Playden

Playden
Playden
	Playden Location within East Sussex
Area	16.6 km2 (6.4 sq mi) -inc East Guldeford
Population	340 (Parish-2011)
• Density	51/sq mi (20/km2)
OS grid reference	TQ925226
• London	52 miles (84 km) NW
Civil parish	Playden;
District	Rother;
Shire county	East Sussex;
Region	South East;
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	RYE
Postcode district	TN31
Dialling code	01797
Police	Sussex
Fire	East Sussex
Ambulance	South East Coast
UK Parliament	Hastings and Rye;
	List of places UK England East Sussex 50°58′N 0°44′E / 50.97°N 0.74°E

Playden is a village and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England. The village is located one mile (1.6 km) north-west of Rye.

History

Playden is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Pleidena, having 37 households, ploughlands and a church.^[3] It is a largely rural parish, having no village centre, and the hamlet of Houghton Green is included in the parish. Playden's main occupation was fishing: the fish were salted in a one-time settlement known as Saltcote, after the fact that it had a fish salting industry based there. Saltcote Street is now all that remains of that industry.^[4]

Governance

Playden Parish Council has four councillors,^[5] and meets monthly at the WI Hall in the village.^[6]

The parish is within the Rother District of East Sussex. In the United Kingdom Parliament, it is part of the Hastings & Rye constituency, represented since the 2019 UK general election by Sally-Ann Hart, of the Conservative party.

Landmarks

The Norman church is dedicated to St Michael.^[7] It was begun in 1190, and contains a ladder to the bell tower dated 1686.^[8]

The field in front of the Church formerly known as Beacon Oak Field was the site of a 15th century beacon at Sawcut (sic), sighting from Tenterden and Alomsbridge (about Newington Bridge, Kent, name has disappeared). The beacon was in the form of a tar filled barrel in an oak tree that was burnt down around 1930 but the stump remains.

The parish includes a two-acre field known as The Butt Field, which since 1703 has been available to the people of the village for "archery practice, recreation and sport".^[9] It is now mainly used for the grazing of sheep.

Within the parish there is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Houghton Green Cliff. This is an exposed cliff face displaying sandstones of geological interest.^[10]

In addition, part of the Dungeness, Romney Marsh & Rye SSSI lies within Playden parish.