Chelwood Gate is a small village within the

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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Danehill in the Wealden district of

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

, England. Its nearest town is

Uckfield Uckfield () is a town in the Wealden District, Wealden District of East Sussex in South East England. The town is on the River Uck, one of the tributaries of the River Ouse, Sussex, River Ouse, on the southern edge of the Weald. Etymology "Uck ...

, which lies approximately south-east from the village, just off the

A22 road The A22 is one of the two-digit major roads in the south east of England. Radial, it carries traffic from London to the Eastbourne area of the East Sussex coast, in which town it ends. History Turnpikes For part of its route the A22 utilises ...

. The village is near the

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

border. Chelwood Gate was one of the entrances into

Ashdown Forest Ashdown Forest is an ancient area of open heathland occupying the highest sandy ridge-top of the High Weald National Landscape. It is situated south of London in the county East Sussex, England. Rising to an elevation of above sea level, its ...

through which

John of Gaunt John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (6 March 1340 – 3 February 1399), was an English royal prince, military leader and statesman. He was the fourth son (third surviving) of King Edward III of England, and the father of King Henry IV. Because ...

, the third surviving son of

King Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...

, would have entered the forest from his hunting lodge. There is an

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

enclosure Enclosure or inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or "common land", enclosing it, and by doing so depriving commoners of their traditional rights of access and usage. Agreements to enc ...

which is a

Scheduled Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

due to its importance as a relatively rare example of a Wealden Iron Age settlement. The village church forms part of the Parish of All Saints Danehill with Chelwood Gate. The church was built as a '

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently, generally due to trav ...

' not long after the main parish building in Danehill was completed so that the residents local to Chelwood Gate would not have to travel the longer journey on foot to the church at Danehill. Behind the church, a single bell is hung in a timber bellcote. In 2006, the church was expanded to accommodate a toilet and kitchen. In the same year, The Whitechapel Bell Foundry supplied a bell tuned to the key of F. It measures in diameter, and is chimed by a rope. The rope itself has a block just above the hole in the floor to prevent it from being swung too high. In the past, it appears that it did hit, due to a dent on the side of the louvres. It is inscribed: 20 (Fig. WBF,1) 06 / WHITECHAPEL in small block-Roman capitals. The partials are:
Hum – 698 Hz
Prime – 1397 Hz
Tierce – 1664.5 Hz
Nominal – 2698.5 Hz The bell can be heard online. The village public house, the ''Red Lion'', was built in the 19th century and was patronised in the past by

Harold Macmillan Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986), was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Nickn ...

and

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

John F Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until Assassination of John F. Kennedy, his assassination in 1963. He was the first Catholic Chur ...

. Kennedy came to visit the then

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

, Harold Macmillan, in 1963 and a memorial to this event can be found on the Wych Cross road within the village. The village also has a

village hall A village hall is a public building in a rural or suburban community which functions as a community centre without a religious affiliation. United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, a village hall is a building which is owned by a local gover ...

which is visited by a mobile library service, a village market and there is also a

nursery school A preschool (sometimes spelled as pre school or pre-school), also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, play school, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin c ...

. The Cats Protection National Cat Centre is located in Chelwood Gate.

Notable people

* Henry Edger (1820–1888) was born here. *

, prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963, was living in the village at the time of his death in December 1986 at the age of 92. Birch Grove, the Macmillan family home, was started in 1923 and completed in 1926 by Harold's father – who was the head of the Macmillan family publishing firm.

References

{{authority control Villages in East Sussex Danehill, East Sussex