Guestling is a village and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England. The village is located 3 miles (4.8 km) north-east of Hastings on the A259 road to Rye. Its parish church is dedicated to St Laurence.
| Guestling | |
|---|---|
 St Laurence's Church, Guestling | |
  Guestling Location within East Sussex | |
| Area | 15.9 km2 (6.1 sq mi) [1] |
| Population | 1,432 (Parish-2011)[2] |
| • Density | 207/sq mi (80/km2) |
| OS grid reference | TQ848132 |
| • London | 53 miles (85 km) NW |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| 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 | |
History
editGuestling, referred to in the Domesday Book (1086) as Gestelinges, was originally named as a settlement of the family of a man named Gyrstel.[3] The Domesday entry records that the village consisted in 1086 of 21 households, 14 villagers and 7 cottagers.[4]
In 1542, Gregory Martin was born in Guestling and went on to do the majority of the translation for the Douay–Rheims Bible, the first full official Catholic English Bible translation.[5] In 1896, hand made bricks were first produced in Guestling,[6] which would go on to be used in Royal locations such as Buckingham Palace and Hampton Court.[5]
In June 2017, Brian Bellhouse was trampled to death by a herd of cows in a field at Church Lane, Guestling.[7][8]
Geography
editThe village of Guestling is located 2 miles (3.2 km) from the coast, and about 3.25 miles (5.23 km) north east of Hastings[9] The village is a scattered one, consisting of multiple parts, including Guestling Green and Guestling Thorn. The hamlet of Three Oaks also lies within the parish.[10]
Landmarks and culture
editThe village was probably originally centred around the St Laurence's Church, built in the 11th century: the building has a Norman tower which has been Grade I listed since 1961.[11] However, the villagers moved further away from the church, possibly owing to victims of the Black Death being buried in the churchyard.[12][13] Also buried in the graveyard was Olive "Nou" Rand Brockwell, nanny of Christopher Robin Milne.[14] The church was restored in 1886, but was further damaged by a fire in 1890.[15] The village's war memorials are located within the church, with 24 names from the First World War and 8 from the Second World War.[16] There has been an annual Flower Festival since the 1990s at St Laurence's Church.[17]
The school in the village is the Guestling-Bradshaw CE Primary School, which dates back to 1835.[18]
References
edit- ^ "East Sussex in Figures". East Sussex County Council. Retrieved 26 April 2008.
- ^ "Civil Parish population 2011". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
- ^ Mills, A. D. (2011). A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. p. 216. ISBN 9780199609086.
- ^ Powell-Smith, Anna. "Open Domesday". Retrieved 1 March 2020.
- ^ a b "Guestling Parish Council". Guestling Parish Council. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
- ^ "Refurbishment". Royal Institute of British Architects Journal. 97. RIBA Magazines 1990. 1990.
- ^ "Tributes to Oxford Professor who was trampled by herd of cows | Meridian - ITV News". Itv.com. 14 June 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
- ^ "Former Oxford professor Brian Bellhouse 'trampled to death by cows' (From Oxford Mail)". Oxfordmail.co.uk. 14 June 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
- ^ "History of Guestling, in Rother and Sussex". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
- ^ "Guestling" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
- ^ "St Laurence, Church Lane". Historic England. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
- ^ Collins, Mark. "Westfield, (East Sussex)". Sussex OPC. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
- ^ "Guestling in East Sussex". Village Net. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
- ^ "The Parish Church of St Laurence". Historic England. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
- ^ "Guestling Church: Church of St Laurence". Weald and Downland Churches. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
- ^ Comber, Chris. "Guestling War Memorial". Roll of Honour. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
- ^ "Popular Guestling Flower Festival returns for another year". Rye and Battle Observer. 15 August 2019. Archived from the original on 1 March 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
- ^ "Our School". Guestling Bradshaw CE Primary School. Retrieved 1 March 2020.