Patcham, East Sussex

Patcham, once a separate village, is now a suburb of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, located about three miles north of the city centre. The area’s historic heart centres on All Saints’ Church, a partly 12th- and 13th-century building recorded in the Domesday Book. The churchyard features a gravestone marked with a pirate skull and crossbones, while nearby stand an ancient dovecot and a converted tithe barn, all within a designated conservation area.

The old village is marked by the “Pylons,” two large stone pillars on the A23, erected in 1928 to commemorate Patcham’s incorporation into Greater Brighton. Surrounding estates, such as the Ladies Mile Estate, date mainly from the 1930s and reflect the area’s expansion. The Scottish influence is evident in the Mackie Avenue estate, with roads named by a Scottish builder and Scots pines planted in the local open space.

Patcham Mill, also known as Waterhall Mill, is a converted windmill built in 1885, situated on high ground west of the village. Patcham Place, dating from 1558 and once the seat of the Shelley family, served as a youth hostel until 2007 and lies opposite the former post office in open parkland.

To the south lies Ladies Mile Down, a Local Nature Reserve preserving rare plateau chalk grassland with ancient field system remnants and a Bronze Age burial mound. The downland to the north includes Tegdown Hill, notable for its well-preserved Iron Age ring barrow and views of nearby Iron Age camps.

Patcham’s rich history and natural surroundings offer a glimpse into the area’s past, from ancient burial sites to medieval architecture and traditional rural landscapes.