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Wilmington (St. Mary and St. Peter)

WILMINGTON (St. Mary and St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Eastbourne, hundred of Longbridge, rape of Pevensey, E. division of Sussex, 4½ miles (S. W.) from Hailsham; containing 314 inhabitants. A Benedictine priory, a cell to the abbey of Grestein, in Normandy, was founded here in the time of William Rufus. It was valued at 240 marks per annum, and was sold by licence of Henry IV. to the Dean and Chapter of Chichester, to whom it was confirmed by Henry V., towards founding a chantry of two priests in the cathedral. Some portions of the priory have been converted into a farmhouse, one of the rooms in which exhibits a groined roof; the gateway still remains. The parish is on the road from Lewes to Eastbourne, and comprises by measurement 1744 acres: the village is situated on the north-east declivity of the South Downs, on an elevated site commanding extensive views. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £8, and in the gift of the Earl of Burlington: the great tithes have been commuted for £65, and the vicarial for £51. 16.; the glebe comprises 4 acres. The church is principally in the early and decorated styles, and consists of a nave and chancel, with chapels on the north and south sides, and a small tower surmounted by a spire; in the churchyard is a fine yew-tree, six yards in circumference at two feet from the ground. Wilmington gives the title of Baron to the Marquess of Northampton.

Transcribed from A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858.

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