Hellingly contains the confluence of the River Cuckmere and one of its tributaries, the Bull River, close to the centre of the historic Hellingly village. The parish stands on the lower southern slopes of the gentle uplands forming the Weald.
The geographic centre of the parish is southeast of Old North Street and northwest of Church Lane, 2 miles (3.2 km) north of the town centre of Hailsham.
The village of Hellingly, the village of Lower Dicker, the village of Lower Horsebridge, the hamlet of Grove Hill, the suburbs of Roebuck Park and Carters Corner, are all entirely within the boundaries of the parish of Hellingly.
Liminal areas to the north of the village of Upper Dicker, to the east of the hamlet of Gun Hill, and to the south of the hamlet of North Corner, also fall within the boundaries of the parish of Hellingly.
History
The villages and settlements in the parish, like many others on the Weald, were involved in the Wealden iron industry.
The watermill in the village of Hellingly connected with the industry is no longer in operation. The mill building is a Grade II* listed building[3] and the associated miller's house is Grade II.[4]Horselunges Manor is a moated Tudor manor house, originally built for the Devenish family and restored by Walter Godfrey in the 1930s, and is Grade I listed.[5]
Hospitals
There are two NHS mental health sites within the parish of Hellingly, one is the Amberstone Hospital, a specialist rehabilitation unit to help people recover from long-term mental health issues, and the other site is the Hellingly Centre, a medium secure unit for people between the ages of 18 and 65 who have mental health problems and who have become involved with the criminal justice system. Both sites are managed by Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.
Hellingly Hospital once dominated the area east of the village and was the principal mental hospital for East Sussex. Opened in 1903 it remained in use until 1994. The buildings maintenance were under-invested before being sold by the NHS and demolished to be replaced by a housing estate, named by the developer as Roebuck Park.
Sport
The main sports clubs in the village are Hellingly Rugby Club and Hellingly cricket club, which are both at Horsebridge recreation ground.
Governance
Hellingly civil parish is administered at the lowest level of local government by Hellingly Parish Council.
Hellingly civil parish forms part of the larger Hellingly district ward, which also includes the village of Magham Down and the settlement of Ginger’s Green, in the Wealden District, with Wealden District Council being the middle level of local government for Hellingly.
Hellingly district ward forms part of the even larger Arlington, East Hoathly & Hellingly county electoral division for East Sussex, with East Sussex County Council being the highest level of local government for Hellingly.
The population of this ward at the 2011 census was 5,940.[6]
The 13th-14th century parish church is dedicated to St Peter and St Paul. It is the only remaining example of a church built on a Saxon ciric, a circular mound, in the county.[7] The chancel dates from about 1200, and the shafts with annulets round the windows and the band of palmettes under them are substantially original.
Peter Grant (1935–1995), actor and music executive, lived in Hellingly, at Horselunges Manor, which was featured in the opening scene of the Led Zeppelin film, The Song Remains the Same, and is buried in the civil cemetery.
