Cuckmere Valley is a
civil parish in the
Wealden 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 Su ...
,
England. As its name suggests, the parish consists of a number of small settlements in the lower reaches of the
River Cuckmere.
The settlements
There are three villages in the Cuckmere Valley:
Litlington,
Lullington and Westdean. Archaeological remains nearer the coast at Exceat suggest a further settlement there in former times.
The civil parish of Cuckmere Valley was created in 1990 when Litlington, Lullington and Westdean parishes were abolished, with small areas transferred between Litlington and Alfriston, which remained a separate civil parish.
Litlington

The name is
Saxon
The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic
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peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
, and probably indicates Litl's homestead. The twelfth- century church is dedicated to
St Michael the Archangel.
Maria Fitzherbert
Maria Anne Fitzherbert (''née'' Smythe, previously Weld; 26 July 1756 – 27 March 1837) was a longtime companion of George, Prince of Wales (later King George IV of the United Kingdom). In 1785, they secretly contracted a marriage that was i ...
(1756–1837), mistress of
George IV, lived at Clapham House in the village.
In 1924 a
chalk figure of a horse was cut into the downs to the west of the village, replacing one cut in the 19th century.
The village inn is the Plough and Harrow.
Lullington
Lullington is the most northerly of the three, about southeast of
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 ...
. It lies on a shoulder of the
South Downs at the point where the
River Cuckmere cuts through the downs, on the opposite bank of the river to
Alfriston. A medieval village, Lullington Court, was abandoned after the
Black Death
The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...
in the 14th century; its site was to the east of the present Lullington. The
church, dedicated to the Good Shepherd, is believed to be the smallest in England, having been rebuilt using only the original chancel after a fire had destroyed the remainder of the building. Services are held only in the summer months, as the building has no electricity.
Exceat
Exceat (pronounced ex-seat) was an ancient village. The
A259
The A259 is a road on the south coast of England passing through Hampshire, West Sussex, East Sussex and Kent, and is the longest Zone 2 A road in Great Britain. The main part of the road connects Brighton, Eastbourne, Hastings, Rye and F ...
goes by it just east of the River Cuckmere. The name may have come from ''æc-sceat'', an oak grove, or from the
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 settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
for "the place of the Aese", early kings of
Kent whilst another etymology is possible from Brittonic ''wysg'' meaning water or river (or possibly "''esgair'' meaning ridge) and ''ceat'' meaning woods, hence "Wooded River" or "Wooded Ridge". After the
Norman conquest, the village was given to
Robert, Count of Mortain
Robert, Count of Mortain, 2nd Earl of Cornwall (–) was a Norman nobleman and the half-brother (on their mother's side) of King William the Conqueror. He was one of the very few proven companions of William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastin ...
, half brother of
William the Conqueror. Both Exceat and the land were given later to ''Grestein Priory'' in
Wilmington.
Until the 14th century, Exceat was an important village with its own church. The village suffered French raids; it suffered many fatalities during the
Black Death
The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...
, as was effectively
abandoned by the 15th century.
The main features are the Visitors Centre for the nearby
Seven Sisters and the Cuckmere Inn
Public House across Exceat Bridge over the Cuckmere.
West Dean

West Dean (or Westdean) is located on the edge of Friston Forest. Its church is dedicated to All Saints.
Landmarks
The
National Trust owns land on the western side of the river south of the
A259
The A259 is a road on the south coast of England passing through Hampshire, West Sussex, East Sussex and Kent, and is the longest Zone 2 A road in Great Britain. The main part of the road connects Brighton, Eastbourne, Hastings, Rye and F ...
.
In addition, there are three
Sites of Special Scientific Interest within the parish;
Seaford to Beachy Head,
Wilmington Downs
Wilmington Downs is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-west of Eastbourne in East Sussex. The site includes a Scheduled Monument, the Long Man of Wilmington, a turf cut figure which may be of prehistoric origin.
This site is ...
and
Lullington Heath
Lullington Heath is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Eastbourne in East Sussex. It is a national nature reserve and a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I.
This site has two nationally uncommon habitats, chalk heath ...
. Seaford to Beachy Head is a large site of biological and geological importance. The area contains a wide variety of habitats based on the chalk bedrock, which hosts a wide range of flora and fauna, including some nationally rare species. Wilmington Downs is another area of biological interest; its chalk grassland is habitat for several rare species. Lullington Heath is also of biological interest due to its
chalk heath and grassland habitats.
See also
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Cuckmere Haven
Cuckmere Haven (also known as the Cuckmere estuary) is an area of flood plains in Sussex, England where the river Cuckmere meets the English Channel between Eastbourne and Seaford. The river is an example of a meandering river, and contains s ...
References
{{Wealden
Civil parishes in East Sussex
Deserted medieval villages in East Sussex
Wealden District
Archaeological sites in East Sussex