross country skiing and ski jumping as a single event * T ...

(horse-driving trials). Stanmer House was used as offices by the university in the 1960s and 70s, but was recently derelict and in need of restoration. It is now partl
open to the public
again and is licensed as a wedding venue.

Sources

* *Brighton Archaeological Society (2000) Field Unit Archive 2000, http://www.brightonarch.org.uk/13_1.htm (scroll down). *Carder, Tim (1990) ''Encyclopaedia of Brighton.'' Lewes: East Sussex County Libraries. *Funnell, John (2000) Excavations at Rocky Clump, Stanmer. ''Flint'' 43. * Gorton, W.C.L. & Yeates, C.W. (1988) ''Rocky Clump, Stanmer: a forgotten shrine?'' Stanmer Preservation Society. * *Yeates, C.W. and others (?1980s) ''Stanmer'', 2nd edn. itchling Stanmer Preservation Society. *Yeates, C.W. (1986) ''Hovel in the wood.'' Privately published. artly reminiscence, partly archaeology. An important documentary source, the estate accounts from 1769 to 1950, is housed in East Sussex Record Office,

External links

Anglo-Saxon charter relating to Stanmer, Sawyer no. 50Stanmer Preservation Society
{{authority control Villages in East Sussex Areas of Brighton and Hove Grade I listed houses Parks and open spaces in East Sussex Conservation areas in England

History

Landmarks

Stanmer and Brighton

Sources

See also

External links