Willingdon, East Sussex

Willingdon, located in East Sussex, is composed of two villages: Upper and Lower Willingdon. The original village centres around Church Street and Wish Hill, with historical ties extending to the nearby Hampden Park area. Notably, Willingdon features in George Orwell’s Animal Farm, where the village name and its Red Lion pub are mentioned.

Jevington lies on a minor road between Polegate and Friston and is home to the Grade I listed St Andrew’s Church. This church boasts Saxon architectural elements, including its tower, alongside medieval features such as a 14th-century font. The churchyard contains a rare elm cultivar known as ‘Serpentina’. Jevington was once an estate village owned by the Duke of Devonshire, who used it for racehorse training. The tradition continues today with local trainers based in the village. Jevington also hosts the 400-year-old Eight Bells pub and was the birthplace of banoffee pie, created in the 1970s at the now-closed Hungry Monk restaurant.

The hamlet of Wannock lies below the South Downs and is noted for its historical tea gardens and a dance hall once perched over Wannock Glen. It features medieval cottages and a manor house, with some gardens still containing walnut trees, a nod to the area’s past.

Filching, another hamlet in the parish, includes a medieval manor house dating from around 1450. Filching Manor houses a motor museum with the last intact Bluebird K3 speedboat, famed for setting the 1937 World Water Speed Record. The manor grounds also host a karting track and the annual Jevington Fête.

The parish contains Folkington Reservoir, a Site of Special Scientific Interest, known for its chalk flora and protected species such as the hairy mallow. The area’s history includes the Polegate Airship Station, active during the First World War.