Rodmell

About

Rodmell is a small, quiet and charming village nestling in some of the finest scenery of the South Downs. It lies in the lower valley of the Ouse some four miles south of Lewes, the County Town of East Sussex, and a similar distance north of the port of Newhaven, home of the Dieppe ferry. There has been a village here since at least the time of William the Conqueror, and our little church, dedicated to St. Peter, dates back to Saxon times.

The name might be derived from “The Mill on the Road”, or from the red mould that gives a warm colouring to the surrounding fields of this rich farming country. Nowadays far fewer of our two hundred or so households are involved in farming, and sadly – here as elsewhere – many traditional countryside crafts are dying out, but we remain a diverse community with a strong sense of the importance of our village life.

Ours is a village of great character with many lovely old buildings. Most people outside of the area probably know Rodmell as the country home of Virginia and Leonard Woolf, scions of the Bloomsbury Group, whose home, Monk’s House, enjoys spectacular views and is now a National Trust property. For walkers Rodmell, with its excellent pub, is a popular watering hole on the South Downs Way. Whatever your motivation, Rodmell will not disappoint.