Chalvington East Sussex - (The miniature church)


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50°51'N
0°09'E

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Chalvington
(The miniature church)

Origin of Village Name

Chalvington is derived from the Anglo Saxon Cealfing tun (The farmstead of the calf people - cealfa is a calf), settled not long after the Saxon invasion of 477 . In the Domesday book it was known as Caveltone and Calvintone. by the late 1300's it had changed to Chalvyngton, and then to its present name.

General Details

The village of Chalvington once known as Calvintone or Caveltone lies between the A27 Eastbourne to Lewes road and the A22 Hailsham to Uckfield main roads, in a quiet rural backwater.

The parish existed in 1086 and is mentioned in the Domesday Book. The church is not mentioned until a tax record from Pope Nicholas IV in 1291.

The church is tiny and very unusual being made of flints from the local South Downs, and looks like a miniature of the other churches in the area the church tower is wooden, and leans slightly due to the October hurricane of 1987.

The church was felt to have been dedicated to Thomas a Beckett because of a stained glass light portraying the Saint is set in one of the windows.

Legend has it that during medieval times, the Lord of the Manor only allowed his serfs to leave or enter if they paid a toll, this imprisoned his serfs and kept out unwanted visitors.

The church has on one side of the altar the memorial to the daughter of Lord Heathfield , General Sir George Augustus Elliot, the Govenor of Gibraltar, who successfully defended 'the Rock' against the combined French and Spanish forces between 1779 and 1783.

Services

The village consists of a few farms and houses therefore has no local services.

The nearest shopping centre is at Hailsham a few miles to the east, with the large shopping centres in Eastbourne to the south east.

The nearest trains run from Polegate a few miles east.

Views

The most attractive views are those from the church across the flat lands towards the south downs near Wilmington .

The small church is very unusual, and is worth visiting if you are in the area.

Page Last Updated: 09:09 - 20/07/2010
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