Mayfield and Five Ashes | |
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Mayfield and Five Ashes shown within East Sussex | |
Area | 42.4 km2 (16.4 sq mi) |
Population | 3,718 (Parish-2011) |
• Density | 218/sq mi (84/km2) |
OS grid reference | TQ585269 |
• London | 37 miles (60 km) NNW |
District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | MAYFIELD |
Postcode district | TN20 |
Dialling code | 01435 |
Police | Sussex |
Fire | East Sussex |
Ambulance | South East Coast |
EU Parliament | South East England |
UK Parliament | |
Website | Parish Council |
Mayfield and Five Ashes is a civil parish in the High Weald of East Sussex, England. The two villages making up the principal part of the parish lie on the A267 road between Tunbridge Wells and Eastbourne: Mayfield, the larger of the two villages is ten miles (16 km) south of Tunbridge Wells; with Five Ashes being 2.5 miles (4 km) further south.
Every September the village hosts its annual carnival. This is to commemorate the Protestants being condemned here on 23 September 1556, and being burnt at the stake in Lewes. The festival is part of the Sussex bonfire tradition of marking the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot. The procession marches through the village by torchlight on the third Saturday in September, climaxing with a firework display in the recreation ground. The money raised through the street collection is spent on charities.
Mayfield and Five Ashes Civil Parish falls within the electoral ward simply called Mayfield. The population of this ward at the 2011 Census was 2,614.
The early village was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1087 within the Rape of Pevensey as Mesewelle, which may indicate a well on tableland or more likely "belonging to Meese", a Norman man's name, or less likely: a new well or well dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The meshing of Norman French and Anglo-Saxon into Middle English meant that one person was often referred to by several spellings in a lifetime. Various spellings of Meese include Meece, Mese, Mece, Mees, Mey, and May.