England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
South Heighton St Martin

The Parish

The parish of South Heighton lies in southern Sussex not too far from its English Channel coast. South Heighton is located about 1 1/2 miles north of the port of Newhaven and sits on the A26 road which connects Newhaven with Lewes. At the time of this transcript South Heighton was a small farming village sitting on the eastern edge of the flood-plain of the Sussex River Ouse, grazing of cattle in the valley bottom and sheep on the nearby chalk downland provided the main income of the parish. Following the destruction of their church the parish was merged with that of Tarring Neville to its north. Today South Heighton is a suburb of the port of Newhaven which has stretched a little way along the valley following the A26, modern developments in the form of the railway line from Lewes to Newhaven also have arrived albeit South Heighton does not warrant a station. The Ouse drains the parish the short distance to the English Channel arriving through Newhaven. South Heighton is sited at between 10 &30 metres above the sea with higher properties rising up the slope of the nearby heights of Heighton Hill which tops out at 114 metres. South Heighton was a small parish covering just over 900 acres in which around 100 parishioners would have been supported. South Heighton is not specifically mentioned in Domesday Book.

The Church

Sadly St Martin's church was struck by lightning and destroyed by the subsequent fire in 1769. The church stood on the eastern side of Heighton Road close to today's inn, the Hampden Arms. Following the loss of the church parishioners utilised nearby Tarring Neville's church and any further marriages will be found there.