Iford, Sussex
| Iford | |
| Sussex | |
|---|---|
 View of village and church | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TQ405072 |
| Location: | 50°51’0"N, 0°-0’36"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 205 (2007) |
| Post town: | Lewes |
| Postcode: | BN7 |
| Dialling code: | 01273 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Lewes |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Lewes |
Iford is a village in Sussex, sitting two miles south of Lewes. The parish is on slopes of the South Downs in the valley of the River Ouse.
St Nicholas Church
The parish church, St Nicholas, is a Norman-style church which dates from the 12th century. However it was much restored in the 19th century. The church has an unusual arrangement of nave and chancel separated by the tower, possibly formerly at the crossing, though transepts and a north aisle have been demolished.
The church is a Grade I listed building.[1]
About the village
Iford parish sits to the north of Rodmell and to the south of Kingston near Lewes. To the east (and on the other side of the River Ouse) is the Glynde parish and to the far west, over the South Downs, is Brighton.
The parish has many notable buildings. Indeed, it has eighteen listed structures in Iford, including Sutton House of circa 1800. The Greenwich Meridian runs through the village, and its course is marked by a sundial, provided for by a Millennium Commission Lottery Fund grant.
Iford Estate at 3,000 acres, owns most of the surrounding area around Iford. It lies within the South Downs National Park and comprises Iford Farm, Swanborough Farm, Rise Farm to the south-east of Lewes and Houndean Farm to the north-west. The estate is heavily diversified. Its principal enterprises are still the production of cereals and beef, but is also has a range of properties and leisure facilities, which includes shooting, fishing lakes, light aircraft and luxury accommodation.[2]
Lewes Brooks sits to the east of the village. It is of biological importance and part of the flood plain of the River Ouse. It provides a habitat for many other invertebrates such as water beetles and snails.[3]
Iford Manor
Iford Manor is a neo-Gothic house built in 1830 by Henry Burley. It is three storeys with three gables and a tiled roof. It is a Grade II listed building.[4]
Swanborough Manor
- Main article: Swanborough Manor
Swanborough Manor is also Grade I listed building. It incorporates fabrics which date back to 1200 from the Grange of St Pancras, a dependency of St Pancras Priory in Lewes.[5]
Lewes Brooks
- Main article: Lewes Brooks
Located to the east of Iford village, Lewes Brooks, known locally as the Vale of the Brooks, works as a flood plain of the River Ouse between Lewes and Southease. The Brooks support a wide diversity of invertebrates, with water beetles being particularly well represented. There are also several rare snails, flies and moths. The brooks at Iford are less biodiverse than the brooks in the surrounding parishes due to the intensive farming they have sustained in the last fifty years.[6] The Sussex Ouse Valley Way, a track between Lower Beeding in West Sussex and the sea at Seaford in East Sussex, runs along the eastern most boundary of the parish along the west bank of the Ouse and the eastern edge of the brooks.
Swanborough Hill
Swanborough Hill (TQ390070) is the northern most peak of the parish and borders Kingston near Lewes. The hill itself was not named after swans. The name came from the Saxon ‘swan’, as in ‘swain’ and so its origin is not the ‘swan’s hill’, but the ‘herdsman’s hill’. It once had a barrow field, including a cluster of small Saxon tumps, but it has been intensively farmed since the war, ploughed and sprayed with agro-chemicals. The tumps and ancient vegetation is now gone. In summer, now, the ragwort has taken hold, sometimes in dense patches.
Iford Hill
Between Swanborough and Front Hill is Iford Hill. The slopes of Iford Hill are part of a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest. The north west is in good condition and the calcareous grassland supports a good variety of species. However surveys have indicated that the east side has scrub encroachment with uniform gorse and a lot of ragwort.[7]
Front Hill
Front Hill is to the southern most peak of the parish and borders Southease. The south slopes of Front Hill (TQ402056) has retained a Down pasture.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Iford, Sussex) |
References
- ↑ National Heritage List 1222119: The Parish Church of St Nicholas (Grade I listing)
- ↑ "Estate Plan". http://www.ifordestate.com/estatePlan.php.
- ↑ SSSI listing and designation for Lewes Brooks
- ↑ National Heritage List 1222177: Iford Manor (Grade II listing)
- ↑ National Heritage List 1274722: Swanborough Manor and the Dovecot to north west of the house (Grade @ listing)
- ↑ SSSI listing and designation for Lewes Brooks
- ↑ SSSI listing and designation for Kingston Escarpment and Iford Hill