Playden
Village and parish in East Sussex, England
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Playden is a village and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England. The village is located one mile (1.6 km) north of Rye.
| Playden | |
|---|---|
 Playden Location within East Sussex | |
| Area | 16.6 km2 (6.4 sq mi) -inc East Guldeford[1] |
| Population | 340 (Parish-2011)[2] |
| • Density | 51/sq mi (20/km2) |
| OS grid reference | TQ925226 |
| • London | 52 miles (84 km) NW |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | RYE |
| Postcode district | TN31 |
| Dialling code | 01797 |
| Police | Sussex |
| Fire | East Sussex |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| UK Parliament | |
History
Playden is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Pleidena, having 37 households, ploughlands and a church.[3] It is a largely rural parish, having no village centre, and the hamlet of Houghton Green is included in the parish. Playden's main occupation was fishing: the fish were salted in a one-time settlement known as Saltcote, after the fact that it had a fish salting industry based there. Saltcote Street is now all that remains of that industry.[4]
Governance
Playden Parish Council has four councillors,[5] and meets monthly at the WI Hall in the village.[6]
The parish is within the Rother District of East Sussex. In the United Kingdom Parliament, it is part of the Hastings & Rye constituency, represented since the 2019 UK general election by Sally-Ann Hart, of the Conservative party.
Landmarks
The Norman church is dedicated to St Michael.[7] It was begun in 1190, and contains a ladder to the bell tower dated 1686.[8]
The field in front of the Church formerly known as Beacon Oak Field was the site of a 15th century beacon at Sawcut (sic), sighting from Tenterden and Alomsbridge (about Newington Bridge, Kent, name has disappeared). The beacon was in the form of a tar filled barrel in an oak tree that was burnt down around 1930 but the stump remains.
The parish includes a two-acre field known as The Butt Field, which since 1703 has been available to the people of the village for "archery practice, recreation and sport".[9] It is now mainly used for the grazing of sheep.
Within the parish there is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Houghton Green Cliff. This is an exposed cliff face displaying sandstones of geological interest.[10]
In addition, part of the Dungeness, Romney Marsh & Rye SSSI lies within Playden parish.
People
The artist and scientific illustrator Brian Hargreaves (1935-2011) lived in Playden up until the time of his death.[11]
