Plumpton, East Sussex

Plumpton
Church of St Michael, Plumpton
Plumpton  Plumpton shown within East Sussex
Area	9.7 km2 (3.7 sq mi)
Population	1,676 (Parish-2007)
- Density	450 /sq mi (170 /km2)
OS grid reference	TQ359132
- London	41 miles (66 km) N
District	Lewes
Shire county	East Sussex
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LEWES
Postcode district	BN7
Dialling code	01273
Police	Sussex
Fire	East Sussex
Ambulance	South East Coast
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Lewes
Website	http://www.plumptonpc.co.uk/
List of places: UK • England • East Sussex

Plumpton is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. The village is located five miles (8 km) north-west of Lewes. The parish is 6.5 miles long, and 1 mile at its widest on the B2116 Underhill Road, with approximately one-quarter classified as Downland and the remainder Wealden. The crest of Plumpton Plain on the South Downs is the highest point at 214m (702 feet). The parish includes the small village of Plumpton adjacent to the Downs and to the north the larger village of Plumpton Green where most of the community and services are based. Plumpton is probably best known for its race course and, to a lesser extent, Plumpton College, formerly Plumpton Agricultural College.

The place-name 'Plumpton' is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as 'Pluntune', meaning 'town or settlement where plum-trees grew'.

Village layout

Plumpton Green is essentially a ribbon development immediately to the north of the railway, with a few select amenities. The main thoroughfare, Station Road, runs the length of the village, with several cul-de-sacs branching off from it. Station Road is home to the village shop, a church and three pubs. The majority of the road is paved on only one side.

Chapel Road is a small road with 24 houses. These are mostly semi-detached homes, although there is a very small terrace of cottages dating from about 1900. Woodgate Meadow and Westgate are fairly recent developments with new, large houses.

Plumpton railway station is on the East Coastway Line and the railway crossing has the last manually operated gates in Sussex. As of December 2010 it has an hourly service in each direction. Plumpton Racecourse is located between the two villages, immediately to the south of the railway. Meetings draw large crowds and on race days the population of Plumpton doubles and the rail service is supplemented with extra trains. Races are sometimes televised, bringing Plumpton Green to a much wider audience than it would otherwise reach.

In the early 1970s Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page purchased Plumpton Place, an Elizabethan manor, with 20th-century alterations by Sir Edwin Lutyens, surrounded by a moat and extensive gardens. With its relative proximity to Plumpton Racecourse the grounds also include stables for horses. Page outfitted the manor with a recording studio and the credits for the Led Zeppelin album In Through the Out Door indicates that album mixing was carried out there. The manor can be seen briefly near the beginning of the Led Zeppelin concert film, The Song Remains the Same where the camera walks up to Page, playing a hurdy gurdy, to inform him of the North American tour dates. Page sold the property in 1985.

Myths and legends

Plumpton Green is rumoured to have been the inspiration for the popular British children's television series Trumpton, with Chailey being nearby Chigley and Wivelsfield Green being Camberwick Green.

Village groups

There are many groups and societies in comparison to the size of the village; one of the most notable being Plumpton Players, a drama group. The society performs up to two plays a year. In 2007, the society was chosen to perform the worldwide premiere of A Wet and Windy Night by Declan Cleary. In May 2008, the Players performed Dave Freeman's classic comedy/farce A Bedful of Foreigners. In May 2009, the players performed another first. Don't Look Now by Daphne Du Maurier, adapted for the stage by Nell Leyshon, was a real departure for the group and proved that they were as good at disturbing serious productions as well as comedies and farces. The Players will be performing another "first" in May 2010 when they become the first amateur group to tackle Richard Bean's Political Sex Farce, In the Club. The village also has a Pantomime Society; every year they put on a different show.

There are also sporting groups, which attract visitors from across Sussex, including cricket, tennis, rugby and football clubs. The rugby club plays in Sussex Division 1. The cricket club is one of the most successful village teams in the area consistently winning both the Mid Sussex League and the Wisdom Cup. The club was the first in the area to wear "Coloured Clothing" in their cup matches. The kit consisted of maroon and yellow trousers with matching shirts. In 2008 the team moved to the East Sussex League winning the league by nearly 100 points. The season was a double success as the 2nd eleven also won their division by nearly 80 points. In 2009, the first eleven completed their second successive league win and promotion by winning division 3 by over 80 points, recording 14 wins and being the only team in all 12 divisions to stay unbeaten throughout the season.

Education

Plumpton Primary School. is located in Plumpton Green and was built in 1974 for children living in Plumpton and surrounding villages, especially Wivelsfield, Hamsey, and Chailey. The school has an assembly hall, a student library, a playing field and a (now defunct) swimming pool.

Schooling began in 1837, where two teachers taught in a small building ( measuring 22' x 16' - 6.7m x 4.9m ) in the south of the parish in Plumpton village. At this time the population of the parish was around 275 with some 20 children attending school. The rail station was opened in 1863 and by the 1870s the centre of the parish had moved northwards two miles and there were two drinking establishments, the village shop and a few other small businesses spaced along Station Road to the north of the station. There were also a number of brickmaking sites in the open fields to either side of Station Road. The 1870 Education Act introduced compulsory education and during 1875 the newly-formed Plumpton School Board approached a total of six local landowners to sell a half-acre plot for the building of the school. All refused. The threat of compulsory purchase finally procured, for £250, a site on Station Road 200m north of the railway and in 1877 building commenced on a large single schoolroom, with adjoining three-bedroomed house for the schoolmaster. The parish population was about 400 at this time, the school was designed for 64 pupils, and opened in 1878. It functioned for almost a century, and was extended at least twice to accommodate the ever-increasing population. The present school was built in 1974 at the end of Southdowns cul-de-sac, and provides education facilities for 150 pupils, ranging from the ages of 4 to 11 in seven educational years. The redundant old school had a number of community uses and then became a private residence until, in the late 1980s, with the addition of three new cottages it was converted into a total of seven dwellings. The adjoining schoolhouse was unaffected by this development, and remained unchanged.

Landmarks

Clayton to Offham Escarpment is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, which stretches from Hassocks in the west and passes through many parishes including Plumpton, to Lewes in the east. The site is of biological importance due to its rare chalk grassland habitat along with its woodland and scrub.

On the Downs in the south of the parish, there is evidence of ancient settlements, with enclosures and tumulus. Ditchling Cross is a 100 feet (30 m) cross carved into the hillside, now overgrown. It is of unknown origin although some believe it commemorates the Battle of Lewes of 1264.

External links

Media related to Plumpton, East Sussex at Wikimedia Commons