Fairlight, East Sussex

Village in East Sussex, England

For other uses, see Fairlight (disambiguation).

Human settlement in England

Fairlight

The Fire Hills at Fairlight in 2000

Fairlight

Location within East Sussex

Area| 6.1 km2 (2.4 sq mi) [1]
Population| 1,670 (Parish-2011)[2]
• Density| 711/sq mi (275/km2)
OS grid reference| TQ866121
• London| 54 miles (87 km) NW
District|

* Rother

Shire county|

* East Sussex

Region|

* South East

Country| England
Sovereign state| United Kingdom
Post town| HASTINGS
Postcode district| TN35
Dialling code| 01424
Police| Sussex
Fire| East Sussex
Ambulance| South East Coast
UK Parliament|

* Hastings and Rye

Website| http://www.fairlight.org.uk/

List of places

England
East Sussex

50°53′N 0°39′E﻿ / ﻿50.88°N 0.65°E﻿ / 50.88; 0.65

Fairlight is a village in East Sussex, England within Rother district, three miles (5 km) to the east of Hastings. Fairlight is also the name of the civil parish forming part of the Rother district which includes the villages of Fairlight and the much larger Fairlight Cove. The village of Fairlight lies on a minor road between Ore, Pett and Winchelsea.

St Andrew's Church (built 1845) has a tall tower and beacon turret, and can be seen for some distance around. The church is one of three in the United Benefice of Fairlight, Guestling and Pett. Richard D'Oyly Carte, founder of the Savoy Theatre, Savoy Hotel, and D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, which produced the Gilbert and Sullivan light operas, is buried in the churchyard. So also are Thomas Attwood Walmisley, and Sir James Roberts of Saltaire and his wife.[3]

Fairlight Cove, the neighbouring settlement and part of the parish, has suffered from coastal erosion and landslips at Rockmead Road and Sea Road. A number of houses there are very close to the sea edge, and properties on those roads have suffered through demolition and abandonment of a number of properties. The Fairlight Preservation Trust, a registered charity,[4] was set up with a view to combating the loss by erosion and more generally to enhance and protect the village. Sea defences were built in the 1990s at Sea Road and at Rockmead Road in 2007. The 2007 works are intended to be effective for 50 years from 2007, and are regularly monitored by Rother District Council and by the Trust.

Although the nearest railway station is Three Oaks, Hastings offers a much better service and can be reached by bus from Fairlight. Rye station is also accessible by bus from Fairlight.

The Cinema Museum in London holds extensive home movies filmed in and around Fairlight from the 1950s and 60s.[5]

## Landmarks

[edit]

Hastings Country Park[6] stretches from Hastings to Cliff End, where it gives access to the beach. This is a favoured spot for fossil-hunters; the "Hastings Beds" are part of the Early Cretaceous Wealden Group, aged 140–136 million years.[7] The park also gives access to the beach at Fairlight Glen.

The highest point in Hastings, now named North's Seat, is at the top of Fairlight Down in Hastings Country Park. It is named after Frederick North (MP) who represented the town. There used to be a windmill at this location, near which General William Roy erected a 32-foot temporary tower for vital cross-channel observations as part of the Anglo-French Survey (1784–1790), which used trigonometric measurements to link the Royal Greenwich Observatory in London with the Paris Observatory.

The country park is part of the larger Site of Special Scientific Interest called Hastings Cliffs to Pett Beach which extends into neighbouring parishes. The site is of both geological and biological interest.[8]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "East Sussex in Figures". East Sussex County Council. Archived from the original on 28 December 2012. Retrieved 26 April 2008.
2. ^ "Parish population 2011". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
3. ^ Sir James Roberts and Saltaire
4. ^ "Charity overview". Archived from the original on 29 July 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
5. ^ "Cinema Museum Home Movie Database.xlsx". Google Docs. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
6. ^ Hastings Country Park Archived 2005-12-01 at the Wayback Machine
7. ^ Hopson, P.M., Wilkinson, I.P. and Woods, M.A. (2010) A stratigraphical framework for the Lower Cretaceous of England. Research Report RR/08/03. British Geological Survey, Keyworth.
8. ^ "Natural England - SSSI". English Nature. Archived from the original on 25 May 2011. Retrieved 5 October 2008.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fairlight.

* Fairlight Community Website

* v
* t
* e

Settlements in the Rother district of East Sussex

Towns|

* Battle
* Bexhill-on-Sea
* Rye

Villages and hamlets|

* Ashburnham
* Ashburnham Forge
* Beckley
* Bodiam
* Bowler's Town
* Brede
* Brightling
* Brownbread Street
* Burwash
* Cackle Street
* Camber
* Catsfield
* Cliff End
* Cripps Corner
* Crowhurst
* Dallington
* East Guldeford
* Etchingham
* Ewhurst Green
* Fairlight
* Fairlight Cove
* Flimwell
* Guestling Green
* Guestling Thorn
* Hollingrove
* Houghton Green
* Hurst Green
* Icklesham
* Iden
* Kent Street
* Mountfield
* Northbridge Street
* Northiam
* Oxley's Green
* Peasmarsh
* Penhurst
* Pett
* Pett Level
* Playden
* Ponts Green
* Robertsbridge
* Rye Foreign
* Rye Harbour
* Salehurst
* Saltcote
* Saltcote Street
* Sedlescombe
* Silver Hill
* Springfield
* Staplecross
* Stonegate
* Ticehurst
* Three Oaks
* Twelve Oaks
* Udimore
* Westfield
* Whatlington
* Winchelsea
* Winchelsea Beach

Civil parishes|

* List of civil parishes in Rother

* v
* t
* e

Ceremonial county of East Sussex

East Sussex Portal

Unitary authorities|

City of Brighton and Hove

Boroughs or districts|

* Eastbourne
* Hastings
* Lewes
* Rother
* Wealden

Major settlements
(cities in italics)|

* Battle
* Bexhill-on-Sea
* Brighton
* Crowborough
* Eastbourne
* Hailsham
* Hastings
* Heathfield
* Hove
* Lewes
* Newhaven
* Peacehaven
* Rottingdean
* Rye
* Seaford
* St Leonards-on-Sea
* Telscombe
* Uckfield
* Wadhurst
* Winchelsea
See also: List of civil parishes in East Sussex

Rivers|

* Cuckmere
* Rother
* Tillingham

Topics|

* Geography
* Parliamentary constituencies
* Places
* Population of major settlements
* History
* Museums
* Schools
* SSSIs
* Country houses
* Grade I listed buildings
* Grade II* listed buildings
* Scheduled monuments
* Lord Lieutenants
* High Sheriffs
* Transport
* South Coast Plain
* South Downs
* Beachy Head
* High Weald
* Long Man of Wilmington

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