Framfield: Church, Building History and the High Weald

Framfield brings together the history of an ancient church site, several historic houses with precise dates, and a public path through the churchyard. The village lies in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Planning a visit therefore focuses above all on local history, architectural styles and a walk; the historic houses span several centuries.

The Church and the History of the Site

The Church of St Thomas à Becket was built in the early 13th century. A church had already stood on the same site since Saxon times. These are two different dates: the church site dates back to an earlier era, while the present building is attributed to the early 13th century. Those interested in local history can therefore distinguish the history of a place from the age of its current church building.

Historic Houses and Their Features

Framfield Place is a Grade II* listed house dating from the early to mid-19th century. Norman Shaw and Sir Edwin Lutyens remodelled it. Inside is an elliptical billiard room with Neo-Adamitic plasterwork by Norman Shaw. The house links its date to the names of its two remodelers; the billiard room is a specific feature of its interior architecture.

Framfield Grange shows a different period and style: this Grade II listed house dates from the late 18th century and is built of red brick. The doorway has fluted Doric columns. Little Streele is a Grade II listed, T-shaped house: its timber-framed north wing dates from the 16th century, while the east and west wings date from the 17th century. Duckings, meanwhile, is a Grade II listed building from the 16th century. Its façade combines red brick on the ground floor with a tile-hung upper storey.

The houses can be compared through their different features: the doorway at Framfield Grange, the construction phases of the wings at Little Streele, and the change in façade materials at Duckings. Together with Framfield Place, they span the period from the 16th to the 19th century. This gives culture-minded visitors various ways to consider the buildings’ dates, forms and materials.

Churchyard, Paths and Nature

A public path runs through the churchyard and connects it with walking routes to the south and east. If you plan to use this path, check local conditions before setting out. Slow worms, a protected species, have occasionally been spotted in the churchyard. These sightings add a natural-history aspect to the site’s historical interest.

Eating in the Village

The Hare & Hounds in the village of Framfield is a pub and restaurant. If you plan to eat there, check the current menu in advance, as it may change.

Discover more destinations: Crowhurst, Lewes, Brightling, Groombridge, Brighton, Rye, East Hoathly, Bexhill-On-Sea

For the wider travel overview: East Sussex.