| Clayton | |
Church of St. John the Baptist |
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Clayton
Clayton shown within West Sussex |
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| OS grid reference | TQ300139 |
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| - London | 41 miles (66 km) N |
| Parish | Hassocks |
| District | Mid Sussex |
| Shire county | West Sussex |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | HASSOCKS |
| Postcode district | BN6 |
| Dialling code | 01273 |
| Police | Sussex |
| Fire | West Sussex |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Arundel and South Downs |
| List of places: UK • England • West Sussex | |
Clayton is a small village at the foot of the South Downs in the Mid Sussex district of West Sussex, England.[1] It lies 41 miles (66 km) south of London, 6 miles (10 km) north of Brighton, and 28 miles (45 km) east northeast of the county town of Chichester. Other nearby towns include Burgess Hill to the north and Lewes, the county town of East Sussex east southeast. The Clayton Windmills, known as "Jack and Jill" sit on the hill above the village.
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Clayton Tunnel, the longest tunnel (1¼ miles) on the London to Brighton railway line, begins in Clayton and runs up to 270 feet (82 m) below ground. The tunnel was built in the 1840s and cost £90,000. The farmer who owned the land would not grant access to the tunnel unless an edifice was built at its entrance, so the railway company built a castellated entrance around the tunnel.
In 1861 there was a collision at Clayton Tunnel between two trains killing 25 people and injuring 176 others, it was to become known as the Clayton Tunnel rail crash.
The little parish church of St. John the Baptist is an Anglo-Saxon church that has a squat bell turret of shingles with a wrought iron weather vane dated 1781. The church has some magnificent wall murals, for example the Last Judgement, from the mid-12th century (1150–1200). These murals, unique in England for their date and extent, were first brought to light during repair work in 1893 and were probably painted by artists from St Pancras Priory in Lewes.[2][3] The queen's couturier, Sir Norman Hartnell, who designed her wedding gown and also her coronation dress is buried in the churchyard.
For the size of village there is a large recreation ground located at the west end of the village with a village hall, children's play area and two football pitches.
Katie Johnson, an actress best known for her acclaimed performance as the elderly Mrs Wilberforce in the 1955 film The Ladykillers, was born here in 1878.
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