Long Man

Long Man
Long Man of Wilmington
Long Man  Long Man shown within East Sussex
Area	16.1 km2 (6.2 sq mi) [1]
Population	447 (Parish-2011)[2]
– density	66/sq mi (25/km2)
OS grid reference	TQ553063
– London	48 miles (77 km) NNW
District	Wealden
Shire county	East Sussex
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	POLEGATE
Postcode district	BN26
Dialling code	01323
Police	Sussex
Fire	East Sussex
Ambulance	South East Coast
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Lewes
List of places UK England East Sussex

Coordinates: 50°50′N 0°12′E / 50.84°N 0.20°E / 50.84; 0.20

Long Man is a civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England which includes the villages of Wilmington, Milton Street and Folkington. The parish is named after the Long Man of Wilmington, a 69.2-metre (227 ft) chalk figure, which is located within the parish.

Geography

The parish is situated in the River Cuckmere valley, where it cuts through the South Downs. The A27 trunk road crosses the parish from west to east. The Wealdway long distance footpath also passes through the parish.

Governance

The lowest level of government is the Long Man parish council which meets once a month. The parish council is responsible for local amenities such as the provision of litter bins, bus shelters and allotments. They also provide a voice into the district council meetings. For elections, the parish is divided into three wards, Wilmington (four seats), Milton Street (two seats) and Folkington (one seat). The election on 3 May 2007 was uncontested in all three wards with only one candidate standing in the Milton Street ward.^[3]

Wealden District council provides the next level of government with services such as refuse collection, planning consent, leisure amenities and council tax collection. Long Man lies within the East Dean ward, along with the Friston and Cuckmere Valley parishes. The single seat was won in the May 2007 election by the Conservative candidate.^[4]

East Sussex county council is the third tier of government, providing education, libraries and highway maintenance. Long Man falls within the Polegate, Willingdon and East Dean division which provides two councillors to the council. The May 2005 returned two Liberal Democrat Councillors—Roy Martin and Steven Sai Hung Shing.^[5]

The UK parliamentary constituency for the parish is Lewes. Norman Baker is the standing MP and has represented the constituency since the 1997 election.

At European level, Long Man is represented by the South-East region, which holds ten seats in the European Parliament. The June 2004 election returned four Conservatives, two Liberal Democrats, two UK Independence, one Labour and one Green, none of whom live in East Sussex.^[6]

Settlements

Wilmington

Ruins of Wilmington Priory

It is about 12 miles (20 km) north-west of Eastbourne. In Saxon times it was known as Wineltone; it was recorded in the Domesday Book. In the village there is the 12th-century Parish Church of St Mary and St Peter;^[7] close by are the ruins of a 12th-century priory.^[8] The local public house is The Giant's Rest. The Wishing Well Tea Gardens are one of the oldest in Sussex—they were established c. 1900. Local hotel "Crossways", this delightful Georgian house was once the home of Elizabeth David's parents.

Folkington

Folkington village is located to the east of Wilmington. The church here is dedicated to St Peter ad Vincula.^[9]

Milton Street

This hamlet is home to the Sussex Ox pub. Milton Street was the setting of an episode of The Goon Show in which determined efforts are made to extinguish the sun.^[10]

Landmarks

A panoramic wide view of the Long Man civil parish region. On the far left is the village of Milton Street, in the centre-right is the village of Wilmington, and in the distance on the far-right is Hailsham.

Milton Gate Marsh, a Site of Special Scientific Interest, lies within the parish. It is a wetland area of biological importance for invertebrates and breeding birds. Amongst the fauna found here is the nationally rare hoverfly Cheilosia chrysocoma.^[11] The other SSSI is Wilmington Downs, which is of biological interest as an area of rare chalk grassland. The area is also of archaeological interest as it contains the Long Man chalk figure.^[12]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Long Man.