Salehurst is a village 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, within the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

of Salehurst and Robertsbridge. It lies immediately to the north-east of the larger village of

Robertsbridge Robertsbridge is a village in the civil parish of Salehurst and Robertsbridge, and the Rother district of East Sussex, England. It is approximately 10 miles (16 km) north of Hastings and 13 miles (21 km) south-east of Royal Tunbrid ...

, on a minor road; it is approximately north of Hastings, just east of the A21 road. In historical terms Salehurst is much older than its neighbour; before the bridge over the River Rother was built it already existed, and it is named in the

Domesday 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 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

. At the time the river crossing was by ford or ferry, but in the 12th century a newly established order of

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Sain ...

monks constructed the bridge, and the two settlements of Robertsbridge and Northbridge Street came into being; eventually - since the main road now bypassed the village - becoming much more important than Salehurst. Salehurst lies approximately three miles from

Bodiam Bodiam () is a small village and civil parish in the Rother District of East Sussex, England. It lies in the valley of the River Rother, near to the villages of Sandhurst and Ewhurst Green. The MP of the local UK Parliament constituency is Hu ...

, Sussex, site of

Bodiam Castle Bodiam Castle () is a 14th-century moated castle near Robertsbridge in East Sussex, England. It was built in 1385 by Sir Edward Dalyngrigge, a former knight of Edward III, with the permission of Richard II, ostensibly to defend the area aga ...

. One owner of Bodiam Castle was the

Levett Levett is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin, deriving from eLivet, which is held particularly by families and individuals resident in England and British Commonwealth territories. Origins This surname comes from the village of Livet-en-Ouche, n ...

family, who lived at Salehurst during their 'occupation' of the castle. In 1588 John Levett of Salehurst contributed to the

Armada Armada is the Spanish and Portuguese word for naval fleet, which also adopted into English, Malay and Indonesian for the same meaning, or an adjective meaning 'armed'; Armáda () is the Czech and Slovak word for armed forces. Armada may also refe ...

loan, and in 1607 his sons John and Thomas of Salehurst were regranted by the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the British Sover ...

their right to the Levett

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in it ...

issued to their Sussex ancestors.

John Colepeper, 1st Baron Colepeper John Colepeper, 1st Baron Culpeper ( – 11 July 1660) was an English peer, military officer and politician who, as Chancellor of the Exchequer (1642–43) and Master of the Rolls (1643) was an influential counsellor of King Charles I during t ...

(ca.1600–1660) was an English peer, military officer and politician who, as Chancellor of the Exchequer (1642–43) and Master of the Rolls (1643) was an influential counsellor of King Charles I during the English Civil War. His family came from Wigsell in the parish of Salehurst.

St Mary the Virgin

The parish church is dedicated to St

Mary the Virgin Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother ...

. It is reputed to be the largest rural parish church in East Sussex.Photographs of the church
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Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner, (23 March 1854 – 13 May 1925) was a British statesman and colonial administrator who played a role in the formulation of British foreign and domestic policy between the mid-1890s and early 1920s. From ...

, (1854–1925) is buried in the churchyard. Rev. John Lord (1614–81) was rector from 1640 until his death; in 1937 his descendants donated to the church a portrait of him which had been owned by the family for generations.

References

File:Converted Oast House - geograph.org.uk - 153004.jpg, File:Site of Salehurst Halt.jpg, File:Wigsell, Salehurst.jpg, {{authority control Villages in East Sussex Rother District