Camber to Cuckfield

Camber, Rother (734). TQ9618. 3m ESE of Rye

Small modern resort on Rye Bay with extensive sands. The ancient par. of Broomhill stood 1m E. Camber Castle, see Rye.

Catsfield, Rother (724). TQ7213. 2m SW of Battle

The C12/13 church, SE of the village (and not to be confused with the more prominent Methodist church), has a memorial to Lady Brassey, voyager in the ‘Sunbeam’, and the grave of Thomas Brassey, the railway contractor (d. 1870). The Brasseys’ Normanhurst Court (1m NW) has been demolished.

Chailey, Lewes (2460). TQ3919. 6m N of Lewes

On a tributary of the R Ouse. The church (St Peter) is enlarged E.E. At North Common (1m N) is the Heritage Crafts School, established by Mrs Kimmins for crippled children in 1903, with a chapel of 1913 (Comper) and buildings of 1932; also a good smock-mill on the heath, and a second parish church of 1876 (J O Scott).

Chalvington, Wealden (140). TQ5209. 4m W of Hailsham

The church, mostly Dec, has C14 glass inc. a portrait of Becket.

Chiddingly, Wealden (817). TQ5414. 4m NE of Hailsham

The church has a tower with the Pelham Buckle and one of only three stone spires in the county (cf. Dallington, Northiam), and a remarkable grand wall-monument to the Jefferay family (1578). Chiddingly Place incs parts of the Jefferays’ Tudor mansion. Golden Cross (S) and Whitesmith (W) are both on A22. Stonehill House (1½m NE) is a perfect example of a C15 ‘Wealden’ house.

Chidham, Chichester (906). SU7904. 4m W of Chichester

On a peninsula of Chichester Harbour between Bosham and Thorney Channels; known for its strain of wheat. C13 church.

Chithurst, Chichester (Trotton w C). SU8423. 3m WNW of Midhurst

On the l. bank of the Western Rother. Early Norman church with herringbone masonry. Chithurst Abbey is a late medieval yeoman’s house.

Clapham, Arun (318). TQ0906. 4m NW of Worthing

On the S edge of the Downs. Norman/E.E. church with Shelley brasses and monument. On a S spur of Blackpatch Hill (2m N, 555’) are Neolithic flint mines.

Clayton, Mid Sussex (1607). TQ3014. 6m N of Brighton

Under the Downs. The church has a Saxon chancel-arch, an E.E. chancel (restored), and outstanding C12 wall-paintings covering most of the nave, inc. a great Doom (cf. Hardham). Railway tunnel with spectacular Gothic entrance. ‘Jack & Jill’, two windmills, a black tower-mill and a white post-mill, on the Downs to SE. 1m N is the larger residential settlement of Hassocks.

Climping, Arun (925). TQ0002. 2m W of Littlehampton

On the W side of the Arun estuary (also spelt Clymping). The fine church has a Norman tower, with a rich W doorway and remarkable lancets in the buttresses, but is mostly consistent and enjoyable E.E., particularly inside; Perp pulpit, good C13 chest, frescoes by Heywood Hardy (1925-6).

At Atherington (1m S), near a rare unspoilt stretch of coast, is Bailiffscourt, site of a house of the bailiff of an alien monastic grange, the good C13 chapel surviving; the present house was built in medieval style in 1935, bringing in many genuine features as an open-air museum.

Coates, Chichester (Fittleworth). TQ0018. 3m W of Pulborough

Hamlet S of the Western Rother, with a plain unspoilt C12/13 church, and a C17 Manor Ho (garden).

Cocking, Chichester (443). SU8717. 2m S of Midhurst

At foot of the Downs (A286). Norman/Dec church with C13 wall-painting. Obelisk to Richard Cobden (see Heyshott) at Cocking Causeway (1½m NNE).

Coldwaltham, Horsham (822). TQ0216. 2m SW of Pulborough

Between rivers Arun and Rother (A29). The C13 church (rebuilt) has a half-timbered belfry. Incs Watersfield (½m SW). See also Hardham.

Compton, Chichester (439). SU7714. 8m NW of Chichester

In the South Downs below Telegraph Hill (E, 533’), near the Hants border. Church mainly Victorian. Incs Up Marden (q.v.) and West Marden (1m S). Bevis’s Thumb (on Telegraph Hill) is a fine Neolithic long barrow.

Coombes, Adur (37). TQ1908. 4m NE of Worthing

Downland hamlet on the W side of the Adur Gap. Tiny Norman/Perp church with Norman wall-paintings (cf. Hardham).

Cowfold, Horsham (1260). TQ2122. 6m SSE of Horsham

Village on the N edge of the Vale of Sussex. The E.E./Perp church has a magnificent 10’ canopied brass to Thomas Nelond, prior of Lewes (1433). Very attractive group of houses around the churchyard. NW is the C14 timber-framed Capon’s Farm. Clock House (1m W) is a model farm of 1914 (Barry Parker).

St Hugh’s Monastery (1½m SSW), with extensive cloisters and a conspicuous spire, was established here at Parkminster in 1877 on the expulsion of the Carthusians from France.

CRAWLEY, Crawley (*81204 UD). TQ2636. 20m N of Brighton

Town in the Weald on the London-Brighton road (A23), just S of the Surrey border. Prospered with the coaching trade, particularly in Regency times. Designated a New Town in 1956 with considerable growth since. Light engineering; manufactures furniture, electronic equipment, plastics, etc.

St John Baptist’s Ch., rebuilt 1880, retains the old nave S wall and roof, and a tower of 1807. Old timber-framed houses dating back to the C15 preserved in the High St, e.g. Prior’s House, George Hotel (famous coaching-inn with gallows sign), and the Punch Bowl. Modern town centre begun to the E in 1961. Tilgate Park Nature Centre.

Ifield (1½m WNW). A former village on the infant R Mole, now absorbed by the New Town. The Dec church (Victorian tower) has a Norman font and two good C14 effigies; burial place of Mark Lemon, first editor of ‘Punch’ (d.1870). Friends’ Meeting Ho of 1676 in Langley Lane. The moated, partly timber-framed Ewhurst Place (Langley Green) dates from c.1600. Other ‘neighbourhoods’ inc. Pound Hill (2m E) and Three Bridges (1m E, railway junction).

Transferred from Surrey 1974: Gatwick Airport, first opened 1936 and converted to a major international airport 1956-8. Lowfield Heath has a very original church by Burges (1867) with rose-window and narthex; a windmill; and, to the W, the large C15 timber-framed Charlwood House. Marble championships held at Tinsley Green.

Crowborough, Wealden (15082). TQ5131. 7m SW of Tunbridge Wells

Modern residential town at the highest point of Ashdown Forest (Beacon Hill 788’). Home of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (d.1930). Church and Vicarage of 1744 on green S of the town centre, former enlarged 1883. Crowborough Common to the SW.

Crowhurst, Rother (837). TQ7512. 2m S of Battle

The church has Perp tower with Pelham Buckles on the doorway, but is otherwise rebuilt; ancient yew in churchyard. Ruin of C13 hall of Manor House nearby with large traceried window.

CUCKFIELD, Mid Sussex (*2909 UD). TQ3024. 2m W of Haywards Heath

Small hilltop market town in the High Weald; UD included Haywards Heath (q.v.). E.E./Dec church with shingled spire, painted roof, and C17-19 monuments, one (1628) attributed to Epiphanius Evesham. In the churchyard is the tomb of Henry Kingsley, the novelist (d. 1876); fine view towards the South Downs. N of the church is the C16 Grammar School. Old houses in the town. Museum (Queen’s Hall, High St). Cuckfield Park (½m W), an Elizabethan mansion approached through an attractive brick gatehouse and a lime avenue, possibly the model for Harrison Ainsworth’s ‘Rookwood Hall’.

Cuckfield Rural CP (pop 2694): Ansty (1m SW), S of which is Legh Manor, a Tudor house with gardens (Sussex Archaeological Trust). Staplefield (3m NW), with Kempe wall-paintings in the church. Borde Hill (1½m NE), an Elizabethan house, was the birthplace of Andrew Boorde, the writer monk (c.1490); garden.