Whatlington

Whatlington is a village and civil parish in the Rother District of East Sussex, England. The village is located seven miles (11 km) north of Hastings, just off the A21 road.

The village is in two parts, one in the valley on the road from Battle, where the church and the parish hall lie on either side of the stream, and one a mile or so further on the main A21 to Hastings, with a triangular village green in front of the Royal Oak pub. Like most country pubs, the Royal Oak is now part restaurant. For many years, it underwent a one-night transformation when the entire London Philharmonic Orchestra would stop for a pint in evening dress on the way back from playing at Hastings.

The Norman parish church is dedicated to St Mary Magdalene; the yew tree which stood there until 1987 was traditionally thought to be one thousand years old, and to have been used by William the Conqueror to hang members of King Harold's personal guard. Malcolm Muggeridge lived with his family in Whatlington; both he and his wife are buried in the churchyard.

A large, now disused, chapel is a prominent feature on the main road: it now serves as a commercial business.

Governance
The lowest level of government is the Whatlington parish council. The parish council is responsible for local amenities such as the provision of litter bins, bus shelters and allotments. They also provide a voice into the district council meetings. The parish council comprises five councillors with elections being held every four years. The May 2007 election was uncontested.

Rother District council provides the next level of government with services such as refuse collection, planning consent, leisure amenities and council tax collection. Whatlington lies within the Darwell ward, which provides two councillors. The May 2007 election returned one Conservative and one independent councillor.

East Sussex county council is the third tier of government, providing education, libraries and highway maintenance. Whatlington falls within the Battle and Crowhurst ward. Kathryn Margaret Field, Liberal Democrat, was elected in the May 2005 election with 48.8% of the vote.

The UK Parliament constituency for Whatlington is Bexhill and Battle. Gregory Barker was re-elected in the May 2005 election.

At European level, Whatlington 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 live in East Sussex.