Jevington - (Smugglers and Churchill Tanks)

General Details

Jevington in East Sussex is an old village nestling in a quiet valley in the South Downs not far from Eastbourne . There was a neolithic settlement near the village, and many barrows can be found on the nearby hills.

The church in the village dates from about 900AD and had a defensive tower similar to the one at East Dean . The tower was the refuge from the Vikings when they came raiding the area, probably trying to kill the population that supplied King Alfred the Great's port at nearby Exceat .

Jevington Place the local manor house is mentioned in the Domesday book.

A monastry was founded in the village in 1344 and dedicated to St Lewinna ( see Alfriston ) but was closed by Henry VIII when he dissolved the monastries in 1538 .

The area was well known for its smuggling connections with a smuggler James Pettit known as 'Jevington Jigg' organising the smuggling in the local area. The gang offloaded at nearby Birling Gap and Crowlink , and brought the contraband up the valleys to Jevington where they were stored in the cellar of the Rectory and in the inn. Pettit was the local innkeeper and leader of the local gang in the 1780's . As a criminal he seemed to be interested in both smuggling and horse thieving as he was imprisoned at Battle , Horsham and East Grinstead . In 1799 he was convicted of horse thieving and was deported to Botany Bay.

During the Second World War Winston Churchill visited the village to see the final prooving of the Churchill tank on the hills above the village in 1940 .

Views

The village is very pretty, and a walk up Church Lane to the church which lies on the higher ground and overlooks the village is very pleasant.

The South Downs Way runs through the village for those more daring visitors.

Services

Jevington in East Sussex has a few local services, mostly dealing with the tourists who flock into the area in the summer.

The nearest trains are from Polegate about 3 miles north which is on the coastal line.

The nearest major shopping area is at Eastbourne about 5 miles to the east.

Map

Jevington is shown as the red symbol on the map.

Nearby Villages
(click on symbol to see the village page)

Alciston

(Fifty thousand tiles on the Barn)

4.39 miles

Alfriston

(Smuggling and Ghosts)

2.81 miles

Arlington

(Peaceful Saxon Village)

3.93 miles

Berwick

(Sharpen your arrows on the Church)

3.57 miles

Bishopstone

(Largest Tide-Mill in Sussex)

5.56 miles

East Blatchington

(Mutiny and the Edge of Space)

5.14 miles

East Dean

(Fishing and Wrecking)

2.39 miles

Exceat

(Alfred the Great's Naval Base?)

2.99 miles

Folkington

(Teasles and Badgers)

1.58 miles

Friston

(Home of the Railway Children)

1.96 miles

Litlington

(Secret marriage of George IV)

2.55 miles

Lullington

(destroyed by Cromwell ??)

2.45 miles

Pevensey

(Ancient Roman Fortification)

5.84 miles

Pevensey Bay

(Fishing and Martello Towers)

5.89 miles

Polegate

(Fine old Tower Mill)

2.58 miles

Seaford

(The cormorants or shags)

5.16 miles

Selmeston

(Tomb to store the Contraband)

4.77 miles

Westham

(Enclosure for the Castle)

5.06 miles

Wilmington

(The Long Man)

2.11 miles

Firle

(Home of the Greengage)

6.76 miles

Local Businesses

Roman, Saxon and Norman History of the South East

For all things mosaic, commissions workshops etc please contact Hannah

The Rudes as lots of people call us, are an outdoor touring theatre company specialising in taking new & original theatre to mainly small rural communities and a few towns across the South of England. We were founded in 1998 & first toured in the Summer of 1999. Currently we tour only in the summer performing 50+ times nightly during June, July & August. https://therudemechanicaltheatre.co.uk

The Bald Explorer for local documentaries

It's the year 1906. Rumours abound that a deadly plot is hatching - not in the fog-ridden back-alleys of London's Limehouse district or the sinister Devon moors of the Hound of the Baskervilles but in faraway Peking...

Battle Brewery our local excellent micro brewery