WELCOME TO OUR WEBSITE

The civil parish of Chalvington with Ripe, in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England, is made up of two villages (Chalvington and Ripe) and Deanland. A map of the parish is listed below.

They are located in the upper Rivers Cuckmere and Ouse joint valley north of the South Downs, between the A27 and the A22 roads, and some 15 miles (24 km) north-west of Eastbourne. Ripe is the larger of the two ecclesiastical parishes with 1120 acres (448 ha), compared to the 729 acres (292 ha) of Chalvington.

Chalvington

The village of Chalvington (Charnton in the traditional Sussex dialect) is named Calvintone or Caveltone in the Domesday Book. It is located in the area between the A27 and the A22 roads, some 15 miles (24 km) north-west of Eastbourne. The name Chalvington, comes from the Saxon Caelfa's farm, and many local names derive from their occupation of the area.

There is one public house in the village, the Yew Tree Inn. The parish church is dedicated to St Bartholomew.[4]

Deanland and Deanland Wood Park

RAF Deanland, as it was known in 1943–44, played an important part in the Second World War. As an ALG (Advanced Landing Ground), of which the Park was an integral part, it was a temporary airfield that hosted a Spitfire squadron with a record of some exceptional successes. For instance, it played a large part in the battle with the V1 rocket or "Doodlebug" as it was known. 

Deanland was right under the flight path of these death machines that were aimed at London. The third highest scorers in the fighter squadrons were those stationed at Deanland with their Spitfires scoring 185 kills. Deanland is also reputed to be the first Spitfire squadron to give air cover to the D-Day landings in Normandy. 

Deanland Wood Park is a well established, residential park home estate for people of retirement age. The present main car park and some of the roads on the park were first used by the RAF in 1943. 

Ripe

Ripe is a village within the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. It is located eight miles (13 km) east of Lewes in the valley north of the South Downs. The two villages are adjacent to one another, Ripe ecclesiastical parish being the larger of the two in area. There is limited public transport to the village.

The village, in a mainly rural area, is mentioned in the Domesday Book and has had a number of names, including Alchitone, Achiltone, Achintone, Echentone and Eckington. The 13th-century parish church is dedicated to St John the Baptist.[5] There is limited public transport to the village.

At the end of the Anglo-Saxon period it was owned by Earl Harold Godwinson, who become King Harold II and was killed at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The Domesday Book mentions 'Rype' and 'Echentone' which were owned by Richer de Aquila (L'Aigle), and the church is also mentioned in the 1291 Pope Nicholas IV Taxatio ecclesiastical tax assessment survey.

The novelist Malcolm Lowry, best known for Under the Volcano, died at age 47 in a boarding house in Ripe on 27 June 1957. Lowry is buried in the village churchyard. Ripe was also the retirement home of the tattooed performer Horace Ridler (the Great Omi) who died there in 1969.