Winchelsea - Definition and Overview

Winchelsea is a small walled town in East Sussex, England, at the southern corner of the Romney Marsh.

Town sites

Winchelsea has had two sites:

• Old Winchelsea was on an island at the then mouth of the River Rother. The old town was recorded as Winceleseia in 1130 and Old Wynchchelse in 1321.
  • Brief history of Old Winchelsea:
    • before the Norman Conquest, the town had its own mint
    • it was one of importance in the wine trade;
    • 13th Century:
      • there were, in the 1260s, over 700 houses, 2 churches and over 50 inns and taverns implying a population of 4-5 thousand people
      • it was attacked several times by French marauders
      • incursions by the sea destroyed much of the town until, in 1287, a massive flood completely destroyed it.
• [see complete notes at Link 1 below]

• Today's Winchelsea was the result of the old town's population moving to the site, when King Edward I ordered a planned town. based on a grid, to be built. The complete plan was never completed, but the outlines are still visible today. It was at this point that the town, together with Rye, became one of the Two Antient Towns affiliated to the Cinque Ports.

The town had a tidal harbour on the River Brede, a tributary of the Rother. French raids continued into the fifteenth centuries, and little of the original town remains. It is, however, complete with a town wall, and three gates. The parish church is dedicated to St Mark.

Across the road from the churchyard stands the Great Hall, one of Winchelsea's oldest buildings, the lower floor once being the gaol. The first floor is now the museum, full of relics of the history of Winchelsea , and a model of the town before the French destroyed it. Further deposition, of both silt from the river and shingle buildup along the coast, have now left the town bereft of its port.

Today it is the smallest town in Britain to have its own mayor.

[see complete notes at Link 2 below]

Winchelsea stands on the main south coast road, the A259, and has its own small by-pass round the walls. There is a railway station, 0.25 mile to the south in the Brede valley, on the Ashford to Hastings line

Winchelsea, Victoria, is also a small town in Australia.

External links

• Notes on Old Winchelsea (http://www.villagenet.co.uk/rotherlevels/villages/oldwinchelsea.php) [Link 1}
• Notes on the "new" Winchelsea (http://www.villagenet.co.uk/rotherlevels/villages/winchelsea.php) [Link 2]
• Winchelsea, Australia (http://www.winchelsea.info)