Etchingham was originally a manor long before the Norman conquest in 1066 . The manor was taken over by the Normans, and in 1166 it was left to the De Achyngham family, who were well known landowners. The site was probably a manorial court site, not the De Achyngham living accomodation, which was at Udimore . The manor used to stand at the point the main London Hastings train station is currently located. The current church was built next to the manor probably in the 1358, when pope Innocenti VI directed that a burial ground be consecrated at Etchingham. The village probably takes its name from the Old English - Ecciham - meaning "Enclosure or settlement of the family and followers of a man called Ecci". A second possible derivation may have been from the Anglo-Saxon ECEN meaning great and HAM meaning home. Finally it could have been derived from the De Achyngham/Etchyngham family name, but this is less likely, and their name is probably derived from the village where they lived (The French translation of de means "of" ). The main road in the village was a major military supply highway during the napoleonic wars taking iron products manufactured in the area towards Dover. The 19th century artist Henry Corbould (the designer of the Penny Black) is is buried in the churchyard. He was travelling from Hastings to London when he was taken ill at Hurst Green where he died, and was buried at Etchingham which was the local parish Church. Finally the oldest brass weather vane in England is to be found on the Church Spire, in 1990 it was the inspiration for the design of a special postmark organised by the village to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Postage Stamp. The church also has the largest series of Misericords in Sussex, apart from those in Chichester Cathedral. A Misericord is a "comfort" ledge under tip up seats designed to give a little support to those who had to stand there for long periods. The Parish Council have provided some of their history on their pages

Services

The main London to Hastings Train Line stops in the village providing a 1 hour 10 minute journey to Cannon Street and Charing Cross. This service runs approximately every 20 minutes in the rush hour, and hourly in between. An infrequent bus service stops in the village and travels to Heathfield and Hurst Green for further connections. Various small shops are available in the village. The main shopping centres are in Hastings and Tunbridge Wells , with a minor one in Battle .

Views

From the station walk towards Hurst Green across the wide Rother Valley, and look North. The view across this low lying land towards the distant hills is magnificent. The place where you are now standing used to be regularly flooded to a depth of 3 to 4 feet in the winter even until the 1970's when water extraction reduced the Rother to a mere trickle.