Westfield, (East Sussex)

Parish picture

Westfield lies about 4 miles north of Hastings on the A28 and consists mainly of modern red brick houses; the original weather boarded centre lies on the minor road to Guestling around the Plough Inn.

The church of St John the Baptist stands at the southern end of the village. The heavy oak south door is iron-banded and dated 1542.

The Church was originally built by the Saxons, and later extended and expanded by the Normans. The pulpit is Jacobean, the font 14th century, and the tall wooden canopy covering it was carved in the late 17th century.

The lych-gate, visible in this picture, was erected in 1887 as a memorial to the death of a child. It has four carved angels incorporated into the design.

Parish picture

The old village centre is quite a distance away from the church. This is likely to have been caused by the Black Death of 1348. The settlement that used to be based around the of church was probably moved because of the number of plague victims in the churchyard.

On November 5th 1908, Westfield's last windmill was burnt down. As it was the evening of the village Bonfire Societies torch light procession, naturally the Bonfire Boys fell under suspicion. However, nothing was ever proved and so the culprits were never found.

Places of worship:

Church details, together with baptism, marriage, monumental inscription & burial records can be accessed by clicking on the church name.

Former Methodist Church

Sanctuary of the Risen Healing Christ

St John the Baptist

Census returns:

People residing in the parish:

866 individuals in the OPC Database for the 1841 census.

883 individuals in the OPC Database for the 1861 census.

People born in this parish but residing elsewhere:

15 individuals in the OPC Database for the 1851 census.

59 individuals in the OPC Database for the 1861 census.

3 individuals in the OPC Database for the 1871 census.

5 individuals in the OPC Database for the 1881 census.

10 individuals in the OPC Database for the 1891 census.

9 individuals in the OPC Database for the 1901 census.

Maps:

Grid reference: 581500, 115500 ~ View on: Google Maps, streetmap, bing or oldmaps.

Militia records etc:

Roll of Honour has a transcription of the war memorial and wooden board in the church together with further information about the people listed.

Poll Registers:

The OPC database contains 104 poll register entries for people entitled to vote in this parish.

1641 Protestation Returns:

There are no protestation returns for this parish in the OPC database.

Gazettes:

The OPC database contains 120 entries for people associated with this parish mentioned in Gazettes.

Photographs:

There are 15 images depicting this parish in the OPC database.

Postal directories:

The OPC database contains 1 postal directory entry for this parish, (breakdown below).

1 entry from the 1832 Pigot's Directory of Sussex.

The OPC database contains the following directory sections which cover this parish.

1832 Pigot's Directory of Sussex for Battle.

1851 Post Office Directory for Westfield

Publications:

There are no books about this parish in the Sussex OPC Bibliography.

There are no articles about this parish in the OPC Sussex Archeaological Collections Index.

There are no people from this parish in the OPC Sussex Archeaological Society Members Index.

Wills:

The OPC database contains 1 will of someone who lived in this parish.

The OPC database contains 1 will which mention this parish.

Interest in this parish:

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