Home History History Summary Detailed Early History Villages & Towns East Sussex Kent Polegate in East Sussex (Fine old Tower Mill) Location: 50.824012,0.243813 General Details Polegate in East Sussex lies on the Roman road which ran from Pevensey Castle (Anderida) to Lewes. To the north of the village lay Otham Priory which was built in 1175, and was closed in the 1200's when the monks moved to settle Bayham Abbey between Lamberhurst and Bells Yew Green. The remains of the abbey can be seen from the Cuckoo Trail. Otham was founded by Ralph de Dene (from West Dean near Seaford ), of the Premonstratensian Order who was a sub tenant of Pevensey Castle . The monks moved to Bayham Abbey because 'Otham was impossibly damp and inhospitable', as it lay in the Pevensey Marshes. In 1817 the Polegate Windmill was built, replacing an old post mill on the South Downs. The mill is a tower type, which is now open to the public in the summer thanks to volunteers. The windmill can now be found in the middle of a housing estate, which has built up in the 20th century. The Cuckoo Line (Steam Railway) track was started in 1849 with the single track link from Polegate to Hailsham . In September 1880 a further length of single track line from Eridge to Hailsham was opened, providing a service from Charing Cross to Eastbourne via Tunbridge Wells . Polegate became one of the main centres of rail travel, with its sidings for the Cuckoo Line , and its station on the main Hastings Eastbourne Lewes line. The village is now a starting point for the Cuckoo Trail , a walk owned by the County Council, which meanders through the East Sussex countryside to Heathfield. Polegate village is a fairly modern settlement built around the railway lines, the town of Eastbourne has grown significantly since the 1850's and now has absorbed Polegate a suburb . Views Polegate in East Sussex has the starting point for the picturesque walk of the Cuckoo Trail which can be cycled or walked to Heathfield , via Hailsham , Hellingly and Horam . To the south are the magnificent vistas of the South Downs. Services Polegate in East Sussex has many local services, the main shopping centres are in Hailsham to the north about 4 miles, or Eastbourne to the south, about the same distance. The main line service from Hastings to Lewes runs through the village, and stops at the station. Map Polegate is shown as the red symbol on the map. Nearby Villages (click on symbol to see the village page) Village= Town= Recorded in Domesday= Alciston (Fifty thousand tiles on the Barn) 4.77 miles Alfriston (Smuggling and Ghosts) 3.99 miles Arlington (Peaceful Saxon Village) 2.74 miles Berwick (Sharpen your arrows on the Church) 4.04 miles Boreham Street (Picturesque village on top of the Ridge) 6.55 miles Chalvington (The miniature church) 4.66 miles East Blatchington (Mutiny and the Edge of Space) 7.05 miles Exceat (Alfred the Great's Naval Base?) 5.25 miles Folkington (Teasles and Badgers) 1.67 miles Hailsham (Ropes and Napoleon) 2.87 miles Jevington (Smugglers and Churchill Tanks) 2.58 miles Litlington (Secret marriage of George IV) 4.45 miles Lullington (destroyed by Cromwell ??) 3.86 miles Normans Bay (Last Invasion in 1066) 6.61 miles Pevensey (Ancient Roman Fortification) 4.22 miles Pevensey Bay (Fishing and Martello Towers) 4.38 miles Ripe (Earl Harolds estate) 5.47 miles Seaford (The cormorants or shags) 7.19 miles Selmeston (Tomb to store the Contraband) 4.58 miles Wartling (World War II defence centre) 5.47 miles Westham (Enclosure for the Castle) 3.56 miles Wilmington (The Long Man) 2.33 miles Railways - The Cuckoo Line 1880 to 1965 Cuckoo Line 1880-1965AD Details The Cuckoo Line was the old steam railway which ran from Polegate to Tunbridge Wells. The track was started in 1849 with the single track link from Polegate to Hailsham . In September 1880 a further length of single track line from Eridge to Hailsham was opened, providing a service from Charing Cross to Eastbourne via Tunbridge Wells . The track ran from Polegate to Tunbridge Wells via Hailsham , Hellingly , Waldron , Horam Road , Heathfield through a tunnel to Mayfield , Rotherfield then on to Eridge where it joined the Uckfield to Tunbridge Wells line. Its name came from the Cuckoo Fair held at Heathfield. Legend has it that a quaintly dressed old lady always turns up at the annual April Heffle( Heathfield ) Cuckoo Fair, to release from her basket the first cuckoo of spring. Drivers of the trains referred to the trip as "going down the Cuckoo". The majority of the traffic on the line was from the Express Dairies milk plant at Horam . In 1895 Heathfield station was famous due to being the first to be natural gas lit, no others stations were so illuminated prior to the First World War, the gas continued to flow till the 1930's. The gas was discovered, by the Railway company looking for water near the station to fill the steam train water tanks. Horam station must have been confusing to passengers, as it had a number of names starting with "Horeham Road" then "Waldron", "Horeham Road - Waldron", "Waldron - Horeham Road", "Waldron - Horam" and finally in 1953 "Horam". Today the Heathfield to Polegate section has been opened up to the public for walking, cycle riding, and in some sections as a bridleway, and is known as the Cuckoo Trail . Villages Mentioned Rotherfield (Source of the rivers Rother and Uck) Uckfield (Traction Engine destroys bridge) Mayfield (Saint Dunstan and the Devil) Heathfield (19th Century Natural Gas) Hailsham (Ropes and Napoleon) Hellingly (Only remaining Ciric in Sussex) Horam (Which Station do we get off at ?) Polegate (Fine old Tower Mill) Waldron (Fullers Earth)

Copyright Villagenet 1998-2024

Local Businesses