Iford Hill

Iford is a parish on the western side of the lower Ouse valley that is bounded by Rottingdean to the west; Kingston near Lewes to the north; the River Ouse to the east; and Rodmell to the south. The parish boundary has remained unchanged for many centuries until 1934 when the former parish of Southover was dissolved and its rural area including both Upper and Lower Rises were added. Like many downland parishes it runs in a strip that includes the chalk downs, the greensand at the foot, and the brooklands once reclaimed from the river's former tidal estuary. The village itself is comprised of Norton and Sutton which straggles around a looped village lane off the eastern side of the old Lewes-Newhaven road. Norton was for centuries part of the old manor of Swanborough which was developed by the monks of Lewes Priory from 1200 until the Reformation when the land eventually fell into the hands of the Dukes of Dorset where it remained until 1879 when it came into the hands of the Robinson family who still work the farm at Iford today. The small hamlet of Swanborough, for many years just a farm, grew up from the 19th century along Swanborough Drove, a track linking the Lewes-Newhaven road with the top of the Downs. Sutton eventually came under the manor of Northease, part of neighbouring Rodmell parish, where it too fell into the hands of a local landowner, the Abergavennys, until the beginning of the 20th century. The boundary between the two could still be made out through field boundaries until the last twenty years or so. Communications wise, the parish is traversed by Swanborough Hollow, the main Lewes-Newhaven road formed many centuries ago to link the farms and settlements that lie on the sheltered western side of the lower Ouse valley. During the 1920s it became the A275 until it was downgraded in the 1970s to C status to encourage port traffic from Newhaven up the newly designated A26 on the eastern side and thus preventing it trying to negotiate the narrow streets of Lewes. The unnamed village street runs in a loop starting an finishing on Swanborough Hollow and was extended in the late 19th century by the owners of Iford Manor away from their front door. Swanborough Drove is now a restricted byway leading from Swanborough Hollow up onto the downs splitting into Breach Road and Dencher Road halfway up. All tracks are restricted byways.

A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds. In Britain they mainly date from Neolithic to the Bronze Age (2900 - 800BC), although some are later.

The South Downs Way is a long distance footpath in Southern England and is one of Britain's National Trails. It runs for around 100 miles from Winchester in Hampshire to Eastbourne in Sussex, with a small loop around Eastbourne. The South Downs Way passes through the South Downs, a beautiful area which is now a National Park. The path mainly follows old routes and droveways along the Chalk escarpment. The majority of the path is a bridleway and so can be used by horse-riders and cyclists too. More information is available from Link

The South Downs Way is a long distance footpath in Southern England and is one of Britain's National Trails. It runs for around 100 miles from Winchester in Hampshire to Eastbourne in Sussex, with a small loop around Eastbourne. The South Downs Way passes through the South Downs, a beautiful area which is now a National Park. The path mainly follows old routes and droveways along the Chalk escarpment. The majority of the path is a bridleway and so can be used by horse-riders and cyclists too. More information is available from Link

The South Downs Way is a long distance footpath in Southern England and is one of Britain's National Trails. It runs for around 100 miles from Winchester in Hampshire to Eastbourne in Sussex, with a small loop around Eastbourne. The South Downs Way passes through the South Downs, a beautiful area which is now a National Park. The path mainly follows old routes and droveways along the Chalk escarpment. The majority of the path is a bridleway and so can be used by horse-riders and cyclists too. More information is available from Link

The South Downs Way is a long distance footpath in Southern England and is one of Britain's National Trails. It runs for around 100 miles from Winchester in Hampshire to Eastbourne in Sussex, with a small loop around Eastbourne. The South Downs Way passes through the South Downs, a beautiful area which is now a National Park. The path mainly follows old routes and droveways along the Chalk escarpment. The majority of the path is a bridleway and so can be used by horse-riders and cyclists too. More information is available from Link

The South Downs is one of the four areas of chalk downland in southern England. They extend from the eastern side of Hampshire through Sussex, culminating in the cliffs at Beachy Head. The South Downs is England's newest National Park, its designation taking effect on March 31, 2010. There are many Sites of Special Scientific Interest within the park. The area is relatively unpopulated, although along its southern periphery there is an almost uninterrupted ribbon of seaside towns. It is extremely popular with walkers, having one principal long distance footpath, the South Downs Way, and many interconnecting ones. There are three principal gaps in the upland through which rivers flow; and there are also many dry valleys along its length. The South Downs have a long history; there are archaeological remains from Neolithic times. Until the middle of the 20th century, sheep-rearing was the main occupation of those living on the Downs. At 886ft, Butser Hill is the highest point of the South Downs. Extract from Wikipedia Link

The South Downs Way is a long distance footpath in Southern England and is one of Britain's National Trails. It runs for around 100 miles from Winchester in Hampshire to Eastbourne in Sussex, with a small loop around Eastbourne. The South Downs Way passes through the South Downs, a beautiful area which is now a National Park. The path mainly follows old routes and droveways along the Chalk escarpment. The majority of the path is a bridleway and so can be used by horse-riders and cyclists too. More information is available from Link

The South Downs is one of the four areas of chalk downland in southern England. They extend from the eastern side of Hampshire through Sussex, culminating in the cliffs at Beachy Head. The South Downs is England's newest National Park, its designation taking effect on March 31, 2010. There are many Sites of Special Scientific Interest within the park. The area is relatively unpopulated, although along its southern periphery there is an almost uninterrupted ribbon of seaside towns. It is extremely popular with walkers, having one principal long distance footpath, the South Downs Way, and many interconnecting ones. There are three principal gaps in the upland through which rivers flow; and there are also many dry valleys along its length. The South Downs have a long history; there are archaeological remains from Neolithic times. Until the middle of the 20th century, sheep-rearing was the main occupation of those living on the Downs. At 886ft, Butser Hill is the highest point of the South Downs. Extract from Wikipedia Link