Location
51°00'N
0°26'E
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Etchingham
(The oldest Brass Weather Vane in the country)
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Origin of Village Name |
Etchingham probably takes its name from the Anglo Saxon - Ecciingham
(Settlement of Ecci's family). A second possible derivation may have been
from the Anglo-Saxon Ecen ing hamme (great/powerful family settlement). 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" ).
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General Details
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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 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
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Services
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 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 .
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Views
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 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.
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