Southease

The name seems to be of Anglo-Saxon origin, meaning "South land overgrown with brushwood".[4]

The village first appears in the historical record when King Edgar granted the manor of Southease (including Southease parish, 38 hides, a church and part of South Heighton) to Hyde Abbey.[4] It was granted to the abbey again by King Æthelred in 996.[3] The church dates from the year 966.[5]

At the time of the Domesday Book a thriving community was in place and the village appears to have been the biggest herring fishery in the district, having been assessed for 38,500 herring while Brighton had a mere 4,000.[4]

Village history is closely linked with the Ouse and Lewes Levels.[4] In the 11th to 13th centuries drainage of the river allowed more crops to be grown, but subsequent flooding led to more relying on fishing.[4]

After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the manor probably remained in possession of the King and in 1546 one John Kerne was appointed bailiff and collector of the manors of Southease, Telscombe and Heighton.[3] There was never a manor house in Southease as it was always owned by absentee landlords.[5]

The manor passed to the Sackville family – it was held by Thomas Sackville, his widow Cicely and their grandson Robert.[3]

The Lower Ouse Improvement Act of 1791 required the ferry to be replaced with a bridge substantial enough to allow cattle, people and vehicles to pass over while allowing ships to pass.[4] The original bridge was a wooden cantilever bridge slightly to the north of the current one.[4] The wooden bridge was demolished in 1879 when it was replaced by the current one.[4]

The population of the parish declined through the 19th century.[6] The census recorded a population of 120 in 1841 with the population falling with each census to 66 in 1891.[6]

The village was part of the Holmstrow hundred until the abolition of hundreds in the 19th century.[7]

During World War II four Type 24 pillboxes were built, roughly at the corners of the village, with a Type 28 pillbox just to the north.[4] The former were for rifles and light machine guns and the latter was for a 2-pounder anti-tank gun or a 6-pounder Hotchkiss gun.[4] There was also a Prisoner-of-war camp containing 16 Nissen huts near the northern farm, the concrete bases of which are still visible.[4] There was also an anti-aircraft gun.[4]

The body of the writer Virginia Woolf was found on 18 April 1941, at Asham Wharf on the east bank of the Ouse, to the north of the bridge, after her suicide by drowning on March 28.[8]

The church bells were rehung in 2000.[5]

Itford Farm, between the railway and A26, became a Youth Hostel in 2013.[9][10]

View of church from East

View of church from West

Exterior views of Southease Church

Three panel stained glass with centre depicting the Lamb of God

Two panel stained glass depticting Alpha and Omega

Stained glass in Southease Church

This is one of three churches in the Ouse valley to have a round 12th century tower - the others are in Lewes and Piddinghoe.[4] The chancel and nave date from the 11th century and form the nave of the original building, the chancel and transepts having being demolished in the 14th century.[4] There are remains of mural paintings from 1280 on the north and west walls.[4] It is a Grade I listed building.[4] The churchyard is surrounded by mature lime trees and bounded by a flint boundary wall.[4]

Southease Place and cottage

This is a 17th-century two-storey house with a tiled hipped roof.[4] The lower floor has been refaced with flints, the upper with stucco.[4] It is a Grade II listed building.[4]

Rock cottage and Barn cottage

A former farmhouse that was divided into two cottages, this is probably 18th century, though Rock Cottage may be a later addition or have been refronted.[4] It is a Grade II listed building.[4]

Thatched cottage

These are two separate cottages that were combined into a larger one.[4] It dates from the 18th century and has a thatched hipped roof.[4] It is a Grade II listed building.[4]

This is an L-shaped building with a 16th-century frame that has been stuccoed and a 19th-century addition that has also been stuccoed.[4] A western gable bears the date 1604 and the monogram of John Rivers.[4] It is a Grade II listed building.[4]

This is an 18th-century two storey house formerly known as "The Rest".[4] It is a Grade II listed building.[4]

Southease swing bridge

The bridge was built in the 1880s, is the second bridge on the site and though the swing mechanism remains, it has not been opened since 1967.[18] In September 2009 the bridge was granted Grade II listed building status.[19] The bridge was closed from 8 June to 26 November 2010 and a scaffold bridge was put in place for walkers and cyclists while the original bridge structure was lifted into the adjacent Environment Agency yard, restored and then replaced.[20][21] Other traffic had to take a detour for 10 kilometres (6.2 mi).[22] The wrought iron parts of the bridge were strengthened as it had suffered corrosion and twisting of the supports.[22] The turntable, deck and supporting timbers were replaced.[22]

Before bridges spanned the Ouse, the Stock Ferry, several hundred yards down stream of the current bridge, was the usual way of crossing.[3]