Etchingham
Etchingham (population 806) is a town and civil parish in the Rother area of East Sussex in southern England. The village lies about 15 miles (24 kilometres) southeast of Royal Tunbridge Wells in Kent and 13 miles (21 km) northwest of Hastings, on the A265, half a mile west of its joint with the A21. Etchingham railway station gets on the Hastings Line to London Charing Cross and Cannon Street. Etchingham was a mansion a long period of time prior to the Norman conquest of 1066; after this time the chateau was taken control of by the Normans. In 1166 it was left to the de Achyngham (Etchingham) family, that were widely known landowners of the time. The Etchingham household papers record that William was so pleased with his right-hand man that he offered him the land now called Etchingham. The moated manor house, time out of mind knocked down, stood at the factor currently occupied by the London to Hastings train line. Several of the stone from the estate was possibly made use of in the building and construction of the terminal buildings. There is one legend that a fantastic bell lay at the bottom of the moat bordering the church and also chateau, and that it would certainly never be seen till six yoke of white oxen were given drag it up. Centuries have passed by, the moat is long gone and no bell has appeared. The 14th-century church was originally built within the premises of the mansion; evidence of the moat can still be seen.
