Danehill, East Sussex

Danehill (also known as Dane Hill) is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. The village is located five miles (8 km) north-east of Haywards Heath and on the edge of the Ashdown Forest. Other places within the parish include the village of Chelwood Gate and the hamlets of Furner's Green and Twyford.

The Prime Meridian passes through the middle of Danehill.

There are no major industries within the parish. One tourist attraction is the Ashdown Forest Llama Park which is located within the parish. The Cats Protection has its head office, The National Cat Centre, in the parish.

The 2007 estimated population for the parish is 1,927.

Religious sites
There are two Anglican churches in the parish: that at Danehill (dedicated to All Saints) and at Chelwood Gate. There is also a Roman Catholic chapel in St. Raphael's Care Home; it is open to the public and is served from St Paul's Church in Haywards Heath. Danehill Chapel at Chelwood Common is a small Evangelical church.

Education
Education is provided at Danehill CE Primary School and Cumnor House School.

Culture and community
The public houses are Coach and Horses (Danehill) and the Red Lion at Chelwood Gate. The Crocodile public house (now closed) once stood in the centre of the village and was frequented by the Bee Gees for a number of years. 'Bee Gee' Maurice Gibb lived in the village for some time.

The Ashdown Weekend is a village event, begun in 1973 and serving to make money for different organisations in the village. It includes five-a-side football, a fete, vintage car show, barbecue, art exhibition, children's party, senior citizens' party, and an "auction of promises".

Danehill football club have enjoyed some fine moments over the years and are currently doing well again but the glory days will always be remembered from the early 70s when, In 1973, they clinched a 2nd division title and cup double. Recent success has followed during the 2007 / 2008 season with the first team winning promotion and runners up in one of the cups.

The actor Peter Butterworth,  best known for his many appearances in the Carry On Films and his wife Janet Brown (comedian) are buried in Danehill cemetery,  which is in Church Lane,  Haywards Heath.

History
The first written evidence of the village comes from 1265 and the first permanent houses from 1400. By 1660 the Red Round Inn became a stopping point for travellers between London and Lewes. After travelers continued to use Danehill's roads, the village decided to improve the roads which led to wealthy families moving into the area, such as John Baker Holroyd who moved into Sheffield Park in 1769 and was later to become the First Lord Sheffield.

Governance
The lowest tier of government for Danehill is the Parish Council. The council has nine seats, for which eleven candidates stood in May 2007 with an elector turnout of 39.92%. A November 2007 single seat by-election was uncontested.

Wealden District Council is the next tier of government, for which Danehill is part of the Danehill/Fletching/Nutley ward. The ward returns two councillors. The ward was uncontested in the May 2007 election and two Conservative councillors were returned.

Danehill is represented at the East Sussex County Council as part of the Buxted Maresfield Ward. The May 2005 election returned the Conservative Councillor Anthony Reid.

The parliamentary constituency for Danehill is Wealden. The Conservative MP Charles Hendry was elected at the general election in May 2005.

At European level, Danehill is represented by the South-East region, which holds ten seats in the European Parliament. The June 2004 election returned 4 Conservatives, 2 Liberal Democrats, 2 UK Independence, 1 Labour and 1 Green, none of whom live in East Sussex.