Withyham is a village and large
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 ...
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 ...
, England. The village is situated 7 miles south west of
Royal Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. T ...
and 3.5 miles (5.6 km) from
Crowborough
Crowborough is a town and civil parish in East Sussex, England, in the Weald at the edge of Ashdown Forest in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, 7 miles (11 km) south-west of Royal Tunbridge Wells and 33 mile ...
; the parish covers approximately .
Geography

Withyham parish lies on the edge of
Weald
The Weald () is an area of South East England between the parallel chalk escarpments of the North and the South Downs. It crosses the counties of Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex and Kent. It has three separate parts: the sandstone "High Weald" in ...
, in the valley of the
River Medway
The River Medway is a river in South East England. It rises in the High Weald, East Sussex and flows through Tonbridge, Maidstone and the Medway conurbation in Kent, before emptying into the Thames Estuary near Sheerness, a total distance ...
, where a group of tributaries enter from the south, and to the north of
Ashdown Forest. The B2110 road passes through the village, between
Groombridge
Groombridge is a village of about 1,600 people. It straddles the border between Kent and East Sussex, in England. The nearest large town is Royal Tunbridge Wells, about away by road.
The main part of the village ("New Groombridge") lies in t ...
and
Forest Row. Much of the area is rural; the hamlet of Buckhurst, part of the parish, contains
Buckhurst Park, the home of
Lord De La Warr
Earl De La Warr ( ) is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1761 for John West, 7th Baron De La Warr.
The Earl holds the subsidiary titles of Viscount Cantelupe (1761) in the Peerage of Great Britain, Baron De La Warr ( ...
.
New Groombridge is also within the parish, and Old Groombridge is in the
Speldhurst
Speldhurst is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. The parish is to the west of Tunbridge Wells: the village is west of the town.
Speldhurst has a primary school, a parish church, a general store wit ...
District of Kent.
Withyham village itself is very small, containing a few houses, the church, a bed and breakfast, and the Dorset Arms (a village
pub which was once a farmhouse).
History
Buckhurst and Gildredge
Withyham is not included 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 ...
, although the manor of Buckhurst is, as "Biochest" (probably from the
Saxon
The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic
*
*
*
*
peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country ( Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the No ...
"boc hyrst" or beech wood. There have been two houses at Buckhurst for many centuries: the older Buckhurst House, now no more, and the present day
Buckhurst Park: both remained in the hands of the
Sackville family for generations. Buckhurst Park is the family seat of the
De La Warr earldom, and
William Sackville, 11th Earl De La Warr continues to live there.
Outside Buckhurst, many of the houses in the village were probably built to contain estate workers. A significant number of council houses were built in the post-war period at Balls Green, near a now-closed railway station.
Withyham was also home to the Gildredge family, who later moved to
Eastbourne
Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the l ...
, acquiring a large share of the town's land by purchase and through marriage. "Gildredge House and estate was formerly the property and residence of the family of the same name," says
Thomas Walker Horsfield in his history of Sussex, "who afterwards (temp. Henry VIII) removed to and became lords of the manor of
Eastbourne
Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the l ...
." Today's Gildredge Park in Eastbourne is named after the family. The Gildredge family was related to the Eversfield family, who eventually owned much of
St. Leonards-on-Sea, as well as to 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 ...
s.
According to the Sussex historian
Mark Antony Lower, the ancient house and estate of Gildredge "gave name to a family of considerable antiquity, who subsequently had their chief residence at Eastbourne, and gave their name to the manor of Eastbourne-Gildredge." Later the Gildredge lands were carried by marriage into the Gilbert family (today's
Davies-Gilbert
The Davies-Gilbert family developed the towns of Eastbourne and East Dean in Sussex in the 19th century. They also owned the Estate of Trelissick, Truro (Cornwall) from 1844 until it was sold in 1913. There is some disagreement whether they are r ...
family), who continue to own much of Eastbourne.
Withyham parish is in an
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of th ...
.
Withyham church
Much of the oldest available historical information concerning the Weald of Kent, Sussex and Surrey, with records going back to 1288, relates to the parish church, St. Michael's.

The village church is dedicated to St Michael and All Angels; the present rector is the Reverend Canon James Campbell. According to early records, the church was almost completely rebuilt in the 14th century to contain a Sackville chapel.
On 16 June 1663 the church was struck by lightning, which melted the bells and caused a great deal of damage; few parts of the building survived. The rebuilding of the church does not seem to have been finished until 1672, and the Sackville Chapel was not completed for a further eight years. Of the old church, only the lower part of the tower, the west wall from the belfry door to the north-west corner, and the north and south-east walls remained to be incorporated into the new building. It was also around this time that the rectory was built.
Later important alterations were carried out in the 19th century, including a new south aisle, the removal of the low ceiling, and the construction of a new south porch. In 1849, a set of four paintings was donated to the church: it is thought they are the work of
Niccolò di Pietro Gerini (c. 1340–1414). The paintings were sold at
Sotheby's
Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...
in London in 2012.
There are eight bells in the tower. Five bells were recast after the rebuilding in 1674, and a sixth (treble) bell was added in 1715. These bells remained until 1908, when they were recast and a further two added.
The ashes of
David Maxwell Fyfe, 1st Earl of Kilmuir
David Patrick Maxwell Fyfe, 1st Earl of Kilmuir, (29 May 1900 – 27 January 1967), known as Sir David Maxwell Fyfe from 1942 to 1954 and as Viscount Kilmuir from 1954 to 1962, was a British Conservative politician, lawyer and judge who combine ...
are buried at the church.
Richard Sackville, 3rd Earl of Dorset is buried there as well.
The church is also a filming location used in the 1976 concert film
''The Song Remains the Same'' featuring the English rock band
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are c ...
. It is the location for the night time fantasy scene starring Led Zeppelin's bass and keyboard player
John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...
.
Governance
Withyham is a large parish, and is therefore divided into three electoral wards: Groombridge; Withyham, including Blackham; and St Johns (Withyham).
Landmarks
Penn's Rocks
Penn's Rocks is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Crowborough in East Sussex.
This site is a steep sided valley on sandstone with many mosses and liverworts, which is a nationally rare habitat. Uncommon species include ' ...
is a
Site of Special Scientific Interest within the parish. This is a site of biological interest. Its sandstone outcrops providing a rare habitat for many ferns and bryophytes. Buckhurst Park historic seat of the Earls De La Warr, head of the Sackville family, Lutyens/Jekyll garden with Repton Park. The Hundred Acre wood, immortalised by
A.A. Milne
Alan Alexander Milne (; 18 January 1882 – 31 January 1956) was an English writer best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh, as well as for children's poetry. Milne was primarily a playwright before the huge success of Winni ...
in his
Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear and Pooh, is a fictional anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard.
The first collection of stories about the character was the book ''Winn ...
stories, is part of the Buckhurst Estate
The millennium in Withyham
To celebrate the
millennium
A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannus, kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...
in Withyham, the 11th Earl De La Warr planted a
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 ...
sapling taken from a tree said to be 2,000 years old – i.e. from the time of Christ. The sapling was uprooted by vandals, but was replanted by Earl De La Warr. A millennium map was also commissioned by the Church to commemorate almost 1,000 years of Withyham.
Public transport
The village has a regular bus service. The
Metrobus 291 bus route serves
East Grinstead
East Grinstead is a town in West Sussex, England, near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders, south of London, northeast of Brighton, and northeast of the county town of Chichester. Situated in the extreme northeast of the county, the civ ...
,
Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. ...
, and
Crawley
Crawley () is a large town and borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a population of 106,597 at the time of th ...
– as well as neighbouring villages.
In nearby
Ashurst there is a railway station.
Ashurst station is on the
Uckfield
Uckfield () is a town in the Wealden District of East Sussex in South East England. The town is on the River Uck, one of the tributaries of the River Ouse, on the southern edge of the Weald.
Etymology
'Uckfield', first recorded in writing ...
to London line via
Oxted and
East Croydon. Trains are hourly in each direction.
See also
*
Withyham Priory
Withyham Priory was a Benedictine monastic house in East Sussex, extant in 1086 and dissolved in 1413.
History
Robert, Count of Mortain, some time before 1086, gave to the Priory of Mortain, a cell of Marmoutier, eight burgages in Pevensey wo ...
References
External links
{{authority control
Villages in East Sussex
Civil parishes in East Sussex
Wealden District
Ashdown Forest