Long Man

Long Man
The Long Man of Wilmington
Long Man Location within East Sussex
Area	16.1 km2 (6.2 sq mi)  [1]
Population	447 (in 2011) [2]
•  Density	66/sq mi (25/km2)
OS grid reference	TQ553063
•  London	48 miles (77 km) NNW
District	Wealden
Shire county	East Sussex
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	POLEGATE
Postcode district	BN26
Dialling code	01323
Police	Sussex
Fire	East Sussex
Ambulance	South East Coast
UK Parliament	Lewes
List of places UK England East Sussex 50°49′41″N0°12′11″E / 50.828°N 0.203°E / 50.828; 0.203

Long Man is a civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England, which includes the villages of Wilmington, Milton Street and Folkington. The parish is named after the Long Man of Wilmington, a 69.2-metre (227 ft) chalk figure in the parish.

The parish extends far from the left bank of the modest River Cuckmere where it starts to cut through the South Downs; the Cuckmere Valley lies immediately south. The A27 trunk road crosses the parish from west to east. The Wealdway long distance footpath also passes through the parish. The parish was formed on 1 April 1999 from "Folkington" and "Wilmington" parishes. ^[3]

Settlements

Wilmington

50°49′05″N0°11′31″E / 50.818°N 0.192°E / 50.818; 0.192

Ruins of Wilmington Priory at centre; St Mary and St Peter's Church, Wilmington is at top left.

Wilmington is about 6 miles north-west of Eastbourne in East Sussex. In the village there is the 12th-century Parish Church of St Mary and St Peter; ^[4] adjoining it are the ruins of the 12th-century Wilmington Priory. ^[5] The local public house is The Giant's Rest. The Wishing Well Tea Gardens are some of the oldest in Sussex, established c. 1900. The hotel Crossways is an archetypal Georgian brick and stone house, once home to the parents of international culinary guru, Elizabeth David.

The place-name 'Wilmington' is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as Wineltone and Wilminte. It appears as Wilmetun in 1212 in the Book of Fees . The name means 'the town or settlement of Wighelm's or Wilhelm's people'. ^[6]

Folkington

Folkington village lies beyond a green buffer, east of Wilmington. The church is dedicated to St Peter ad Vincula ^[7] and was formerly under the patronage of Earl De La Warr. ^[8] Folkington Manor was the seat of the Thomas family: the current manor house dates from the 1830s.

Current and former residents include broadcaster David Dimbleby, Bridget Monckton, 11th Lady Ruthven of Freeland and Harry Brünjes. ^[9]

Milton Street

This hamlet is home to the Sussex Ox pub. Milton Street was the setting of an episode of The Goon Show in which determined efforts are made to extinguish the sun. ^[10]

Landmarks

As semi-panorama of the Long Man civil parish region. On the far left is the village of Milton Street, in the centre-right is the village of Wilmington, and in the distance on the far-right is Hailsham.

Milton Gate Marsh, a Site of Special Scientific Interest, lies within the parish. It is a wetland area of biological importance for invertebrates and breeding birds. Amongst the fauna found here is the nationally rare hoverfly Cheilosia chrysocoma. ^[11] Another SSSI is Wilmington Downs, which is of biological interest as an area of rare chalk grassland. The area is also of archaeological interest as it contains the Long Man chalk figure. ^[12]

Governance

The lowest level of government is the Long Man parish council which meets once a month; is responsible for local amenities such as the provision of litter bins, bus shelters and allotments. They also provide a voice into the district council meetings. For elections, the parish is divided into three wards, Wilmington (four seats), Milton Street (two seats) and Folkington (one seat). ^[13]

Wealden District Council is the second tier of local government with services such as refuse collection, planning consent, leisure amenities and council tax collection. Long Man is in the East Dean ward, along with the Friston and Cuckmere Valley parishes. The single seat was won in the May 2007 election by the Conservative candidate. ^[14]

East Sussex County Council is the top tier of local government, providing education, libraries, social services and highways. Long Man falls within the Polegate, Willingdon and East Dean division which elects two councillors. ^[15]

At Westminster (General Elections) the relevant seat is Lewes.

References

1. "East Sussex in Figures". East Sussex County Council. Retrieved 26 April 2008.
2. "Civil Parish population 2011" . Retrieved 9 October 2015.
3. "The Wealden (Parishes) Order 1990" (PDF). Local Government Boundary Commission for England . Retrieved 3 February 2023.
4. Details and photographs of the church
5. Village notes included Archived 2008-04-11 at the Wayback Machine
6. Eilert Ekwall, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names, p.521.
7. St Peter's church
8. "Folkingham - Fordham Pages 248-250 A Topographical Dictionary of England". British History Online. S Lewis, London 1848. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
9. "KEVIN GORDON - The interesting folk of Folkington". www.sussexexpress.co.uk. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
10. "The Goon Show Site - Script - The Fireball of Milton Street (Series 5, Episode 22)".^{[ dead link ]}
11. "SSSI Citation — Milton Gate Marsh" (PDF). Natural England. Retrieved 25 September 2008.
12. "SSSI Citation — Wilmington Downs" (PDF). Natural England. Retrieved 12 October 2008.
13. "Results for Long Man Parish Council". Wealden District Council. 3 May 2007. Archived from the original on 29 October 2007. Retrieved 17 July 2008.
14. "Results for East Dean Ward". Wealden District Council. 3 May 2007. Archived from the original on 26 October 2007. Retrieved 17 July 2008.
15. "County Council Election Results". East Sussex County Council. Retrieved 17 July 2008.