Photo of Rye, a village in East Sussex, south east England.

RyePhoto Zoltan Tasi / Unsplash

Villages & towns in East SussexEast Sussex, England

31 villages and towns in the Albion Guide across East Sussex — see the full villages and towns directory, or everything to explore in East Sussex.

Photo of Rye, a village in East Sussex, south east England.

Rye

Hilltop citadel above the Rother marshes, its cobbled Mermaid Street climbing past timbered houses, antique shops and a Norman church.

East Sussex

Photo of Battle, a village in the High Weald, East Sussex, south east England.

Battle

Town built around the abbey marking the 1066 battlefield, its High Street running from the great gatehouse to the almonry garden.

East Sussex

Photo of Lewes, a village in the South Downs, East Sussex, south east England.

Lewes

County town of steep twittens and flint walls, a Norman castle above, Cluniac priory ruins below and Tom Paine's old house.

East Sussex

Photo of Alfriston, a village in the South Downs, East Sussex, south east England.

Alfriston

Cuckmere-valley village with a green called the Tye, medieval timbered inns and a thatched Clergy House below the bare South Downs.

East Sussex

Photo of Ditchling, a village in the South Downs, East Sussex, south east England.

Ditchling

Arts-and-crafts village of Tudor houses under Ditchling Beacon, once home to Eric Gill and the Guild of St Joseph and St Dominic.

East Sussex

Photo of Firle (West Firle), a village in the South Downs, East Sussex, south east England.

Firle (West Firle)

Gage estate village under Firle Beacon, with a John Piper window in the church and Bloomsbury painters in the churchyard

East Sussex

Photo of Mayfield, a village in the High Weald, East Sussex, south east England.

Mayfield

High Weald village with a broad old high street of tile-hung houses and the legend of St Dunstan tweaking the devil's nose.

East Sussex

Photo of Pevensey, a village in East Sussex, south east England.

Pevensey

Roman shore-fort walls enclose a Norman castle, a single street of old cottages running past the medieval Mint House.

East Sussex

Photo of Wilmington, a village in the South Downs, East Sussex, south east England.

Wilmington

Downland village at the foot of the Long Man hill figure, with a ruined Benedictine priory and an ancient churchyard yew.

East Sussex

Photo of Winchelsea, a village in the High Weald, East Sussex, south east England.

Winchelsea

England's smallest town, laid out on a medieval grid with surviving gates, a large church and wide quiet streets above the marsh.

East Sussex

Photo of East Dean, a village in the South Downs, East Sussex, south east England.

East Dean

Flint village around a sloping green with the Tiger Inn, a short walk from Birling Gap and the Seven Sisters cliffs.

East Sussex

Photo of Fletching, a village in the High Weald, East Sussex, south east England.

Fletching

Long single street of tile-hung cottages leading to a spired Norman church; Sheffield Park and its gardens lie a short walk south.

East Sussex

Photo of Glynde, a village in the South Downs, East Sussex, south east England.

Glynde

Downland estate village of brick-and-flint cottages below Mount Caburn, with Glynde Place above and Glyndebourne's opera house next door.

East Sussex

Photo of Jevington, a village in the South Downs, East Sussex, south east England.

Jevington

Downland village of flint cottages and a Saxon-towered church, long tied to smuggling and claimed as the birthplace of banoffee pie.

East Sussex

Photo of Northiam, a village in the High Weald, East Sussex, south east England.

Northiam

Weald village around a green with an ancient oak where Elizabeth I dined; Great Dixter and the Kent & East Sussex steam line adjoin.

East Sussex

Photo of Robertsbridge, a village in the High Weald, East Sussex, south east England.

Robertsbridge

Rother-valley village with a timber-framed high street, old coaching inns and cricket-bat making; the ruins of Robertsbridge Abbey lie nearby.

East Sussex

Photo of Rodmell, a village in the South Downs, East Sussex, south east England.

Rodmell

Flint-and-thatch village in the Ouse valley below the Downs, home to Virginia Woolf's Monk's House with its writing lodge and garden.

East Sussex

Photo of Rotherfield, a village in the High Weald, East Sussex, south east England.

Rotherfield

Hilltop High Weald village, its Grade I church of St Denys keeping a medieval wall painting and Burne-Jones glass.

East Sussex

Photo of Rottingdean, a village in East Sussex, south east England.

Rottingdean

Coastal village east of Brighton, with a windmill, high street and links to Kipling.

East Sussex

Photo of Ticehurst, a village in the High Weald, East Sussex, south east England.

Ticehurst

White weatherboarded conservation village in the High Weald, its lanes of hung tiles and clustered cottages set around a large church.

East Sussex

Burwash

Kipling's village on a High Weald ridge, a single street of weatherboard and tile-hung houses; his home Bateman's lies just below.

East Sussex

Groombridge

Wealden village beside the Kent border, its old triangular green and the moated gardens of Groombridge Place just across the county line.

East Sussex

Hartfield

Wealden village at Ashdown Forest's northern edge, where the Pooh Corner shop and Poohsticks Bridge draw readers of A. A. Milne.

East Sussex

Sedlescombe

Village strung along a long sloping green in the Brede valley, with an old well and pump house at its foot.

East Sussex

Wadhurst

Hilltop Wealden town in old iron country, its sandstone church floored with cast-iron ledger slabs from the Sussex furnaces.

East Sussex

Westdean

Flint-and-thatch hamlet tucked below Friston Forest, with a Norman church, medieval rectory and a short walk down to the Cuckmere.

East Sussex

Withyham

Estate village on a wooded ridge, its hilltop church holding the Sackville chapel and monuments to the earls of Dorset.

East Sussex

Photo of Bodiam, a village in the High Weald, East Sussex, south east England.

Bodiam

Small Rother-valley village best known for its fairytale moated castle and the Kent & East Sussex Railway terminus beside the river.

East Sussex

Ewhurst Green

Ridge-top hamlet looking down on Bodiam Castle's moat, a classic view across the Rother valley from beside its small church.

East Sussex

Herstmonceux

Wealden village pairing a moated brick castle with the green copper domes of the old Royal Observatory, now a science centre.

East Sussex

Rushlake Green

Wealden hamlet gathered around one of Sussex's largest village greens, with a cricket pitch, pond and pub at its edge.

East Sussex