Alciston


Alciston is a village and civil parish in the Wealden district of East Sussex, England. It is inland, just off the A27 road, about ten miles north-west of Eastbourne and seven miles east of Lewes. The ecclesiastical parish is linked with that of Selmeston and Berwick.
Saxon in origin, its name was then Aelfsige; it is mentioned in the Domesday Book. The present 14th-century church, of unknown dedication, is built of chalk from the nearby South Downs. There is a large medieval tithe barn in the village. It is long and is the largest in Sussex.
Every Good Friday, the road outside the Rose Cottage Inn is closed for the villagers to take part in a traditional skipping contest.
The historian C.V. Wedgwood is buried in the church graveyard.

Governance

The lowest tier of government for Alciston is a Parish meeting. Instead of voting for representatives, a small parish may hold a community meeting twice a year to which all the electors may attend and vote on issues.
Wealden District Council is the next tier of government, for which Alciston is part of the Alfriston ward, along with Alfriston, Berwick, Chalvington & Ripe and Selmeston. The ward returns one councillor, who was David Watts in the 2019 election.
Alciston is represented at the East Sussex County Council as part of the East Hoathly & Hellingly Division. The May 2017 election returned the Conservative Councillor Nick Bennett.
The parliamentary district for Alciston is Lewes. The general election in May 2015 returned Maria Caulfield as MP.
At European level, Alciston is represented by the South-East region, which holds ten seats in the European Parliament. The June 2004 election returned four Conservatives, two Liberal Democrats, two UK Independence, one Labour and one Green, none of whom lives in East Sussex.