Telscombe
| Telscombe | |
| Sussex | |
|---|---|
 Telscombe Farm | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TQ403022 |
| Location: | 50°48’11"N, 0°-0’36"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 7,146 (2007 est.) |
| Post town: | Brighton / Lewes / Peacehaven |
| Dialling code: | 01273 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Lewes |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Brighton Kemptown |
| Website: | Telscombe Town Council |
Telscombe is a village in Sussex, which consists of three distinct settlements, separated from each other by an open area of downland called Telscombe Tye:
- Telscombe village, a small village on the South Downs, six miles south of Lewes. It includes the parish church, with origins dating back to the 10th century. The village has a population of fewer than 50 people.
- Telscombe Cliffs at the east end of the parish developed in the 20th century effectively as an extension of the town of Peacehaven over the town boundary.
- Salthaven at the western end, with a population of about 2500 and forming part of the community of Saltdean.
The Greenwich Meridian crosses the northeast corner of Telscombe parish.
The parish includes part of the Brighton to Newhaven Cliffs Site of Special Scientific Interest. The cliffs are mainly of geological interest, containing many Santonian and Campanian fossils. The SSSI listing includes flora and fauna biological interest too.[1]
History
The manor of Telscombe is recorded as early as the 10th century, when it was given by King Edgar to the minster of Hyde, and remained in those hands until the dissolution in 1538.[2]
The manor and village passed through many hands in the following centuries; in 1900 James Andrew Harman became Lord of the Manor,[3] and in 1924 it was acquired by Charles Willam Neville (born Charles William Neville Ussher[4] in 1881), the developer who had founded Peacehaven in 1916.[5]
Telscombe Village
Although the ancient village of Telscombe is located less than two miles from the coast, there is no public road linking the village with the coastal part of the parish. The village is found at the end of a winding dead end road leaving the Lewes—Newhaven road at Southease.
Telscombe is a small cluster of buildings around a church dedicated to St Laurence. It is a 10th-century foundation with a 13th-century font, largely rebuilt and decorated in the 20th century.
The manor house was for many years used as Judge's Lodgings, occupied when High Court judges were sitting at Lewes Crown Court. This practice was controversial because of the costs of providing and maintaining this accommodation, including the employment of butlers and other staff, and was phased out by the Labour government from 2001. The cost of the Telscombe lodgings was put at £147,893.[6]
Telscombe Tye
Telscombe Tye is an area of open land with the status of common, extending from Telscombe village to the coast. The Tye forms a natural break between the settlements of Saltdean and Telscombe Cliffs/Peacehaven, and marks the eastern end of a continuously built up area (Greater Brighton) from Shoreham.
The Tye is contained within the South Downs National Park, and is one of the few places where the park boundary reaches the seafront.
As designated common, the land was unenclosed and on a map dated 1811 is shown as "Sheep Down"[7] on which local stockholders had grazing rights. One such landowner in the early 20th century was Ambrose Gorham. He managed a stud farm and trained racehorses, including the 1902 winner of the Grand National. On his death in 1933 he bequeathed his property in the village in trust to be administered by the Brighton Corporation, stating in the trust deed:[7]
The object and purpose of the Charity with respect to the Telscombe property is that the said property may continue to be preserved with its present rural characteristics in order that the public and especially the inhabitants of Telscombe Piddinghoe and Brighton may have recourse thereto for quiet and peaceful recreation and meditation and the management of the Telscombe property shall be so conducted as best to further this object but so that the leasing of the land for agricultural or pastoral purposes on the terms hereinafter authorised shall not be precluded...
At this time Neville, the developer of Peacehaven owned the Tye itself, while the trustees of Gorham's Gift owned the rights of common: a situation which led to frequent disputes.[7] In January 1979 the land was registered as common under the Commons Registration Act, and in 1989 the Tye was put up for auction by the Neville family (Charles Neville had died in 1960) and purchased by Telscombe Town Council.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Telscombe) |
References
- ↑ "Natural England - SSSI". English Nature. http://www.english-nature.org.uk/special/sssi/sssi_details.cfm?sssi_id=1003033. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
- ↑ Stanley Bernard. "Telscombe & Telscombe Village". Peacehaven & Telscombe History. http://www.history-peacehaven-telscombe.org.uk/index2.asp. Retrieved 2011-04-18.
- ↑ L. F. Salzman (editor) (1940). "Parishes: Telscombe". A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 7: The rape of Lewes. Institute of Historical Research. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=56921. Retrieved 2011-04-21.
- ↑ "The Usher/Ussher families in Ireland". rootsweb. Ancestry.com. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~usher/usherirl/irltree/1009.htm. Retrieved 2011-04-21.
- ↑ "The History of Peacehaven". Peacehaven Online. http://www.peacehaven.co.uk/history.php. Retrieved 2011-04-20.
- ↑ Robert Verkaik (Friday, 2 March 2007). "The luxurious life of judges (as paid for by the taxpayer)". The Independent (London). http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/the-luxurious-life-of-judges-as-paid-for-by-the-taxpayer-438502.html.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 The historic issues and management of Telscombe Tye - Telscombe Town Council