Iford, East Sussex


Iford is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. The village is located two miles south of Lewes. The parish lies on slopes of the South Downs in the valley of the River Ouse.

Governance

On a local level, Iford parish is governed as a Parish meeting with meetings held in Iford Hall built in 1931 in memory of Audrey Robinson.
The next level of government is the district council. The parish of Iford lies within the Kingston ward of Lewes District Council, which returns a single seat to the council. The election on 4 May 2007 elected a Liberal Democrat
East Sussex County Council is the next tier of government, for which Iford is within the Newhaven and Ouse Valley West division, with responsibility for Education, Libraries, Social Services, Civil Registration, Trading Standards and Transport. Elections for the County Council are held every four years. The Conservative Keith Glazier was elected in the 2017 election.
The UK Parliament constituency for Iford is Lewes. The Conservative Maria Caulfield has been serving as the constituency MP since 2015.
At European level, Iford is represented by the South-East region, which holds ten seats in the European Parliament and comprises Isle of Wight, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire, Kent, Surrey, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire. The July 2014 election returned 3 Conservatives, 1 Liberal Democrats, 2 UKIP, 2 Independent/non-affiliated, 1 Labour and 1 Green, none of whom live in East Sussex.

Landmarks

The Greenwich meridian runs through the village which is marked by a sundial, provided for by a Millennium Commission Lottery Fund grant.
Iford parish has two Sites of Special Scientific Interest within its boundaries; Kingston Escarpment and Iford Hill and
Lewes Brooks. Kingston Escarpment is a site of biological interest. It consists of two steep sloping chalk downland, an important habitat for many invertebrates. Lewes Brooks, also of biological importance, is part of the flood plain of the River Ouse. It provides a habitat for many other invertebrates such as water beetles and snails.

Historic Buildings

The Church of England parish church is dedicated to St Nicholas and dates from the 12th century, though much restored in the 19th century. It has an unusual arrangement of nave and chancel separated by the tower, possibly formerly at the crossing, though transepts and a north aisle have been demolished. It is listed Grade I
Swanborough Manor is also listed Grade I and incorporates fabric of about 1200 from the Grange of St Pancras,a dependency of St Pancras Priory, Lewes, as well as much later fabric of interest.
Iford Manor, a neo-gothic house of 1830 and Sutton House of circa 1800 are also listed at Grade II are among the eighteen listed structures in Iford.