Ditchling windows inside the National Park
High Street, West Street, East End Lane and the lanes towards the Common
A crossroads village under the Beacon
Ditchling grew at the crossroads where the Haywards Heath to Brighton road meets the road from Hurstpierpoint to Lewes. The church stands on a rise at the north-west corner of the crossing, and the village runs along High Street and West Street, with East End Lane branching off towards Westmeston. The southern part of the parish climbs steeply to Ditchling Beacon, 813 feet up.
It is in East Sussex and Lewes District, but because it is inside the South Downs National Park, planning applications go to the National Park Authority.
Conservation area and Article 4
Ditchling's conservation area was designated in 1969 and covers about 20 hectares around the crossroads, with nearly fifty listed buildings. The National Park Authority's register of Article 4 directions lists one for the Ditchling Conservation Area, made in 1972 and confirmed in 1973. Ask the Authority what it covers for your address before you order anything.
The Ditchling Preservation Society has made a photographic record of the conservation area and its listed buildings, which shows how much of the village's character sits in its windows and doors.
Windows for a house in Ditchling?
A quarter of an hour on the phone covers the house, the options and the planning position in Ditchling.
What the houses are made of
The Victoria County History describes houses that combine timber framing, Georgian brick fronts, plaster and tile-hanging, with many older houses refaced in brick. Wings Place, the Elizabethan timber-framed house beside St Margaret's church, is listed Grade I. Cherry Tree Cottage in East End Lane has a lead plaque dated 1579, and the former bank building one dated 1573.
The village's 20th-century craft community, centred on Ditchling Common, is remembered at the Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft.
What this means for your windows
Expect the National Park Authority to look closely at material, glazing bars and glass. Listed houses usually need timber or secondary glazing. Outside the conservation area, flush casements with the right bar pattern are often accepted.