Bodiam

Bodiam is a small village and civil parish in East Sussex, England, in the valley of the River Rother near to the villages of Sandhurst and Ewhurst Green. It is home to Bodiam Castle, a small range of houses, a pub (called The Castle) opposite Bodiam Castle, and a restaurant (called The Curlew). It has two schools: Bodiam Primary School, a state school, and Bodiam Manor School, an independent preparatory school. There is also a 12th-century church, which contains a brass of a knight with the arms of the de Bodeham family, one of the first lords of the manor.

Originally it was a port and crossing point from Battle to North Kent. During the medieval period a great moated castle was built and is now a popular visitor attraction. Although famous for its castle, Bodiam was also in a main hop-growing area in the last century and was famous for growing hops for Guinness. Reginald B. Levett of Court Lodge Farm would sell part of his land to Guinness to grow hops. A railway was built to provide transport for the hoppers, the Kent and East Sussex Railway, which is now a tourist attraction along with the castle.

Bodiam was the birthplace in 1881 of Miss A. E. (Ada Elizabeth) Levett, a leading medieval scholar and vice-principal of St. Hilda's College, Oxford. Levett was one of the first female professors of history in England, having been awarded a chair in history at Westfield College, University of London in 1929.