South Heighton

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South Heighton is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. The village is located seven miles (12km) south of Lewes. In the 1890s the population of the village grew from less than 100 to over 500 as a result of the opening of a nearby cement manufacturing plant. The village is now associated with the urbanised area of Newhaven.

There is no place called North Heighton although part of the South Downs above the village is called Heighton Hill, from which one can get to Norton, which lies to the North East of South Heighton, and North of Bishopstone.

It is a regular thoroughfare and point of rest for ramblers, and features a series of ponds, known locally as 'The Three Lakes', which were until the early 1990s open to the public. It remains a popular destination for local visitors, with its public house, The Hampden Arms and its corner-shop and post office. South Heighton is one of many villages in the area which maintains a bonfire celebration and parade.

South Heighton, however remains most famous for its secret tunnels, built and used for defence during the second world war, which lie underneath most of the village, with the main entrance at Denton House. When, in 1998 work finished on the conversion of Denton House into flats and the surrounding area into houses, the road was called Forward Close, After the ship associated with Newhaven and the secret tunnels, HMS Forward.

Notable residents, past and present: Ralph Reader