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Village in East Sussex, England

Barcombe is an East Sussex village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex. The parish has four settlements: old Barcombe , the oldest settlement in the parish with the parish church; Barcombe Cross , the more populous settlement and main hub with the amenities and services; the hamlet of Spithurst in the northeast and Town Littleworth in the northwest. Barcombe was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Berchamp". The origins of the placename 'Barcombe' may have derived from two sources: the Saxon 'Berecampe', meaning 'barley land' and the Latin loan word 'campus', a field. Barcombe is particularly noted to Sussex residents and tourists for 'Barcombe Mills', a reference to an old water mill complex on the River Ouse at the base of the hill/plateau on which Barcombe Cross sits. The mills burnt down before the Second World War, but Barcombe Mills is still a popular Sunday outing for townsfolk from Lewes and Brighton. Even more recently the Culver Archaeological Project found a Roman defended settlement just across the Ouse at Bridge Farm, Upper Wellingham , corroborating the importance of the Roman presence here. Old Barcombe's landscape could be a continuation of the Roman settlements.

Two railway lines ran through the villages: the line between Lewes and Uckfield; and the line from East Grinstead, part of which is now the Bluebell Railway. There were stations on each of the two lines: Barcombe station on the East Grinstead line, and Barcombe Mills station on the Uckfield line, with a junction south of the latter before the line continued to Lewes. Barcombe closed on 28 May 1955, whilst Barcombe Mills closed on 4 May 1969. Part of the line is now a cycle track. Barcombe Cross only became the hub of the parish when the railway line opened; before such time it was just one of the dispersed hamlets. A few cottages survive from the pre modern times including the 17th century Mongers Farmhouse
In summer 2021 National Highways (formerly Highways England) announced that they intended to infill the bridge over the old Lewes to Uckfield railway line that passes under Church Road. The bridge has been defined as "weak" for many years, with a 20 tonne weight limit for traffic. It is part of the Historical Railways Estate managed by National Highways on behalf of the Department for Transport, comprising 3,200 bridges, tunnels and viaducts, including 77 listed structures. Infilling would entail pouring 1800 tonnes of concrete under the bridge to support it. The land under the bridge is in a conservation area, is used for walking and has many varieties of wildlife. Barcombe residents worked with the Historical Railways Estate group, to prevent the infill. In Dec 2021 National Highways announced that they no longer intended to infill the bridge, but noted that they had an obligation to secure a weight limit of 24 tonnes for the bridge, so would be considering what action to take after devising a new method for assessing the structures it is responsible for.

Barcombe, the oldest settlement in the parish. It hosts the St Mary's parish church and there are a few old houses around it. The medieval church, with its fine shingled, broached spire, may incorporate some materials robbed from the Roman villa found nearby (though this is not visible in the restored church). The church was rebuilt in 1878–9. The agreement to restore the old church included a commitment to build a new church at Spithurst in the north of the parish. This was old St, Bartz.

Shelley's Folly was built by Theobald Shelley in 1686. The property passed through generations of the Shelley family until the early 19th century when the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley who was the next in line to inherit the property sold out to his younger brother in 1815, who himself sold it to Sir John Dodson, a well known judge and politician, in the 1840s. The Dodson family retained ownership of the property for the next 150 years. Through much of this period, they let it with notable tenants including George Murray Levick, a surgeon on the ill fated Terra Nova Antarctic expedition of Scott in 1912, and the Marchioness of Queensberry and family which included her grandson Lord Alfred Douglas, poet and former lover of Oscar Wilde. The Dodsons, now Lord Monk Brettons, moved back into the property in the late 1960s refurbishing the property before selling up in 2004.

North of the old Barcombe village towards Barcombe Cross is Camoiscourt Shaw , a woodland gill along which the derelict Bluebell Line ran. A footpath leads from Church Road across cow pasture and into the gill.

Conyboro Park, Cooksbridge, is in the parish of Barcombe. It has some woods, and the south side had some old trees of impressive girth. The section of the North End Stream to the south has a bank side Bluebell wood, and more woodland the east .

The village has three main routes into the centre of the village and the buildings cluster around the crossroads. A 1724 map by Richard Budgen is the first time the place name Barcombe Cross is identified and the map has a pictorial depiction of the crossroads. Barcombe Cross expanded from 1839 onwards when the railway station opened and has since become the main village in the parish hosting the parish school, shops, amenities and services. Barcombe Cross is now just known as Barcombe in the local area and is signposted as such. It is only on maps is it shown in its full name.

Barcombe Oil Mill which was in operation until 1909. It was demolished in 1917 leaving a few discarded millstones and the old mill leat. It is South of Barcombe Cross and north of Camoiscourt Shaw. Around the demolished mill is a pasture remarkable for its botanical richness, with a range of archaic meadow plants. There soils is very varied in this area which gives rise to the mix of grassland species, including plants which prefer acidic soils such as Tormentil, Heath Grass and Devil's Bit, through to those that prefer neutral grassland including Ox Eye Daisy and Pignut, to the alkaline loving Quaking Grass, Yellow Oat Grass and Ladies Bedstraw. and an important area for its wildlife, natural environment and water storage. The Barcombe Reservoir is adjacent. The area includes a small hamlet and some farms, including Barcombe House, and a water treatment works.

The hamlet of Spithurst is mainly on one lane, Spithurst Lane, running north of Barcombe Cross. The soil is Wealden Clay and three tiny but colourful old meadows still survive around Spithurst, including the old 'St Bartz' churchyard. In 1296 the hamlet was known as 'Splytherst' and this may have been after Alexander and Richard Splyherst. The name Spithurst could also be derived from the term 'split wood' because the hamlet did indeed split two giant 'hursts': on the west side, Knowlands, Oldpark, The Butletts, Spithurst Wood and Slutgarden Woods and on the east side, Burtenshaw's, Agmond's and Down Coppice Woods. Between Spithurst and Newick is the 2,000 acre Sutton Hall Estate.

St Bartholomew's Church was built in 1879 80 of flint with masonry. The church was part of a unique experiment in inter church co operation when the Anglican minister allowed the local Russian Orthodox clergy to use it on the Sundays that he was not. The small Orthodox congregation was made up of Russian exiles and converts and the church became famous for their elaborate ritual. In 1969 plans were drawn to close and demolish the building until a year later the Queen signed an order withdrawing the scheme. The church finally did close in 1994 and it became a diocesan youth centre called St Bartz. A large extension has been added on the north side. St Bartz youth centre closed during the pandemic and the building is now (2022) standing empty. Despite relatively small congregations, the churchyard is quite full and contains a large but anonymous family mausoleum. The relaxed management of the churchyard has given it the character of a woodland glade and a haven for wild flowers. Species recorded there (2017) include "Anemones, Bluebells and Goldenrod mixed in with Devils Bit and Betony, Ling Heather, Pepper Saxifrage, Bitter Vetch and Tormentil, lots of Birds Foot Trefoil, Mouse Ear Hawkweed and Red Clover". The Bevern Stream runs from the South Downs and there are many Downland flints brought by ice age torrents. It meanders from Clappers Bridge, , eastwards past Red Bridge and Beam Bridge, and, under the lost railway line, to the Ouse. It is particularly attractive to the west of Clappers Bridge, where there are water crowfoot, marsh frogs and minnows and bullheads swimming between the reeds. The big pond at Red Bridge, on Camoys Court Farm, was enlarged for crop irrigation circa 1980. Like the Bevern Stream, the North End Stream runs to the River Ouse from the South Downs and it also holds many Downland flints brought. The stream divides the Hamsey and Barcombe parishes and passes to the south of Old Barcombe. There is only one small stretch of public bank path along its entire length. There is a bankside Bluebell wood at Conyboro Park. The Longford Stream through the north of the parish and to the west it demarcates the boundary between Barcombe parish and Newick parish. Much if its banks are made from Ardingly Sandstone (deep mud) and are botanically rich and support many butterflies and beetles. In areas it creates marshy brooks such as Beak's Marsh where archaic fen and damp meadow vegetation partly remains. There is a large area of Greater Pond Sedge where roe deer hide. The Roman road to London passed across the eastern part of the marsh. The streams are known for their sea trout populations, which grow to large sizes and return year after year. Sadly these populations are on the brink of collapse due to mismanagement of these waterways, largely by Southern Water and sometimes farmers who have allowed their effluent to overflow into them. Wild salmon, which once bred in these waters, are now very rare.

Barcombe is part of the electoral ward Barcombe and Hamsey. The population of this ward at the 2011 census was 2,105, of which 741 lived in the only identified Built up Area, Barcombe (Cross). The latter had 320 homes, none of which communal establishments.

There are many bridleways and footpaths in and around the villages, linking to Lewes, Isfield, Newick and many other places. The Sussex Ouse Valley Way runs through Barcombe Mills to the south. The nearest railway station is now Cooksbridge, about 2 1/2 miles away. A bus service is provided to the bus stop at the north of Barcombe Cross and outside the junction with the old road at Barcombe Mills. Services are provided by Compass Travel. The buses connect with the trains at Cooksbridge. There are no buses on Sundays to Barcombe Cross and no buses at all on weekends to Barcombe Mills. The A26 between Lewes and Uckfield runs southeast of the villages. It can be accessed 2 mile (3 km) from the centre of the village via Barcombe Mills Road. The A275 runs north of the villages. This links Lewes and Haywards Heath.

Bernard Holden, veteran of the Burma campaign, president of the Bluebell Railway and father of standard gauge railway preservation was born in Barcombe Station in 1908. Kim Sears (also Murray), wife of tennis star Andy Murray, was born in the village. Steve Coogan, known for his comedic character Alan Partridge also lives on the outskirts of the village. Natasha Kaplinsky https://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Natasha Kaplinsky. She grew up in Barcombe Mills, returned many years later during her high profile TV years. https://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Natasha Kaplinsky