Streat
Streat | |
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East Sussex | |
Ambulance | South East Coast |
UK Parliament | |
Streat is a village and parish in the
The 11th-century parish church has no dedication;[3] the ecclesiastical parish is joined with Westmeston.
Landmarks
Clayton to Offham Escarpment is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, which stretches from Hassocks in the west and passes through many parishes including Streat, to Lewes in the east. The site is of biological importance due to its rare chalk grassland habitat along with its woodland and scrub.[4]
History
There is a lot of evidence of human activity, such as flint digging, working and cooking during the
As is true in most of the Weald, Medieval Streat had much common land for people to graze their animals, make hay and garner other resources. A quarter of the common was ploughed up in 1258. Much later, between 1600 and 1684, the rest of the main commons of Streat were enclosed. Before its nineteenth century enclosure there was a third arm to Streat Green which tracked south through Riddens Wood (TQ 358 170) down to Riddens Farm, by the railway line. The braided paths can still be made out in the wood. It used to be called "Chinese Wood" because there was a Chinese temple there. The temple is now gone, but its existence explains the presence of
The Lower Greensand ridge is cut deep by the old swine pasture droves. Streat Lane itself is an example of such an ancient droveway, used by villagers to seasonally move their livestock and crops. The partial survival of archaic pasture vegetation on the linear greens gives evidence of this history.[6]
Notable buildings and areas
Streat is a thin parish that stretches from Wivelsfield parish in the north to Falmer in the South Downs. It is squashed between Plumpton to the east and Westmeston to the west. For nearly two miles north of the Downs, Streat Lane is narrow and winding, sufficiently traffic free to make walking possible with care, with tall nutty hedgerows on either side.
Roman roads
It was forgotten for many centuries that Streat owed its name to the presence of a Roman road that cuts through the parish (Anglo-Saxon place names containing "Street", "Streat" or "Stret", usually indicate a
Streat greens
Although most of the Streat greens are no longer registered as common land, their boundaries still exist. The western arm, Streat Lane Green (TQ 352 167), is owned by the parish council, but is managed by the residents backing on to each section. Parts are managed sensitively for wildlife, but others are over-mown like suburban lawns, and the flowers and grasses get no chance to set seed or attract butterflies and bees (2016). Some parts are lost to thick thorn scrub, making it difficult to envisage the green as a unitary habitat. Some areas do still have archaic and rare species such as
The eastern arm, Shergold's Farm Green, (TQ 356 165) is well-managed for nature and much is owed to the owner of Shergolds Farm who has loved and preserved the farm's conservation features.
Woods
The woods in the parish are lovely and species-rich. Brocks Wood (TQ 349 143) is a
Streat church
The Streat church (TQ 350 151) commands grand views from the
Bevern stream
The Bevern Stream's clean and clear waters flow through this parish and support trout,
Old Rectory
There is an Old Rectory, a listed building, which may indicate the existence of chancel repair liability[8] to any lay improprietors of land which was once belonged to the church.
Streat Place
Streat Place is a manor house built in the early 17th century, next to the church, by Walter Dobell who died in 1624. It is a huge
Blackberry Wood Campsite
The Blackberry Wood Campsite (TQ 351 147) has been described as "enchanted and eccentric". It has an American diner, a gipsy caravan, a London bus, and there is a stream side with fallen trees across and tree swings.
Streat Hill
The parish reaches its highest point at the top of Streat Hill where it rises to 224m above sea level. There are two
In past centuries much traffic traversed the hill between the coast and the deep
Jubilee plantation
To the west of the Streat Hill bostal there is the Queen Victoria Jubilee plantation (TQ 348 130), which forms the sign of a V on the middle of the bare scarp slope. Six species were planted in 1887 to mark Queen Victoria's Silver Jubilee, including pine.
Governance
Streat lies within the Chailey ward for the East Sussex County Council tier of government. The ward also includes Chailey itself, Ditchling, East Chiltington, Newick, St John Without, Plumpton, Westmeston and Wivelsfield.
Streat is served by
The UK Parliament constituency for Streat is Lewes.
References
- ^ "East Sussex in Figures". East Sussex County Council. Retrieved 26 April 2008.
- ^ "Civil Parish population 2011". Retrieved 12 October 2015.
- ^ Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1239635)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 16 June 2012. Architectural details
- ^ "Natural England - SSSI (Clayton to Offham Escarpment)". English Nature. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
- ^ Holgate, R., 2000. Late glacial and post-glacial hunter-gatherers in Sussex. The Archaeology of Sussex to AD, pp.29-38.
- ^ OCLC 1247849975.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ^ Helen Livingston, In the Footsteps of Caesar: Walking Roman Roads in Britain 1995 BCA pp30-32
- ^ Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1239655)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 16 June 2012. The Old Rectory
- ^ http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=56931 Victoria County History A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 7
- ^ Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1239638)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 16 June 2012. Streat Place
- Scheduled Ancient Monuments- bowl barrow
- OCLC 701098669.
- ^ "Plumpton, Streat, East Chiltington and St John (Without) ward 2011". Retrieved 12 October 2015.
External links
Media related to Streat at Wikimedia Commons