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Playden is a village and
The field in front of the Church formerly known as Beacon Oak Field was the site of a 15th century beacon at Sawcut (sic), sighting from Tenterden and Alomsbridge (about Newington Bridge, Kent, name has disappeared). The beacon was in the form of a tar filled barrel in an oak tree that was burnt down around 1930 but the stump remains.
The parish includes a two-acre field known as The Butt Field, which since 1703 has been available to the people of the village for "archery practice, recreation and sport". It is now mainly used for the grazing of sheep.
Within the parish there is a
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 ...
in the Rother 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. The village is located one mile (1.6 km) north-west of Rye
Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is grown principally in an area from Eastern and Northern Europe into Russia. It is much more tolerant of cold weather and poor soil than o ...
.
History
Playden is mentioned in theDomesday Book
Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
of 1086 as Pleidena, having 37 households, ploughlands and a church. It is a largely rural parish, having no village centre, and the hamlet of Houghton Green is included in the parish. Playden's main occupation was fishing: the fish were salted in a one-time settlement known as ''Saltcote'', after the fact that it had a fish salting industry based there. ''Saltcote Street'' is now all that remains of that industry.
Governance
Playden Parish Council has four councillors, and meets monthly at the WI Hall in the village. The parish is within the Rother District ofEast 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 ...
. In the United Kingdom Parliament
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...
, it is part of the Hastings & Rye constituency, represented since the 2019 UK general election
The 2019 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 12 December 2019, with 47,074,800 registered voters entitled to vote to elect 650 Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons. The governing Conservative Party, led by Prim ...
by Sally-Ann Hart
Sally-Ann Hart (born 6 March 1968) is a British politician who was the member of parliament (MP) for Hastings and Rye from 2019 to 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, she succeeded Amber Rudd, the former home secretary.
Early life and c ...
, of the Conservative party.
Landmarks
The Norman church is dedicated to St Michael. It was begun in 1190, and contains a ladder to the bell tower dated 1686.
The field in front of the Church formerly known as Beacon Oak Field was the site of a 15th century beacon at Sawcut (sic), sighting from Tenterden and Alomsbridge (about Newington Bridge, Kent, name has disappeared). The beacon was in the form of a tar filled barrel in an oak tree that was burnt down around 1930 but the stump remains.
The parish includes a two-acre field known as The Butt Field, which since 1703 has been available to the people of the village for "archery practice, recreation and sport". It is now mainly used for the grazing of sheep.
Within the parish there is a Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...
(SSSI), Houghton Green Cliff. This is an exposed cliff face displaying sandstones of geological interest.
In addition, part of the Dungeness, Romney Marsh & Rye SSSI lies within Playden parish.
People
The artist and scientific illustrator Brian Hargreaves (1935-2011) lived in Playden up until the time of his death.References
6 A New History of Rye, Leopold Aaron Vidler, 1934 7 A Perambulation of Kent, William Lambarde, 1596 8 The History, Antiquities and Topography of the County of Sussex, Thomas Walker Horsfield, 1825External links
{{authority control Villages in East Sussex Civil parishes in East Sussex Rother District