Plumpton, East Sussex
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Plumpton is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. The village is located five miles (8km) north-west of Lewes. To the north is the village of Plumpton Green.
Although it has been assumed that the name Plumpton was derived from the village's history of plum agriculture, it actually comes from the Old English word plumpt, meaning "positioned under". It refers to the village's position "under" South Downs.
[edit] Myths and legends
Plumpton Green was the inspiration for the popular British children's television series Trumpton, with Chailey being nearby Chigly and Wivelsfield Green being Camberwick Green.
[edit] Village Layout
Plumpton Green is essentially a ribbon development with a few select amenities.. The main thoroughfare, Station Road, runs the length of the village, with several cul-de-sacs branching off from it. Station Road is home to the village shop, the Volkswagen garage, a hairdresser's, a church and two pubs. The majority of the road is paved on only one side.
Chapel Road is a small road with 24 houses. These are mostly semi-detached homes, although there is a very small terrace of cottages dating from about 1900. Woodgate Meadow and Westgate are fairly recent developments with new, large, similar-looking houses.
Plumpton railway station is on the East Coastway Line and the railway crossing has the last manually operated gates in Sussex. . Rail service is infrequent during the day. Plumpton Racecourse is located between the two villages, near the railway. Meetings draw large crowds; on race days the population of Plumpton doubles in size. The sporadic rail service is also supplemented by extra services on race days. Races are sometimes televised, bringing Plumpton Green to a much wider audience than it could ever hope to otherwise reach.
In the early 1970's Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page purchased Plumpton Place, an Elizabethan manor, with C.20 alterations by Sir Edwin Lutyens, surrounded by a moat and extensive gardens. Because of its proximity to the Plumpton racecorse the grounds also include stables for horses. Page outfitted the manor with a recording studio. The credits for the Led Zeppelin album In Through The Out Door indicates that album mixing was done there. The manor can be seen briefly near the beginning of the Led Zeppelin concert film, The Song Remains the Same where the camera walks up to Page, playing a hurdy gurdy, to inform him of the North American tour dates.
[edit] Village Groups
There are many groups and societies in comparison to the size of the village; one of the most notable being the Plumpton Pantomime Society [1]. Each year they put on a different show, featuring many members of the community. There are also sporting groups, which also attract visitors from across Sussex, including tennis, rugby and football clubs. The rugby club has been particularly successful over the last few years and now plays in Sussex Division 1.
