Whatlington is a 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 Rother district of

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. The village is located seven miles (11 km) north of

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

, just off the

A21 road This is a list of road designation, roads designated A21. Roads are sorted in the countries' alphabetical order. * A21 road (Australia), a road in South Australia * A21 (Toowoomba, QLD) * A21 motorway (Austria), a road connecting Altlengbach and t ...

. The village is in two parts, one in the valley on the road from

Battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and for ...

, where the church and the parish hall lie on either side of the stream, and one a mile or so further on the main A21 to

, with a triangular village green in front of the '' Royal Oak'' pub. Like most country pubs, the ''Royal Oak'' is now part restaurant. For many years, it underwent a one-night transformation when the entire

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symp ...

would stop for a pint in evening dress on the way back from playing at

. The Norman parish church is dedicated to St Mary Magdalene; the

yew Yew is a common name given to various species of trees. It is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Taxus'': * European yew or common yew (''Taxus baccata'') * Pacific yew or western yew (''Taxus br ...

tree which stood there until 1987 was traditionally thought to be one thousand years old, and to have been used by

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...

to hang members of King Harold's personal guard.

Malcolm Muggeridge Thomas Malcolm Muggeridge (24 March 1903 – 14 November 1990) was an English journalist and satirist. His father, H. T. Muggeridge, was a socialist politician and one of the early Labour Party Members of Parliament (for Romford, in Essex). In ...

lived with his family in Whatlington; both he and his wife are buried in the churchyard. A large, now disused, chapel is a prominent feature on the main road: it now serves as a commercial business. The early feminist

Barbara Bodichon Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon (born Barbara Leigh Smith; 8 April 1827 – 11 June 1891) was an English educationalist and artist, and a leading mid-19th-century feminist and women's rights activist. She published her influential ''Brief Summary ...

was born here in 1827.

Governance

The lowest level of government is the Whatlington parish council. The parish council is responsible for local amenities such as the provision of litter bins, bus shelters and allotments. They also provide a voice into the district council meetings. The parish council comprises five councillors with elections being held every four years. Rother District council provides the next level of government with services such as refuse collection, planning consent, leisure amenities and council tax collection. Whatlington lies within the Darwell ward, which provides two councillors. East Sussex county council is the third tier of government, providing education, libraries and highway maintenance. Whatlington falls within the Battle and Crowhurst ward. The UK Parliament constituency for Whatlington is Bexhill and Battle. Huw Merriman was re-elected in the 2019 election.

Gallery

File:St Mary Magdalene's Church, Whatlington (June 2006).jpg, The church from the north-east File:RoyalOakWhatlington.JPG, The ''Royal Oak'' pub, on the green

References

{{authority control Villages in East Sussex Civil parishes in East Sussex Rother District