Editing Brighton and Hove (section)

=== Westdene, Withdean, and Patcham ===
{{Main|Westdene|Patcham|Withdean}}
[[File:Northward_view_along_Warmdene_Road,_Patcham_(August_2013).JPG|thumb|left|Northward view along Warmdene Road, Patcham]]
[[Patcham]], [[Westdene]], and [[Withdean]] are divided by the London Road. Of the three, [[Patcham]] ({{Gbmappingsmall|TQ 301 090}}), has much the longest history of human settlement and retains much from its agricultural past. It was one of the bigger settlements in Sussex at the time of Domesday book, which recorded that it had 10 shepherds and 6 slaves.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Domesday Book: In PRESTON Hundred |url=https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/domesday-book/source-1/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221140351/http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk:80/education/resources/domesday-book/source-1/ |archive-date=21 February 2015 |access-date=17 October 2021 |website=The National Archives |language=en-GB}}</ref> Even an  [[Archbishop of Canterbury]], John Pecham, came from the village.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 June 2011 |title=The Earliest Royal Visit to the City of Brighton and Hove |url=https://www.prestonpages.com/brightonhistory/earliest-royal-visit-city-brighton-and-hove |access-date=2024-12-16 |website=Preston Pages}}</ref> The area still has many old flint cottages, big allotment sites and winding twittens. There is [[Patcham Place]] and Park. The best cluster of buildings comprise its [[All Saints Church, Patcham|Norman church]] (which has kept part of its medieval wall paintings) and the old buildings of Patcham Court Farm, with a 17th-century flint farmhouse and dovecot.

The areas of Withdean and Westdene were historically farmland but have been developed, mainly in the 1920s and 1930s, with a mix of detached, semi-detached and mid-rise flats. The Withdean manor was originally the property of the great [[Cluniac priories in Britain|Cluniac Priory]] of St. Pancras at Lewes, until 1537. This was then given to [[Anne of Cleves]] in 1541 by [[Henry VIII]]. The manor was demolished in 1936.<ref>{{Cite web|title=First record of Withdean c12th century|url=https://www.mybrightonandhove.org.uk/places/placestree/london-road-patcham/withdean-history|access-date=17 October 2021|website=My Brighton and Hove|language=en}}</ref> Westdene sits to the north of [[Brighton]], east of [[West Blatchington|West Blatchington and north of Withdean]].

'''Withdean Park''' is to the east of the London Road, and is home to the national collection of [[Syringa vulgaris|lilacs]] with over 250 varieties. Collections of [[berberis]], [[cotoneaster]] and [[viburnum]] can also be found here.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Withdean Park boasts a famous lilac collection|url=https://www.mybrightonandhove.org.uk/places/placepark/withdean-park/withdean-park|url-status=live|access-date=17 October 2021|website=My Brighton and Hove|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211017162807/https://www.mybrightonandhove.org.uk/places/placepark/withdean-park/withdean-park |archive-date=17 October 2021 }}</ref> [[Withdean and Westdene Woods|'''Withdean Woods''']] is next to Withdean stadium and is a wooded hillside nature reserve approximately 2.47 acres (1 ha) in size. It is the home of several woodland birds including the [[great spotted woodpecker]], [[tawny owl]], [[goldcrest]], firecrest, and in winter the [[stinking hellebore]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Withdean Woods {{!}} Sussex Wildlife Trust|url=https://sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/visit/withdean-woods|access-date=17 October 2021|website=sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk}}</ref>

==== Waterhall downland ====
[[File:Sweet Hill, near Patcham, Brighton, The old farm house.jpg|thumb|left|Sweet Hill, near Patcham, Brighton, The old farm house]]
[[File:Varncombe_Hill_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1640421.jpg|thumb|Varncombe Hill]]
To the west of the A23 and north of Westdene and the A27 is '''Waterhall''' ({{Gbmappingsmall|TQ 284 087}}), and its lost 18th century farm is now the site of football and rugby pitches. The Waterhall Golf Course has just been given over to a version of rewilding which involves the restoration of species-rich chalk grassland<ref>{{Cite web|title='Wild cats to elephants, hippopotamus and wolves' – rewilding a golf course|url=https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/18737148.plans-rewild-waterhall-golf-course-brighton/|access-date=1 October 2021|website=The Argus|date=22 September 2020 |language=en}}</ref> There is still a significant population of adders. By the bridlepath just downhill of the old clubhouse there are the damaged remains of a [[Bronze Age]] round barrow ({{Gbmappingsmall|TQ 283 087}}) which has long acted as a marker on the old parish boundaries. Since the cessation of golf play [[Campanula rotundifolia|harebell]], [[Succisa pratensis|scabious]], [[Caltha palustris|cowslip]], [[Rock rose|rockrose]], [[Betonica officinalis|betony]], [[Round-headed rampion|Sussex rampion]] and [[Hippocrepis comosa|horseshoe vetch]] have flowered ebulliently. There are large old anthills and [[Chalkhill blue|chalkhill]], [[Small blue|small]] and [[adonis blue]] and [[brown argus]] butterflies, and all three species of Forester moth. At the corner of the Saddlescombe Road and the turn-off to the golf clubhouse, there is a sarsen stone ({{Gbmappingsmall|TQ 278 090}}) marking this point in the medieval boundary between [[Patcham]] and [[West Blatchington]] parishes.<ref name=":2" />

To the north is '''Varncombe Hill''', which borders the [[Newtimber]] parish. Its south-west facing slope({{Gbmappingsmall|TQ 280 099}}) is heavily scrubbed-up, though lovely old pasture glades survive. [[Rockrose]] is one of the commonest flowers here, with some of its associated fungi. The west facing slopes of Varncombe Hill ({{Gbmappingsmall|TQ 279 105}}) were sold by Brighton Council with the rest of Saddlescombe Farm to the [[National Trust]], but the Trust did not dedicate them as [[Access land]], though they qualified and the National Trust had the power to do so.<ref name=":2" />

To the east of Waterhall is '''Sweet Hill'''. The Hill has a flowery bank on its western slope ({{Gbmappingsmall|TQ 286 091}}), a bushy [[lynchet]] and an old dewpond site on its brow. The [[Sussex Border Path]] takes you north to '''Pangdean Bottom''' and the [[Pyecombe]] parish. Pangdean Bottom is the west of the A23 and is rented by a tenant farmer from [[Brighton and Hove City Council]], who have owned it since 1924. It includes ancient chalk grassland slopes where there are still chalkland flowers and butterflies. In late summer, the valley's north side has one of the largest populations of [[Autumn Ladies'-tresses|autumn ladies-tresses]] orchid has been recorded, together with a large population of the white variety of the [[Prunella vulgaris|self heal violet]]. The scrub at the head of the valley is old and diverse, with [[Viburnum lantana|wayfaring tree]], [[Clematis vitalba|old man's beard]], [[honeysuckle]], [[hazel]], and [[gorse]].<ref name=":2" />

In July 2021 the Sussex-based 'Landscapes of Freedom' group, together with [[Nick Hayes]] and [[Guy Shrubsole]] of the 'Right to Roam' network, organised a mass trespass in protest against the lack of public access to this valley and its management for game bird shooting, which has badly affected its chalk grassland wildlife.<ref name=":0">Bangs, David (2018). ''Land of the Brighton line : a field guide to the Middle Sussex and South East Surrey Weald''. [Brighton]. {{ISBN|978-0-9548638-2-1}}. {{OCLC|1247849975}}.</ref> Over 300 people walked from Waterhall, Brighton, to Pangdean Bottom in protest.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hundreds attend mass trespass for the right to roam|url=https://www.theargus.co.uk/magazine/sussex_walks/east_sussex_walks/19467688.mass-trespass-attended-300-brighton-downs/|access-date=6 September 2021|website=The Argus|date=26 July 2021 |language=en}}</ref> The public are actively discouraged from walking in the area and scrub has been allowed to grow on the pristine downland, whilst other parts have been ploughed out.<ref>{{Cite web|date=30 July 2021|title='Mass Trespass' tradition given new lease of life|url=https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/mass-trespass-tradition-given-new-lease-of-life|access-date=5 September 2021|website=Morning Star|language=en}}</ref>

To the north of the city boundary in this area is the [[Pyecombe|Pycombe]] parish.

==== Patcham downland ====
{{Main|Ladies Mile, Brighton}}
[[File:Ewe_Bottom_from_the_Sussex_Border_Path_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1748020.jpg|thumb|left|Ewe Bottom from the Sussex Border Path]]
[[File:Sheep_on_Tegdown_Hill_-_geograph.org.uk_-_699188.jpg|thumb|Sheep on Tegdown Hill]]
[[File:Southwestward_view_along_Ladies_Mile,_Patcham_(February_2014).JPG|thumb|Southwestward view along Ladies Mile, Patcham]]
The Downland to the north of Patcham leads up to [[Ditchling Beacon]] and the western end of the [[Clayton to Offham Escarpment]]. '''Tegdown Hill''' is the next hill to the west of the downland Ditchling Road. A remarkable "ring barrow" survives ({{gbmappingsmall|TQ 313 101}}) on its brow, together with the slight mounds of two other bowl barrows. Tegdown ring barrow has been described as "probably the best of this type in the county".<ref>{{cite journal |title=Sussex Barrows |first=L.V. |last=Grinsell |journal=Sussex Archaeological Collections |volume=75 |year=1934 |page=224 |doi=10.5284/1086699 |doi-access=free}}</ref> It consists of a circular bank with a ditch and a flattish interior. It lies just south of a big dried up dew pond. From Tegdown you can see the three [[Iron Age]] camps of [[Hollingbury Castle]], [[Ditchling Beacon]], and the [[Devil's Dyke, Sussex|Devil's Dyke]]'''.''' To the north of the city boundary is the long [[Ditchling]] parish.

The Mid Sussex track of the Sussex Border Path starts at the A27 roundabout and the eastern track takes you up '''Ewebottom Hiil''' leaving '''Scare Hill''' to its west, passing the [[Chattri, Brighton|'''Chattri''']] to the east and on to '''Holt Hill''' and the [[Pyecombe]] parish. The western track takes you to Waterhall across the A23.

Those walking from [[Patcham]] towards Standean farm descend the hill into '''Ewe Bottom''' and have the pleasure of the intact, old Tegdown pastures to their right, where the steepest slope and the lynchets have fine chalk downland flowers. Opposite the slope is the mouth of '''Deep Bottom''' ({{Gbmappingsmall|TQ 303 105}}), the southerly slope of which is a colourful old pasture site with abundant rockrose and which rises up to the [[Chattri, Brighton|'''Chattri''']]. In autumn there are [[bolete]]s and several old meadow [[waxcaps]] and a [[Clavaria fragilis|fairy club]] fungus.<ref name=":2" />

To the south of the A27 and on the western edge of Patcham is [[Ladies Mile, Brighton|Ladies Mile]] Down ({{Gbmappingsmall|TQ 318 093}}), which has designated as a [[Local nature reserve]]. The area is a remarkable survival of plateau chalk grassland on Downland, where almost all such flattish sites have been destroyed by modern farming. The ancient turf has preserved lots of odd linear banks, which are surviving fragments of an [[Iron Age]] and Romano-British [[Lynchet|lynchetted field]] system. The banks once stretched across the line of the A27 bypass, beyond which one or two more fragments also survive. At the eastern end of the Down, is a [[Bronze Age]] [[burial mound]] recognisable as a low, grassy tump. The area is rich with summer flowers. [[Harebell]], [[Round-headed rampion|Sussex rampion]] flower, rockrose, and [[Yellow Rattle|yellow rattle]] are enjoyed by locals here and at midsummer there are still good numbers of [[glowworm]]s. Later in the summer months, the violet-blue of [[Devil's bit scabious|devil's-bit scabious]] and the powder-blue lesser scabious radiate.

==== The Chattri ====
{{Main|Chattri, Brighton}}
[[File:Chattri_Brighton_from_the_West.jpg|thumb|left|Chattri Brighton from the West]]
The Chattri ({{Gbmappingsmall|TQ 304 110}}) is a place of memorial and a destination for walks. It can be accessed from the Sussex Border Path to its west or by scrambling through the thickets of Deep Bottom. It is a solemn place where the bodies of [[World War I|First World War]] Indian [[Sikhs|Sikh]] and [[Hindus|Hindu]] soldiers who died from wounds whilst being nursed at the [[Royal Pavilion|Brighton Pavilion]] "passed through the fire", for this was their "ghat", or place of cremation. Its white Sicilian marble dome is in good condition, but the surrounding memorial garden is often unkept.<ref name=":2" />