Alciston

Alciston
Alciston from Bostal Hill
Alciston is located in East Sussex
Alciston
Alciston
Location within East Sussex
Area7.0 km2 (2.7 sq mi) [1]
Population146 (2007-Parish)[1]
• Density44/sq mi (17/km2)
OS grid referenceTQ506055
• London48 miles (77 km) NNW
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townPOLEGATE
Postcode districtBN26
Dialling code01323
PoliceSussex
FireEast Sussex
AmbulanceSouth East Coast
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
East Sussex
50°50′N 0°08′E / 50.83°N 00.14°E / 50.83; 00.14

Alciston is a village and civil parish in the Wealden district of East Sussex, England. It is inland, just off the A27 road, about ten miles (16 km) north-west of Eastbourne and seven miles (11 km) east of Lewes. The ecclesiastical parish is linked with that of Selmeston and Berwick.

The nave of Alciston Church, Alciston, East Sussex, England. September 2024.
The nave of Alciston Church, Alciston, East Sussex, England. September 2024.

Saxon in origin, its name was then Aelfsige; it is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. The present 14th-century church, of unknown dedication, is built of chalk from the nearby South Downs.[2] There is a large medieval tithe barn in the village. It is 170 feet (52 m) long and is the largest in Sussex. There is also the ruins of a square shaped dovecote built by monks in C14, who used Alciscton as a grange of Battle Abbey.

Every Good Friday, the road outside the Rose Cottage Inn is closed for the villagers to take part in a traditional skipping contest.[3]

The historian C.V. Wedgwood is buried in the church graveyard.

The ruins of a square Dovecote at Alciston, East Sussex, England. September 2024.
The ruins of a square Dovecote at Alciston, East Sussex, England. September 2024.
  1. ^ a b "East Sussex in Figures". East Sussex County Council. Retrieved 26 April 2008.
  2. ^ "Alciston Parish Church". Sacred Sussex. Diocese of Chichester. Archived from the original on 8 February 2009. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
  3. ^ Geograph