Catsfield

Catsfield is a village and civil parish in the Rother District of East Sussex, England. It is located six miles (9.7 km) north of Bexhill, and three miles (5 km) southwest of Battle. The village once consisted of two manors: Catsfield and Catsfield Levett. Thomas Lyvet (Levett) held the lordship of the manor of Catsfield in 1445 but forfeited it, along with the lordship of Firle, for his debts. But the manor of Catsfield Levett remained in the Levett family for centuries, and in the seventeenth century a Levett heiress carried it into the Eversfield family. (Richard Lyvet of Firle was lord of the manor of Catsfield in 1431.) With a fortune built on ancestral landholdings and later on iron making, the Levetts held land across Sussex.

The parish church is dedicated to St Laurence

Governance
At a local level, Catsfield is governed by a parish council which is responsible for street lighting, allotments and recreational areas. They provide a local voice to the district and county councils. The parish council consists of seven councillors. The May 2007 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. Catsfield is within the Crowhurst ward, along with the parishes of Ashburnham and Penhurst, Crowhurst, and part of Battle. In the May 2007 election Crowhurst ward was won by the Conservative candidate.

East Sussex county council is the third tier of government, providing education, libraries and highway maintenance. Catsfield 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 Catsfield is Bexhill and Battle. Gregory Barker was re-elected in the May 2005 election.

At European level, Catsfield 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.

Landmarks
The Site of Special Scientific Interest Ashburnham Park is partly within the parish.