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 (16 km) north-west of Eastbourne and seven miles (11 km) 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 170 ft 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.

Governance
The lowest tier of government for Alciston (Pronounced Awl-ciston) 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 a Conservative in the May 2007 election.

Alciston is represented at the East Sussex County Council as part of the Alfriston, East Hoathly & Hellingly Ward. The May 2005 election returned the Conservative Councillor John Garvican.

The parliamentary district for Alciston is Lewes. The general election in May 2005 elected the Liberal Democrats MP Norman Baker.

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 live in East Sussex.